The Final Turn: From Capital Decisions to Personal Reflections

Kristy Hixon
May 2
3 min read

As I reach the final stages of this term, it’s time to move beyond spreadsheets and look at the bigger picture. This step required me to move from analysing CTI’s past to predicting their strategic future using NPV, IRR, and Payback metrics. Beyond the numbers, this task prompted a deep reflection on my first term—a journey of personal growth, navigating academic ambiguity, and overcoming "requirement anxiety."

Eye-level view of a notebook with handwritten financial notes and a pen

Summarising my Experience

Stepping into my first term of university, I was naturally plagued by the usual first-unit jitters. However, the relaxed and encouraging tone set by the Study Guide and the teaching staff was a breath of fresh air. From the very first chapter, the educators approach helped stomp out my anxiety, making the complex world of accounting feel approachable.

I particularly value the flexibility of the unit; being able to follow along with the scheduled tutorials or work through the materials at my own pace allowed me to balance my studies with my personal life. The variety of information formats – including audio, videos, articles and traditional reading – kept me engaged and catered to different ways of learning, ensuring I never felt restricted by a single medium.

A significant turning point for me was the shift in content halfway through the term. The first half focused on financial accounting, which was a field I wasn’t as familiar with. Consequently, I found I had to take much longer to grasp and process those initial concepts. However, once we moved into management accounting, I felt right at home. This area is truly my ‘bread and butter’, as I complete very similar work in my role at Kestrel. Because of this professional connection, I absolutely devoured the information in the second half of the term and found myself enjoying Assessment 2 a lot more than the first.

Challenges and Growth

Despite the positive environment, my journey was not without its hurdles. Initially, I felt complete overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information provided. I found the layout on Moodle difficult to navigate at first, though I suspect the transition to the new Moodle format might have contributed to this ‘information overload’.

As someone with a ‘Type A’ personality, I also struggled with eh structure of the assessments. To me, they felt more like a conversation on paper rather than a rigid set of instructions. Because the requirements weren’t always explicitly clear, I found it easy to miss small but essential portions of the tasks during Assessment 1. However, I used the vacation week to recalibrate. For Assessment 2, I developed a strategy of highlighting every requirement within each step and creating my own checklists. This systematic approach made the process much smoother and is a skill I will definitely take forward in future units.

High angle view of a person writing in a journal with a cup of coffee nearby

Interactions and Peer Feedback

Being an introvert and someone who chooses not to have social media, the requirement to participate in online discussions was my least favourite part of the unit. I put in genuine effort – providing feedback to peers and messaging others – but often found myself met with silence. This lack of response was discouraging and made the collaborative aspect feel one-sided.

Looking back, I believe a more structured ‘buddy system’ for Assessment 1 would have been beneficial. If we had three specific peers assigned to us for the first task, it would have guaranteed that every student both gave and received feedback, building our confidence before we were expected to find our own connections for Assessment 2.

Close-up view of a calendar with marked milestones and notes

Survival Advice for Future Students

If you are about to star this unit, my biggest piece of advice is to stay disciplined but don’t be afraid to be yourself.

Don’t just read, highlight: If you are a structured person, go through the assessment instructions with a highlighter, Turn the ‘conversational’ instructions into a hard checklist so you don’t miss the easy marks
Embrace the variety: Use the videos and audio files when your brain is too tired for the Study Guide. They often explain he same concept I a way that makes it ‘click’ faster
Leverage what you know: If you work in a related field, look for the ‘silver lining’ where ethe theory matches your daily job. It makes ‘devouring’ the information much easier!

Final Thoughts

Comparing fleet transitions with warehouse automation made management theory feel tangible and relevant to my professional life. While the initial "information overload" was a mountain to climb, I am walking away with a toolkit of checklists and newfound confidence. This unit has replaced my jitters with excitement for how accounting models clarify reality. Remember: even the most complex project starts with a single, positive cash flow!