Unit Code: ACT301
Unit Name: Accounting Theory and contemporary issues
Individual Assignment 1
Semester 2 2021
Assessment weight 15%
Submission Requirements.
This assignment is to be submitted before 26th September 2021 half an hour before midnight.
Assignments are to be submitted by one of the following means: DO NOT LODGE BY FAX nor EMAIL nor at LECTURER’S OFFICE KEEP A COPY
The assignment must be lodged on or before the due date indicated in the assignment details.
Only word docs will be acceptable. Handwritten answers will be rejected.
The assignment must conform to the requirements set out in this assignment.
The assignment must be lodged online via the ACT301: Learnline Assignment Lodgement link on the ACT301 Learnline site. Ensure your file is named using a file naming convention that allows the lecturer to identify to whom it belongs. Failure to use an acceptable file naming convention may result in your assignment lodgement being rejected.
DO NOT LODGE VIA EMAIL or FAX – assignments lodged by email or fax will not be accepted.
KEEP A COPY – Ensure you have a copy of the assignment lodged. If you have submitted assessment work electronically, please make sure you have a backup copy.
Assignment lodgements will be acknowledged automatically on the Learnline site, on submission.
DO NOT submit an assignment front sheet.
Resubmission
As a general rule resubmission of assessment items is NOT possible, however the Lecturer may ask for resubmission if it is deemed appropriate. Details for such resubmission will be made available by the Lecturer if and when the situation occurs.
University Plagiarism policy
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of material written or produced by others or a rework of your own material. All sources of information and ideas used in assignments must be referenced. This applies whether the information is from a book, journal article, the internet, or a previous essay you wrote or the assignment of a friend.
Plagiarism policy is available at Student Breach of Academic Integrity Procedures http://www.cdu.edu.au/governance/doclibrary/pro-092.pdf
EXTENSIONS AND LATE LODGEMENTS
LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL GENERALLY NOT BE ACCEPTED UNLESS AN EXTENSION TO THE DUE DATE HAS BEEN GRANTED BY THE BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR.
Exceptions will only be made where assignments are late due to special circumstances that are supported by documentary evidence and may be subject to a penalty of 5% of assignment marks per day. Partially completed assignments will be accepted with appropriate loss of marks for the incomplete portion.
Should students foresee potential difficulties with submission of assessment items, they should contact the lecturer immediately the difficulties come to notice, to discuss suitable arrangements etc. for the submission of those assessment times. An Application for Assignment Extension or Special Consideration should be completed and provided to [email protected].
This application form, explanation and instructions is available on the ACT301 CDU Learnline course site or direct from http://learnline.cdu.edu.au/units/lb_school_templates/deployed/assignment_extension.docx
Please note that it is now College policy that all extension requests must be approved by the Business Administrator. The lecturer is no longer able to personally approve extension requests.
Leaving a request for an extension, special assessment, or special consideration until the last moment, based on grounds that students could have reasonably been able to foresee, may result in the application being rejected.
ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION
This is an individual assignment.
Please make sure that names and ID numbers of all group members are stated on the cover sheet of your submission.
This Assignment is worth 15% of the total assessment for this unit. This assignment will be marked out of 35 and scaled down to being out of 15.
Assignment has Two Questions.
Weight: Question 1: 15 marks and Question 2: 20 marks.
Word Limit: Word limit is kept open for both questions.
QUESTION 1 (5 + 5 + 5 = 15 marks)
Let us assume that the government has become concerned that existing disclosure regulation tends to fixate on the financial performance of organisation but fails to address other aspects of corporate performance, including failure to provide information about corporate social and environmental impacts as well as about various initiatives and investments an organisation has undertaken to improve its social and environmental performance. As such, the government has decided to introduce legislation that will require business corporations to provide information about the social and environmental impacts of their operations, as well as the social and environmental initiatives undertaken by the corporations.
Required:
You are required to answer at your own of the following questions:
(a) Explain from a ’Public Interest Theory Perspective’ the rationale for the government introducing the legislation and how the government will assess whether any proposed legislation should be introduced. (5 Marks)
(b) Predict from a ‘Capture Theory Perspective’ the type of constituents that will benefit in the long run from any social and environmental disclosure legislation. (5 Marks)
(c) Predict from an ‘Economic Interest Group Perspective’ whether any potential legislation to be introduced will lead to an increase in the accountability of corporations in relation to their social and environmental performance despite any implications that this increased corporate accountability might have for the financial success of large but heavily polluting organisations. (5 Marks)
QUESTION 2 (5 + 10 = 20 marks)
We have discussed various theories in the lecturers. By concept of the theories, you have learnt answer the following questions in your own words.
(a) Explain the concept of “Accountability”. (5 Marks)
(b) What aspects of corporate performance do you believe that a business organisation should be accountable for? (15 marks)
End of Assignment 1