Students

GMBA8021 – Know Your Numbers 1

2021 – Coursera term 1, Fully online/virtual

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group activities on campus, and most will keep an online version available to those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face-to-face and online activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Carmel Emanuel
Credit points Credit points
5
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to GMBA or GradCertGlobalBusPrac
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Being financially literate is a core competency for any business leader. The ability to know your numbers is essential whether you are running your own small business/startup or whether you are working in a large organisation. This unit offers a solid financial accounting and management accounting grounding to students. This knowledge allows students to understand the financial opportunities and challenges inherent in any business endeavor. Students will subsequently better understand the position and performance of initiatives undertaken in the context of the broader strategies and objectives of an organisation. Such an understanding will help students make critical cost-benefit trade-offs.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Define the components and the development of financial statements.
  • ULO2: Investigate and analyse financial statements in practice.
  • ULO3: Apply financial ratios for purposes of understanding and synthesising business position and performance.
  • ULO4: Apply a range of management accounting techniques to generate and evaluate complex ideas and concepts to improve decision making.

General Assessment Information

Submission

You will submit your assessment tasks via your online unit on Coursera.

For individual submissions, please use the following naming convention for your file:

lastname-firstname-GMBAxxx-A1.* 

lastname-firstname-GMBAxxx-A2.*

For group submissions, please use the following naming convention for your file:

team-number-GMBAxxx-A1.* 

team-number-GMBAxxx-A2.* 

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Extensions 

Please note that no extensions will be granted. 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 special consideration is made and approved. 

For any questions regarding your assignment submission please contact your Unit Convenor. 

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Formatting instructions

These instructions pertain only to written assignments. In the case of other formats (e.g., slide decks) specific formatting instructions may apply. Written assignments should be in 11 point Arial font with 1.5 line spacing. Each page of the report should be numbered and have at minimum 2.5 cm margins from the left and right edges and top and bottom of the page. The word count is strictly enforced. The actual word length of the document, not including references or appendices, should be clearly stated on the title page of the report. Written assignments should have the following structure:

  1. A title page with the question, your student name and student number, word count of the text

  2. ​The body of the report structured with paragraphs and with appropriate headings and citations, with page numbers.

  3. Complete reference list of material cited in the text.

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Referencing

Please use the American Psychological Association (APA) 6th edition reference style. This means that when referring to an article or book etc, you indicate the author’s name followed by the year of publication (Jones, 1989). For multiple authors include all names (Jones, Smith, & Wilson, 1990). If you use a direct quote put the quoted words in “quotation marks” and include the page number with the reference (Jones, 1989, p. 76). A reference list should be presented in alphabetical order at the end of the paper. Further information on APA style is available at http://libguides.mq.edu.au/content.php?pid=85232&sid=634282

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Commercial in Confidence

Please note that you must not disclose any information marked ‘Commercial in Confidence’ without permission from the party who supplied it (e.g., your current or previous employer, customers, etc.).

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Financial Health Assessment 40% No 27 Jan 2021, 11:59pm
Investment Recommendation 60% No 19 Feb 2021, 11:59pm

Financial Health Assessment

Assessment Type 1: Quantitative analysis task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 27 Jan 2021, 11:59pm
Weighting: 40%

 

Length: max 1,500 words (excl. references) Format: Analysis Task: In this assignment, you will be asked to perform a basic analysis for a listed company of the following characteristics: Profitability; Liquidity; Funding Structure; Capital adequacy; and Financial resilience.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Define the components and the development of financial statements.
  • Investigate and analyse financial statements in practice.
  • Apply financial ratios for purposes of understanding and synthesising business position and performance.

Investment Recommendation

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 14 hours
Due: 19 Feb 2021, 11:59pm
Weighting: 60%

 

Length: 3,000 words (excl. references) Format: Written report Task: In this assignment, you will be asked to undertake a financial and qualitative analysis of two chosen companies and recommend investment in one of the two, based on the comparison. For detailed information and the marking criteria, please refer to the section Course Resources - Assessment Information in your online unit. You will submit your completed task via the Assignment submission link in your online unit.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Define the components and the development of financial statements.
  • Investigate and analyse financial statements in practice.
  • Apply financial ratios for purposes of understanding and synthesising business position and performance.
  • Apply a range of management accounting techniques to generate and evaluate complex ideas and concepts to improve decision making.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Required text

There is no required textbook for this unit.  Please refer to the weekly required readings in your online unit. All readings are available via the Macquarie University library and do not need to be purchased separately.

Delivery method

This unit will be delivered entirely online via the Coursera Learning Management System. Access to a personal computer is required to access the resources and learning materials on Coursera.

Unit Schedule

For this unit, Live Events (via the web conferencing software Zoom) will take place once a week starting in Week 1 and ending in Week 6. The links to the events are available via Live Events in the online unit. Students are strongly advised to attend the Live Events. Recordings of the live events will be made available within 24 hours of the event and can be accessed via Resources in the online unit.

Attending the Live Event each week is an opportunity to engage with the unit content, your Unit Convenor and classmates. Students are encouraged to complete specified Live Event preparation learning activities prior to each scheduled Live Event in order to get the most value out of these sessions.

Please note: The teaching schedule is subject to change. Please refer to your online unit for the latest schedule.

Week Live Events Assessments
1 Webinar: Thursday 14 Jan 2021, 8-9am (AEDT)  
2 Webinar: Thursday 21 Jan 2021, 8-9am (AEDT)  
3 Webinar: Thursday 28 Jan 2021, 8-9am (AEDT)  A1 due: Wed 27 Jan 2021, 11:59pm (AEDT)
4 Webinar: Thursday 4 Feb 2021, 8-9am (AEDT)   
5 Webinar: Thursday 11 Feb 2021, 8-9am (AEDT)   
6 Webinar: Thursday 18 Feb 2021, 8-9am (AEDT) A2 due: Fri 19 Feb 2021, 11:59pm (AEDT)

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

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.