Assessment task 1 —Individual assignment

Objectives

This assessment item
relates to the course learning outcome numbers 1 to 5.

Question
1 Total 6 marks

You are an investor seeking
an investment opportunity. You have obtained the financial statements of two
separate, independent companies, each from a different country. You notice that
there are some accounting differences between the two sets of financial
statements, and are having some trouble comparing between the two.

Required (approximately 400 words):

In
light of the above, list and briefly discuss four benefits of
international standardisation of accounting standards.

Question 2 Total
8 marks

You are presented with the
following information for two independent situations.

(a)
Spring
Brangus Stud Pty Ltd is a private company operated solely by Phil Spring. Phil
is also a shareholder of the company, along with his cousin, Robert Tyler. Phil
and Robert started the company three years ago. Robert is not involved in the
day to day running of the business, but handles the monthly book work. The
company is very successful and currently only has one liability, a loan of $3
million to the ANZ Bank for a 10 year business loan. The gross sales revenue
for the financial year ending 30 June 2012 was $1 million. The gross value of
assets at 30 June 2012 was $8 million.

(b)
Grams
Health Services Ltd provides medical services to the general public, with a
particular focus on indigenous clients. The company is limited by guarantee and
has no shareholders. It has been operating for over 30 years and currently has
43 full-time employees. The gross sales revenue for the financial year ending
30 June 2012 was $17 million. The carrying value of assets at 30 June 2012 was
$10 million and the accumulated depreciation was $3 million. The company does
not currently have any liabilities apart from employee leave entitlements.

Required
(approximately 800 words – 400 each scenario):

For each of the independent
situations identified above, consider and conclude whether the entity is a
reporting entity and whether it is required by the Corporations Act 2001 to
prepare general purpose financial statements.

Question
3 Total 5 marks

You are a graduate
accountant employed by Murray Certified Practising Accountants. One of your
clients, Sandy Herold, has enquired as to why you have not included the
employees of her company as assets in the financial statements for the year
ended 30 June 2012.

Required
(approximately 400 words):

Use the AASB Framework’s
definition and recognition criteria of assets to explain to Sandy why you have
excluded employees from the financial statements.

Question 4 Total
6 marks

You have just been employed
as an accounting lecturer. In your first class, your students ask you the
following questions.

(a)
Who
has to comply with accounting standards? How is this determined? (2
marks)

(b)
Where
can I find accounting standards? (1 mark)

(c)
What
is the primary objective of General Purpose Financial Reports? (1 mark)

(d)
What
are the qualities that make financial statements ‘useful’? (2 marks)

Required
(approximately 400 words):

Answer each of the questions
identified above, ensuring that you refer to the Conceptual Framework of
Accounting in your answers.

Presentation
& Referencing Total
5 marks

Overall presentation and layout
of assignment 1
mark

Spelling & Grammar 2 marks

Referencing (in text and end list) 2
marks

Important points

Use the question numbers to indicate
which question you are answering. You should refer to the relevant sections in
the Guide for Students for
information on researching a topic. You may also wish to seek assistance from
the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) for additional assistance on how to research
and write an assignment. The assignment should be prepared using a Word Processing
Package. Use the following formatting style:Times New Roman font, 12 point font size and 1.5 line
spacing.
Use italics only when you quote from
another source. Please note that you will only receive maximum marks for the
assignment if your assignment meets the following criteria: use of clear and
concise language, well written, logical arguments and coherent discussion, free
of grammatical and spelling mistakes, and correct formatting and reference styles.
It would be advantageous if you referred to peer-reviewed journal articles in
your answers.

Submission requirements

There is no electronic submission
of the assignment for this course.

Submit hard copies of your assignment, which should include the following
three documents:

·
your
answer to the assignment question

·
the
marking criteria sheet (provided on page 4 of this document)

·
a
signed assessment cover sheet that is available on the university website.

Instructions
for generating your cover sheet are at: .cqu.edu.au/FCWViewer/getFile.do?id=23407″>http://dtls.cqu.edu.au/FCWViewer/getFile.do?id=23407

Ensure your
name and student ID number appear at the top of each page you submit and on the
marking criteria sheet.

ON-CAMPUS students

Submit a hard copy of your
assignment including the three documents as stated above in the provided
assignment boxes located on your particular campus. If no boxes are provided,
then submit your assignment to the administration office.

OFF-CAMPUS students

You have to post a hard copy
of your assignment including the three documents as stated above by the
deadline 4.00 pm [AEST] Tuesday 11 December 2012 to the Student Contact Centre,
Building 5, CQUniversity, Rockhampton, QLD 4702. We highly recommend that you
include evidence with your assignment that you have met this deadline. For
example, include a copy of the post office mail document that shows the date it
was posted.

Assessment criteria

The
marking criteria sheet at the end of the assignment indicates the allocation of
marks for the assignment. Please attach a copy of this marking criteria
sheet including your name and student ID to your assignment.

Note: there is a 5% penalty per
day for late submissions.

Marking Criteria Sheet