Assignment
HOLMES INSTITUTE FACULTY OF HIGHER EDUCATION HI6025 Accounting Theory and Current Issues Group Assignment T2 2020 Assessment Details and Submission Guidelines Trimester T2 2020 Unit Code HI6025 Unit Title Accounting Theory and Current Issues Assessment Type Group Assignment Assessment Title Adoption of IFRSs and CSR Reporting Purpose of the assessment (with ULO Mapping) Students are required to critically examine the adoption of IFRSs and the benefits and challenges for reporting entities in Australia or any one country of choice. They will have to do research on relevant literature and demonstrate understanding and critical evaluation of key disclosure issues relating to application of specific accounting standards. They will also need to compare and contrast a real-life company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting and recommend future directions to the Australian financial reporting regulators. (ULO 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). Weight 40 % of the total assessments Total Marks 40 Word limit 3,000 words ± 500 words Due Date Group Formation: Please form the group by self-enrolling in Blackboard. There should be maximum of 4 members in a group. Email
[email protected] for any issues with self-enrolling into groups. Assignment submission: Final Submission of Group Assignment: Week 10, Thursday 24th of September at 11:59 pm. Late submission incurs penalties of five (5) % of the assessment per calendar day unless an extension and/or special consideration has been granted by Student Services of your campus prior to the assessment deadline. Submission Guidelines • All work must be submitted on Blackboard by the due date along with a completed Assignment Cover Page. • The assignment must be in MS Word format, no spacing, 12-pt Arial font and 2 cm margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings and page numbers. • Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report and listed appropriately at the end in a reference list using Harvard referencing style. mailto:
[email protected] Page 2 of 10 HI6025 Accounting Theory and Current Issues Assignment Specifications Purpose: This assignment aims at developing the student’s ability to critically examine the financial reporting regulations for reporting entities in Australia or any one country of choice, and the effect of adopting IFRSs (global accounting standards). They will also need to compare and contrast a real-life company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting and recommend future directions to the Australian financial reporting regulators. Students will have to research relevant academic literature, including related organisation websites and write in-text citations in this assignment. Additionally, they will demonstrate understanding and critical evaluation of the Australian financial reporting environment and its current regulatory framework, and recommend future directions to the Australian financial reporting regulators. Required Task: Part A 1. Choose a country that has adopted IFRSs (i.e. global accounting standards) for at least 3 or more years, as revealed in the accounting literature, and discuss the following: I. In what year did the country adopt IFRSs? II. Were the IFRSs introduced all together (at once), or gradually into the local accounting standards of your chosen country? Explain the possible reason. III. Discuss the benefits and challenges reported in the literature about the adoption of IFRSs in your chosen country. 2. Choose a publicly listed company from your chosen country above that you can access their annual report, including financial statements and notes to the accounts. (e.g. Choose a company that is listed in the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) if you chose Australia; or Hong Kong Exchange if you chose Hong Kong etc.). Find and download the financial statements for two (2) years as follows: • 1st financial statement – Choose the year immediately before IFRSs adoption and • 2nd financial statement – Choose either 2019 or 2018 only. Compare the two (2) years’ financial statements and accompanying notes to the accounts selected above, and discuss the following: I. Identify and discuss any remarkable changes to the disclosures relating to any two of the following financial aspects: • Non-Current Assets • Intangible Assets • Leases • Employee Benefits II. Express your opinion about the usefulness of the new format of disclosures compared to the disclosures at the pre-adoption of IFRSs. Include examples to support your opinion. Page 3 of 10 HI6025 Accounting Theory and Current Issues Part B 1. Discuss key trends in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), as reviewed in the literature in the past 5 years. (Word limit: approx. 500 – 800 words). 2. Choose one company listed on the ASX and obtain its latest annual report (incl. financial statements). Compare and contrast the extent of CSR reporting by your chosen company with your review of the literature (above in 1.), by answering the following questions: I. Evaluate the company’s extent of CSR reporting. (Include in your discussion, specific evidence of CSR disclosures, e.g. environmental etc.). II. Using one relevant accounting theory (e.g. PAT, Legitimacy Theory, Stakeholder Theory), explain why particular CSR disclosures were made by your chosen company. III. In your opinion, is there scope for improvement in CSR reporting by your company? Explain with two specific examples. 3. Based on your findings, provide two (2) recommendations to the Australian financial reporting regulators about the future of CSR reporting that will guide Australian public entities in the future. Assignment Structure should be as the following: Assignment cover page clearly stating your name(s) and student number(s) Group’s Assignment Task Allocation table (except for Solo group members) Abstract (one paragraph) Table of Content Introduction Body of the assignment with appropriate section headings Conclusion List of references Appendices (optional) To ensure that all students participate equitably in the group assignment and that students are responsible for the academic integrity of all components of the assignment. You need to complete the following Group Assignment Task Allocation table, which identifies which student/students are responsible for the various sections of the assignment. Assignment Section Student/Students This table needs to be completed and submitted with the assignment as it is a compulsory component required before any grading is undertaken. Students that are registered in a solo group are not required to fill this table. Page 4 of 10 HI6025 Accounting Theory and Current Issues Academic Integrity Holmes Institute is committed to ensuring and upholding Academic Integrity, as Academic Integrity is integral to maintaining academic quality and the reputation of Holmes’ graduates. Accordingly, all assessment tasks need to comply with academic integrity guidelines. Table 1 identifies the six categories of Academic Integrity breaches. If you have any questions about Academic Integrity issues related to your assessment tasks, please consult your lecturer or tutor for relevant referencing guidelines and support resources. Many of these resources can also be found through the Study Sills link on Blackboard. Academic Integrity breaches are a serious offence punishable by penalties that may range from deduction of marks, failure of the assessment task or unit involved, suspension of course enrolment, or cancellation of course enrolment. Table 1: Six categories of Academic Integrity breaches Plagiarism Reproducing the work of someone else without attribution. When a student submits their own work on multiple occasions this is known as self-plagiarism. Collusion Working with one or more other individuals to complete an assignment, in a way that is not authorised. Copying Reproducing and submitting the work of another student, with or without their knowledge. If a student fails to take reasonable precautions to prevent their own original work from being copied, this may also be considered an offence. Impersonation Falsely presenting oneself, or engaging someone else to present as oneself, in an in-person examination. Contract cheating Contracting a third party to complete an assessment task, generally in exchange for money or other manner of payment. Data fabrication and falsification Manipulating or inventing data with the intent of supporting false conclusions, including manipulating images. Source: INQAAHE, 2020 Page 5 of 10 HI6025 Accounting Theory and Current Issues Marking Criteria: Marking criteria Weighting Abstract 1% Introduction 2% Part A 1. Choose a country that has adopted IFRSs (i.e. global accounting standards) for at least 3 or more years, then discuss the following: I. In what year did the country adopt IFRSs? 1% II. Were the IFRSs introduced all together (at once), or gradually into the local accounting standards of your chosen country? Explain the possible reason. 3% III. Discuss the benefits and challenges reported in the literature about the adoption of IFRSs in your chosen country. 4% 2. Compare the two (2) years’ financial statements and accompanying notes to the accounts selected above, and discuss the following: I. Identify and discuss any remarkable changes to the disclosures relating to any two of the following financial aspects: • Non-Current Assets • Intangible Assets • Leases • Employee Benefits 4% II. Express your opinion about the usefulness of the new format of disclosures compared to the disclosures at the pre-adoption of IFRSs. Include examples to support your opinion. 3% Part B 1. Discuss key trends in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), as reviewed in the literature in the past 5 years. (Word limit: approx. 500 – 800 words). 5% 2. Choose one company listed on the ASX and obtain its latest annual report (incl. financial statements). Compare and contrast the extent of CSR reporting by your chosen company with your review of the literature (above in 1.), by answering the following questions: I