ACCA AAA ^INT Syllabus F. Other Assignments - Reporting - Notes ^{3 / 3}

Contents of a report:

1. Title, addressee

2. Introductory Paragraph (what PI is being reported on)

3. Scope of our work

4. Criteria we used to judge it

5. Management Responsibilities

6. Our Responsibilities (we didn't prepare)

7. Inherent limitations of the Report

8. Summary and Conclusion

Criteria

So we must understand the criteria that is being used. This criteria we will refer to in the report - e.g.. Waiting list times, feedback of customers etc

Inherent Limitations

Remember how difficult it is to define some of the objectives, and how difficult it can be to collect the information

Where is the information used

e.g. In websites, annual reports

We then provide assurance on this information in our report

An example of a public Sector body - a University

Performance information should be relevant to users, e.g. students will be interested in the quality of the teaching provided and the likelihood of securing employment on completion of the university course. 

Other interested parties will include the government body which provides funding to the University, regulatory bodies which oversee higher education and any organisations which support the University’s work, for example, graduate employers. 
So, performance measures such as the graduation rate and employability rate will be relevant as this will provide information on the success of students in completing their degree programmes and subsequently obtaining a job.

Students will be interested in the proportion of graduates who achieve a distinction as this may lead to better job prospects and a better return on the investment (of time and money) in their education. 

Finally, students will find the performance measure on course satisfaction relevant because it indicates that the majority of students rated the quality of the course as high, an important factor in deciding whether to enrol onto a degree programme. 

Stakeholders other than current and potential students may find other performance information more relevant to them, for example, potential graduate employers may be interested in the amount of work experience which is provided on the University’s degree programme. 
The performance measures are most relevant where they can be compared to the measures of other universities. 

In terms of measurability, as with many key performance indicators, it is sometimes difficult to precisely define or measure the performance information. Some of the measures are quite subjective, for example, the rating which a student gives to a course is down to personal opinion and it is difficult to substantiate, for example, the difference between a course rating of excellent and very good. 

Similarly, defining ‘graduate level employment’ could be subjective. Some measures will be easier to quantify, for example, the degree completion percentage, which will be based on fact rather than opinion.