Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convener
Stephen Haswell
Contact via Accg308@mq.edu.au
E4A 210
Wednesday 1pm to 3pm.
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
39cp including ACCG224
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit examines the framework and techniques that are used to prepare general purpose financial reports for companies. The unit builds on the first and second year financial accounting units and further considers the recognition and measurement of financial statement elements. A major topic of the unit is the techniques of consolidation accounting used to prepare the consolidated financial statements for a corporate group. Through the in-depth discussion of a number of key corporate accounting issues, this unit provides students with the technical accounting knowledge to prepare and use company financial statements. This unit develops graduate capabilities centred on higher order analysis and effective communication skills. Political and ethical issues surrounding recent financial reporting controversies are also considered.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Due |
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Class test | 18% | Weeks 7,10,12 |
Report | 14% | 10 October 2016 |
Assessed Coursework | 8% | Week 13 |
Final Examination | 60% | University Examination Period |
Due: Weeks 7,10,12
Weighting: 18%
There are three class tests to be completed in registered tutorials in weeks 7, 10 and 12. Each class test is worth 6%. The class test is completed under exam conditions, closed book. Students are not allowed to access the textbook or other course materials. Students have to bring a calculator for each class test, and will NOT be allowed to share calculators or access any electronic devices (e.g., phones, tablets, etc.) during the test.
Submission
Students must attempt the class test in registered tutorials in weeks 7, 10 and 12.
Extension
No extension will be granted.
Penalties
Students who do not complete the class test in their registered tutorial will be awarded a mark of zero for the task, except for cases in which an application for disruption to studies is made and approved.
What is required to complete satisfactorily?
Students will be expected to attend lectures weekly and to undertake independent study in preparation for the test questions. It is expected that students spend approximately 6 hours of study per class test.
Due: 10 October 2016
Weighting: 14%
Students will be assigned into groups of five (or less) by their tutors to complete a group report. Detailed requirements and marking criteria of the report will be released on iLearn in week 5. The report is due by 4pm, Monday 10 October 2016 (week 9).
Details of the assignment question will be posted on i-learn.
Submission
Each group must submit electronically to i-Learn by 4pm, Monday 10 October. Detailed instructions will be available in Week 5 via iLearn. Please do NOT submit the report to tutors. When you submit your assignment, Turnitin will produce an Originality Report, which will be examined by markers. Turnitin is an internet database that identifies papers containing unoriginal material.
Extension
No extension will be granted. Late submission (i.e., submitted after the deadline) will incur a penalty.
Penalties
Late assignments will be accepted up to 72 hours after the submission deadline. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission – 20% penalty). This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for disruption of studies is made and approved. Note: FBE administrators would expect a very detailed reason why a group project would be granted a disruption to studies and any such application might or might not be granted.
No submission will be accepted after solutions have been posted.
Severe penalties will apply to cases of plagiarism. Further details of plagiarism penalties are included in the assignment guide to be posted on i-learn.
What is required to complete satisfactorily?
Guidelines for interaction between group members will be provided by week 5. It is suggested that a timeline is developed and used by group members to constantly monitor progress. Each group member is expected to spend approximately 24 hours of study (e.g., research, writing up the report, discussion, etc.) for the report.
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 8%
Task overview
Weekly homework will be collected and assessed randomly by tutors (at 4 out of 12 tutorials). Each homework will be awarded a mark out of 2 (i.e., 8%).
Due date
Ongoing throughout the session.
Deliverables and requirements
Student is required to prepare thoroughly the homework questions.
Submission
Homework is due in tutorials. Tutor will randomly determine which weeks that the homework will be collected.
Extension
No extensions will be granted.
Marking criteria
To receive 2 marks, student must have made a genuine attempt to provide a comprehensive answer to the questions in that homework. Where student has made a moderate attempt of the homework questions, 1 mark will be awarded. A mark of zero will be awarded for a non-satisfactory attempt or a non-submission.
Penalties
Students who have not submitted the homework in tutorials will be awarded a mark of zero, except for cases in which an application for disruption of studies is made and approved. If the application is approved, tutor will do another random collection of the student's homework for marking.
Estimated student workload
It is expected that students spend approximately 3-4 hours of study for homework each week.
Due: University Examination Period
Weighting: 60%
A final examination is included as an assessment task for this unit to provide assurance that:
i) the product belongs to the student and
ii) the student has attained the knowledge and skills tested in the exam.
The final exam is of three hours and ten minutes duration. The final exam of ACCG308 is designed to test you against the learning objectives of the unit. Students in ACCG308 for 2016 will be required to do a final exam that tests them on all the material covered during the session.
The University Examination period in the second half year 2016 is from Monday 14 November to Friday 2 December. You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the University Timetable. The timetable will be available in Draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the examinations and in Final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of the examinations. It is the student's responsibility to make sure that they have ascertained the room number for their exam before the exam day.
You are advised that it is Macquarie University policy not to set early examinations for individuals or groups of students. All students are expected to ensure that they are available until the end of the teaching session, that is, the final day of the official examination period.
The only exception to not sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances you may wish to consider applying for Disruption to Studies. The University’s policy on Disruption to Studies process is available at: http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html Further details of policy on Disruption to Studies are given in the section below.
If a Supplementary Examination is granted as a result of the Disruption to Studies process, the examination will be scheduled as per Supplementary Examination timetable of the Faculty. Please note that the supplementary examination will be of a similar format as the final examination.
The Macquarie university examination policy details the principles and conduct of examinations at the University. The policy is available at:
http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/examination/policy.htm
Details regarding the form and scope of the final exam will be provided to you during the final lecture. In the meantime you should be aware that the best preparation for the final exam is as follows:
What is required to complete the unit satisfactorily
Students must pass the final exam and pass the overall assessment to receive a passing grade in this unit.
Expectations and Workload
Students are expected to spend 150 hours working on this unit. As a guide a student should spend these approximate amounts of time on each of the following activities:
Activities
Hours
1
Weekly lectures/tutorials
39
2
Assessed coursework
16
3
Group assignment
24
4
Class tests
18
5
Final exam
21
6
Readings/self-study
32
TOTAL
150
Name Stephen Haswell Unit Convenor & Lecturer |
Email address accg308@mq.edu.au
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Claudia Chau Administrator |
accg308@mq.edu.au
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Please use email as the first form of contact. Teaching staff will receive correspondence only if sent to the unit email account above.
The consultation timetable will be made available on the unit’s website in week 2. Staff members are available for two hours per week for consultation starting from week 3.
You are encouraged to seek help at a time that is convenient to you from a staff member teaching on this unit during their regular consultation hours. In special circumstances, an appointment may be made outside regular consultation hours. Staff will not conduct any consultations by email. You may, however, phone staff during their consultation hours.
In order to gain access to staff located at levels 2 and 3 of building E4A during their consultation hours, please ring the staff member from the phones available in the lobby (phone numbers of relevant staff members will be provided on iLearn and are available next to the phones).
Students experiencing significant difficulties with any topic in the unit must seek assistance immediately.
ACCG308 requires students to attend one two-hour lecture per week. Lecture places have been allocated by the university’s on-line enrolment system to ensure that lecture theatres do not become overcrowded, causing non-compliance with Occupational Health and Safety Guidelines including the fire safety regulations. Therefore you must attend your allocated lecture time. Proof of registration may be required if overcrowding occurs.
Day |
Time |
Room |
Monday |
6 - 8 pm |
X5B T1 |
Thursday |
3 - 5 pm |
W5A T2 |
ACCG308 also requires students to attend a weekly small group tutorial of one-hour duration. The maximum number of students in each group is thirty.
Tutors will record attendance each week. You must attend at least 9 of the 12 tutorials in order to complete satisfactory coursework requirements for this unit. For this purpose we do not accept medical certificates for missed tutorials; it is up to you to organise yourself to come to at least nine tutorials.
Tutorials begin in Week 2 – the week beginning 8 August.
Tutorial places have been allocated by the University's on-line enrolment system. Most tutorials are already full. If you do not already have a tutorial time, then you must enrol on-line as soon as possible.
Due to the large number of students enrolled in ACCG308, changes to tutorial times are managed by the on-line enrolment system. It is not necessary to contact members of staff about tutorial changes. On-line enrolment changes will be shut down at the end of week 2 so all changes must be made by then.
You can only attend and sit for the Assessed Coursework in your registered tutorial.
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Prize is awarded to the best student in the unit ACCG308 Corporate Accounting and Reporting.
Jubb, P.B., Haswell, S.M. and I.A. Langfield-Smith, Company Accounting, 5th Edition 2010, Cengage, Melbourne.
The text can be purchased from the Macquarie University Co-op Bookshop.
This text is used extensively for both lecture references and for tutorial work in each week of the unit. Ideally students should have a copy of this text that they can access at all times. Copies of this text are available on Library Reserve.
You will need basic computer skills to use Macquarie University’s iLearn teaching facility (refer to the detail contained below in Unit Web Page). You will need to download documents supplied in pdf format.
ACCG308 lecture handouts, notices and homework solutions will be available in full from the unit’s web page. You can access the web page on campus, at work or at home, where you can login to “iLearn” https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/. Please check the web site on a regular basis for notices, updates, etc.
Lectures will be audio recorded on ‘iLecture’ and made available on iLearn by the end of the week. 'Virtual tutorials', which provide detailed explanations for some self-study homework questions, are also made available for some topics.
Week commencing |
Lecturer |
Lecture Topic |
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Week 1 1 August |
SH |
Unit introduction, overview of regulation |
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Week 2 8 August |
SH |
Introductory company accounting, share issues, distributions to owners |
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Week 3 15 August |
SH |
Company reorganisation |
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Week 4 22 August |
SH |
Debt securities |
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Week 5 29 August |
SH |
Business combination |
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Week 6 5 September |
SH |
Purchase consolidation 1 |
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Week 7 12 September |
SH |
Purchase consolidation 2 |
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Mid term break: 17 September to 3 October | ||||
Week 8 4 October |
SH |
Intra-group transactions |
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Week 9 10 October |
SH |
Direct non-controlling interest |
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Week 10 17 October |
SH |
Indirect interest |
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Week 11 24 October |
SH |
Equity accounting |
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Week 12 31 October |
SH |
Receivership, voluntary administration, and liquidations |
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Week 13 7 November |
SH |
Discussion of final examination |
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Please see assessment guide on i-learn for full details of textbook readings and exercises. |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
New Assessment Policy in effect from Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html. For more information visit http://students.mq.edu.au/events/2016/07/19/new_assessment_policy_in_place_from_session_2/
Assessment Policy prior to Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy prior to Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.
This graduate capability is supported by:
The first lecture (week 1) begins with administration of the unit. Topic areas covered include the International Accounting Standards Board, Australian equivalents of International Financial Reporting Standards, and the Framework.
Week 2 examines share issues and the elements of financial statements and how they are presented in a company’s accounting records and classified in the financial statements.
Week 3 discusses the re-organization of a company’s capital. Of special interest is the share buyback, a procedure used recently by a number of high-profile companies.
Week 4 covers different types of debt and demonstrates methods of accounting for the issue and repayment of debt.
Week 5 considers investment in new assets, especially those that lead to business combinations, an important concept. The discussion this week is from the point of view of the acquirer of the asset. Investments are considered for a single asset, then for multiple assets that amount to a business (and those that do not); and these are contrasted with equity (share) investments in other companies. The latter may lead to the acquirer having significant influence over the other company, or control over it. The accounting in each case is different. Significant influence leads to equity accounting. Control leads to consolidation accounting. All of these are introduced in the same text chapter (Ch. 16) so that the purpose of each is compared and contrasted.
Week 6 is the first of five weeks devoted to the study of consolidation accounting. We begin with the principles of consolidation accounting including the control criterion, the entity concept, consolidation processes and the preparation of a consolidation worksheet at control date.
Week 7 continues the discussion of the consolidation process and the preparation of a consolidation worksheet, but this time is the application after control date.
Week 8 covers the elimination of intra-entity transactions within a consolidated group.
Week 9 considers impact of non-controlling interests on the consolidation worksheet.
Week 10 covers the consolidation accounting of indirect ownership interests which can arise when there are more than two companies in the group.
Week 11 covers the topic of equity accounting that accounts for the relationship between an investor and its associates.
Week 12 covers the topic of external administration and specifically discusses receivership, voluntary administration and liquidations.
Week 13 revises the unit’s objectives to assist students with their final exam preparation.