BFX3871: International study program in banking and finance

This is by far the best unit I have ever done at Monash. I was able to meet such a diverse group, and be with them for 17 days, that I have caught up with 5 of the group around 4 times since we came back to Australia. I absolutely loved this tour. The assessments may have been a little dodgy in terms of instructions, but once you got the message they were straightforward.

To get into the program, all participants must fill out a Google form for the program. You must have completed either Corporate Finance 1 for the finance program (BFX3871/BFX5860) or Financial Accounting (ACC2100/ACF2100) as a pre-requisite for ACX3500/ACX5951 before you are able to do this program. However the pre-requisite knowledge isn't that crucial, what is more to get in would have to be your marks in subjects in the past and your personal statement as to why you would like to do the study tour.

30 students are allowed to do the tour, which should theoretically be 15 accounting and 15 banking and finance.
However, this year the makeup was 14 undergraduate finance, 4 masters finance students, 1 accounting masters student and 11 accounting undergraduate students. So 18:12 ratio for finance vs accounting. Despite this, we all blended together as one unified group, and were always inviting each other out on free days / free nights to enjoy Europe.

The study tour consisted of visiting 5 different countries in 17 days. Over this time period, 11 visits to business organisations were conducted. These were both finance and accounting based, and students from both accounting and banking and finance programs went to all organisations regardless of their discipline. At each organisation, a presenter gave an overview of the organisation, and then the allocated group asked questions as they could unless anyone else had questions to ask. These were straightforward, so as long as you came up with valid questions you weren't penalised.

Even with all the business visits, I was still able to appreciate how lucky it was to go on a Monash study tour and get to so many countries in such a short period of time. Switzerland is out of reach for most university students, so even to be there for 1 day was amazing, as I was able to see such a beautiful country even for such a short timeframe. Despite the hectic nature of the program, I was the only person to get sick out of all 32 participants including lecturers, and even that was a minor ear infection which did not prevent me from still going to all business visits. This was credit to the large amount of walking that we did between visits, so be prepared for lots of walking if you go on the program.
Regardless, as a capstone unit this was an excellent way to experience the practical nature of both banking & finance and accounting. The world around us is far different to what we are taught at uni, so if you can do this unit apply for it and try and get in, as otherwise you're missing out. Yes, the organisation may be a little basic at times, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so seize it with both hands and think of applying for it already if you can.

- 40% (Group presentation 20% and wiki 20%). After being enrolled in the study tour and having the Moodle page appear, you were randomly allocated into groups of 3. There were 10 groups overall, due to their being 30 students allowed to go on this tour with the 2 lecturers. In these groups, you were randomly allocated to an organisation that we were visiting on the trip. Before we left for Europe on January 7, we had around 2 weeks to prepare 10 PowerPoint slides to present at Caulfield campus at a learning session on November 25. These 10 slides were designed to explain the organisation, with the last slide listing 5 questions to ask the presenters of the organisation. To maximise your marks, make your presentation as engaging as possible and

- 20%. This involved you going on to the Financial Times website, selecting 2 articles, reading them and then writing comments about them similar to the comments you see on the bottom of a newspaper article online like The Age or The Herald Sun. The instructions were very vague on this, leaving a lot of us confused as there were no formal requirements even with regards to word count. However, marking was very fair on this and as long as you choose articles relevant to the tour then you'll be fine. The key thing here though was to relate the articles to the organisations visited on the trip, otherwise you were deducted marks.

- 25%. After the study tour was over, each participant needed to write up a report of no more than 2000 words reflecting on the experience. The main thing I learnt from this was keeping it formal and relatable helps to maximise your marks. The weighting was 10% to how this program has changed your perspective about business and 15% to what is the most that you learnt from this program and how this can help you plan and enhance your career. As long as you followed this structure you'd be fine and should receive 80%+ for your mark for this. Just really taking notes all over the program is key to maximising your marks in the report.

- 15%. This consisted of 5% punctuality, 5% attire and how you present yourself at the program, and 5% ability to work as a group and being considerate to others. This was by far the easiest way to obtain marks on the trip, as if you engaged really well then you would be fine. I went a bit beyond this and setup a WhatsApp group where I was the administrator along with the 2 lecturers (1 accounting, 1 banking & finance as we went on the same trip with same assessments) but if you put in the effort you'll receive close to 15/15.

N/A as no exam for this subject

4.5 out of 5

No as all class attendance is compulsory, however if you're overseas then you can send in recordings to the learning session in November.

No textbook needed, as all material is covered via the FT website

1 all day learning session in November at Caulfield campus in November

Remainder was overseas in Europe from January 7 - January 24 2020 as this is an International Study Tour

Summer Semester A, 2019

87 HD