Reader survey - how are we doing?
| by a student accountant writer 17 May 2005 |
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In the January 2005 issue we asked you for your views on student accountant. From the 220,000 surveys sent out, just over 3,500 of you responded. The Financial Training Company sponsored the survey, offering five HP Compaq laptop computers as prizes. The lucky winners are Zhang Zhujun from Singapore, Aftab Ahmed from the United Arab Emirates, Doris Bwalya from Zambia, Solange McGill-Alfonso from Trinidad and Tobago, and Lidia Cymerman from the UK. In addition, 100 respondents will receive an ACCA rucksack. The names of the winning students are listed on page 36. The reader survey plays an important role in the editorial direction of the magazine. student accountant is your magazine and your views are important. We asked you about various aspects of delivery, whether you read the magazine and if so how much, which sections of the magazine you like and find relevant, and if there were any particular aspects that you like or dislike. Here's what you had to say. Who responded to the survey? There was a good mix of respondents from throughout the world, and countries included (in order of the greatest number of responses): UK, Pakistan, Malaysia, Ghana, Zambia, Singapore, Nigeria, Mauritius, Malawi, Ireland, Kenya, Trinidad and Tobago, Singapore, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Romania, India, Guyana, Hong Kong, Russia, Zimbabwe, Cyprus, Australia, Grenada, Gambia, China, South Africa, Ukraine, Channel Islands, Bulgaria, Poland, Sri Lanka, Malta, Czech Republic, Sierra Leone, Vietnam, Cambodia, Cameroon, Rwanda, Hungary, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, US, Greece, Antigua, and Oman. Are we delivering? We understand that there can sometimes be problems with delivery, especially if you are in a remote area of your country. To ensure students can read the articles in student accountant as soon as it has been published, we have launched student accountant direct, an e-mail version of the magazine. 180,000 students worldwide already receive student accountant direct as well as the printed copy. This way, if there are postal difficulties with your magazine, you won't miss out on any vital information you may need. Sheriff Ziyabu Adams, a Part 2 Professional Scheme student from Malawi, commented: 'The hard copy arrives late, but now that there is the e-zine version the problem is solved. Mostly I like the technical articles because they update me on issues relevant to a particular subject. The resources section reminds me of important dates on the calendar, and learning centre coaches me on career development and good communication skills.' And don't forget to visit www.accaglobal.com where every issue is also available online. 'The need to have student accountant issued to students as a magazine, e-magazine and on the web is essential. This is because some of us could lose the magazine or delete the e-magazine, but can still make reference to any article on the ACCA website. And the e-magazine enables students to have access to the magazine in good time,' noted Mohammed Elomi, an Advanced Level CAT Scheme student from Nigeria. New readers? When it comes to how often you read the magazine, we are pleased to report that your responses indicated that 75% of you read every issue, or almost every issue. 15% of you claimed to read the magazine quite often, and 2% of you said you only read it occasionally. 8% of you indicated it was your first issue. These results are encouraging and show that you do read and enjoy the magazine. 'student accountant is progressive in its outlook, innovative in its approach, and is geared towards the needs of students preparing for demanding professional exams. It not only helps students to remain updated about the latest technical issues, but also highlights the changing role of accountants in the 21st century,' commented Kalyan Basu, a Part 2 Professional Scheme student from India. We also asked you about how much of the magazine you generally read. Responses showed that 40% of you read all or most of the magazine, 54% read half or more than half, and 5% read less than half. Only 1% of respondents said they read hardly any of the magazine. We want to ensure that student accountant is as relevant to your studies as possible, and from the results of the survey, you've told us we're doing a good job. 84% of you said you find the magazine very useful or quite useful, and 14% of you said it's useful. Only 2% of respondents told us they find student accountant not very useful. When it comes to exam notes and examiners' comments, we were pleased to see that 73% of you indicated that you find exam notes very relevant, and that 75% of you find examiners' comments very relevant to your studies. 'I like reading the exam notes because they help when it comes to passing the exams. I also like the examiners' comments because they give an overview of how to answer examination questions,' commented Ahmed Ebrahim Bagha, a Part 2 Professional Scheme student from Kenya. Looking at the other sections of the magazine, 87% of you said that you find the feature articles in student accountant very relevant or quite relevant, and 64% of you find global wrap relevant or quite relevant. Respondents found the guide section, with details of seminars and courses very useful, with 75% of you finding it very or quite relevant. Learning centre, with career and study advice, was rated by 77% of you as being quite or very relevant. 60% of you said that you find dispatch, with global accountancy news stories, quite or very relevant, with noticeboard rated quite or very relevant by 87% of respondents. 81% of you said you appreciated the importance of student voice, and a massive 94% of you stated that you find technical articles quite or very important. Training-related articles were liked by 84% of respondents, and 76% of you said that you find job-related articles quite relevant or very relevant. Scoring us on the range of articles we print, 74% of you gave us a score of four or five, where one is poor and five is excellent. 73% of you also scored us a four or five when it comes to the length of articles. Regarding design and layout, 78% of you gave us a four or five, with the majority of you indicating you think the look of the magazine is excellent. 'I like the brevity of the articles, the crisp presentation of the magazine, as well as the appropriate pictures that accompany the articles. I am not ashamed of reading the magazine in public places because I know that it's packaged to attract attention,' commented Jonathan Chaniwa, a Part 2 Professional Scheme student from Zimbabwe. Chua Kiat Sing, a Part 3 Professional Scheme student from Singapore, also liked the way the magazine is presented: 'I like the layout. It breaks away from the normal stereotype that people have of the accounting profession - from dull and plain to colourful, attractive, and highly readable.' Do you want more? Over 2,000 respondents volunteered additional comments on the magazine and each of these will also be carefully considered as we use your feedback to further develop student accountant. We hope you continue to read and enjoy the magazine and we will continue to strive to improve student accountant in the future so it continues to be a valuable resource and aid to your studies. ACCA rucksack winners |
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