Ass 1 Step 1 & 2

Hi,
Please see below a draft copy of my Assignment 1 Steps 1 & 2. I am hoping I am on the right track with this and any feedback, advice or direction will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,

Step 1: Introduction and Chapter 1 KCQs

The first thing I always do when I open a study guide or other reading material is scroll all the way to the bottom of the document and see how many pages total there is -“Wow, this is a lot just for an introduction” I thought to myself. I always check the number of pages so I can estimate how much time I need to allocate reading. I work full time and often try to squeeze reading into my lunch break. I started my degree (Bachelor of Property) last semester and was now wondering if my first three units were “beginner” units compared to what I face this semester.  

The first thing I read was the two quotes. I was initially confused when I saw quotes, not something I would expect in an accounting Study Guide. I automatically assumed it would be mostly quantitative information. The quotes did however spark my interest immediately. I love hearing other people’s words of wisdom because I think we can all gain something from others experiences.  

In the first few paragraphs I connected with a few statements including that some student are only doing this unit because it is a compulsory unit in their degree. I am studying this degree because I currently work in Real Estate and wish to become a Licensed Valuer in the future. I currently assist a Licensed Valuer at our agency and follow the process from start to finish. I struggle to see where Accounting is included in that process. However I hope that this unit will help me with personal matters such as tax returns.  

When I read that I will be assigned a listed company, I wonder what “listed” means? I know the saying “No questions is a dumb question” but I wonder if this is a dumb question and if that is something I should know. I’m guessing it means listed on the stock market, well I am hoping that is what it means.  

Next I read the section about PeerWise and instantly did not like the concept. This is probably because I feel anxious about what others think of my questions. Will my questions not be as articulated as others questions? Will my questions be anonymous? What if no one answers or rates my questions because they are poor? I am likely to “fall down the rabbit hole” because I have an addictive personality?  

I feel even worse when I read the section about Interaction with Others and Interact or Perish. I found it hard last term to build rapport with other students while studying online. Instead of having classroom chit chat like usual, the conversations only ever discussed work which meant it felt like we were only conversing for our own gain. I prefer the lone ranger approach.  

I really appreciate the comments that say each section of the study guide takes 40 minutes each to read because as mentioned above I also work full time and find it useful to allocate specific time frames to tasks in my weekly planner to be able to fit them in amongst other jobs. 10,000 words per week seems like a lot of reading, however, I much prefer to read material written by the teacher rather than straight from the text book. I find the content is more relevant to what we are learning this way. 

When I read the line that says “We find within days, minutes or even seconds after completing an exam and demonstrating so much ‘knowledge’ of the subject area, that we can no longer even remember it.” I think to myself that I have experienced that many times. I can remember coming out of HSC exams and other students discussing answers and their solutions and I all of a sudden can not remember anything. Clearly, I was not learning effectively. However, I had not considered there is other ways of learning, but when I do consider it, it is exciting. Number 6 way to learn stands out the most for me. While I would have answered with one of the first 3 ways when asked the question “What do you think learning is?” I think that number 6 is the most powerful and most true. I try to think about something I learned last semester and if anything I learned has changed me. In all honest, I struggle to think of anything! Could this be because I was only absorbing the information to regurgitate it? Did I not truly learn anything last semester? Maybe that is underlying lesson to be learned in this unit? 

While reading Communicating Effectively Online I am new to the concept of “nettique”. I did not realise there are some basic rules for online communication – I wonder how many times I have broken these rules. I also wonder if this is an “old person idea” meaning this is something say baby boomers would adhere to, not millennials like myself. I am worried about the blog, the most web page design experience I have is Myspace back in 2008.  

Next, I open the Chapter 1 Study Guide, already knowing this is approximately 10,000 words and 15 pages.  I would usually feel pained about beginning this much reading, however I am looking forward to being introduced to more new concepts. As I read the first paragraph I am thinking to myself “I have used MYOB and Xero before, hopefully it is as simple as that” but I know it is not going to be. I think “accounting” must go beyond, well, accounts.  

I notice there is a huge emphasis on reality and realities. This must be important, but I am not sure why yet. The Study Guide continually mentions economic and business realities – I wish there was an example of this. I try to think about a business reality at my workplace. Could a business reality be the number of homes we sell per annum? That would be quantitative data though and I think a reality would be qualitative. Maybe a better example would be customer satisfaction?  

When I read about what business is, I am surprised. The Study Guide talks about business in a thoughtful and kind way, saying value is about things that matter to us and what we care about. I would have expected the Study Guide to say business is about making money and money is what matters in business.  

The next section that provokes thought in me is the businesses are everywhere section. Why is Martin mentioning so many business? Is there a hidden message in here or does he just want to emphasis this concept? Are we expected to just skim through this list or read every business? I only skimmed as I got tired of reading it. 

“All these businesses which I saw on my short walk around Yeppoon would keep accounts” – What does this mean? What does accounts mean? Does this mean bank accounts? Or does this mean customer accounts, like when you can have a 30 day account with a supplier? I can not think of any other type of account it might mean. I am worried I do not understand the absolute basics of this unit already. 

As I continue to read on I wonder what my boss, Ross, knows about our business, Ray White Singleton based on the insights provided from our accountants. When he goes to the accountant does she tell him “you should be doing this, or stop doing this because the magical accounts have told me so”? If the accountant is advising Ross on his business practices, he certainly is not bringing that advice back into the office. Well at least not as far as I can see, but maybe I can not see it because I do not understand it.  

When it mentions that accounting can hinder business I wrestle with this statement. Wouldn’t it be better to know what is going on that not know? If you don’t know, aren’t you just burying your head in the sand? I try to think of a situation where it could hinder our business. The only time I could think of is when we make mistakes such as receipting funds to the general account instead of the trust account.  

I really enjoy reading about the QWERTY keyboard and typewriter. When I read this section I instantly wanted to tell someone this new information, I love sharing facts like these. And it does make me wonder why we don’t have two types of keyboards. Teach children to type on the new versions and older generations can continue to use the QWERTY keyboard if too stubborn to relearn. This also made me think I really need to learn to touch type. I have tried in the past and given up, it would be a great skill to acquire. I wonder if it would only take me 8 hours? Or would it take me longer because I already know how to type and would have to re wire my fingers and brain.  

My next thought is about the “books”. My mum is a self employed cleaner and has a few jobs that are “not on the books”. My understanding of this statement is that these jobs are cash in hand and are not declared as taxable income. It does seem strange however that they are referred to as not on the books when there is not any books anymore anyway. I suppose it is just more of a saying now that a reality.  

When reading about equity I find it easiest to compare this to my home loan. I think of equity as the difference between what our home is worth and what our mortgage is. I think I understand equity. Next the concepts of assets, liability, revenue and expenses are introduced. I think of this in terms of an investment property – the asset would be the home, the liability would be the mortgage, the equity would be the difference between the mortgage and the home value, the revenue would be the rental income and the expenses would be the upkeep and maintenance of the home. But as I read further I start to think maybe my example is not a good example as it does not relate to business. Instead I try to think of this from a business perspective with my workplace. We often refer to our “overheads” which includes items such as electricity bills and wages. I am thinking overheads would be expenses. Assets could be our company cars or our building. Would revenue be our sales commissions and rental management fees?  

The final thought I have before exiting the Study Guide is about the use of the word “destroy” where it mentions a firm can destroy value because expenses reduce the value of the interest of our equity investors in a firm. I think destroy is too strong of a word, sometimes your must spend money to make money. For example, you must buy company cars for your staff to get to appointments to make money. Unless I am missing the intended meaning of this concept.  

At the end of reading both the Introduction and Chapter 1 I am feel nervous but also excited about what this unit has to offer.  

Step 2: My personal profile on Moodle and my Blog 

My personal profile on Moodle: Megan Main 

My blog link: Make It Account