22320 ACCOUNTING FOR BUSINESS COMBINATIONS SPRING 2017 Group Assignment (Due on 18 OCTOBER 2017 in your tutorial class) SEGMENT REPORTING AASB 8 requires that ‘an entity shall disclosure information to enable users of its financial statements to evaluate the nature and financial effects of the business activities in which it engages and the economic environments in which it operates’. [Para. 1] This group assignment is on segment reporting. It consists of both a general theory part and an application part that involves researching on the disclosure practice of real-world Australian listed companies.
Part 1: GENERAL a) In your own words, discuss the arguments for and against segment reporting as required by AASB 8. Do you think the proposed benefits of segment reporting outweigh its costs? b) According to AASB 8, what is the ‘management approach’ to segment reporting? What are the rationales for adopting this approach? Do you think this approach would result in companies disclosing too much private information to their competitors? c) In what ways can segment reporting (AASB 8) be seen as the opposite of consolidation accounting (AASB 10)? Do you think it is paradoxical to require both segment reporting and consolidation accounts in the same financial report? Part 2: APPLICATION (using real companies) Each group will be allocated 5 companies (one for each member) to research on their 2016 annual reports. Your assignment should cover the following: a) For each company, describe the principal activities it engages in and of its various business components by referring to the ‘management discussion and analysis’ section(s) of the annual report. b) Critically evaluate the segment information disclosed in the annual report to ascertain if the disclosure practice of the company complies with the requirements of AASB 8 as regards the definition of ‘operating segments’ and ‘reportable segments’. [Hint: You may wish to verify the reportable segments disclosed by referring to the various quantitative thresholds adopted in AASB 8.] c) For each disclosed financial item, does the total of all the reportable segments equal to the corresponding consolidated figures for the whole group? What explains the differences between these two sets of numbers? Assignment guidelines The assignment is to be completed in groups of 5 students. All students in a group must be enrolled in the same tutorial class. Students are allowed to choose their group members. Unallocated students will be allocated to a group by their tutor. The assignment is to be presented as a professional consulting report. The report must follow the formatting requirements outlined in the UTS Guide to Writing Assignments. The writing guide can be downloaded from here: http://www.uts.edu.au/sites/default/files/business-writing-guide-2014.pdf You are only to use publicly available information in order to complete this assignment. For example, the Internet, annual reports, newspaper and journal articles, databases, and books. All sources of information must be referenced in the report using the Harvard referencing method. Details on this method can be found in the writing guide. Further information can be found here: http://www.uts.edu.au/current-students/business/study-and-assessment-resources/uts-harvardreferencing The report is to be a maximum of 15 typed, double-spaced, A4 pages. The page limit includes title page, table of contents, executive summary, conclusion, as well as any tables and diagrams that are included in the body of the report. The word and page limit excludes the reference list and appendices. The title page includes a listing of group members, the tutorial class they are enrolled in and the tutor’s name. The title page is attached with this document for you to use. Make sure that each group member signs and dates the cover page to verify that the assignment is their own original work. To gain higher marks, you will need to refer to the academic literature, in addition to the practitioners’ literature, to support your arguments. You can use search engines (e.g., Google Scholar) and the UTS Library website to access research papers. Assignment submission The assignment is to be submitted in your tutorial class on 1 June 2017. Late assignments will incur a deduction in marks of 10% per day. Each group is required to submit a hard copy of the assignment, accompanied by a copy of the Turnitin report (Similarity Index report). You will need to lodge your assignment electronically through Turnitin to generate the Turnitin report before submitting in class. Also note that you should only lodge your assignment through Turnitin once; otherwise your subsequent Turnitin report will be showing 99.9% plagiarism. Evidence of plagiarism will mean automatic failure in this assessment component. Turnitin is a plagiarism detection software. It is accessible on UTSOnline under the Assignments tab. Failure to submit to Turnitin will result in a zero grade XXXXXXXXXXACCOUNTING FOR BUSINESS COMBINATIONS GROUP ASSIGNMENT TITLE PAGE Group members: LAST NAME FIRST NAME STUDENT NUMBER DATE SUBMITTED: _________________ CLASS TIME: _____________________ TUTOR: _______________________ VERIFICATION OF ORIGINAL WORK: I/We verify that this assignment is my/our own work and has not been submitted for academic credit in this unit or any other course. I/We declare that all sources have been duly and appropriately acknowledged. Signature of Students: ______________________________________________ Date: ________________ ______________________________________________ Date: ________________ ______________________________________________ Date: ________________ ______________________________________________ Date: ________________ ______________________________________________ Date: ________________ 22320 ACCOUNTING FOR BUSINESS COMBINATIONS Peer Group Evaluation Form With all group projects, it is possible that group members might not have contributed equally for one reason or another. If you feel it would be unfair to assign the same grade to all members of your group, you may use this evaluation form to inform your tutor of any such situation in your group. Your Name___________________________________________________________ List the other members of your group (excluding yourself) below. In the ‘Points Allocated’ column, next to each group member, write the number of points out of a total of 100 that you feel represents the relative effort of that group member in comparison to other members (excluding yourself). For example, if there are four other members in your group and you feel that all contributed equally, you would assign 25 points to each of the four members. Your total points must equal 100. Group members names (not including yourself) Points Allocated __________________________________________ ______________ __________________________________________ ______________ __________________________________________ ______________ __________________________________________ ______________ __________________________________________ ______________ Total points 100 Please return this form to your tutor in a sealed envelope by the same date as the group assignment is due for submission. YOUR RATINGS ARE COMPLETELY CONFIDENTIAL! 22320 ACCOUNTING FOR BUSINESS COMBINATIONS GRADING CRITERIA CRITERIA Possible Mark Actual Mark Organisation ? Engaging introduction provides an overview of topic and content. ? Information and critical discussion developed in logical sequence, with links between sections. ? Conclusion provides summary findings. 15% Content ? Defines the situation to be discussed. ? Critically analyses the case and problems. ? Critically discusses the outcomes. ? Conclusion includes a critical discussion of implications for the corporate group. 65% Style ? Presentation is coherent and well organised. ? Referencing style is consistent with the Faculty guidelines. ? Case study length is within 5% of total (15 pages double-spaced). 20% TOTAL 100% Comments: Marker’s signature Date GRADING CRITERIA FOR GROUP ASSIGNMENTS GRADE CONTENT ORGANISATION STYLE HD XXXXXXXXXXSynthesis Critically analyses topic and literature. Perceptive, confident grasp of topic. Confident and accurate presentation. No organisational errors. Outstanding vocabulary and writing style. D 75-84 Analysis Critically analyses topic and literature. Outstanding evaluation of topic with ample evidence. Engaging introduction, logically ordered flow, and succinct, applied conclusion. Excellent vocabulary and writing style. Mastery of referencing. C 65-74 Application Understands what is seen and read and applies to topic. Careful presentation of evidence. Effective introduction and conclusion. Main body clear and logically developed. Effective expression and a respectable vocabulary. Good use of references in the correct style. P 50-64 Comprehension Demonstrates understanding of what is seen and read but does not apply to topic. Evidence documented but not well handled. Introduction and conclusion adequate. Material organized and main points clear. Sound vocabulary and basic style. May be minor errors in punctuation, spelling, grammar, etc., which do not interfere with meaning. Correct referencing style. FAIL <50 Rote/Recall Description of what is seen and read without apparent understanding Introduction and conclusion vague and weak. Material not organised and main points unclear. Basic presentation requirements not met. Errors in expression which interfere with meaning. Absence or incorrect use of referencing. GROUP MEMBERSHIP FORM Group members: LAST NAME FIRST NAME STUDENT NUMBER COMPANY ASSIGNED DATE SUBMITTED: _________________ CLASS TIME: _____________________ TUTOR: _______________________