HOLMES INSTITUTE
FACULTY OF
HIGHER EDUCATION
HI6025 Accounting Theory and Cu
ent Issues Group Assignment T2 2020
Assessment Details and Submission Guidelines
Trimester T2 2020
Unit Code HI6025
Unit Title Accounting Theory and Cu
ent Issues
Assessment Type Group Assignment
Assessment Title Adoption of IFRSs and CSR Reporting
Purpose of the
assessment (with ULO
Mapping)
Students are required to critically examine the adoption of IFRSs and the benefits and
challenges for reporting entities in Australia or any one country of choice. They will have
to do research on relevant literature and demonstrate understanding and critical
evaluation of key disclosure issues relating to application of specific accounting
standards. They will also need to compare and contrast a real-life company’s corporate
social responsibility (CSR) reporting and recommend future directions to the Australian
financial reporting regulators. (ULO 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).
Weight 40 % of the total assessments
Total Marks 40
Word limit 3,000 words ± 500 words
Due Date Group Formation: Please form the group by self-enrolling in Blackboard. There
should be maximum of 4 members in a group. Email XXXXXXXXXX for
any issues with self-enrolling into groups.
Assignment submission: Final Submission of Group Assignment: Week 10, Thursday
24th of September at 11:59 pm.
Late submission incurs penalties of five (5) % of the assessment per calendar day unless
an extension and/or special consideration has been granted by Student Services of
your campus prior to the assessment deadline.
Submission
Guidelines
• All work must be submitted on Blackboard by the due date along with a completed
Assignment Cover Page.
• The assignment must be in MS Word format, no spacing, 12-pt Arial font and 2 cm
margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings and page
numbers.
• Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report and listed appropriately at
the end in a reference list using Harvard referencing style.
mailto: XXXXXXXXXX
Page 2 of 10
HI6025 Accounting Theory and Cu
ent Issues
Assignment Specifications
Purpose:
This assignment aims at developing the student’s ability to critically examine the financial reporting
egulations for reporting entities in Australia or any one country of choice, and the effect of adopting IFRSs
(global accounting standards). They will also need to compare and contrast a real-life company’s corporate
social responsibility (CSR) reporting and recommend future directions to the Australian financial reporting
egulators. Students will have to research relevant academic literature, including related organisation
websites and write in-text citations in this assignment. Additionally, they will demonstrate understanding and
critical evaluation of the Australian financial reporting environment and its cu
ent regulatory framework, and
ecommend future directions to the Australian financial reporting regulators.
Required Task:
Part A
1. Choose a country that has adopted IFRSs (i.e. global accounting standards) for at least 3 or more years,
as revealed in the accounting literature, and discuss the following:
I. In what year did the country adopt IFRSs?
II. Were the IFRSs introduced all together (at once), or gradually into the local accounting standards of
your chosen country? Explain the possible reason.
III. Discuss the benefits and challenges reported in the literature about the adoption of IFRSs in your
chosen country.
2. Choose a publicly listed company from your chosen country above that you can access their annual report,
including financial statements and notes to the accounts. (e.g. Choose a company that is listed in the Australian
Securities Exchange (ASX) if you chose Australia; or Hong Kong Exchange if you chose Hong Kong etc.). Find
and download the financial statements for two (2) years as follows:
• 1st financial statement – Choose the year immediately before IFRSs adoption and
• 2nd financial statement – Choose either 2019 or 2018 only.
Compare the two (2) years’ financial statements and accompanying notes to the accounts selected above, and
discuss the following:
I. Identify and discuss any remarkable changes to the disclosures relating to any two of the following
financial aspects:
• Non-Cu
ent Assets
• Intangible Assets
• Leases
• Employee Benefits
II. Express your opinion about the usefulness of the new format of disclosures compared to the
disclosures at the pre-adoption of IFRSs. Include examples to support your opinion.
Page 3 of 10
HI6025 Accounting Theory and Cu
ent Issues
Part B
1. Discuss key trends in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), as reviewed in the literature in the past 5 years.
(Word limit: approx. 500 – 800 words).
2. Choose one company listed on the ASX and obtain its latest annual report (incl. financial statements).
Compare and contrast the extent of CSR reporting by your chosen company with your review of the literature
(above in 1.), by answering the following questions:
I. Evaluate the company’s extent of CSR reporting. (Include in your discussion, specific evidence of
CSR disclosures, e.g. environmental etc.).
II. Using one relevant accounting theory (e.g. PAT, Legitimacy Theory, Stakeholder Theory), explain
why particular CSR disclosures were made by your chosen company.
III. In your opinion, is there scope for improvement in CSR reporting by your company? Explain with
two specific examples.
3. Based on your findings, provide two (2) recommendations to the Australian financial reporting regulators
about the future of CSR reporting that will guide Australian public entities in the future.
Assignment Structure should be as the following:
Assignment cover page clearly stating your name(s) and student number(s)
Group’s Assignment Task Allocation table (except for Solo group members)
Abstract (one paragraph)
Table of Content
Introduction
Body of the assignment with appropriate section headings
Conclusion
List of references
Appendices (optional)
To ensure that all students participate equitably in the group assignment and that students are responsible
for the academic integrity of all components of the assignment. You need to complete the following Group
Assignment Task Allocation table, which identifies which student/students are responsible for the various
sections of the assignment.
Assignment Section Student/Students
This table needs to be completed and submitted with the assignment as it is a compulsory component
equired before any grading is undertaken. Students that are registered in a solo group are not required to
fill this table.
Page 4 of 10
HI6025 Accounting Theory and Cu
ent Issues
Academic Integrity
Holmes Institute is committed to ensuring and upholding Academic Integrity, as Academic Integrity is integral
to maintaining academic quality and the reputation of Holmes’ graduates. Accordingly, all assessment tasks
need to comply with academic integrity guidelines. Table 1 identifies the six categories of Academic Integrity
eaches. If you have any questions about Academic Integrity issues related to your assessment tasks, please
consult your lecturer or tutor for relevant referencing guidelines and support resources. Many of these
esources can also be found through the Study Sills link on Blackboard.
Academic Integrity
eaches are a serious offence punishable by penalties that may range from deduction of
marks, failure of the assessment task or unit involved, suspension of course enrolment, or cancellation of
course enrolment.
Table 1: Six categories of Academic Integrity
eaches
Plagiarism Reproducing the work of someone else without attribution.
When a student submits their own work on multiple occasions
this is known as self-plagiarism.
Collusion Working with one or more other individuals to complete an
assignment, in a way that is not authorised.
Copying Reproducing and submitting the work of another student, with
or without their knowledge. If a student fails to take reasonable
precautions to prevent their own original work from being
copied, this may also be considered an offence.
Impersonation Falsely presenting oneself, or engaging someone else to present
as oneself, in an in-person examination.
Contract cheating Contracting a third party to complete an assessment task,
generally in exchange for money or other manner of
payment.
Data fa
ication and
falsification
Manipulating or inventing data with the intent of supporting
false conclusions, including manipulating images.
Source: INQAAHE, 2020
Page 5 of 10
HI6025 Accounting Theory and Cu
ent Issues
Marking Criteria:
Marking criteria Weighting
Abstract 1%
Introduction 2%
Part A
1. Choose a country that has adopted IFRSs (i.e. global accounting standards) for at least 3
or more years, then discuss the following:
I. In what year did the country adopt IFRSs?
1%
II. Were the IFRSs introduced all together (at once), or gradually into the local
accounting standards of your chosen country? Explain the possible reason.
3%
III. Discuss the benefits and challenges reported in the literature about the adoption of
IFRSs in your chosen country.
4%
2. Compare the two (2) years’ financial statements and accompanying notes to the accounts
selected above, and discuss the following:
I. Identify and discuss any remarkable changes to the disclosures relating to any
two of the following financial aspects:
• Non-Cu
ent Assets
• Intangible Assets
• Leases
• Employee Benefits
4%
II. Express your opinion about the usefulness of the new format of disclosures
compared to the disclosures at the pre-adoption of IFRSs. Include examples to
support your opinion.
3%
Part B
1. Discuss key trends in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), as reviewed in the literature
in the past 5 years. (Word limit: approx. 500 – 800 words).
5%
2. Choose one company listed on the ASX and obtain its latest annual report (incl. financial
statements). Compare and contrast the extent of CSR reporting by your chosen company
with your review of the literature (above in 1.), by answering the following questions:
I