ACC1100 Accounting 1
A1 Assignment value: 20%
The Assignment involves a case study. You will be assigned to one case relating to a fictitious company and will write a business report where you analyse the facts of the case and provide recommendations to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the business about suggestions made to address the issues faced by the company.
The assignment satisfies W23 Course learning objective (CLO) 2: Access, analyse and
critically evaluate relevant information to solve challenging business problems systematically
[AQF7 S1, S3, A1].
How the assignment is related to the unit and learning objectives
This unit covers accounting which is a service activity to organisations. Accounting’s main
purpose is to provide information to various users, be it internal users such as managers of
the organisation itself or to external users such as investors, creditors, regulators, consumers,
employees, and various parties interested in the organisational performance and the
organisation’s impact on society at large.
In the past, there have been many financial scandals involving financial statement frauds, and
mismanagement of companies leading to the eventual collapse of these companies. The violation of accounting assumptions/ concepts and professional ethics has led to non-credible
accounting information presented to users of financial reports.
The credibility of accounting information is critical for decision making if the information is to
be relied upon. The regulatory framework and professional codes of conduct as well as the
accounting standards guided by assumptions and accounting concepts have been
promulgated to ensure that accounting and accountants deliver useful information.
Businesses who are being reported on, also, must uphold ethical business practices in
compliance to ethical business norms and regulation. To this end corporate governance
frameworks including Ethical codes of conduct for employees in an organisation have been
formulated by the relevant Stock exchanges and business organisations, themselves.
The assignment cases therefore relate to different situations/problems encountered by the
accountants or managers of businesses. On completion of the assignment, students should
be able to:
• Identify and assess the relevant available frameworks, be they accounting or ethical
conceptual framework/ standards for solving the situations/problems presented in the
cases.
• Interpret and apply logically the identified framework/ standard to analyse each
situation/problem, outlining clearly how this is done.
• Consider the situation/problem in the broader context of business governance and
regulation, not only from the accounting perspective.
• Provide professional recommendations on the accounting treatment and other
initiatives in respect to the situation.
• Be able to extract information from the financial statements and report on the relevant
accounting policies adopted and financial amounts disclosed by one (1) listed
company on the Australian Stock Exchange.
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Sources of information for the assignment may come from:
• Company and other entity annual/ sustainability reports and website
• Financial press, including professional journals, magazines, newspapers
• Business magazines
• Textbooks
• Australian Accounting Standards Board- framework including Statements of
Accounting Concepts and Accounting Standards
• Australian Stock Exchange
• The Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board
• The extraction must be from the actual financial statements in the annual report
NOT from summaries contained in the Annual report and other secondary sources
for example data bases – e.g., Ibis world or analyst reports
Links to sample websites:
Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia & NZ
https://www.charteredaccountantsanz.com/
CPA Australia
www.cpaaustralia.com.au
The Australian Financial Review
http://www.afr.com.au
Business Review Weekly -http://www.brw.com.au
https://www.afr.com/leadership/entrepreneur
Library data base- IBIS world
https://my-ibisworld-com.ezproxy.ecu.edu.au/
Australian Stock Exchange
https://www.asx.com.au/
Australian Accounting Standards Board
https://www.aasb.gov.au/
The Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board
https://apesb.org.au/
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General assignment instructions
1. You will be working individually.
Your instructor will assign you to report on one case only. The list for your class will be posted
under the Assignment link. If you have enrolled late, do contact your instructor directly to
be assigned a case. Your instructor’s contact details are in the home page on Canvas.
See Appendix A- pages 4 to 6 of this document for the cases.
2. Regulatory framework, Professional ethics and the accounting conceptual framework are
covered very briefly in Lectures 1 & 2 (Refer to Chapters 1 & 13 of the recommended text Carlon
et. al. 7e for details). You will be required to do further research on your own as not all the
relevant subtopics (for example, inventory, noncurrent asset) would have been covered before
you start work on the assignment. See also further resources document which contains 3 links.
3. A marking rubric will be posted under the assignment link. This will provide clear guidance on
how the assignment will be graded.
4. All references (minimum of 3 references) must conform with APA 7th referencing style. The library
provides Helpance and organises workshops on referencing.
5. The report: See pages 7 to 8 for the detailed requirements.
▪ Cover sheet: Do not use standard ECU cover sheet.
▪ Use a blank sheet. Show case assigned, Instructor name and your name, as in your
enrolment, with last name in capital letters, followed by the first name.
▪ The document will be named thus: student last name followed by the first name, then Case
number e.g., WOOD_Simon_Case X
▪ Word limit: 1200 to 1,300 words( excluding references and appendices)
6. A learning adviser will organise an online session in Week 3 of Semesters 1 and 2 (but not in
Summer semester) to talk about writing business reports. The session will be recorded and
posted under the Assignment link. There will be a recording from the previous semester for
Summer School.
7. Submit through the Turnitin link established > A1: Assignment by due date. Extension of due
date is subject to ECU rules – see additional assessment information link. Please write to
your instructors one week before the due date with legitimate reasons should you require any
extension to the due date.
8. Post to Turnitin link for similarity index.
▪ You can post multiple times, to the Turnitin link. The last submission by due date will be
marked.
▪ You must write the assignment in your own words to avoid plagiarism, which is a form of
academic misconduct, use the similarity index to guide you as to where rewrites are
required.
Important note! ECU has strict policies on academic integrity. You should complete the Academic
Integrity Module, if you have not done so. Enrolment in the Module is automatic and will be listed as a
Unit in each student’s Canvas Dashboard. It will take approximately one and half hours [1.5] to
complete, and this can be in one sitting or in sections; there is a reflective quiz at the end of each of the
four [4] sections. You should view the following links:
Academic Integrity: My Studies: Student.
Avoiding Academic Misconduct
Please read the explanations regarding plagiarism, contract cheating and unauthorised collaboration.
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Appendix A: Cases- These are fictional cases.
Do only one case, as assigned by your instructor.
If you have enrolled late, do contact your instructor directly to be assigned a case.
Case 1
Toyworkz Ltd is a manufacturing company that produces electronic toys. The company’s
shareholders are awaiting the announcement of Toyworkz’s earnings for the financial
year, which ends on 30 September. Market analysts have predicted the current year’s
earnings growth to be 10%. The accountant of Toyworkz expects earnings to be only 8%
and the company is operating in a tight labour market in the recent few years. The manager
has the following suggestions for action for the current financial year:
a. Delay the recording of product returns in September to the month of October.
b. Record cash received in September for toy orders as sales revenue. The orders will
be shipped in October/ November, but staff will be asked to change, i.e., back date
the shipping documents to September.
c. Record costs on researching alternative raw materials, which can potentially be
used for production, as intangible asset.
d. The toys are hand-painted, and it was reported by a journalist that Toyworkz’s
second tier supplier is using child labour to hand-paint the toys. It is suggested that
the company replace the second- tier supplier but this action will take time.
Requirements for the report on pages 7 to 8
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Case 2
Outback Meats has produced an innovative product over the last three years which has
been well received overseas. Instead of selling emu bellies to pet food manufacturers, it
has developed a new product Emu jerky for export. Outback reported a minimum 12%
growth in annual earnings for each of the past three years. During the current year,
because of a downturn in the economy, the earnings growth is expected to be less than
9%. One month before the 31 December financial year-end of the current year, the
manager of the Emu jerky product line is considering the following actions that could
address the low earnings growth:
a. Defer December’s routine monthly maintenance on packaging equipment to the
next financial year.
b. Outback purchased equipment which was transported to the factory in Perth. The
company paid the fine incurred by the driver who parked the truck illegally to get a
coffee, as well as the extra cost to replace a part which fell off the truck because it
was not secured properly by the driver. The bookkeeper will be instructed to
include the fine and cost of part replacement to the asset account “Equipment”.
c. Defer the recording of the current period’s advertising costs by requesting Outback
Meats’ external advertising agency to delay the billing of December
advertisements until January of the next financial year or instruct Outback’s staff
to alter invoices to a date in the next financial year.
d. Request the accountant to increase the dollar amount of the emu bellies inventory
on the balance sheet to show a higher market price (net realisable value).
Requirements for the report on pages 7 to 8
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Case 3
Global Net Ltd is an internet service provider in Australia which employs staff located
overseas to man its call centres. It has been operating in the business for three years.
Competition in this industry is intense and Global is about to issue more shares in the
following two years. The following ideas have been suggested for action for the current
year (ending 30 June):
a. Record executive year-end bonus compensation for the current year when it is
paid in the next year, after the June financial year-end.
b. Move the call centres to cheaper and older rental premises outside of the city
centre.
c. Sell off equipment before year-end. The proceeds from the sale will be recorded
as service revenue and the carrying amount as expenses. The equipment could
be replaced with leased equipment in the current year if required.
d. Record the cash received from new customers in June as service revenue for the
current year. The plans will be effective from 1 July of the next financial year.
Requirements for the report on pages 7 to 8
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Appendix B: Instructions for all cases will be the same as below.
Required:
Assume that you are a trainee accountant, recently employed by the company, write a
report to the Chief Executive Officer containing:
1) Front matter: Cover page, Table of contents
2) Body of the Report
Introduction:
▪ Briefly state the business involved- remember that this is a fictitious
company, and the information is contained in the case.
▪ Identify possible overall motivations for the suggestions.
▪ Identify relevant frameworks, standards you will use to analyse and solve each
item (a) to (d). Briefly list these and any relevant law referred to in your
analysis.
Analysis of suggestions:
▪ Have a subheading for each of the suggestion labelled (a) to (d). Please do
not repeat the description of each suggestion given in the case as this will
increase the Turnitin similarity index.
▪ Under each suggestion, specify the impact of the suggestion on the financial
statement elements. If there is no financial impact, please state so.
▪ In the analysis:
o Identify the specifics of framework/ standard/ code to be applied.
o Briefly explain the accounting concept/ principle etc, the first time it is
referred to in your analysis.
o Show logically how you apply the concept/principle to the suggestion.
o In the conclusion, assess whether there is any violation, followed by
recommendation to accept the suggestion or not.
o state appropriate accounting treatment, if applicable.
o if no violation of accounting concepts, please state so.
o comment on any business implications e.g., health and safety, staff welfare,
social implications, ethical etc. and give the appropriate recommendation.
General Conclusion and recommendations
▪ Following the discussion of all items, you may like to include a general
conclusion, by stating which suggestions are acceptable or otherwise, any
additional information required.
▪ Broad consequence to the business and offer recommendations on general
action to undertake to strengthen for example, corporate governance.
3) Back matter
▪ Reference list
▪ Appendix A: Extraction from annual report downloaded from the Australian Stock
Exchange or other stock exchange (for students based in Sri Lanka)
This is an important part of the assignment that you need to complete. This part
is not related to the case you have just completed. Select a Merchandising
(wholesale or retail) business do not choose JB Hi-Fi.
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▪ You may have to look at a few reports before deciding on the company, avoid
companies which are complex as it makes extraction difficult, e.g.,
Wesfarmers.
▪ Figures are not to be obtained from summaries or other secondary sources e.g.,
Ibis world or analyst report or summary figures in the annual report.
▪ Summarise the accounting policies and various amounts from financial statements
of the selected company using the table below:
Company
Name
Revenue recognition
policy and amount
reported
(Use the
predominant policy
related to sales of
goods or rendition
of services)
Inventory policy
Total inventory
reported
Policy for (a) and (b)
Including depreciation/
amortisation policy on
a. Property, plant &
equipment, and
b. intangible assets (if
any)
State net carrying value
for each class of non current assets (a) & (b)
NB: Do not copy and paste image from the Annual report into the table as this
will increase the similarity index, type in your summary of the information
extracted. Penalty marks will be deducted for cutting and pasting
▪ Appendix B: Use the snipping tool to copy the relevant sections of the annual
report to support your entries in the table. Paste the snips after the table.
Penalty marks will be deducted if images are not included
4) You are advised to start your assignment early and to leave some time to refine your
writing, referencing and format of the report. Please proofread your report to pick up
errors in writing, including grammatical and spelling errors. You may like to consult
learning advisers, librarian or send the draft to Studiosity
+++++
ACC1100 Accounting 1
A1 Assignment value: 20%
The Assignment involves a case study. You will be assigned to one case relating to a
fictitious company and will write a business report where you analyse the facts of the case
and provide recommendations to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the business about
suggestions made to address the issues faced by the company.
The assignment satisfies W23 Course learning objective (CLO) 2: Access, analyse and
critically evaluate relevant information to solve challenging business problems systematically
[AQF7 S1, S3, A1].
How the assignment is related to the unit and learning objectives
This unit covers accounting which is a service activity to organisations. Accounting’s main
purpose is to provide information to various users, be it internal users such as managers of
the organisation itself or to external users such as investors, creditors, regulators, consumers,
employees, and various parties interested in the organisational performance and the
organisation’s impact on society at large.
In the past, there have been many financial scandals involving financial statement frauds, and
mismanagement of companies leading to the eventual collapse of these companies. The
violation of accounting assumptions/ concepts and professional ethics has led to non-credible
accounting information presented to users of financial reports.
The credibility of accounting information is critical for decision making if the information is to
be relied upon. The regulatory framework and professional codes of conduct as well as the
accounting standards guided by assumptions and accounting concepts have been
promulgated to ensure that accounting and accountants deliver useful information.
Businesses who are being reported on, also, must uphold ethical business practices in
compliance to ethical business norms and regulation. To this end corporate governance
frameworks including Ethical codes of conduct for employees in an organisation have been
formulated by the relevant Stock exchanges and business organisations, themselves.
The assignment cases therefore relate to different situations/problems encountered by the
accountants or managers of businesses. On completion of the assignment, students should
be able to:
• Identify and assess the relevant available frameworks, be they accounting or ethical
conceptual framework/ standards for solving the situations/problems presented in the
cases.
• Interpret and apply logically the identified framework/ standard to analyse each
situation/problem, outlining clearly how this is done.
• Consider the situation/problem in the broader context of business governance and
regulation, not only from the accounting perspective.
• Provide professional recommendations on the accounting treatment and other
initiatives in respect to the situation.
• Be able to extract information from the financial statements and report on the relevant
accounting policies adopted and financial amounts disclosed by one (1) listed
company on the Australian Stock Exchange
The ACC1100 Accounting 1 assignment is designed to help students understand the importance of credible accounting information in decision making. The assignment requires students to apply their knowledge of accounting frameworks and ethical standards to analyse business problems presented in different case studies. By doing so, students are expected to develop the following skills:
Identify and assess the relevant available frameworks: Students should be able to identify and assess the relevant frameworks, be they accounting or ethical conceptual framework/ standards for solving the situations/problems presented in the cases.
Interpret and apply logically the identified framework/standard: Students should be able to interpret and apply logically the identified framework/standard to analyse each situation/problem, outlining clearly how this is done.
Consider the situation/problem in the broader context of business governance and regulation: Students should be able to consider the situation/problem in the broader context of business governance and regulation, not only from the accounting perspective.
Provide professional recommendations: Students should be able to provide professional recommendations on the accounting treatment and other initiatives in respect to the situation.
Extract information from financial statements: Students should be able to extract information from the financial statements and report on the relevant accounting policies adopted and financial amounts disclosed by one (1) listed company on the Australian Stock Exchange.
By completing this assignment, students will be able to achieve the W23 Course learning objective (CLO) 2: Access, analyse and critically evaluate relevant information to solve challenging business problems systematically [AQF7 S1, S3, A1].
