Project Work and Practical File
What is assessed
Two separate submissions. A comprehensive project of roughly 20–25 pages analysing the published financial statements of a listed company over two or three years, or a study of a partnership firm; and a practical file of three to five solved questions drawn from the syllabus. Both are followed by a viva in which you must explain your own workings.
Structure of the comprehensive project
- Title page, certificate, acknowledgement and index.
- Introduction stating the objectives and the specific aims, the period covered, and the sources of data.
- Analysis using comparative and common-size statements, ratio analysis and a cash flow statement.
- Findings, conclusions, suggestions and bibliography.
Practical file entries
Each entry should show the question, working notes, the journal entries or main accounts, and the final statement. Typical spread: one partnership question (admission or retirement), one company accounts question (share capital or debentures), one ratio analysis, one cash flow, and one not-for-profit item.
How marks are earned
Present the ratio analysis table, for example current ratio 2.4 : 1 in 2023 falling to 1.9 : 1 in 2024, and then interpret it in words: the fall follows a rise in short-term borrowings used to fund inventory, and receivables collection needs tightening. Marks are awarded for interpretation and working notes, not for the arithmetic alone. In the viva, expect questions on why a particular item was classified as investing or financing, and on how you computed average inventory.
Marks-losing traps
- Submitting tables with no written interpretation.
- Objectives copied from a sample rather than framed for your company.
- Figures with no reference to the annual report page or note number.
- Omitting working notes, so the examiner cannot award method marks.