Individual Reflective Journal for HI5017 Managerial Accounting Unit

This reflective journal presents a student's critical reflection on their learning journey in the HI5017 Managerial Accounting unit at Holmes Institute. The journal details the process of selecting relevant articles, highlighting challenges such as time constraints and the eventual adoption of an abstract-based selection method. The student reflects on their research experience, acknowledging strengths in analytical skills but also recognizing weaknesses in time management. Furthermore, the journal explores the learning developed, emphasizing the importance of budgeting in guiding organizational performance and resource allocation, as well as the intricacies of cost forecasting. The assignment demonstrates an understanding of managerial accounting principles and the student's personal growth throughout the unit.

REFLECTIVE JOURNAL

TABLE OF CONTENTS
REFLECTION.................................................................................................................................3
Reflection on the articles.............................................................................................................3
Reflection on the experience.......................................................................................................3
Reflection regarding the learning developed...............................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

REFLECTION
Reflection on the articles
The process of the selection of the articles was in itself a very comprehensive process
where in order to select the relevant articles related to the topic. In order to find the relevant
articles I had to undertake a lot of reading and make comparisons as well so that I can identify
out those articles that would contribute highest in the overall assignment completion. The major
difficulties hat I faced was the amount of time that it was consuming as all of my classmates
were already submitting in their articles and the complete assignment and I was still in the
process of finding the most appropriate ones and then selecting it. I consulted my tutor ultimately
regarding the major problem that I was facing which would ultimately affect my assignment and
its quality as well if I had spent too much time looking for the relevant articles. It was my teacher
then who taught me that the best way of selecting a article is to first read the abstract. Abstract is
the gist which contains the essence of the article in one or two lines (Bower, 2017). This would
save my time and help me in correct and quicker selection. This technique was immensely
helpful and I will use it in future as well so that I can increase the quality of work that I perform
and select relevant articles.
Reflection on the experience
Throughout my experience of the research that I conducted I can adequately say that there
was some major learning that I developed and this occurred in the positive as well negative
manner. I can adequately say that I am very good at the analytical skills where I am easily able to
analyze the data that has been presented and also ascertain the basic interpretation of the data that
it is trying to present (Becker and et.al., 2016). This is mainly due to the logical flow of my mind
where I am able to understand the meaning of the data as and when I read it. This was immensely
beneficial in my overall research.
However, I recognised that I am not very good at meeting deadlines and this is often due to
the extensive research that I conduct. I study the topic in too much depth which often leaves me
confused and this ultimately delays the timeline that have been allotted for the completion of the
different tasks. I need to learn how to create a balance between the research that I am
performing, the in- depth analysis that I am conducting and then implementing and integrating
such research with the major objectives of the assignment effectively. I need to learn and work
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on my time management skills and in order to do this I need to use time tables and time
evaluation sheet so that I can improve them and complete my tasks within the allotted timelines.
Reflection regarding the learning developed
Throughout the assignment, I was able to gain some prominent knowledge related to the
different aspects of the managerial accounts and the contribution that management technique has
in the overall performance evaluation and mapping of any organisation (Nascimento and et.al.,
2019). Through this assignment, I understood that the practice of budgeting is not just a part of
the preparation of the financial statements or the costing statements in ac company but it is more
evasively a representation of what a company is expected to perform based on the expectations
of the consumers, the management and the employees themselves and is integrated with the
limited time and resources available. I was also able to conclude that this forecasting of the costs
and expenses guides the entire staff and the management regarding the level of expenses that
they can afford to spend on one particular activity so that the fund allocation is proper in the
company and all the activities have the required number of resources available for them. The
technique of budgeting also highlighted the importance of keeping certain amount in the
contingency fund so that any chances of over expenditure can also be met with avoiding any
compromise on the other costs.
Thus overall I can say that by the completion of this assignment I was able to effectively
understand the importance that budgeting actually holds in giving guidance to the entire
company (Roosli and Kaduthanam, 2018). I also learnt that how intricate of a process it is to
correctly forecast and estimate the potential costs and expenses that the organisation would incur
in the upcoming period and then try to match it with the actual costs and expenditures so that the
effective productivity can be encouraged.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Becker, S.D., and et.al., 2016. Budgeting in times of economic crisis. Contemporary Accounting
Research. 33(4). pp.1489-1517.
Bower, J.L., 2017. Managing resource allocation: Personal reflections from a managerial
perspective. Journal of Management. 43(8). pp.2421-2429.
do Nascimento, D.A., and et.al., 2019. Participatory Budgeting: Reflections on Your Role in
Social Management. International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and
Science. 6(2).
Roosli, F. and Kaduthanam, S., 2018. Beyond budgeting as a mindset and a framework for
action. Beyond Budgeting Round Table.
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