Portfolio

25 Jul Portfolio

A. Your Co-operative Education Role: being knowledgeable in your major field(s) of study by demonstrating the application of knowledge from your major(s) to your Co-operative Education Placement

The aim of Section A is as follows: · To demonstrate how relevant the various theories and concepts from your major have been in completion of your tasks to date · To reflect on your performance to date

THE TASKS:

1. For each key task that you have undertaken so far, briefly describe the task and explain how theories, concepts, models, frameworks and/or technical competencies, from your major(s)have applied. In your discussion you should:

· refer to a comprehensive range of theory, concepts, models, frameworks and/or technical competencies using in-text citations.

· explain how the theory was relevant and guided you to complete your tasks.

I have been working as account receivable clerk in ALMAJDOUIE for 3 weeks so far, particularly in the Automotive department because Al Majdouie is the official dealer of Hyundai in the northern & eastern region.

I know for the fact that the main concept of account receivable is managing credit or credit sale, because if the customer pay in cash we receive the money and we issue an invoice for them then we adjust the inventory by lower/credit our inventory in the Oracle system. Therefore, in the balance sheet the inventory decreases and cash increases. There are 2 main journal entries for account receivable which are:

Dr Cash

Cr Sales

And

Dr Cost of good sold

Cr Inventory

However, when the customer pay in credit there are precise steps need to be followed by the AR clerk which are:

Firstly: Give a customer a due date ( Ageing )

Because most business to business sale are made on credit, the AR clerk should set the terms for the customers which is usually 30, 60, 90, 180 and 360 Days. The aging process is quite sophisticated, In ALMAJDOUIE each customer get different terms depend on different factors such as, their ability to pay, the purchase price and order amount (Sinclair, 2013).

In ALMAJDOUIE, every month the credit controller, sales manager, sales director, financial controller and the AR team held a meeting called credit committee meeting. The meeting is held for discussing a report submitted by the AR team. The report has the overdue payments and they discuss how to collect it.

Secondly: then AR clerk monitor the customer accounts and send the invoices for the customers whom they accounts is due.

I have performed some of the account receivable duties, such as I receive an email from customer relation department which has the customer number for example: 38434, I go in the Oracle system and find the statements as Mar-17 or April-17 which has all the customer details such as, what have they ordered, how much they paid and how much they owe us then send it to them and a CC of the email to my supervisor and the AR supervisor.

And the second duty is a reconciliation between our records and the customer account then every quarter we email our customers a balance confirmation letter which has their balance in our records and we ask them to confirm the balance if yes it is correct or no its not correct and why, they need to write their comment in the letter and send it to us.

The third duty I have done, is to correct the statements of our spare part store in the Oracle, the scenario is: Every spare part store bank account for them in the nearest bank, lets call it National Bank. The South Store goes to deposit the cash in the National Bank Which is the nearest to them. But in the Oracle system the the nearst bank to the South store is ANZ.

NOTE for Rey:

The National bank & ANZ are New Zealand banks, but I have used them to facilitate the example for my teacher.

So when we do the reconciliation process we find in the Oracle that the ANZ account has all the cash but the fact is the ANZ has got nothing all the money is the National Bank. When I receive the actual invoice I change it the our system from ANZ to National Bank so our reconciliation will match.

Note for Rey:

Rey, can you please support the above paragraph with citation from Accounting books, like in the question it says

(Refer to a comprehensive range of theory, concepts, models, frameworks and/or technical competencies using in-text citations.

Explain how the theory was relevant and guided you to complete your tasks)

2. Evaluate your performance to date: discuss and reflect on how well you perceive you have performed your tasks and other activities to date. You must use supporting evidence and/or examples of progress made.

I am really happy of being with ALMajdouie and part of the AR team, we are working together as one person. I feel more confidence in AR area because I now the flowchart of the AR process. Also I feel more confidence in using the Oracle system, which is a big advantage for me because it’s one of the best accounting software in the world. I preformed my tasks on time never delay a single task I sometime have a late lunch, I believe that I shouldn’t leave the office until I finch all of my tasks. My SUP is really happy with me he said from the next week I’ll be joining the Account Payable team. He wants me to work in all the accounting areas.

NOTE for Rey:

For this question can you please add few sentences similar to the one I wrote.

B. Your Professional Identity: communicate effectively in professional settings, working effectively with others including intercultural perspectives

The aim of Section B is as follows: · To restate (and revise if required) your TWO chosen goals and actions for professional development · To reflect on your progress and development to date in both of these chosen goals · To review how your planned actions are supporting your progress

In your Learning Plan you developed TWO goals for your professional development to work on during your placement. These related to you

1. working effectively with others to make constructive contributions

2. working with one’s own and other cultures and diverse perspectives in professional settings

In this section you will reflect on your placement experiences in your chosen aspects of your Professional Practice so far.

NOTE: You may have refined or revised your goal(s)from feedback in your Learning Plan, as well as your specific actions you have put in place to achieve your goal(s). Please include these updates in your reflection below.

THE TASKS:

Goal ONE: Working effectively with others to make constructive contributions

State your specific aspect here: Building effective working relationship.

· My current goal is (include any changes): Coped from my learning Plan.

NOTE for Rey: Please leave the green highlighted as it is.

By the end of my Co-operative Education Placement, I will continue to work in teams in order to achieve the optimal results for my organization. Although I will face many challenges in my new role, by the end of the internship period I will need to prove my abilities in coping with others.

· Outline your planned actions (include original and any additional/new actions)

My planned action was to use the professional communication theory, where I need to communicate effectively with my teammate. Communicating with my team members is an important tool because it clarifies any vague information for me; also it helps to do my task correctly (Mohan, McGregor, Saunders, & Archee, 2008).

· Evaluate how your actions have helped towards achieving your goal. Discuss achievements you are making and/or issues you are encountering that may be preventing progress being made, include specific workplace examples and evidence. Note: You are required to integrate authorised sources to support your actions

My first week at Almajdouie was excellent in all aspects; my primary goal was to be working effectively with others. The accounting department is divided into many sections, which are account receivable, account payable and cashier. I am working with the A/R team next to the other sections. I mean by section that the offices have partitions, so it looks like sections. I like this idea because it helps in the communication process and in the exchange of tasks. Also, because we are using new accounting software, which is called Oracle, if some workmate faces an issue in it, they don’t need to leave their desk they just ask their neighbour over the partition for help. Also, it is easy in exchanging the papers from and to the workmate. At the first day, I was nervous and shy, so I decided to break the barriers between my workmates and me. I introduced myself to the people I will be working with, I told them that I am doing co-op for the sake of learning and helping in achieving any tasks (Augustine, n.d.).

Honestly, they were helpful and kind to me, they explain to me anything I don’t understand. For example, one day my supervisor emailed me the code number for a customer and asked me to find the statements this particular customer from the Oracle then send it to him. He verbally explained to me how to find it but the system was complicated so I have asked my workmate to help and he did. After that, I was really good at this task I have submitted more than 35 statements to my SUP. I think that introducing my self at the first day was a good reason in achieving my goal. Also, I always keep smiling, because I believe that it gives an impression to the person in front of me that I am easy-going person and willing to help (Augustine, n.d.).

Ref:

https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-make-your-new-employees-first-day-a-huge-success

Goal TWO: Work with one’s own and other cultures and diverse perspectives in professional settings

State your specific aspect here: Improve my listening skills.

· My current goal is (include any changes): Coped from my learning Plan.

NOTE for Rey: Please leave the green highlighted as it is.

During my Co-Operative Education Placement, my goal is to continue to work on improving my listening skills in order to achieve the desired results for my organization. Although I will face many challenges in my new role, I can show my supervisor and the people I am working with that I can improve my listening skills by the end of the internship period.

· Outline your planned actions (include original and any additional/new actions)

My planned actions were as follows, first I had to follow certain procedures such as:

Sitting in a quiet place, look attentively at the speaker, and avoid all distractions that can make you busy and prevent you listening to others, such as my phone. Finally, if the conversation was long, for example in meetings, I had to write my questions in a note then ask the speaker to clarify the points that I did not understand (Brownell, 2016).

· Evaluate how your actions have helped towards achieving your goal. Discuss achievements you are making and/or issues you are encountering that may be preventing progress being made, include specific workplace examples and evidence. Note: You are required to integrate authorised sources to support your actions

In the first week at Almajdouie, I was a bit concern about not achieving my tasks correctly, so I brought my diary with me for two purposes first: to record all of my daily tasks, second: to write down my questions so that I can ask my co-workers when there are free or end of the day. My notes seem to be very helpful tools for me because I just can rely on it if I forgot the process steps of any task.

Then from the second week onward, I found out that I Interrupt my supervisor a lot when he is speaking because most of what he say I’ve already studied it. However, I shouldn’t interrupt him because I may break his thought or confuse him. So I decided to train myself not to interrupt anyone when speaking directly to me because that’s will bother the speaker and may decide to avoid talking to me. I decided to follow certain technique to avoid interrupting others.

Firstly, I keep an eye contact to speaker in order to notify the speaker that I understand what you are saying (Schilling, 2012).

For example, in week 1 my supervisor asked me to find a particular customer statement from the Oracle system and email it to certain people and include him in the CC, then in the next day my SUV received a reminder email from his a person that I forgot to include in the email. My supervisor said to me ” please next time listen to me very carefully, you are fast learner which is good but accuracy is more important too” Then I never made this mistake before.

Secondly, while my SUV is talking to me I picture the process or the scenario in my mind then once he finishes, I tell him my thoughts. Most of the time he doesn’t correct me because my thoughts are rights (Schilling, 2012).

Finally, because I am new in the field and I haven’t got any experience, I avoid talking two task at once because I know for the fact that it is hard to avoid mistake one downing 2 tasks at once especially If I am new, and my SUV understand that which good

(Schilling, 2012).

Ref

https://www.forbes.com/sites/womensmedia/2012/11/09/10-steps-to-effective-listening/#1e75ad783891

C. Your Co-operative Education Placement Organisation and the environment it operates in: being critical enquirers and creative problem solvers.

The aim of Section C is as follows: · To critically examine the impact of a current event or issue from your media log on your organisation · To reflect on your integration into your organisation · To provide evidence and discuss your personal work environment

In this section you must:

· support your answers with examples and evidence and reference using APA 6th ed.

THE TASKS:

1. Briefly state who your CPO is, their core business and the industry sector to which they belong

I work in Al Majdouie holding company, partcuilly in the automotive department.

Almajdouie is a Saudi Company that was established in 1965 as a land-transport company. It then became a group of companies offering a variety of services in different industries, including automotive and other manufacturing, education, logistics, real estate and investment.

Ref: http://www.almajdouie.com/en/AboutUs/Overview.aspx

NOTE for Rey, Can you please have a look at the ref link and rewrite what’s highlighted in blue in accordance to the question.

2. Identify and discuss one current event from your media log (Appendix 1) that is particularly relevant to your Co-operative Education Placement Organisation, including your understanding of this current event and the implications for your Organisation and how they could manage this.

In Dec 2011, Al-Majdouie has shifted from the legacy system to Oracle ERP system in order to facilitate the operation processes between all the divisions. Also as Mr. Abdullah AlMajdouie, president of AlMajdouie Group stated that ERP is necessary software in order to keep the group among the biggest companies in the region (Sutton, 2011).

However, they haven’t fully implemented the system into their companies at once, they have started with the smaller companies and divisions, such as Café Liwan.

There are four steps in implanting the new system:

Firstly: Data cleansing, where they need to import the data from the old system (refresh them update them) and past them into the new system. Examples of the data are: assets of both types current & non-current, account receivable & account payable, general ledger and inventory.

Secondly: Preparing data based on Oracle template, where the accountants need to shift from the old to new templates.

Thirdly: Data migrating, where the accountants need to migrate the old date from the legacy system to Oracle.

Finally: extracting all data from the system, where the accountants need to reconcile it with current data before entering it into the system.

In January 2017, they have started to implement Oracle in the automotive and logistic department, the reason why they haven’t implemented it from 2011 is because the process is quite long and complicated also both companies the automotive and logistic considered as the largest company in an Al-Majdouie group. Until today, they are still working in the implication process.

Ref: http://www.itp.net/585240-almajdouie-group-selects-oracle-erp

NOTE for Rey, Please read the article above in the ref and summarize it in the learning log below

3. Reflect on your integration into your organisation and its internal environment. You should include discussion on your personality type and the strengths and weaknesses identified in your Learning Plan together with any challenges or successes achieved to date.

My role is account receivable clerk but working in a team. I really like the working environment, we all work in a team and we help each other when necessary.

As account receivable clerk, I have participated in implementation process, the role of the account receivable is as follows:

We request the account the master data from the old system, an example of these data is, customer statements, these statements include all the (names, date of receipts, credit limit, due date e.g. 90 days and other information of the customers).

My personality type is called the ESTP the “ Doer ” helping other and being active member is one of my strength, sometimes I stay in the office until 7 to 8 pm, and I totally don’t mind because I believe that Al-Majdouie is working hard to provide suitable environment for its employees so, in return we need to give back (Keller, n.d.).

When we request the master data, it’s also a chance for us to update the customer information. However, part of my weakness is getting board very quickly, but honestly I tried as mush as possible to enjoy what I am doing.

After we update the accounts receivable and past it in the new system we start the reconciliation process where the account receivable records need to match the general ledger, here where I can help my team in remembering or pointing any missing point. My SUV admired my reconciliation work because I have found that there are some missing invoices and after he called the department that handed the invoice they have apologized for the missing invoices and supplied us with the invoices. The only threat I am facing currently is not spending enough time with my family, but I know for the fact that I need to work hard to prove my self in the organization and submit a quality work to the university (Keller, n.d.).

Ref: https://www.16personalities.com/estp-personality

4. Personal Work environment:

· Use visual images to illustrate your personal work environment (insert below) e.g. work stations, office space and facilities.

· Discuss why you have chosen these images.

These pictures show the environment I work in, I really like the environment of my workplace, It’s friendly, always active. It’s not quite but we all talk regarding our tasks. This picture shows when one of our colleges celebrated the birth of his new baby girl, he brought cakes with him and distribute among us. This picture shows the company tower and Hyundai showroom, the tower is really big it has 9 floors; the accounting department is in the 3rd floor. In the grown floor there is a café called “Café Liwan” it is owned by Almajdouie holding group, each employee of Almajdouie has a 15% discount on the bill.

D. Your Topic developing your skills as a critical enquirer and creative problem solver, being knowledgeable in your major field of study by demonstrating the application of knowledge from your major(s) to your Co-operative Education role, placement, or industry

The aim of Section D is as follows: · To finalise and justify the working title for your topic · To demonstrate progress being made in researching your topic, with evidence of at least 4-5 appropriate resources

In the Final Report you will be required to critically analyse and evaluate your chosen topic from your discipline perspective. This MUST be applied either to your role and/or your organisation and/or industry sector. This topic should develop your discipline knowledge beyond that acquired in your role and your skills as a critical enquirer and creative problem solver. You must demonstrate comprehensive understanding of your topic through research and apply it to your role and/or industry and/or organisation.

In your Learning Plan you listed your initial ideas on your area of interest from your discipline perspective. This is an opportunity for you to refine your topic and receive feedback from your Academic Supervisor. Your topic will be developed further in Portfolio 2, Oral Brief and Final Report.

Your role, organisation or its industry should provide context or background for your research. You must avoid disclosing any confidential information. You should only draw on secondary research i.e. relevant academic literature for your research and to support your discussion.

1. You must not disclose any confidential information from your organisation or complete any primary research.

2. The work must not have previously been submitted by yourself or another person.

3. All researched information must be acknowledged by citing and referencing in APA 6th ed.

THE TASK:

In approximately 250-350 words expand on the information you provided in your Learning Plan.

You must:

· Provide a working title for your topic (this is often best stated as a question):

Many companies in the world have adopted the new IFRS accounting regulation standards, with the adoption aimed at allowing the companies to enjoy the benefits of reporting following the new standards. With this in mind, the following paper goes with the topic of “has Saudi Arabia adopted IFRS and if yes, what are the related issues of this adoption?”

· Provide a rationale for your topic with some detail:

Saudi Arabia is known for the production of petrochemicals, which are needed all over the world for energy purposes of the people. Saudi Arabia is also one of the more private countries in the world, and by looking at its adoption of the IFRS and how this adoption stands to potentially impact organizations in the bloc such as Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), I get to understand the benefits and perils of any one company using IFRS in their accounting procedures. Using IFRS will give the nations company’s great comparison abilities with other companies of the world, benefits small investors, and creates more accounting and reporting flexibility (Epstein, 2009). On the other hand, reporting using IFRS costs more than when using the traditional methods. In addition, IFRS adoption is not done in all the countries of the world, therefore making comparison of company performances to decline a little bit. Furthermore, using IFRS leaves the companies with the powers to manipulate the statements to their advantage (Ball, 2006). Therefore, understanding how IFRS has impacted Saudi Arabian countries is of key importance.

· Discuss how your topic is related to either your role, CPO and/or industry

In this topic, I get to look at the Saudi Arabian financial system, and how the adoption of a system that is trending in the accounting reporting standards is impacting on the reporting of the companies involved. The topic will also allow me to have insights into how the industry has coped with the challenges of adoption and maybe implementation of IFRS in their accounting processes.

· Identify and outline the supporting information you have gathered from your research including academic literature from your major. Cite and reference appropriately and add to the reference list at the end of this document. 4-5 authoritative resources are expected.

In Saudi Arabia, the adoption of IFRS has been troubling in the country as it offers some of the companies’ hefty gains and exemptions, while imposing high charges on other companies. In as much as the efforts to have the country’s’ listed companies adopting the IFRS standards puts the companies on the global investing mainstream map, but also acts as a source of uncertainty for the associated investors as they are unsure of the turnout of the adoption (Alsuhaibani, 2012).

IFRS will allow the companies to revalue assets that they have had with them for a long time, and which could not be revalued when under the Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA), representing the old accounting standards. The revaluation carries with it the risk of taxation on undeveloped urban land, and is also unpredictable since there are no liquid markets and there aren’t many people able to do revaluation. The revaluation could also impose higher depreciation expenses for some of the companies, such as cement companies, which have old kilns. Commodity-based companies, which sell products with weaker prices in the market, also stand to get hurt if IFRS is used (Almotairy, 2011).

Appendix 1: Media Log Portfolio 1 (at least one entry per week of your placement). These items need to be linked to your discussion in Section C

Date	Event/ Issue (Brief discussion)	Media Source (APA 6th)
23rd March 2017	Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) awarded financial advisory for Greenfield project by the state owned corporation. BSF is committed to offering a variety of financial and banking solutions for successful 2030 vision accomplishment. Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) is one of the organizations to launch privatization. This has increased competitive advantage for BSF.	(Reuter, 2017)
30th March 2017	Oil prices increased gains in London regardless of U.S. crude inventories disruptions. West Texas crude oil futures were up 22 cents at $ 48.59 a barrel, and Brent crude oil rose to 25 cents per $51.58 a barrel. Oil production from Libya and Wafa has been blocked by armed protectors.	(Reuter, 2017)
6th March 2017	Saudi Arabia receives favour for the equity markets and bonds allocations. The U.S. has received more income from the bonds due to the increased dollar interest rate. The capability to trade more easily has made bonds more striking to institutional investors. Gulf stock markets have underperformed in the emerging markets generally in the last few months.	(Ali Khan, 2017)

References:

Refer to AUT Library on APA 6th: http://aut.ac.nz.libguides.com/APA6th

Al-Majdouie Group (n.d.). Overview. Retrieved from http://www.almajdouie.com/en/AboutUs/Overview.aspx

Sinclair, R. (2013). Accounting systems. Australia: Pearson.