Part 4
Read Part 1,2 & 3 of the article dealing with methods and strategies for reading a case in accounting
If the reading is an essential step in all simulations. It is essential to understand the case context and customer requirements. The reading must be methodical, rigorous and active so as to detect all relevant information that is often scattered throughout the text. A good maximum time measurement to be allocated to the case of reading the third is the total time thereof. Thus, for a case of 60 minutes, we will have to spend up to 20 minutes to read the case. In the first simulations, it is normal to exceed this time for reading and some cases require more time reading than others. There are three main stages of reading a case, either the overview of the application and role playing, the detailed reading of the text and annexes and finally the response planning.
The preview of the application and the role is the first step in any process of reading a case. This step contains all you need to do immediately after receiving the case. A good first step is to see if there is not a working section to the end of the text. This will allow you to direct your future read and quickly understand customer needs and what is expected of you. It must then distinguish explanatory paragraphs. These are additional paragraphs to customer demand coming explain, clarify it or add other applications to the initial request. The explanatory paragraphs are often located just before the working section to do so by the end of the text. If there is no explanatory paragraphs, we can take the initiative to go in the company’s history, often located at the beginning of the text. By dint of doing simulations and taking the experience, the process to find the relevant paragraphs and the work to be done gets easier.
It is then essential to determine the role you have to play in the context of the case. This role will modify the content and form of your answer. For example, a management consultant does not will focus on the same elements as a tax. The last part of the first step is to fly over the annexes. Fly Schedules allows you to take into account all the material available for the resolution of cases and sometimes to identify obvious problems at the level of such ratios.
The second major step of reading a case is detailed reading of the text. Following the determination of work to do and the role it is able to achieve a careful and vigilant reading. It is essential to carefully read the entire text because of time constraints some of the text will often only be read once. The concentration during play is very important. A good first step is to read the company’s history to learn about its creation date, its owners, its industry and product and quality. An industry can already give you an idea on gross margin standards and other relevant financial measures. It must not, however give too much time reading the history, since in one case attempting, more often than not, solve future problems, and not earlier. After taking into account the company’s history, reading the text allow us to specify the work to be done. Some paragraphs will increase your understanding of customer needs and responding to cases will be more relevant and better if you understand better what is expected of you.