FINC20024 - Professional Advice Project

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In this capstone unit you will apply prior knowledge to all elements of the financial planning process including conducting an initial client interview, planning and constructing a statement of advice and presenting a financial plan to a client. The unit will also focus on communication skills aimed at building and managing the client relationship.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 9
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

This unit should be taken in the final term of study.

Co-requisites:

FINC20030 Behavioural Finance

FINC20031 Ethical Financial Planning Practice

FINC20029 Financial Advice and Corporations Law

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2020

Term 1 - 2020 Profile
Online
Term 2 - 2020 Profile
Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Practical Assessment 50%
2. Practical Assessment 50%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2020 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 5 (on a 5 point Likert scale), based on a 100% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Have Your Say
Feedback
Students strongly agreed the learning opportunities were advanced and the practical content was easy to understand and useful in every day work life " I enjoyed the module immensely".
Recommendation
This unit will continue to draw upon the expertise of established practitioners to provide a rich experience for students.
Action Taken
The unit continued to draw upon the expertise of established practitioners to provide a rich experience for students.
Source: Have Your Say
Feedback
Students were impressed by the interesting content and informed presentations by practitioners "currently employed in the field" who were "willing to answer questions and explain content or concept not quite understood".
Recommendation
This unit will continue to use a tutorial format that combines theory, practical applications, time for Q&A and time to focus on contemporary issues.
Action Taken
The unit continued to use a tutorial format that combines theory, practical applications, time for Q&A and time to focus on contemporary issues.
Source: UCC reflective practice
Feedback
Testing of learning outcomes could be strengthened by expanding assignment tasks to include reflection and critical thinking around theory, legislation and codes of professional practice.
Recommendation
Future assessment will require students to demonstrate their understanding of the definitive connections between practical financial planning applications and theory, legislation and codes of professional practice.
Action Taken
Assessment required students to demonstrate their understanding of the definitive connections between practical financial planning applications and theory, legislation and codes of professional practice.
Source: Review of course and unit offerings
Feedback
Unit discontinuation
Recommendation
The unit was well designed and proved popular with the small cohort. Due to a restructure of courses and units this offering has been discontinued. The unit materials will be retained.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Investigate a client's financial situation and pathways to achieving financial goals
  2. Demonstrate compliance with the codes of professional and ethical practice in the financial planning process across a range of financial advice contexts
  3. Communicate technical knowledge and financial advice to clients clearly and manage the client relationship
  4. Employ a range of professional processes and tools in modelling and reviewing financial planning scenarios
  5. Work collaboratively with the professional financial planning community on financial planning advice projects.

This unit has been designed to conform to the accreditation requirements of the Financial Planning Education Council.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Practical Assessment • • • • •
2 - Practical Assessment • • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Advanced Level
• Professional Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Knowledge • •
2 - Communication • • •
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills •
4 - Research •
5 - Self-management •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility •
7 - Leadership •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Advanced Level
• Professional Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 - Practical Assessment • • • • •
2 - Practical Assessment • • • • • • •