Page 1 XXXXXXXXXXKaplan Business School Assessment Outline Assessment 1...

Question

Page 1 XXXXXXXXXXKaplan Business School Assessment Outline

Assessment 1 Information

Subject Code: ACCM4600
Subject Name: Accounting Theory & Contemporary Issues
Assessment Title: Individual Research Assignment – Part 1 and Part 2
Assessment Type: Research Assignment
Weighting: 20% + 40%
Total Marks: XXXXXXXXXX
Submission: Via Turnitin
Due Dates: Weeks 5 & 10

Your Task

1) Prepare to write a business report by following the instructions given below
2) Write the final business report by following the instructions given below

Assessment Description

You work for a medium sized but fast growing accounting practice as a graduate. The partners
have tasked you with writing a report which provides them with the information necessary to
determine whether and to what extent they should engage with ‘Integrated Reporting’ with a view
to providing clients advice in this area. The partners are aware that integrated reporting is a
growing area of interest but some are unsure of what it really means or how to go about using it
to help their clients.

The partners have varying opinions on the matter. One of the partners, Jimmy Chung, is
particularly keen on the idea and believes that it would give them a competitive advantage,
enable them to be seen as a rounded “full-service” practice and that it is an important way for
them to make a real, positive contribution to clients’ businesses and the
oader community of
stakeholders.

Another partner Deepak Shami thinks it could be an expensive exercise that would add little to
the success of the practice. He believes that the practice should focus on its core businesses of
tax, auditing and advisory services and not wo
y about “gimmicks”. He said “This is just a fad
that will disappear in a few years, and we should not waste resources investing in it”.

The partners want recommendations that they can discuss at their next board meeting. The
oard includes lawyers and other specialists (non-accountants) as well as the partners
(accountants). They have requested you to make sure that your report contains (but is not
necessarily restricted to) advice or responses to the following aspects:

1. The background to and meaning of integrated reporting.

2. Arguments for and against focusing on integrated reporting; What are the costs and benefits of
doing so?
Page 2 XXXXXXXXXXKaplan Business School Assessment Outline

3. Assuming integrated reporting is chosen as a viable option - How should this new area be
marketed to clients? What exactly are the types of services that might be offered; What are the
type of skills and training the staff employed in it would require?

4. Should the accounting practice consider embedding integrated reporting policies more firmly in
its own business? (as well as advising clients on the issue) Explain your reasoning.

You are aware of some excellent literature on integrated reporting that you will also incorporate in
this report. You can include any information in the report which you think will assist them to make
this important decision. You must use at least ten resources to inform your discussion. The li
ary
databases (http:
elearning.kbs.edu.au/course/view.php?id=159) will provide many useful journal
articles on this topic. Remember that although many Australian companies are keen to engage
with integrated reporting they are unsure of what it really means or how to implement it in their
organisations.

Assessment Instructions

You need to provide this information requested above in a report format in two stages as outlined
elow.

Part 1: 20% due Monday of week 5 – Evaluating information resources and research plan –
detailed instructions:

1) Read the case study and
iefly answer the following questions:

a) What is the purpose of your report?
) What is the audience for your report?
c) What are the (key) decisions to be made?
d) What information would help you to make these decisions?
e) When you search for relevant information (in a database for example) what keywords do
you use?

2) Identify 10 sources relevant to the project (e.g. journal articles, textbooks, websites etc). At least
4 of these must be academic journal articles but there should be a variety of different sources
used.

3) Complete a source analysis on 3 of the 10 sources with full bibliographic references. At least 2
of these sources must be academic journal articles. Refer to the source analysis template.

4) Provide a full plan of main and sub headings of the report (include appropriate numbering).
Resources to help you understand these requirements and in particular the source analysis
template are provided on Moodle, including explanatory documents, marking ru
ics and slides
(which accompany a presentation by your lecturer in week 2).

Resources to help you understand these requirements and in particular the source analysis
template are provided on Moodle, including explanatory documents, marking ru
ics and slides
(which accompany a presentation by your lecturer in week 2). Please ensure you use all the
documents provided to help you.

Maximum words: 1500
Page 3 XXXXXXXXXXKaplan Business School Assessment Outline

Part 2: 40% due Monday of week 10 - Final Business Report

Business report technical content 30%
Business report format, language, presentation & response to feedback 10%

Maximum words: 3000 (not including references, abstract and appendices)

Note: The Assessment Ru
ic or marking ru
ic is a separate document and you are advised to
ead through it to obtain guidance on how the lecturers will mark your assignment.

A summary of the mark allocation is given below:

Summary of Marks:

Technical Skills - 30 Marks
Professional Competency Skills:
Feedback, Format, Language and Presentation 10 Marks
Evaluating information resources and research plan 20 Marks

Assignment Mark 60 Marks
Page 4 XXXXXXXXXXKaplan Business School Assessment Outline

Important Study Information

Academic Integrity Policy

KBS values academic integrity. All students must understand the meaning and consequences
of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Academic Integrity and Conduct
Policy.

What is academic integrity and misconduct?
What are the penalties for academic misconduct?
What are the late penalties?
How can I appeal my grade?

Click here for answers to these questions:
http:
www.kbs.edu.au/cu
ent-students/student-policies/.

Word Limits for Written Assessments

Submissions that exceed the word limit by more than 10% will cease to be marked from the point
at which that limit is exceeded.

Study Assistance

Students may seek study assistance from their local Academic Learning Advisor or refer to the
esources on the MyKBS Academic Success Centre page. Click here for this information.

http:
www.kbs.edu.au/cu
ent-students/student-policies
https:
elearning.kbs.edu.au/course/view.php?id=1481
    Assessment 1 Information
    Subject Code:
    Subject Name:
    Individual Research Assignment – Part 1 and Part 2
    Assessment Title:
    Research Assignment
    Assessment Type:
    Weighting:
     XXXXXXXXXX
    Total Marks:
    Via Turnitin
    Submission:
    Weeks 5 & 10
    Due Dates:
    20% + 40%
    Accounting Theory & Contemporary Issues
    ACCM4600

accm4600t32019assignment-part12-njwhnv1h.pdf

Preeta · Accepted Answer

INTEGRATED REPORTING
INTEGRATED REPORTING
STUDENT NAME -
STUDENT ID -
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: 
This report is on integrated reporting. The main purpose of the report is to understand the whole process of integrated reporting and to make a recommendation if it can be implemented in business organization. This report has been done from the view point of an accounting firm which is considering implementing integrated reporting for the business of its clients. 
At first the whole situation has been explained under introduction and the considerations which the accounting firm is making. Then a background has been provided on integrated accounting that is the meaning of it along with the factors which need to be considered for the implementation of the reporting system. Then the advantages of integrated accounting have been discussed followed by the disadvantages of the reporting system. After that the cost and benefit analysis is done for integrated reporting.  Next, the discussions have been made on the changes which are to be brought in an organization in order to implement the system of integrated reporting.  
Based on the above discussions, recommendations have been made if integrated reporting can be implemented or not. In the end, conclusions have been drawn based on the whole study made for the purpose of the report.   
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:	1
INTRODUCTION:	3
INTEGRATED REPORTING:	4
ADVANTAGES OF INTEGRATED REPORTING:	5
DISADVANTAGES OF INTEGRATED REPORTING:	6
COSTS AND BENEFIT OF INTEGRATED REPORTING:	8
CHANGES TO BE MADE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF INTEGRATED REPORTING:	9
RECOMMENDATION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF INTEGRATED REPORTING:	10
CONCLUSIONS:	11
REFERENCES:	12
INTRODUCTION: 
This report has been written from the point of view of an accounting practitioner who is working with a medium sized accounting firm. That firm is considering the adoption of integrated reporting to give better services to the consumers. The clients know about the growing popularity of integrated reporting and how it is becoming an interesting factor for most of the business houses but they are completely unaware about what integrated reporting is actually and how they can use it. 
One of the partners of the firm, Jimmy Chung is of the opinion that adoption of integrated reporting will help the firm to gain competitive advantages, provide better services to the clients by contributing in their business in a real and positive way. Moreover the value for all the business stakeholders will improve. 
But another partner, Deepak Shami is of the opinion that the firm should concentrate on it core business areas which are audit, tax and other areas of financial advice. He feels that compared to the huge expense to be incurred for the implementation of integrated reporting, it will add little to the success to the business of the clients. He is of the opinion that integrated reporting is so popular due to its newness and is just for some temporary time and will eventually fade away from the practice. 
So, this report has been prepared to discuss what integrated reporting actually is and it benefits and flaws so that a recommendation can be made regarding its implementation which can be discussed in the next meeting of the board. The board consists of the partners, lawyers as well as non accountant specialists. Even if the reporting method is implemented then the changes which are required to be brought in the organization has been discussed in this report. 
INTEGRATED REPORTING: 
International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) is primarily responsible for the development and the promotion of integrated reporting. The council is formed of investors, regulators, standard setters, the accounting professionals, companies and non-governmental organizations. Integrated reporting is a type of corporate communication which communicates the shareholders the value that is being created by an organization over a certain period of time through discharge of its operational activities (Eccles and Krzus, 2010). This kind of reporting connects strategic objectives and governance of the organization with the risk and performance of the organization to study the process of value creation. The main focus of this reporting is on the creation of value through all the performance areas of the company and not just focusing on the short term financial figures that is revenue and profit. The context of environmental, economic and social is included in the reporting. The value creation is checked for short term, medium term as well as long term. 
Some factors are needed to be considered to implement integrated reporting for an organization, which are as follows (Eccles and Saltzman, 2011): 
· An overview of the organization needs to be obtained so understand its location, way of formation, structure and operation. The external environment of the organization also needs to be analyzed. PESTEL analysis can be done for that purpose. The stakeholders of the company are also important. 
· The opportunities and risks for the organization need to be analyzed from both internal as well as external factors. SWOT analysis can be done to understand the opportunities and threats. Bigger the brand name of the company bigger will be opportunity but the associated risks to that opportunity also need to be evaluated properly. 
· The strategy of the company need to be evaluated that is if the company is planning for new expansion or new product launch or to set up a new factory. BCG matrix, Porter’s models and the value chain can be used for this purpose. It is also to be analyzed as to how the organization is allocating its resources. 
· It is important to study the business model of the company that is the whole system of processing the inputs to bring the required output or outcome which is according to the strategy and purpose of the company to create value over short, medium as well as long term. Inputs are the human resources and the raw materials where outputs are the final products and services. Several performance management measurements can be used for this purpose. 
· The past performance of the company also needs to be analyzed that is how the organization has performed so far and has produced the desired outcomes as per the strategy of the organization with its available resources.

Page 1 XXXXXXXXXXKaplan Business School Assessment Outline Assessment 1 Information Subject Code: ACCM4600 Subject Name: Accounting Theory & Contemporary Issues Assessment Title: Individual Research...

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