ATMC BUS106 Accounting for Business – Semester 2 2019
Task 2 Requirements
Due Friday 13 September (11:59 pm)
The assignment requires you to prepare a professional report using the template included appendix A to this document. You should refer to the Communication Skills Handbook (2014, 4th edn) by Summers and Smith for guidance on the various parts of the report. The e-text of this book can be accessed via the USC Library website. Chapter 3 in this book focusses on report writing and includes some very useful guidance on the structure of a report (You should be able to download this chapter).
The assignment must be your own individual work, i.e. it is not a group assignment. If it is suspected that you have copied material from another student or any other source without appropriate referencing, the necessary action will be taken under the University’s Student Academic Integrity – Governing Policy: (https://www.usc.edu.au/learn/student-support/academic-and-study-support/online-study-resources/academic-integrity#). Therefore, it is critical that you provide complete referencing for all sources of information that you use in preparing your assignment using the Harvard referencing system. This includes both in-text references and a list of references at the end of your assignment. Further details on the Harvard system are available at https://www.usc.edu.au/learn/student-support/academic-and-study-support/online-study-resources/referencing-and-academic-integrity-guide/harvard.
Other general points about the assignment:
• The final version of your assignment must be submitted electronically via Safe Assignment on the BUS106 Blackboard site. This is via the ‘FINAL submission – Task 2’ link under ‘Assessment’ and ‘Task 2: Report’. The deadline for submitting your assignment is 11:59pm on Friday 13 September 2019. If you have any difficulties in uploading your assignment, you should email it to Karon Rogers on krogers@usc.edu.au before the deadline. However, you will also need to subsequently upload your assignment to Safe Assignment.
• If you wish to apply for an extension to your submission date, please email the course coordinator (Karon Rogers krogers@usc.edu.au) to explain the circumstances and attach appropriate supporting documentation in your request. According to the University’s Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs – Procedures (https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures/assessment-courses-and-coursework-programs-procedures), the following are the only acceptable grounds for an extension: illness or serious health problems; serious personal trauma; service with a recognised emergency management service; religious or cultural grounds; exceptional family, work or personal circumstances which are outside of the control of the student.
• Late penalties will be applied to all assignments submitted after the deadline and without an approved extension. More details on the specific late penalties are provided in the course outline. All students must retain their receipt when uploading their assignment. When you upload an assignment to blackboard, it will send the receipt to your email. If you do not receive a receipt, you will need to attempt to upload it again. Students will still incur a late penalty if they do not have a receipt and it is found that their assignment is not uploaded on blackboard and they have not sent it via email. Therefore, it is very important that you follow the prompts on blackboard when you are submitting your document and ensure that it attaches and that the document is for BUS106 and not one of your other subjects.
• The suggested total word count is approximately 1,500 words. Your assignment should therefore be have a minimum of 1,300 words and a maximum of 1,800 words. The executive summary, tables, calculations and references are not included in the word count.
• Your assignment Word document should be formatted using 12pt font in either Arial or Times New Roman with 1.5 line spacing. Additional requirements are listed in the template in appendix A at the end of this document.
• Please save your word document using the following format: lastname_firstname_studentID_BUS106_Task2
• This assignment requires that you have a minimum of 5 academic references (including your textbook). These may include other textbooks, journal articles and appropriate websites. Other websites such as Wikipedia and Investopedia are not academic sources and should therefore not be used as references.
• The marking rubric for the report is in appendix B of this document. The rubric includes the marking criteria, allocation of marks for the various parts of the report and a description of the required standards (excellent, very good, good, satisfactory and not satisfactory) for the various criteria.
Task Information
A list of ASX listed companies has been compiled along with links to the company websites from which you will be able to access their annual reports. You have been allocated one of these companies to form the basis for your report. You will find your company in a separate document within the Task 2 Assessment area on Blackboard. Please ensure that you conduct your analysis on your allocated company.
To complete the below requirements, you need to locate the income statement and balance sheet for your company in its annual reports for 2016 and 2018. Note: The financial statements in the 2016 annual reports will also include the financial data for 2015 which you will need to calculate some of the ratios for 2016. Furthermore, the financial statements in the 2018 annual reports will also include the financial data for 2017 as comparative figures.
Task 2 Requirements
Requirement 1 (approx. 200 to 300 words):
Provide a brief overview of your company which includes information that will help you to make decisions regarding the company’s financial situation (e.g., when it was established, what industry/s are they in, what type/s of product/s do they sell or what service/s do they perform).
Requirement 2 (approx. 300 to 400 words):
(a) Write my Essay Online Writing Service with Professional Essay Writers – Explain what a trend analysis is and how it is useful in analysing a company’s financial performance.
(b) Prepare a trend analysis* for your allocated company for 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018** using the following income statement items:
• Sales revenue (or Revenue)
• Gross profit (if not shown on the income statement, it will need to be calculated, ie Sales revenue less Cost of sales. Additional information to assist in this calculation will be provided during the semester)
• The 3 largest expense categories appearing in the 2018 income statement
• Profit/(loss) after tax***
* The trend analysis should include absolute dollar figures as well as analysis of the trend for the years ended 2015, 2016, 2017 to 2017, and 2018.
** The 2016 and 2015 income statement amounts will be in the 2016 annual report. The 2018 and 2017 income statement amounts will be in the 2018 annual report.
***This will normally be the last profit figure shown in the income statement.
(c) Analyse the results of the trend analysis and explain what it says about your allocated company’s financial performance.
Requirement 3 (approx. 500 to 600 words):
(a) For 2016*, 2017 and 2018, calculate the following ratios for your allocated company:
i. Return on Assets (Profit/Average total assets x 100)
ii. Return on Equity (Profit available to owners/Average equity x 100)
iii. Debt to Equity ratio (Total liabilities/Total equity x 100)
iv. Current Ratio (Current assets/Current Liabilities)
v. Asset Turnover ratio (Sales revenue/Average total assets)
Note: both the ratio calculations and results should be presented in table/s in your report.
* Some ratios for 2016 will require you to use some financial statement items from 2015.
(b) Prepare an analysis of each ratio calculated in (a) above, on the following basis:
i. Categorise each ratio into the relevant group (profitability, efficiency, liquidity or capital structure)
ii. Describe the purpose of each ratio i.e. how does each ratio assist decision makers; and
iii. Analysis the results of each of your calculations in (a) by explaining what each ratio says about your allocated company’s profitability, asset efficiency, liquidity or capital structure.
Requirement 4 (approx. 100 words):
Provide two recommendations which could lead to an increase in your chosen company’s financial performance in the future.
NOTE: The remainder of the word count for your report will be used for your introduction and conclusions.
Appendix A – Report template [For more guidance on the various parts of the report structure, refer to chapter 3 in the Communications Skills Handbook (2014, 4th edn) by Summers and Smith. The e-text of this book can be accessed via the USC Library website]
1st page: Cover Page (use your artistic flair to dress this up and include your name, student ID and company name)
2nd page: Executive Summary
3rd page: Table of Contents (use the Microsoft Word Template tool)
Note: Format page numbers (Executive summary i, Table of Contents ii)
Below is the structure and headings that you should use for your report:
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Purpose
1.2 Scope
1.3 Limitations
2.0 Company Overview
3.0 Trend analysis
4.0 Ratio Analysis
4.1 Return on Assets
a) Ratio calculation
b) Analysis
4.2 Return on Equity
a) Ratio calculation
b) Analysis
4.3 Debt to Equity ratio
a) Ratio calculation
b) Analysis
4.4 Current ratio/Working capital
a) Ratio calculation
b) Analysis
4.5 Asset turnover ratio
c) Ratio calculation
d) Analysis
5.0 Conclusions
6.0 Recommendations
List of References
Appendix B – Marking rubric for Report
ATMC BUS106 Accounting for Business Task 2 Business Report – Semester 2 2019
NOTE: Report will initially be marked out of 100 and then reduced to a mark out of 35.
Issue / Research Topics – Criteria Excellent HD (>85%) Very Good
DN (75%-84.9%) Good
CR (65%-74.9%) Satisfactory
PS (50%-64.9%) Not Satisfactory
FL (<50%)
Overview of selected company
(5 marks) Demonstrated the ability to research a company and provide relevant information that will guide an assessment of the company’s financial performance. Demonstrated the ability to research a company and provide information that will help make an assessment of the company’s financial performance. Demonstrated the ability to provide general knowledge about the company that partially helps make an assessment of the company’s financial performance. Demonstrated partial ability to provide general information about the company but lacked enough information to help make an assessment of the company’s financial performance. Did not demonstrate the ability to research a company and provide relevant information.
Trend Analysis
Explanation of usefulness and analysis of results.
(20 marks) Demonstrated the ability to analyse company performance with the use of critical thinking.
The correct construction, presentation and application of trend analysis with a clear understanding of its purpose. Demonstrated the ability to analyse company performance.
The correct construction, presentation and construction of trend analysis and demonstrated an understanding of its purpose. Demonstrated the ability to analyse company performance.
The correct presentation of trend analysis with some errors. Showed some understanding of its purpose. Demonstrated partial ability to analyse company performance.
Some errors with presentation and construction of trend analysis. Showed limited understanding of its purpose. Showed a limited ability to analyse company performance.
Incorrect presentation of trend analysis used.
Wrote generally about the topic and lacked evidence of knowledge on the topic.
Calculation, description and analysis of the ROA
(10 marks) Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with no errors.
Demonstrated and astutely applied comprehensive knowledge of the ratio. Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with limited errors.
Demonstrated and applied comprehensive knowledge of the ratio. Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with some errors.
Demonstrated and partially applied some knowledge of the ratio. Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with more errors.
Demonstrated some knowledge of the ratio. Incorrect use of ratio analysis. Calculations and figures incorrect.
Wrote generally about the topic and lacked evidence of knowledge on the ratio.
Calculation, description and analysis of the ROE
(10 marks) Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with no errors.
Demonstrated and astutely applied comprehensive knowledge of the ratio. Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with limited errors.
Demonstrated and applied comprehensive knowledge of the ratio. Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with some errors.
Demonstrated and partially applied some knowledge of the ratio. Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with more errors.
Demonstrated some knowledge of the ratio. Incorrect use of ratio analysis. Calculations and figures incorrect.
Wrote generally about the topic and lacked evidence of knowledge on the ratio.
Calculation, description and analysis of the debt to equity ratio
(10 marks) Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with no errors.
Demonstrated and astutely applied comprehensive knowledge of the ratio. Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with limited errors.
Demonstrated and applied comprehensive knowledge of the ratio. Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with some errors.
Demonstrated and partially applied some knowledge of the ratio. Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with more errors.
Demonstrated some knowledge of the ratio. Incorrect use of ratio analysis. Calculations and figures incorrect.
Wrote generally about the topic and lacked evidence of knowledge on the ratio.
Calculation, description and analysis of the current ratio
(10 marks) Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with no errors.
Demonstrated and astutely applied comprehensive knowledge of the ratio. Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with limited errors.
Demonstrated and applied comprehensive knowledge of the ratio. Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with some errors.
Demonstrated and partially applied some knowledge of the ratio. Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with more errors.
Demonstrated some knowledge of the ratio. Incorrect use of ratio analysis. Calculations and figures incorrect.
Wrote generally about the topic and lacked evidence of knowledge on the ratio.
Calculation, description and analysis of the asset turnover ratio
(10 marks) Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with no errors.
Demonstrated and astutely applied comprehensive knowledge of the ratio. Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with limited errors.
Demonstrated and applied comprehensive knowledge of the ratio. Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with some errors.
Demonstrated and partially applied some knowledge of the ratio. Correct use of ratio analysis. Calculations executed correctly with more errors.
Demonstrated some knowledge of the ratio. Incorrect use of ratio analysis. Calculations and figures incorrect.
Wrote generally about the topic and lacked evidence of knowledge on the ratio.
Overall presentation of Report:
• title page,
• table of contents,
• page numbers,
• font and line spacing,
• headings,
• writing structure,
• spelling and grammar
(10 marks) Report presented extremely well in accordance with all report requirements.
Demonstrated exceptional use of spelling and grammar with no errors. Report presented very well in accordance with report requirements.
Demonstrated very good use of spelling and grammar with limited errors. Report presented well in accordance with most report requirements.
Demonstrated good use of spelling and grammar with more errors. Report presented in accordance with some report requirements.
Demonstrated satisfactory use of spelling and grammar with many errors. Report incomplete with less than half of report requirements included.
Demonstrated considerable significant errors in spelling and grammar
Introduction and Executive summary
(5 Marks) Purpose, scope and limitations clearly identified with comprehensive knowledge about the task.
Executive summary covered all key items within the report. Purpose, scope and limitations identified with a very good understanding about the task.
Executive summary covered most key items within the report. Purpose, scope and limitations identified with a sound understanding of the task.
Executive summary covered many key items within the report. Purpose, scope and limitations identified with a limited understanding of the task.
Executive summary covered some key items within the report. Purpose, scope and limitations were not clearly identified.
Executive summary was not present or included little information about the key items within the report.
Conclusions and recommendations
(5 marks) Demonstrates logical and very clearly articulated conclusions that link to the introduction and recommendations that demonstrate a very high-level of creativity and innovation. Demonstrates logical and clearly articulated conclusions that link to the introduction and recommendations that demonstrate a high-level of creativity and innovation. Demonstrates clear conclusions that link to the introduction and recommendations that demonstrate a sound level of creativity and innovation. Demonstrates basic conclusions and recommendations that demonstrate a limited level of creativity and innovation. Demonstrates illogical and ambiguous conclusions and few (if any) recommendations.
Referencing:
Minimum of 5 references using the Harvard style. All references from academic sources correctly identified in the reference list.
(5 Marks) Correct and consistent use of Harvard referencing throughout the report with no errors.
More than 5 academic references used. Minimal errors in use of Harvard referencing.
4 or 5 academic references used. Some errors in use of Harvard referencing.
Less than 5 academic resources with some not being credible sources. Many errors in use of the Harvard referencing.
Less than 5 references used with most of these not being credible sources. Referencing not used where required and/or no referencing included within the report.
