Level 1 Competencies Flashcards
What is a Gearing ratio? What does it show?
Gearing ratio of a business is using the debt to equity measure. It is the business’s debt divided by company equity.
What are Liquidity ratios?
Liquidity rations measure the ability of a company to pay off its current liabilities by converting its current assets into cash.
Liquidity ratio calculation = current assets / current liabilities
You mentioned here that you’re aware of the generally accepted accounting principles. Can you talk me through a few of those please?
Comply to the GAAP rules and policies. Consistency by following similar principles. Information should be correct. Fair and straightforward. Disclose complete information. Honesty and good faith.
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) prepared using four basic principles of clarity, relevance, reliability, and comparability.
What is a Financial Statement?
Forecasts of income and expenditure that can be used to identify potential shortfalls
What are the financial statements included to determine the company’s financial strength?
Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss, Cashflow
What is the difference between a profit and loss account and a balance sheet?
A profit and loss account shows the incomes and expenditures of a company and the resulting profit or loss.
The balance sheet shows what a company owns (it’s assets) and what it owes (it’s liabilities) at given point in time.
What is assessed in the PQQ?
A pre-qualification questionnaire sets out a series of questions for potential tenderers to answer regarding their level of experience, capacity and financial standing.
Contractor’s previous experience - competent
Audited Financial Statements – level of risk for the company as assessed by an independent agency
Bank Statements to Assess Current Liquidity
Parent Company or Investor Guarantee
Working Capital Ratio - Current assets divided by current liabilities
Net Debt to Equity – Debt less cash holdings, divided by equity
Financial strength – can the tenderer cope financially with this size of contract?
Capacity – does the candidate have the resource to carry out the work?
Dependency issue – will the candidate become over dependant on this?
Can you tell me typically what you would find on a balance sheet?
Balance sheet account; - Asset – Liability - Owner’s (Stockholders’) Equity.
The balance sheet is also referred to as the statement of financial position.
The balance sheet presents a company’s financial position at the end of a specified date.
Some describe the balance sheet as a “snapshot” of the company’s financial position at a point in time.
Typical assets listed on balance sheet include cash, accounts receivable, inventory, supplies, prepaid insurance, land, buildings and equipment.
Typical liabilities include notes payable, wages payable, interest payable, income taxes payable, and bonds payable.
Owners Equity is the difference between the amounts reported for assets and liabilities
Balance Sheet Insolvency = Having negative assets / liabilities exceeding assets
Can you tell me typically what you would find on a Cashflow statement?
The cashflow statement explains how a company’s cash and cash equivalents have changed during a specified period of time. It is organised into three sections:
- Cash provided and used in operating activities
- Cash provided and used in investing activities
- Cash provided and used in financing activities
A Cashflow Statement is an analytical tool useful in determining the short term viability of a company. In particular, its ability to pay bills.
What Dunn & Bradstreet Financial capacity checks?
A D&B report compiles business data to measure the creditworthiness of a company. D&B reports are like personal credit reports for businesses.
The D&B report includes a variety of business information, including a late payment indicator, detailed company profile view, and delinquency risk score. D&B also provides business credit scores called PAYDEX® scores that range from 1 to 100.
Purpose of a Business Plan;
A formal statement of the business’s goals with reasons why they are thought to be attainable and the plan for reaching the goals.
- Long-term strategic goals
- Annual objectives and targets: how to measure success
- The plans to achieve objectives
- Marketing Strategy
- Strategic risks
- Financial planning
You discuss your firms ‘One Business 2025 Vision’. Tell me about this vision and what it is.
T&T is a global business, we have a global business plan that looks at sustainability, viable business growth, investment in our people and market sectors. This is disseminated into the regional business plans and in each country has a country business plan which we have briefed on by our country manager and that specifically targets key areas that we aim to grow within the next 1-5 years. My role specifically within secondment was to extend and expand out Commission, and also to look to implement sustainability protocols into our projects over the next three years.
Tell me about the RICS Business Plan and what it is.
Following the Levitt report on 9 September 2021, the RICS issued a 2021-2022 Business Plan demonstrating their commitment to rebuilding that trust and confidence.
5 key pillars within the plan:
1) Trusted by our stakeholders and society
Aim to improve stakeholder trust and confidence in RICS.
2) RICS qualifications in demand
Ensure RICS qualifications remain relevant for the next, more diverse generations and that increased numbers of members use RICS to meet their knowledge and/or training needs.
3) Influential thought leader
Be the profession’s leadership voice on sustainability, data and technology, and diversity and inclusion.
4) Involved and engaged members
Increase member participation in our communities and increase engagement beyond renewal of professional subscription fees.
5) Sustainable 21st century professional body
Improve our financial sustainability and enhance the transparency of our governance, while improving the overall satisfaction of members and the engagement of our people.’
What is data management and why is it important?
Data is fundamental to the role of surveyors: much of the provisions of professional services require and depend on it.
Data is a valuable commodity, and its influence and importance look set to grow exponentially.
Can you tell me what how Turner and Townsend manages its data and by what means it protects its data?
To enable consultancy services, we collect and process data. This makes T&T a “data controller” and responsible for complying with data laws.
We have technical and organisational measures to comply with data protection requirements;
anti-virus, personal firewall and malware protection software;
access control; biometric and password
employee training;
internal and external penetration testing and recovery planning;
use of firewalls which are reviewed on a frequent basis;
use of password protection; and
vulnerability scanning
What are 8 principles of Data Protection?
- Fair and Lawful Use, Transparency
You are required to ask for consent and explain why you need details. - Intended Purpose
Specific use for which the owner grants permission. You may not transfer or sell. - Minimum Data Requirement
Cannot ask for irrelevant details. - Accuracy
Check in periodically to ensure information is accurate - Data Retention Time Limit (above)
- The right to be forgotten
the right to know precisely what you know about them and thus the right to stop you from using it. - Data Security
A system and a secure network to protect personal data. - Accountability
demonstrating that the Data Controller is implementing their legal duties.
What is EDMS?
EDMS (electronic data management system) support the safe, efficient and consistent processing of data.
Type of software that stores, organizes, and manages documents in the form of electronic files for an organization. (Viewpoint, Aconex)
How long can data be kept under General Data Protection Regulations?
GDPR personal data processed must not be retained for longer than is necessary for its lawful purpose. The default standard retention period for records is 6 years plus current, otherwise known as 6 years + 1, however, some documentation needs to be kept for 10 years.
You need a policy setting standard retention periods wherever possible. The GDPR does not set specific time limits for different types of data.
Not all project data can be kept for the same length of time. Some clients will stipulate that information should be deleted after a project is complete. Data has its retention duration identified at the time of creation or storage in accordance with legal, regulatory, contractual or business requirements. Personal data may not be kept longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it was processed.
Payroll Data - 3 years
Tax records - 6 years
Records relating to workplace accidents - 10 years
What Does Data Redundancy Mean?
The Qatari Law No. 13 “ Personal Data Privacy Protection Law” took effect in 2017, with the aim of protecting and providing guidelines of processing personal data within Qatar.
In December 2020, the Compliance and Data Protection Department (CDP) within the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) published new guidelines in relation to the Law.
The scope of the PDPPL applies to personal data that is received, collected, extracted or processed through electronic or traditional methods.
Any organisation that processes such personal data must adhere to the principles of transparency, fairness and respect for human dignity. The law has a large focus on organisations ensuring that the personal data they process is up to date and there are adequate measures in place for safe custody of the personal data.
If your organisation fails to protect personal data then you are exposed to financial penalties ranging from QAR 1,000,000 to QAR 5,000,000.
What are the disadvantages of Teamworking?
Individual personalities and work styles of the diverse team members. Some people work well in a group environment. For them, brainstorming with others can boost energy levels and encourage collaboration. There are others who prefer to work alone and may feel pressure when team collaboration comes up. These employees prefer independence and may produce quality work quickly when left alone to complete tasks.
Performance evaluation is one of the more challenging aspects of working in teams.
Individuals in a team have different strengths, skills, education, and experiences relative to a project. Forming an appropriate Team may delay initiation.
How is diversity & inclusion addressed in your workplace:
Having the right tools, training and environment to succeed.
Within our business we have focused on tackling unconscious bias, through employee networks and quarterly employee feedback surveys.
We have ambitions to tackle gender equality specifically, we have set a clear target to have a gender split of 40:60 by 2025.
Our vision is a workplace where diversity is celebrated and where everyone has a voice, is empowered and has the same opportunities to be their best.
What is unconscious bias?
Unconscious biases are prejudices and stereotypes individuals have about certain groups of people that they aren’t consciously aware of having.
In the workplace refers to the human tendency to form opinions about others in the office without having enough relevant information. Bias can stem from stereotypes, preconceived notions, past experiences, or instinct. Unconscious bias occurs when an individual is unaware of a prejudice.
What is the diversity and equality policy/legislation within Qatar?
Qatar has been a member of the International Labour Organization (ILO) since 1972.
Convention C111 addresses Discrimination in Employment and Occupation which includes any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin
Tell me the 5 stages of forming a team?
The most commonly used framework for a team’s stages is by Bruce W. Tuckman; Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing.
1. During the Forming stage, create clear structure, goals and roles so members begin to build trust. A good orientation/kick-off can help to ground the members in terms of the team’s mission and goals
2. Storming stage, call for the team to refocus on its goals, breaking larger goals down into smaller steps. The team may develop both task-related and conflict management skills.
3. Norming stage, members shift their energy to team goals and show increased productivity, in both individual and collective work.
4. In high-performing team, there is still a need to focus on process and product, setting new goals as appropriate. Changes can lead a team to cycle back to an earlier stage.
