So recently I have been getting quiet a few mentor request and in most cases candidates are unaware of what the OBU BSc entails. As one of them commented ‘the ACCA website is too confusing to figure out what I need to do‘. This post will help you understand and figure out just about that.

In order to obtain the BSc. in Applied Accounting you need to prepare & submit THREE documents; 1) RAP 2) SLS and 3) Presentation. Both the RAP and SLS can be in MSWORD or PDF while the Presentation is in MSPOWERPOINT. Apart from this you are also required to submit a Reference List and an MSEXCEL based Ratio Analysis file. 

First thing first, How to enroll in the OBU BSc? Well, there are certain eligibility criteria you have to meet in order to be eligible for registration. These criteria are:

• Be registered with Oxford Brookes University i.e. have opted-in to the BSc degree scheme at the time of registering with ACCA.
• Hold a recognized English language certificate & transcript, which must be submitted and approved by ACCA, before passing F7, F8 or F9.

Once you are opted-in and registered for the OBU BScc, your next step is to complete the following. These are very vital steps as without completing these you will not be allowed to submit your BSc project. 

• Pass papers F7, F8 and F9 by exam* and complete papers F1-F6 by exam or exemption. You have to successfully complete all 9 Fundamentals level papers at least 2 months prior to start of your planned submission period.
• Complete the ACCA Ethics & Professional Skills module according to the RAP submission dates.

Now, the fun begins. Here starts your journey towards becoming an OBU graduate. You need to:

• Read and understand the Information Pack.
• Register yourself on the OBU mentoring website as a Mentee.
• Locate a Mentor (on the  OBU mentoring website)  to work with you.
• Start your research plan, choose an organisation/Topic & prepare your RAP.

You need to download and thoroughly read the Information Pack available on the ACCA Website. Be aware that this document gets updated quite often. Make sure you have the one most recent to your submission period.  This pack will provide you all the details you need to prepare and submit the documents for BSc. 

After reading the Pack the next step is to FIND A MENTOR. The role of a Mentor is to support you with the preparation of your RAP, by providing advice and feedback to you during your Project activities. You are required to have 3 official meetings with your mentor (as they are documents in your SLS). Your mentor has to be a registered mentor with OBU and you can choose a local tutor, your line manager, an ACCA Member or an online tutor for this.

If you identify somebody as a potential Project Mentor who does not fall into any of these 3 categories, then you should contact ACCA office at OBU & provide copy of your suggested Project Mentor’s CV for approval. If proposed Project Mentor is member of recognized professional body or institute and / or holds a recognized degree equivalent qualification then it is likely that approval will be given.

According to ACCA:

Mentoring is a service which is provided by a registered mentor, working as your personal contractor. Many mentors charge for providing this service. This charge can be up to 500 GBP. 

Once you have finalized your mentor, it is time to start working on your project. This will be covered in another blog. The final element you need to be aware of at the initiation phase of your research is the submission periods. Each year OBU/ACCA announces 2 submission periods (One in November & One in May). Each period has its dates and deadlines that you should keep note of. You can check the current period and deadlines here. Keep in mind that projects must be uploaded to the Oxford Brookes University website by the date of latest submission. It is not possible to upload after this date.

Online submission can only be accessed during the submission period. After this date, the online submission facility will close and you’ll have to wait until the next session before you an submit.

Once you submit, all that is left now is to wait for your results 🙂 and dream about your graduation ceremony.