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Accounting Theory Semester XXXXXXXXXXSGD Reporting Instructions
The SGD task is structured in several steps to provide direction to your SGD journey: Step 1
Planning; Step 2 Read and analyse the relevant material; and Step 3 Form an argument supported by
evidence from your analyses. These arguments can be used to inform your audience (senior
management of a large accounting firm) and perhaps to develop recommendations about the
suitability of the industry for the accounting firm’s planned targeted expansion. These first three
steps are discussed in the SGD Task documents in the SGD module on MyUni.
Steps 4 – 8: Report on your findings
This document starts with some background information to enhance your understanding of the
processes involved in professionals, such as accountants, preparing reports for their clients. The
ackground is not the reporting instruction, it is simply provided to help you appreciate how the
items that you are asked to submit are part of a more comprehensive reporting process that would
occur in practice.
Background to business reporting to clients
The preparation of a report for a client, by an accountant or other business professional, typically
involves up to three components: working papers; a written report which is provided to the client;
and a presentation to the client. Each is discussed in turn below.
Working papers
In practice, when accounting firms and other business consultants undertake projects for clients,
they keep working papers which record the evidence, data collection and data analyses that support
their findings and recommendations. Working papers are an important part of the documentation
that supports the report to the client. However, the accountant/consultant does not usually make
the working papers available to the client because they may contain proprietary information, such as
models used by the consulting firm.
Written report
In practice, the team of accountants and other professionals write a report for the client after
analysing the information and construction an argument (or forming an opinion, developing a
solution etc.). Some reports, such as an audit report, have formal, standardised formats, while other
eports may vary considerably. The Communications Skills Guide1 provides the following commonly
used structure, which can be adapted to various reports2:
1 The Communication Skills Guide is available on MyUni in the Communication Skills Workshops module.
2 Reports prepared by accountants and other business professionals often come with a disclaimer, which
serves to restrict the litigation risk of the author and cautions the reader against relying on the information for
purposes beyond the scope of the report.
Working papers
Report
Presentation
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Extract from the Communication Skill Guide – components of a report
• Title page
• Executive Summary: the background, problem and purpose(s) of the report, argument that
supports conclusions and recommendations
• Table of Contents
• Introduction: introduces the problem / context of the report, purpose and scope, motivation
(why it’s important) and a
ief outline of the structure of the report
• Body of the report:
o Background: background information and research methods, what the reader needs
to know in order to understand the report
o Findings
• Conclusions and recommendations, if applicable
• Appendices: more details that support the findings
Presentation
In addition to the written report, consultants often make a presentation to the client. They may use
various tools, such as powerpoint, to provide an overview of the key findings and recommendations
of their report to key personnel of the client firm. More recently, there has been greater use of video
conferencing technology, such as zoom, to facilitate remote presentations.
Reporting requirements for the SGD project
The reporting requirements for the SGD project are designed to allow each SGD Group to
demonstrate:
• elements of working papers (items 1 – 5 below),
• elements of a written report (item 6 below)
• elements of preparing a presentation (item 7 below).
Some flexibility in formatting will be permitted so that you can focus on demonstrating aspects of
your research journey, focusing on the content and substance, rather than formatting.
What your group needs to submit (assignment box available from the end of week 11):
1. Sample selection: A statement describing your initial selection criteria for identifying sample
firms, including the industry or industry group that you selected and the basis for selecting firms
(e.g., if largest, or based on size, specify how you determined size). Support your description
with a screenshot illustrating your search in Data Premium Analysis, as previously advised in the
Task Instructions, Step 1, part B. Include a statement about how easy or difficult it was to find
firms that recognised leases intangibles in their financial statements.
2. List your final sample and state which companies were assigned to each group member. This
information may be provided separately or included in the tables provided for items 3, 4 or 5.
3. Intangible assets: Data collection and analysis A table (or tables) showing the findings for the
nature and importance of intangible assets for the firms in the sample. Refer to SGD Task
Instructions Part 2 for the list of questions for which you need to tabulate information.
4. CEO Remuneration: Present a table illustrating for each company in the sample, the structure of
the chief executive’s remuneration indicating whether it includes fixed salary, performance-
ased (also called incentive remuneration and at-risk remuneration), whether there are distinct
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short-term and long-term incentive remuneration components, and whether remuneration is in
cash and/or share based, and whether any part of the remuneration is defe
ed. Consider the
executive remuneration a
angements, rather than whether they actually received incentive
emuneration in XXXXXXXXXXsee topic 6 guide for suggested format)
5. Environmental disclosures. Present a table indicating whether each company in the sample
provides environmental disclosure, where is it located, and if a stand-alone report is used,
whether it is assured. (Refer to topic 8A topic guide for suggested format)
6. Report extract – Discuss your group’s findings for ONE only of items #3, #4 or #5. This
component will be assessed in terms of the consistency with the findings reported in the table,
your ability to describe and INTERPRET the findings, and the clarity of your expression.
(suggested length up to 1 page, double spaced)
7. A presentation file (e.g., powerpoint file) for a 15-minute presentation to senior partners of the
accounting firm on question 4: How the industry’s financial performance was affected by
the Covid-19 pandemic. You are not asked to give a presentation. You are asked to submit a
file that you would show in a presentation, assuming it would be supported by an oral
explanation. Don’t try and cram a full report onto powerpoint slides. The presentation should
address the following (numbers in parentheses is a suggestion only of the number of slides if
using powerpoint):
a. Identify the purpose(s) of the report and identify the scope of your presentation (your
esearch question XXXXXXXXXXslides)
. The research design, specific to the analysis of how the industry’s financial performance
was affected (i.e., how financial performance will be measured,
ief sample description)
(1-3 slides)
c. Finding about what sample firms disclosed about how they were affected XXXXXXXXXXslides) *
d. Results of your analysis of the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on financial performance
(1 – 2 slides) *
e. Conclusions and recommendations (1-2 slides)
* findings should be presented as a summary for the sample as a whole, e.g., X% of firms
incu
ed decline in financial performance KPI, rather than crowding slides with too much detail
Weighting of assessment
The SGD project is weighted 16% of your assessment in this course and comprises: Individual
contribution (8 marks); and group mark awarded for the group submission (8 marks)
The group mark for the group component of SGD submission is based on the quality of the:
• Use of database to identify sample firms, description of method (submission item XXXXXXXXXXmarks)
• Report extract (submission item XXXXXXXXXXmarks)
• Presentation file (submission item XXXXXXXXXXmarks)
Marks for the individual contribution are awarded for
• being well prepared and actively engaging in SGD activities held in tutorials (5 marks)
• proficiency in extracting information about the companies’ accounting for intangible assets,
emuneration a
angements and environmental disclosures (submission items 3,4&5) (3 marks)
Frequently Asked Question: Do we have to submit a full report with all the items listed on page 2?
Answer: No, please refer to the words immediately below the heading “What your group needs to
submit (assignment box available from the end of week 11):
2021
Annual
Report
today.
Hi Sarah
Home loan approved,
you’re ready to go.
Building tomo
ow’s bank
The release of this announcement was authorised by the Board.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia | ACN XXXXXXXXXX | Ground Floor Tower 1,
201 Sussex Street, Sydney NSW 2000 | 11 August 2021 | 184/2021
Contents
Directors’ report
Directors’ report 78
Remuneration report 84
Financial report
Financial statements 114
Notes to the financial
statements 121
Directors’ declaration 270
Independent
auditor’s report 271
Additional
information
Security holder
information 280
Five-year financial
summary 288
Profit reconciliation 291
Glossary of terms 293
Contact information 309
Supporting our customers
and the country to help build
a better future, together.
Leadership in
Australia’s recovery
and transition
P.12
Continuing to ensure the
lived experience throughout
the Bank aligns with our
purpose and values.
Engaging
our people
P.38
Providing a range of ways
to help customers during
uncertain times.
+ Please visit commbank.com.au
coronavirus
COVID-19 support
How we
create value
Our strategic priorities 10
Our approach
to sustainability 20
Addressing
climate change 22
Managing our
strategic risks 42
Financial performance 48
Sustainability