Individual Assignment 1 Information Pack ACW1020 Semester 2 2023 This document contains the assignment details, organised under several headings, as shown below. Please refer to these headings for a clear understanding of the requirements and expectations for this assignment. A. Introduction B. Detailsofthetask C. Presentation D. Academic integrity E. Submittingassignment F. Marking rubric 1 Individual Assignment 1 Information Pack ACW1020 Semester 2 2023 Please read all the information carefully. Refer to it from time to time to ensure that you follow the requirements of this assessment task. If you have any questions, please use the Q&A forum for Individual Assignment 1, located near the submission link, to ask. A. Introduction This assessment task evaluates your achievement of learning outcomes 1, 2 and 5. 1 describe the role of accounting in business 2 5 examine issues confronted by managers in the decision-making process. To do well in this activity, you must have studied and completed the learning materials and activities for topics 1 to 4. B. Details of the task This assessment consists of 3 different tasks. They are as follows: 1. Task 1 (250 words) Write an essay to discuss the fundamental role of accounting in the business world. Your essay should include: • A description of the critical functions of accounting and how they contribute to organisational decision-making and accountability. • Your personal experience or observation where you have seen the importance of accounting in action, either within business organisations or in managing personal finances. 2. Task 2 (600 words) The Toshiba accounting scandal reported in 2015 brought to light significant irregularities in the company’s financial statements, leading to questions such as the reasons behind such manipulations, preventive measures to discourage accounting fraud, and the role of auditors in detecting accounting irregularities. Read this article on Toshiba’s accounting scandal to LO Description apply accounting principles and concepts in the interpretation of financial statements 2 learn about the scandal. You can also refer to reputable sources for more information on other accounting scandals. Based on your research, delve into the following issues: • Analyse and explain 2 plausible reasons a company’s management might manipulate accounting numbers to present a false financial picture. • Describe 2 actions a company’s board of directors and management can implement to discourage accounting manipulation in an organisation. • The accounting scandals raised serious questions about the effectiveness of the auditing process and the role of external auditors in detecting fraudulent accounting practices. Provide 2 reasons the auditors could fail to detect these problems during their audit process. 3. Task 3 (800 words) Financial statements are crucial for stakeholders to assess a company’s financial health and make informed decisions. They provide insights into a company’s performance, stability, and growth prospects. Financial statements offer valuable data on a company’s assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, and cash flows and help stakeholders make investment and credit decisions. Despite their importance and usefulness, financial statements have limitations due to historical data, accounting principles, and estimates. In light of the importance of understanding the usefulness and weaknesses of financial statements, your task is to analyse Top Glove (TG) 2021 Financial Statements. You must pay specific attention to the following matters and address the requirements accordingly. A. (400 words) Examine the completeness of information on assets in the statement of financial position. To complete this task, you are required to include the following points in your discussion and evaluation: • Define the accounting definition of assets and their essential characteristics and the importance of this definition in preparing financial statements. • Explain how the inclusion of property, plant and equipment (PPE) in TG’s statement of financial position (Group) is aligned with the accounting definition of assets. Refer to Note 16 on pages 234 – 237 for additional information on this asset. Use these notes to obtain general information on the assets, such as the types of PPE and their costs, to support your explanation. You can ignore the technical details of them. 3 B. (400words)Explainthedisparitybetweencashbalanceandprofit.Forthistask,you must study the cash and bank balances reported in TG’s statement of financial position (Group) and the profit after tax in TG’s statement of profit and loss (Group). Include the following points in your discussion: • Explain the general reasons for the discrepancies between the cash and bank balances and the profit after tax of TG. • Give 2 examples to explain the situations that contribute to the discrepancies. C. Presentation Your essays must follow these requirements: 1. You must have four (4) separate essays for this assignment – Essays for Task 1, Task 2, Task 3(A) and Task 3(B). 2. Please use paragraphs to highlight your points in each essay. Essays written without proper paragraphing will result in missed points and hence get low marks. 3. The essays must be word-processed using Arial font size 12, 1.5 spaced and fully justified paragraphs. 4. You must carefully check the accuracy of the spelling and sentence structures. The essay should have no glaring grammar, mechanics, or spelling mistakes. 5. The essays are expected to highlight your understanding of the issues and the knowledge application to answer the questions. This expectation means you must highlight your original idea and opinions in your essays. However, you could refer to other people’s work to strengthen your points, and a proper acknowledgement of the work is necessary through formal citations. Please use the APA style for citations, and limit your references to a maximum of 3 resources for each essay. The list of references must be presented on the last page of the assignment. 6. This essay emphasises clarity and conciseness of your knowledge. Therefore, please follow the word limit strictly (excluding the title, references and in-text citations). Please state the number of words used at the end of each essay. 7. Please note that non-compliance to the above requirements will be penalised. D. Academic integrity 1. This assessment task is an individual task. Therefore, no two or more essays should be similar. 2. You might discuss the requirements of this task with your friends, but the discussion should not result in highly similar essays being submitted. The individual essays from 4 you and your friends must be significantly different from each other. It is unacceptable that the differences between the two essays are in the use of words, phrases and sentence structures. The essays must show significant differences in describing the issue and application of knowledge. 3. You must always observe the highest standard of academic integrity as outlined in the University’s academic integrity policies. 4. Any suspected breach of academic integrity will be taken seriously. It is expected that all students must have completed the compulsory module on academic integrity and have a good knowledge of academic integrity. Please refer to the resources at this link to learn about academic integrity in Monash, https://www.monash.edu/student-academic-success/learnhq/maintain-academic-integrity 5. Similarity checking – All assignments must go through similarity checking using Turnitin. When you submit your essay at the submission link, the essay will go through Turnitin software, which detects plagiarism. Please note Turnitin is integrated into the submission link. You must upload your essay to the link for Turnitin to check the similarity. A Turnitin report will be generated immediately after submitting your essay at the submission link. Often, it will take a while to generate the report. So, please wait. After 3 resubmissions, the reports will be generated after 24 hours. Therefore, you must consider this period when submitting your assignment to avoid a late submission penalty. Using the feedback in the report, make the necessary changes before officially submitting the assignment by pressing the SUBMIT button. You are expected to be familiar with Turnitin. Learn about Turnitin here. 6. A less than or equal to 15% similarity is acceptable. However, you should still check to ensure that all your references and citations are accurate and that no unintentional plagiarism has occurred. 7. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are restricted for certain functions in this assessment task. In this assessment, you can use generative AI (1) to learn about both companies, (2) research the relevant accounting concepts and issues, and (3) enhance the quality of your writing. You are reminded that it is your responsibility to check the accuracy and reliability of the AI-generated information. The main points in the essays must come originally from your understanding of the information gathered by your research. Any similarity between your assignments and AI- generated content will be thoroughly investigated per the academic integrity policy. 8. The use of generative AI must be appropriately acknowledged. Please refer to the resources at this link on using AI ethically and acknowledge it in your work. You can place the acknowledgement before the list of references. 5 E. Submitting assignment 1. Make sure you upload your file in a PDF version. 2. On the top of the first page, please write your name, student ID and the title of this assignment. The assignment must be submitted to Moodle via the dedicated link before 28 August 2023, 4.30 pm (Malaysia time). The link is accepting submissions from 21 August 2023 at 10 am. 3. Please note ONLY one submission is allowed. Only submit when you are satisfied with your work. 4. You must click the SUBMIT button to finalise the submission process. Draft submissions will not be graded. 5. If you face any problems preventing submitting your assignment before the deadline, you can request extra time to complete your assignment. Please refer to the resources at this link on how to apply for a short extension and special consideration. 6. Unless you are granted an extension to submit the assignment, students who submit an assessment task after the deadline will receive a late-submission penalty of 10% of the available marks in that task. A further penalty of 10 per cent of the available marks will be applied for each additional day (24-hour period) or part thereof if the assessment task is overdue. The link will close and not accept submissions seven days after the due date. Zero marks are given for non-submission. F. Marking rubric The essays contribute 30% of your overall grade for this unit. Please refer to the marking rubric for the weightings of each assessment criterion below. 6 Marking rubric for Individual Assignment 1 ACW1020 Semester 2 2023 Criteria Max score High Distinction Distinction Credit Pass Fail Task 1 (14%) LO1 The student describes the critical function of accounting in decision-making and accountability. 7 The student presents a thorough description of the critical function of accounting in decision- making and accountability. The student presents an elaborate description of the critical function of accounting in decision- making and accountability. The student presents a clear description of the critical function of accounting in decision- making and accountability. The student presents a basic description of the critical function of accounting in decision- making and accountability. The student presents a limited description of the critical function of accounting in decision- making and accountability. The student analyses the importance of accounting based on their experience/observation. Task 2 (36%) LO5 7 The student presents a thorough analysis of the importance of accounting based on their experience or observation. The student presents an elaborate analysis of the importance of accounting based on their experience or observation. The student presents a clear analysis of the importance of accounting based on their experience or observation. The student presents a basic analysis of the importance of accounting based on their experience or observation, and the explanation is understandable. The student presents a limited analysis of the importance of accounting based on their experience or observation. The student analyses the reasons behind the manipulation of accounting numbers. 12 The student provides a thorough analysis of 2 reasons behind a company’s management manipulating accounting numbers. The student provides an elaborate analysis of 2 reasons behind a company’s management manipulating accounting numbers. Or, The student provides a thorough analysis of 1 reason behind a company’s management manipulating accounting numbers. The student provides a clear analysis of 2 reasons behind a company’s management manipulating accounting numbers. Or, The student provides an elaborate analysis of 1 reason behind a company’s management manipulating accounting numbers. The student provides a basic analysis of 2 reasons behind a company’s management manipulating accounting numbers. Or, The student provides a clear analysis of 1 reason behind a company’s management manipulating accounting numbers. The student provides a limited analysis of why a company’s management manipulates accounting numbers. Or, The student provides a basic/limited analysis of 1 reason behind a company’s management manipulating accounting numbers. The student describes actions that discourage accounting manipulations. 12 The student provides a thorough description of 2 actions that can discourage accounting manipulations. The student provides an elaborate description of 2 actions that can discourage accounting manipulations. Or, The student provides a clear description of 2 actions that can discourage accounting manipulations. Or, The student provides a basic description of 2 actions that can discourage accounting manipulations. Or, The student provides a limited description of 2 actions that can discourage accounting manipulations. Or, 1 2 1 2 7 The student provides a thorough description of 1 action that can discourage accounting manipulations. The student provides an elaborate description of 1 action that can discourage accounting manipulations. The student provides a clear description of 1 action that can discourage accounting manipulations. The student provides a basic/limited description of 1 action that can discourage accounting manipulations. The student evaluates why auditors could fail to detect the problems during their audit process. 12 The student presents a thorough evaluation of 2 reasons the auditors could fail to detect accounting manipulations. The student presents an elaborate evaluation of 2 reasons the auditors could fail to detect accounting manipulations. Or, The student presents a thorough evaluation of 1 reason the auditors could fail to detect accounting manipulations. The student presents a clear evaluation of 2 reasons the auditors could fail to detect accounting manipulations. Or, The student presents an elaborate evaluation of 1 reason the auditors could fail to detect accounting manipulations. The student presents a basic evaluation of 2 reasons the auditors could fail to detect accounting manipulations. Or, The student presents a clear evaluation of 1 reason the auditors could fail to detect accounting manipulations. The student presents a limited evaluation of 2 reasons the auditors could fail to detect accounting manipulations. Or, The student presents a basic/limited evaluation of 1 reason the auditors could fail to detect accounting manipulations. Task 3 (A) (25%) LO2 The student describes the accounting definition of assets and their importance. 12 The student provides a thorough description of the accounting definition of assets and the importance of the definition. The student provides an elaborate description of the accounting assets definition and the importance of the definition. The student provides a clear description of the accounting assets definition and the importance of the definition. The student provides a basic description of the accounting assets definition and the importance of the definition. The student provides a limited description of the accounting assets definition and the importance of the definition. The student applies the accounting definition of assets to TG’s PPE in the statement of financial position. 13 The student presents a thorough explanation of how the inclusion of property, plant and equipment (PPE) in TG’s statement of financial position is aligned with the accounting definition. The student presents an elaborate explanation of how the inclusion of property, plant and equipment (PPE) in TG’s statement of financial position is aligned with the accounting definition. The student presents a clear explanation of how the inclusion of property, plant and equipment (PPE) in TG’s statement of financial position is aligned with the accounting definition. The student presents a basic explanation of how the inclusion of property, plant and equipment (PPE) in TG’s statement of financial position is aligned with the accounting definition. The student presents a limited explanation of how the inclusion of property, plant and equipment (PPE) in TG’s statement of financial position is aligned with the accounting definition. Task 3 (B) (25%) The student interprets the discrepancies between cash and profit 12 The student provides a thorough explanation of the discrepancies between cash and profit. The student provides an elaborate explanation of the discrepancies between cash and profit. The student provides a clear explanation of the discrepancies between cash and profit. The student provides a basic explanation of the discrepancies between cash and profit. The student provides a limited explanation of the discrepancies between cash and profit. 3 1 2 1 2 The student identifies situations that contribute to the discrepancies 13 The student presents a thorough explanation of The student presents an elaborate The student presents a clear explanation of 2 The student presents a basic explanation of 2 The student presents a limited explanation of 2 8 2 situations that contribute to the discrepancies. explanation of 2 situations that contribute to the discrepancies. Or, The student presents a thorough explanation of 1 situation that contributes to the discrepancies. situations that contribute to the discrepancies. Or, The student presents an elaborate explanation of 1 situation that contributes to the discrepancies. situations that contribute to the discrepancies. Or, The student presents a clear explanation of 1 situation that contributes to the discrepancies. situations that contribute to the discrepancies. Or, The student presents a basic/ limited explanation of 1 situation that contributes to the discrepancies. General requirements The student follows the requirements of this assignment. 1. Name and student ID are presented. 2. Use the prescribed font size, line spacing, and justified paragraphs. 3. Each essay is identified clearly. 4. Paragraphs are used to highlight the main points in each essay. 5. A list of not more than 12 references is presented using APA style. 6. Acknowledge the use (or not using) of Generative AI. 7. Exceeding word limits or not stated. Max deduction of 4 marks The student strictly follows all the requirements. The student omits 1 requirement. The student omits 2 requirements. The student omits 3 requirements. The student omits more than 3 requirements. 1 TOTAL 100 9