AF100 – Introduction to Accounting and Financial Management for the Non-Specialist
Major Assignment- Semester 1, 2021
Weighting:
This assignment is marked out of 60 marks and is worth 15% of your coursework assessment.
Due date: 27th May Thursday ONLINE SUBMISSION ONLY REQUIRED. ALL ASSIGNMENTS UPLOADED AFTER THIS TIME WILL BE REGARDED AS LATE ASSIGNMENTS.
Instructions:
1. Laucala campus students note this is a group assignment with 2-3 individuals per group. Note ONE submission per group.
2. Students outside of Laucala campus can form groups of 2-3 students as well if you wish to, one submission per group. Individual assignments also accepted for students outside of Laucala campus. For group work, students encouraged to meet online & use google drive.
3. Please submit on all assignments on moodle assignment dropbox by 27th May.
4. Your assignment MUST be word processed. Hand written assignments will NOT be accepted.
5. Ensure that your names and student ID No. are stated clearly on the cover page, which can be downloaded from Moodle. If group only one submission per group with all members’ details to be included.
6. A penalty of 10% will be deducted each day or part thereof that the assignment is late. Check late assignment policy.
7. Use APA style of referencing. Ensure to use proper in text referencing, footnotes and generate a proper bibliography.
Plagiarized/copied assignments will be awarded a ZERO (0) mark.
8. Font size of 12 should be used with single line spacing.
9. Maximum word limit for this research report is 2,000 words.
10. All assignments will have to be submitted into TURN-IT-IN on moodle on the due date. Word document to be submitted .
COMPANY FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS
The South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPX) is the only licensed securities exchange in Fiji and currently lists 20 public companies of which 15 have published their 2020 Annual Reports.
Click link: https://www.spx.com.fj/Investing/Already-a-Shareholder/Listed-Entity-Financials
For this assignment, you will need to select ONE company that has published its 2020 Annual Report and answer the following guiding questions below in a report format.
1. Examine the independent auditor’s report on the company for the year and address the following:
- Identify the company’s audit firm.
- Briefly specify what the auditors state in relation to the accounting information in the company’s report.
- Identify and explain TWO qualitative characteristics that is evident in the
auditor’s report.
2. Corporate reporting is evolving and is more than reporting on profits. Reporting on the entity’s performance related to the people and the planet is increasingly important and included within the annual report or as a standalone report or on their website. This is known as corporate social and environmental reporting.
List TWO examples of such reporting by your chosen entity and what could be ONE motivation behind such reporting.
3. Financial Analysis & Interpretation:
- What is the value of the entity’s sales revenue for the current and previous year? What has been the percentage change in sales revenue for the current year?
- What is the entity’s final profit (after income tax) for the current and previous year? What has been the percentage change in profit (after income tax) for the current year?
- Compare the percentage changes above and explain what information does this comparison provide?
- Calculate TWO appropriate profitability ratios for the most recent 2 years in order to assess the profit performance of your chosen entity.
- Compare current assets and current liabilities for the most recent 2 years, calculate ONE appropriate liquidity ratio and comment on the short-term solvency of the company.
- What are the major liabilities of the entity at the end of the financial year?
- Calculate ONE appropriate financial stability ratio for the most recent 2 years and comment on the financial stability of the entity.
4. From your analysis above has COVID19 had any impacts on your chosen entity and what would be your advice to a prospective investor who is interested in investing in the company?
The above are guiding questions that must be answered in the following report format below:
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Independent Auditor
3.0 Corporate Social and Environmental Reporting
4.0 Financial Analysis & Interpretation (you may use tables here)
5.0 Conclusion & Recommendations
Note: Your assignment will be submitted in Turn-it-in and similarity index should be less than 20%. Those with a higher similarity index will warrant deduction of marks and zero marks awarded to students who have copied past or present student assignments.
In preparing your RESEARCH REPORT please note the following instructions.
Note to Students:
1. You may use only up to TWO direct quotations in your essay.
2. Students may either paraphrase or quote from appropriate sources, please use proper
‘in-text’ referencing i.e. Author Date e.g. (Jones, 2009).
3. Bibliography must be generated using APA referencing style listing ALL your reference sources.
4. Students need to pick out only 4 appropriate sources (e.g. book chapter, journal article, official publication, etc.) that you will use in compiling this research report.
5. Check your assignment for possible plagiarism. Upload your draft assignment using
AF100 Major Assignment Dropbox – located under the assignment block of the AF100 Moodle Page. Use the plagiarism report provided by TurnItIn to make necessary changes to your assignment. The final version of your assignment must have a Similarity Index of less than or equal to 20%. When checking your assignment for plagiarism, you can exclude the following: quotes, bibliography and common word matches of 100.
6. Your assignment will be graded based on attached marking rubric.
7. For Group work: students can meet online (using various technologies available) and use google drive to share your assignment document amongst your group members so each member can update assignment simultaneously.
Note: You may need to upload your assignment a number of times and check for the Similarity Index. Once you receive the plagiarism report and have to make changes, delete the previous assignment draft before uploading the modified version. Keep on uploading and modifying before the due date until you are able to achieve an Index of less than or equal to 20%. However, if students from the same group are uploading the same assignment it will pick this up and increase the percentage.
ALL ASSIGNMENTS SUBMITTED MUST BE IN WORD FORMAT (NOT PDF FORMAT)
Note: Do not click on the SEND FOR MARKING button unless you are sure that it is your final version.
8. Note that marks will be deducted if your Similarity Index exceeds 20%. The following table details the penalties if the Similarity Index value exceeds a certain value/percentage.
Value of Similarity Index Deduction
0 to 20% No deduction
21 to 40% 15% of scored mark deducted from total
41 to 49% 30% of scored mark deducted from total
Above and including 50% Assignment will be returned unmarked and student gets a grade of zero for the assignment
9. The final soft copy of your assignment should be saved as: StudentID (for student in group who will be uploading) and uploaded using the AF100 Major Assignment Dropbox by the due date. Click on the SEND FOR MARKING button to ensure that your final version is submitted. Ensure that only one of you will upload assignment with noted file name. Ensure ALL members in group are included in your cover page.
10. You have been given more than sufficient time to complete this assignment in your respective groups; therefore, no late submissions will be accepted. Ensure that only one of you will upload assignment with noted file name before the due date and time indicated.
NOTE: Should you need clarifications while doing this assignment, you may post your query under the Major Assignment Help! Forum (in the Assignment block) located on the AF100 moodle page. Students are advised to read through responses for postings made by other students before posting their own to avoid repetition of queries.
~Best of Luck~
AF100 MARKING RUBRIC – SEMESTER 1, 2021
Facet of Research Element of Marking Highly Satisfactory Pass
Complete, accurate, comprehensive and insightful/innovative
Satisfactory Pass
Complete but not fully accurate, comprehensive or insightful
Below Standard/Unsatisfactory Incomplete or inaccurate
A+ 85-100% A 78-84% B+ 71-77% B 64-70% C+ 57-63% C 50-56% D 40-49% E
40%
A. Embark and Clarify
(5 marks) Introduction – identify company, outline background context and clear summary of key objectives and issues identified. Introduction clearly establishes the context and background and presents relevant, objectives and a clear summary of the issues.
Line of argument taken clearly and effectively. Introduction establishes the context and background and presents a vague summary of objectives and issues. Line of argument taken but some parts are vague. Brief Introduction with limited context and background, no objectives and no summary of issues.
No line of argument.
B. Find and generate
(10 marks) References and citations – demonstrates that research has been conducted appropriately stating and citing relevant academic articles. Cites appropriate concepts from relevant references, fully integrated into the text with a sound mix of direct and indirect quotations.
Quotations support arguments.
Citations are totally accurate. Bibliography complete and accurate following APA style. An attempt made to apply research to the assignment. The balance of direct and indirect quotations is uneven. Quotations occasionally replace student input.
Citations show several errors. Bibliography is satisfactory (following APA style) but some documentation errors exist. Found information is not documented correctly.
Errors exist with signal phrases, citations, and references.
Found information is not introduced or analysed adequately.
Bibliography is not satisfactory and does not follow APA style.
C. Evaluate and reflect
(20 marks) Data & Quality of analysis - 10 marks Data from 2020 Annual Report thoroughly analyzed following proper techniques & methods ; presentation and analysis of data with interpretation is professional, thorough, engaging, and sophisticated. Collects sufficient valid data which is relevant but presentation and interpretation of results need work. Fails to collect valid data; presentation and interpretation of results are inaccurate and not presented clearly.
Conclusion
- 10 marks Conclusions and recommendations are excellent (pertinent, realistic, evidence-based, and detailed) based on evaluated data. One is relevant and adequate, but the other is not pertinent, realistic, or detailed. Just repeats
the main points already highlighted with no clear direction. Both are unclear and not connected to the report’s data.
5
D. Organise and Manage to meet stated project objectives
(10 marks)
Organise data in your report, tabulated according to relevant themes meeting objectives. Assignment is clearly structured according to relevant themes meeting objectives.
Data is clearly tabulated and organized. Assignment is structured but some irrelevant themes not meeting objectives. Data is somewhat tabulated but no clear organisation of data. Assignment is not structured at all.
No tables provided for data analysed. No organisation of answers to answer the objectives of assignment.
E. Analyse and synthesise the project to
present the final report
(10 marks) Development of the analysis
Presents a strong, focused argument, well supported by impressive analysis and evidence. The points being made are clear and convincing for the reader throughout. Presents an argument with some analysis but also some description/summary. The points being made can be followed with some effort. The argument is not clear with more summary and “telling the story” than analysis. The point of the essay becomes lost in places.
F. Students communicate the final report and ethically apply
academic writing
conventions
(5 marks) Sentences, grammar and style - 2 marks Sentences contain no errors and are diverse and sophisticated. Style is concise and professional. The report has clearly been edited and proof read numerous times. Sentences contain some errors but don’t impede meaning. Style is generally concise and professional, but some additional editing is warranted. Poor sentences that have been poorly organised and weakens analysis. Numerous errors that impede meaning, with no professional style.
Numerous grammatical errors exist and impede meaning.
Online Submission & Turn-itin percentage
- 3 marks
Report is submitted on time. There is no similarity percentage detected.
Report is submitted on time. There is 0-20% similarity percentage detected.
Report is submitted late. There is more than 40% similarity percentage detected.
Marker Comments:
TOTAL MARKS ALLOCATED OUT OF 60:
6