ACCA: Technical articles

The second of two podcasts about not-for-profit organisations takes a deeper look into charities, which are one of the more important types of not-for-profit organisations.

Several papers in the ACCA Qualification may feature questions on not-for‑profit organisations. This is the first in a two-part podcast about not-for-profit organisations, and podcast describes the generic characteristics of not-for-profit organisations.

This podcast focuses on the syllabus area relating to an organisation’s core values and mission to the public, shareholders and employees. This is an objective which can easily get overlooked in the rush to master environmental analyses, strategic choice and outsourcing decisions.

This podcast gives an overview of professional ethics, and provides a platform for further study. Ethics is a vitally important aspect of the work of the accountant - and a relatively new addition to the Paper F1/FAB syllabus as of December 2011.

Microeconomics is the branch of economics that considers the behaviour of decision takers within the economy, such as individuals, households and firms. This podcast provides a broad overview of the subject and is intended to introduce key topics to those who have not studied microeconomics, and to offer a revision to those who have done so.

This podcast introduces corporate governance and some of the basic concepts that underpin it, and explains the roles of the board of directors, the different types of company director and standing committees. The episode ends with some sample questions that allow you to test your knowledge.

Paper F1/FAB candidates need to have an understanding of the functions of all the main departments in a business organisation. This podcast focuses on and defines the role of marketing, the marketing mix, and the relationship between the marketing plan and the strategic plan.

A major part of performance management involves managing employees and managers, as their performance will have a major effect on the performance of the organisation as a whole. This podcast looks at how reward schemes can be used to influence the behaviour of employees, and includes an in-depth look at several different types of performance-related pay schemes.

This podcast looks at the nature of human resource management, and at the link between human resource management and performance management. It then examines aspects of the staff appraisal system, and considers the impact of these on the performance of an organisation.

The second of a two-part episode focuses on stakeholders and stakeholding by looking at a number of different stakeholder groups. The issue of stakeholders lies at the heart of most discussions of ethics and accordingly, is very important for ACCA Qualification Paper P1. Being able to identify the stakeholders mentioned in a case scenario, and describing their individual claims upon an organisation, is an important skill for Paper P1 candidates to develop.