Checkpoint #14

Financial Reporting- 86

Financial Management- 78

The results for my last 2 papers were out on Friday (in the form of mobile phone text, no less!) and it looks like I passed with relative comfort. I was quite confident with this set so there wasn’t any of those jittery experienced in the previous round.

The past 2 weeks of work in Southampton has the following components: hard work, good banter, fantastic dinning, bowling, football, pubs, clubs, and casinos. Funny it seems how work doesn’t seem to feature heavily here. Next week onwards I will be working on the Group consolidation audit, which is going to be really stressful. The light at the end of the tunnel will be 23rd February- really looking forward to it.

Oh, and there’s the thing about Chinese New Year. This is my third time missing it- once in Canada and twice now in the UK. It’s a horrible feeling and I don’t recommend anyone experiencing it. Have a good time, everyone who celebrates it!

Filed under: Career, Life

Hermit

It looks like my attempt to keep up with an active travel blog has failed miserably. I took console in the fact that life is more than what is being documented. But really, kudos to the active writers- it takes some serious dedication. I figured most of the people who follow this blog have my facebook, which I have uploaded the pictures diligently. Pictures tell a thousand words, no?

I have since returned from the crazy world of Morocco and have settled back to life in London. Even though it’s less than an hour from Europe, this North African country is nothing like I have ever seen. With each travel experience, there were its ups and downs, and Morocco hasn’t been any different. Some great tales to share:

• Met a bunch of good people from Morocco, the US, the Netherlands, Austria, and great old Britain, some of whom I shared parts of my journey with.
• I was exhausted by the second day in Marrakech, arguably the party city of the country, and was tempting with the idea of heading back home earlier. Everywhere I walked there were people calling out to me (most commonly in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese); some offered to show me the way out of the ridiculous maze of its souks (markets), while others literally pulls me into their carpet stores. There are too much commercialism in certain areas of this country, and people are not afraid to shove them into the face of tourists.
• Went local and took a ride in one of what is locally known as ‘Grand taxis’, which brings me from one place to another, albeit in less than ideal conditions. The taxi will only take off when it’s fully packed, and they are quite insistent with what represents ‘full’. Imagine having 2 person sit on the front seat, and 4 people on the back, driven by a gung-ho driver. The journey back during the evening has limited street life- at the end of the trip I was made to count the blessing of still being alive! But it cost me 10 Dirham (1 Euro), a more touristy means of transport can easily cost 20 times more!
• Have too much street food for my stomach’s comfort. For someone with a rather weak palette, it’s miraculous I haven’t had too much trouble.
• My first attempt to take portraits of people on the streets, something I love but never have the courage to do it. People in Morroco are generally not very willing to have pictures taken, so it’s important to be polite and ask for permission. With kids and beggars, I offered some money in exchange for a shot. Some of the better ones:

I haven’t done much since returning. For the past few days I have been doing nothing at home; catching up on some of the movies and video games. This isolation is in stark contrast with Morocco, where I have arguably meet/ seen too many people. and is a good break from the intense past few months (College, France etc).

Enough of study and play, with busy season coming right up in January- April, it is vital I get back into the mood of working again!

Filed under: Life, Photography, Travel

2 more down!

2 more papers down. FR was rock hard (no surprise), FM was manageable (if any, a little on the easy side). Think I have done enough, but you never know with these exams. Off to Morroco for a 10 days backpack tomorrow. Will be visiting Marrakech, and hopefully a couple more cities. This will be the first time I venture into Africa, so it’s quite exciting and scary at the same time.

Will be updated in my travel blog: http://trotsnapscribe.wordpress.com/

Filed under: Career, Life

Crunch time

After the grueling past few weeks, I am left with a week to prepare for the exams next week. At the back of my mind, I think I have prepared enough to get a 55% pass, but the thing with these exams is that all it takes is an unexpected question to destroy your confidence, and possibly your results.

Financial reporting is rock tough. Basically we have 4 questions, the first of which throws you a set of financial statements and ask you to comment on its performance, calculate ratios, and explain what further information is useful in only 30 minutes. The other 3 are scenarios where you are expected to explain the accounting treatment for those. The difficulty lies in being able to identify what the issue is at hand, apply the right standards, and perform the correct calculations, some of which require you to prepare a revised set of financial statements. Most questions are 1.5 pages long which is really intimidating. And with 1.5 minute per mark, there is absolutely no time to dwindle.

Financial management is a lot more manageable time wise. It tests the usual NPV, WACC and hedging stuffs which I am relatively comfortable with.

With the papers so tough, I can’t imagine how the next Advance stage will be like. But I had better get this over first. With a week left, I better get cracking!

Filed under: Career, Life

Nostalgia of the 80′s

This is an excellent blog post about all the good things of Singapore in the 1980s.

To those relevant, you owe it a read.

Filed under: Life

From holidaying in France to…

College.

2 papers this time (got an exemption from one): Financial Management and Financial Reporting. The former was something I thoroughly did not enjoy in university, and the latter’s equivalent course in university was the worst subject I scored in the entire 3 years.

These few weeks are not going to be pretty.

Filed under: Career, Life

Travel blog

Decided to set up a separate blog to chronicles my travels. It can be read here: http://trotsnapscribe.wordpress.com/

Filed under: Travel

Salut!

This Saturday, I will be embarking on my second big Euro trip. Country to conquer? France.

In the 2.5 weeks, I will attempt to go as many places as possible without having any of my possession stolen; perfect my handling of the phrase ‘parlez-vous Anglais?’; get real classy with the French culture, all the while dodging the influence of their general snobbery. No really, I will be most looking forward to meeting some of my friends in Paris, and absorbing some of the beautiful sights google searches seem to suggest.

The previous trip to Spain (can’t believe it’s been 10 months since then already) has left me exhausted, but well heeled (and hopefully well learned) in the land of chorizos and sangrias. I’m adopting the same mindset this time- as far as possible, no itinerary. Besides having my train to Paris booked, I do not have anything planned.

Till then, it’s all about being prepared, and to avoid having any French Baguettes in my diet in any form, shape and size.

Filed under: Life, Travel

Thor

With a costume this stupid, Thor was a hard-sell from the get go.

Though undeniably pretty on the eyes, Thor shockingly felt like a B-list action flick many a times (criminally, during the movie’s supposed climax). Suffering from the obligatory Hollywood make-up (think the love interest, the humour, the loud sound effects), the film quickly became derivative. Credits got to be due for the funny moments though- Darcy (Portman’s sister) got her timing spot on, providing some laughter to a movie that thankfully never took itself too seriously.

Thor wasn’t bad. But in a genre that has seen the likes of Christian Bale being cast as Batman, or Robert Downing Junior as Ironman, Chris Hemsworth came across as a rather insipid god of thunder. The rest of the cast didn’t add up- Natalie Portman (I have forgotten her screen name already) was replaceable, Loki was uninspired, and the brilliant Anthony Hopkins as Odin was ‘okay’ at best.

Watch Thor for all it’s worth. But among the many great superhero flicks out there, never make it a priority.

Filed under: Films, Review

Checkpoint #13

Today while reviewing my work with the senior manager, she quipped, “This is the best piece of work I have ever seen.”

Then quickly added, “At least those that are not mine.”And we both laugh.

A charming moment.

Filed under: Career