Banking in UK

BANKING IN UK (INFORMATION FOR SHEFFIELD SUMMER PROGRAM STUDENTS)

There are few major banks in the UK :

• Barclays ( I'm using )
• Natwest
• Santander
• HSBC
• Lloyds TSB
• and many more ......

We will received a bank letter from the university after the induction.

Then, we have to use the bank letter together with the bank draft we brought here to open an account in the bank of your choice :)

We were lucky that Barclays' person in charge came to university and helped us make appointment.

As for the other bank, you will need to get your accommodation senior resident to make an appointment with the bank for you !

We need to wait for 1-2 weeks in order to get our bank account ready and debit card activated. Debit card and card reader will be sent to your accommodation.

Hence, it is very important for you to exchange some UK sterling pounds in cash before you arrive here, let say £200-£300.

For your information, Barclays and Natwest are located nearest to the uni. However, Santander and Lloyds TSB also located in the city centre :)

You can withdraw your money from any free cash withdrawal ATM here.

There are few in Owen Building and also one ATM opposite Stoddart Building. 

Not forget to mention the CARD READER provided FREE OF CHARGE by the bank for extra security !

How wonderful is that ! :)

Its function is similar to the TAC code in Malaysia. When we need to transfer money, we need to key in TAC code which is sent to our phone.

In UK, we just need to follow the steps shown in the card reader and bank website to get the code :) 

This is an extra security steps provided by the bank !

Card reader

You will also receive a saving card and debit card
Furthermore, debit card is important too when it comes to buying things in UK.
You can purchase anything by using debit card here...grocery shopping, online shopping and many more...
It is safer as there is no need to carry so much cash !

SHU Course Structure

SHU COURSE STRUCTURE (BA HON ACCOUNTING & FINANCE)

I am taking Accounting & Finance course in SHU.

We are required to attend 2 hours lecture and 2 hours seminar for each subject in a week.

As an accounting student, we are required to choose 3 subjects out of 4 subjects.

• Strategic Management Accounting (SMA)
  (Compulsory for AFA students)
• Corporate Reporting (CR)
  (Compulsory for AMA students)
• Corporate Finance (CF)
• Professional Accountant Skills for Business Decision (PASBD)
  (Compulsory for all accounting students - 100% course work based subject)

I was from AMA, so I can only choose either SMA or CF as CR and PASBD are already the compulsory subjects to me !

Then I chose CF :)

Syllabus :

• SMA
  It covers a number of topics from the subjects we studied before in TARC namely Management Accounting, Performance Management, Strategic Management
• CF
  It covers syllabus similar to paper F3 - Financial Strategy (CIMA) / paper F9 - Financial Management (ACCA)
• CRIt covers UK accounting standards, etc. More towards theory !
  It is almost the same as the Financial Reporting and Corporate Reporting we learnt in TARC before. 

The above 3 subjects assessment is :

- 70% (Final Exam)
- 30% (Course Work : Assignments/Phase Tests)

My CR lecturer/tutor : Dr. Prabhu Udawatte
He is good :) 

My CF tutor : Mr Moshfique Uddin !
He is good as well !

• PASBD (100% Coursework)

It is something similar with FDM (Financial Decision Management) that we learnt in TARC. 

I found that PASBD is very useful to me in preparing me for my future career !

This is the module where I learnt Communication Skill, Soft Skill, Presentation Skills !!

I could remember what our lecturer (John Joyce) told us : "Walk the walk, not talk the talk !"

It means we should experience the things ourselves, not just talk !

This module help us to walk the walk !
This is because we will be constantly assigned with different teammates by our lecturer to work for different case studies and presentations EVERY WEEK !

We cannot choose our teammates ! This is because we can't choose our teammates when we are working in the future too ...

I know that how important is the teamwork from this module ... 

Hence, I knew a lot of friends through this module too ! haha

During our weekly PASBD sessions, your works will be openly criticized by the evaluators. 

Of course, some of the students including me will be frightened and stressed at the first time. I could remember how the evaluators criticized and advice us ! 

We will receive a constructive feedback that help us to improve and improve again for our next week task.

Most of the students here may find it hard to adapt to PASBD requirements during the first few weeks here, including me as we are under consistent stress.

Eventually, we get better :)

In short, I must say that I enjoyed PASBD. 

We learn the things through watch video in the lecture !

Our super creative BATMAN lecturer - John  !!
How cool is that !
TARC lecturers might try this out in the future ? hehe

My first cycle teammates !
From left to right : Christ, William, Su Ping and me

We went Chinos after presentation ! hehe

Second cycle teammates
From left to right : Yu En, me, Bee Sian, Yee Mong

Third cycle teammate
From left to right : Me, Emily, Huang, Xingyi

Forth cycle teammates
From left to right : Winter & Susan

Me & Padma

Shopping in Sheffield

SHOPPING SHOPPING & SHOPPING ♥ 

Shopping is F-U-N !
I know I have been shop quite a lot :)

UK is considered as a shopping heaven where you can get apparels, bags, footwear from various brands such as Primark, H&M, Next, Republic, River Island and many more at reasonable price !!
I could say that it is very affordable for students like us !
Sounds exciting right?

The designs of the clothes of most of the brands change every fortnight and they are extremely cheap during summer sales !
You can get a dress or tops from H&M, Primark at a price as low as £3 !!!!!

Furthermore, you can shop online here !
It is so easy to go online shopping in UK..
What you need is internet connection and debit card :)
The goods are in good condition and same as what it described in the website !

♥ City Centre's Shopping District/Meadowhall ♥ 

In Sheffield, we normally do our shopping at either city centre's shopping district (5-10mins walk from university city campus) or Meadowhall Shopping Complex which is located about 5km from the city centre (accessible by train or tram)
The train ticket to Meadowhall and back to Sheffield cost £2.50 during off peak season.

Meadowhall is one of the largest stand alone shopping malls in Europe, with over 280 stores which includes H&M, Primark, Clark, FCUK, Republic, River Island and many more !!!
It is much bigger than Pavilion, One Utama or Midvalley in KL !

Train to Meadowhall

Helicopter view of the HUGE Meadowhall Shopping Complex

Happy Shopping :)
Waiting for the train !

♥ Sports Apparels/Goods ♥ 

The above brand names are the sports retail shops !
Selling good, cheap and affordable sports related goods !
For example: jersey, sport shoes, sports apparels, balls, etc

My friends got themselves few jerseys from these retail shops !
Oh ya, we bought a volleyball from Sports Direct too :)

Price for sports goods from brands such as Nike, Adidas, Umbro, Puma are quite affordable here !
In fact, they are overpriced in Malaysia.
You can get :
Man Utd jersey for £28-£45 here
Sport shoes costs between £15-£40 depending on the designs & brands

Pair of Fred Perry shoes can be priced at £20 during summer sales !!!

So, don't miss out the Summer Sales :D


♥ Pharmacy & Beauty Stores ♥

The major pharmacies in Malaysia are Guardian & Watson.
In UK, Boots & Superdrug are the major pharmacies !
You can find Boots in the City Centre of Sheffield :)

The pharmacies here sell various daily goods here, such as shampoo, body lotion, cosmetics, beauty products, sanitary pads, contact lens solutions, etc

There are pharmacists in most of the stores too in order to provide assistance to you !

♥ Designer Outlets ♥

Read :

Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet

Bicester Village

Doncaster Lakeside Village



♥ Grocery Shopping ♥

Read : 

Grocery Shopping






Remember, remember and remember......
Don't bring too many clothes from Malaysia if you want to enjoy the shopping here !!!
I brought quite a few and now I regret :(
So please spare some luggage space for your newly bought shopping loots here :)