-SQA- SCOTTISH QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY HIGHER NATIONAL UNIT SPECIFICATION GENERAL INFORMATION

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1 -SQA- SCOTTISH QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY HIGHER NATIONAL UNIT SPECIFICATION GENERAL INFORMATION -Unit Number Superclass- -Title- AK RETAIL FINANCIAL SERVICES DESCRIPTION- GENERAL COMPETENCE FOR UNIT: Advising personal and business customers on individual and corporate financial needs. Candidates who are successful in achieving this unit will not be registered to give best advice under the terms of the Financial Services Act 1986, but will have achieved the underpinning knowledge to enable them to meet the requirements of the regulatory bodies. S 1. within the regulatory framework advise customers on pensions, insurance and assurance requirements; 2. within the regulatory framework advise customers on savings, investments and borrowing; 3. within the regulatory framework advise business customers on services per improving business efficiency and raising capital; 4. within the regulatory framework advise business clients upon risk management and corporate pension techniques. CREDIT VALUE: 2 HN Credits ACCESS STATEMENT: Access to this unit is at the discretion of the centre. However it would be beneficial if candidates had completed Higher National Unit Structure of the Financial Sector For further information contact: Committee and Administration Unit, SQA, Hanover House, 24 Douglas Street, Glasgow G2 7NQ. Additional copies of this unit may be purchased from SQA (Sales and Despatch section). At the time of publication, the cost is 1.50 (minimum order 5).

2 HIGHER NATIONAL UNIT SPECIFICATION STATEMENT OF STANDARDS UNIT NUMBER: UNIT TITLE: RETAIL FINANCIAL SERVICES Acceptable performance in this unit will be the satisfactory achievement of the standards set out in this part of the specification. All sections of the statement of standards are mandatory and cannot be altered without reference to SQA. 1. WITHIN THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK ADVISE CUSTOMERS ON PENSIONS, INSURANCE AND ASSURANCE REQUIREMENTS Advice on personal pensions is appropriate and given to suit varying circumstances. Advice given on life assurance is appropriate and suited to individual needs. Advice on a range of insurance packages is accurate and suitable for individual needs and in accordance with current legislation. Personal pensions: additional voluntary contributions (AVCs); state earningsrelated pension scheme. Assurance: qualifying policies; non-qualifying policies; managed bonds; unit linked policies. Insurance: home insurance; home content insurance; car insurance; holiday insurance. Written and/or oral evidence covering all performance criteria and all items of the range. 2

3 2. WITHIN THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK ADVISE CUSTOMERS ON SAVINGS, INVESTMENTS AND BORROWING (d) Description of cash and non-marketable investments given to customers are accurate and appropriate to their knowledge and understanding. Descriptions of marketable securities given are accurate and appropriate to customers' needs. Advice on borrowing including home-loan mortgages is accurate and appropriate to individual cases. Advice to customers takes into account their income tax status. Cash and non-marketable investments: bank schemes; TESSA; building society schemes. Marketable securities: gilts; ordinary shares; debenture shares; preference shares. Borrowing: repayment loans; interest only loans; sources of funds. Taxation: tax allowances; income tax; capital gains tax; tax-free schemes. Written and/or oral evidence covering all performance criteria and all items of the range. 3. WITHIN THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK ADVISE BUSINESS CUSTOMERS ON SERVICES PER IMPROVING BUSINESS EFFICIENCY AND RAISING CAPITAL (d) Advice on cash-flow management is comprehensive and astute. Evaluation of ratios is clear and accurate. Advice on alternative methods of financing the purchase of fixed capital assets is appropriate for differing situations. Advice on financing, given to business customers, is clear and includes descriptions of short, medium and long-term financing. 3

4 Cash-flow: invoicing; cash discounts; pre-payments. Ratios: profit to sales; turnover to capital. Capital assets: profit retention; borrowing; leasing. Financing: profits; borrowing; share issue; bonds. Written and/or oral evidence covering all performance criteria and all items of the range. 4. WITHIN THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK ADVISE BUSINESS CLIENTS UPON RISK MANAGEMENT AND CORPORATE PENSION TECHNIQUES Advice includes a selection of appropriate and cost-effective business insurance cover. Advice on occupational pensions schemes is accurate in terms of purpose and legislation. Advice upon pension management is sound and appropriate with respect to responsibility and legislation. Insurance: employee liability; public liability; product liability; property damage. Pensions: self-administered; executive and directorial scheme. Pension management: in-house; external. Written and/or oral evidence covering all performance criteria and all items of the range. AWARD OF PASS A candidate who receives all outcomes will be awarded a pass in the unit. 4

5 MERIT A pass with merit may be awarded to a candidate who consistently demonstrates some or all of the following: (d) ability to give advice which is particularly appropriate to the needs of clients and which offers an elegant or efficient solution to their situation; evidence of the ability to work independently; a high degree of suitable advice across all outcomes in the unit; giving advice which because of its clarity, suitability and quickness of provision indicates that the best possible use has been made of available time and resources ASSESSMENT In order to achieve this unit, candidates are required to present sufficient evidence that they have met all the performance criteria for each outcome within the range specified. Details of these requirements are given for each outcome. The assessment instruments used should follow the general guidance offered by the SQA assessment model and an integrative approach to assessment is encouraged. (See references at the end of support notes.) Accurate records should be made of the assessment instruments used showing how evidence is generated for each outcome and giving marking schemes and/or checklists, etc. Records of candidates' achievements should also be kept. These records will be required for external verification. SPECIAL NEEDS Proposals to modify outcomes, range statements or agreed assessment arrangements should be discussed in the first place with the external verifier. Copyright SQA 1995 Please note that this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part for educational purposes provided that: (i) (ii) no profit is derived from the reproduction; if reproduced in part, the source is acknowledged. 5

6 HIGHER NATIONAL UNIT SPECIFICATION SUPPORT NOTES UNIT NUMBER: UNIT TITLE: RETAIL FINANCIAL SERVICES SUPPORT NOTES: This part of the unit specification is offered as guidance. None of the sections of the support notes is mandatory. NOTIONAL DESIGN LENGTH: SQA allocates a notional design length to a unit on the basis of the time estimated for achievement of the stated standards by a candidate whose starting point is as described in the access statement. The notional design length for this unit is 80 hours. The use of notional design length for programme design and timetabling is advisory only. PURPOSE This unit is designed to provide candidates with the underpinning knowledge for providing advice on individual and corporate financial needs. It should be noted however, that candidates will not be registered to give best advice under the terms of the Financial Services Act 1986 but will have achieved the underpinning knowledge to enable them to meet the requirements of the regulatory bodies. CONTENT/CONTEXT This unit should be seen as an introduction to the types of product/service the candidates may be asked to supply. APPROACHES TO GENERATING EVIDENCE Candidates should be encouraged to contact primary sources for information, consult periodicals and text books. ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES Outcome 1 - Short answer questions demonstrating knowledge and understanding. Outcome 2 - Project facilitating a simulation where appropriate advice may be given. Outcome 3 - A case study allowing candidate to apply knowledge in different situations. Outcome 4 - Short answer questions demonstrating knowledge and understanding. 6

7 REFERENCES 1. Guide to unit writing. 2. For a fuller discussion on assessment issues, please refer to SQA's Guide to Assessment. 3. Information for centres on SQA's operating procedures is contained in SQA's Guide to Procedures. 4. For details of other SQA publications, please consult SQA's publications list. Copyright SQA 1995 Please note that this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part for educational purposes provided that: (i) (ii) no profit is derived from the reproduction; if reproduced in part, the source is acknowledged. 7