Online Quiz

Assessment Type ¹: Quiz/Test Indicative Time on Task ²: 15 hours Due: Week 6 Friday 31 March 2023, 11.59pm Weighting: 20%

The online quiz will be held in week 6. The duration and details of the quiz will be advised in the week prior to the quiz. The quiz may be either multiple-choice questions, true/false questions, short answer style questions, or a combination thereof.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Describe the nature of the Australian commercial legal environment and recognise and evaluate the principles of the law of contract, tort, consumer law and privacy law as well as the common business structures.

Assignment

Assessment Type ¹: Essay Indicative Time on Task ²: 28 hours Due: Friday 12 May 2023 Weighting: 30%

Students will be assigned a topic/question and be required to submit a written response. Maximum length 1,200 words excluding references. The submission must be clear and concise, make reference to relevant law, show evidence of research and address the issues central to the topic/task. The essay will cover a topic from weeks 6 to 10.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Describe the functions and internal management of corporations in Australia
• Identify and evaluate corporate characteristics including articulating and critically analysing the role and obligations of directors
• Appraise and evaluate how shareholders rights are protected and how the Corporations Act regulates acquisition and disposal of shares.
• Compare the corporate mechanisms for corporate takeovers and critically assess the nature of corporate takeovers in the current regulatory environment.
• Produce and deliver written and oral material suitable for the purposes of engaging and informing an academic audience

Final Exam

Assessment Type ¹: Examination Indicative Time on Task ²: 40 hours Due: Formal University Exam Period Weighting: 50%

A two-hour open book exam will be held during the University Examination Period.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Describe the nature of the Australian commercial legal environment and recognise and evaluate the principles of the law of contract, tort, consumer law and privacy law as well as the common business structures.
• Identify and evaluate corporate characteristics including articulating and critically analysing the role and obligations of directors
• Appraise and evaluate how shareholders rights are protected and how the Corporations Act regulates acquisition and disposal of shares.
• Compare corporate mechanisms for dealing with takeovers and insolvency and critically assess the nature of corporate takeovers and insolvency in the current regulatory environment.

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

Classes will progress through the various Lecture Areas referred to in this Unit Guide. There may be some reorganisation, overlapping, and/or integration of areas to accommodate assessment, holiday scheduling, unit structure, delivery or class management. 

The timetable for classes can be found on the University web site at: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/

Required Text: Quilter, Company Law Perspectives, 4th ed. 2020, Thomson Reuters (Lawbook Co.) – [referred to as CLP 4^th ed

CLP 4th ed will be available in the Macquarie University library. It can be can be purchased from the publishers Thomson Reuters via their website https://legal.thomsonreuters.com.au/student/university/macquarie/

LexisNexis practical guidance. Cybersecurity, data protection & privacy. (n.d.). Chatswood, N.S.W: LexisNexis. This accessible online through the Macquarie University Library: https://multisearch.mq.edu.au/permalink/61MACQUARIE_INST/1c87tk9/alma99244638810102171 

The following is not required but may be useful: Lipton, Herzberg and Welsh, Understanding Company Law, Thomson Reuters (Lawbook Co.). 

After considering the Australian legal framework, tort law and contract law, the unit will focus on corporate issues and the relevance and effect of the Corporations Act. Note that certain relevant sections of the Corporations Act are set out in CLP 4th ed. Statutes may be viewed in full at www.austlii.edu.au

Useful websites

• www.asic.gov.au
• www.asx.com.au
• www.takeovers.gov.au

Useful databases

• Austlii
• CCH Intelliconnect
• LexisNexis Practical Guidance: Corporations

Students should be ready to allocate at least 150 hours during the session (in total) to ACCG2051. This includes all classes, assessment, personal study and other learning activities.

Technology Used and Required: 

Technology: learning management system (https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/index.php). Students have to frequently access this Unit's iLearn site (https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/ index.php) for relevant unit material (if any), announcements and detailed information regarding the Unit.

Unit Schedule

Note that Lectures start in Week 1

The Unit is divided into 5 integrated areas. All of these areas are important to an understanding of the commercial and corporate issues that have a relationship to the role and responsibilities of accounting and business professionals.

Legal system and core legal and commercial concepts

Relevance for accounting and business professionals: Exposure to basic rights and commercial responsibilities to inform both personal transactions and professional advice to clients; employment relations; duty of care in the delivery of services; objectivity in assessment of performance; privacy and data collection, basic business organisation and structure.

Business Organisations and the Corporate Framework

Relevance for accounting and business professionals: Informed as to the choice of profit-making structure; the importance of exposure and extent of business failure and personal liability; understanding key business advice and strategy; entrepreneurial interrelationships; knowledge of role and functions of the corporate regulator.

Corporate management and governance responsibilities

Relevance for accounting and business professionals: Developing the ability to advise corporate clients, including individual directors and other managers; relevant foundation knowledge for personal future entrepreneurship; the importance of financial and ethical obligations and downsides of failure; recognising the relationship between company directors and accounting professionals; becoming alert to problems of financial oversight.

Shareholders and the corporate market

Relevance for accounting and business professionals: Ability to advise clients on the nature of the corporate marketplace; foundation information for providing professional investment advice to clients; awareness of key issues in company meetings; grounding for professional advisory role and introduction to current market issues in the acquisition and disposal of shares; introduction to shareholder equity issues including protection of rights.

Insolvency and Restructuring

Relevance for accounting and business professionals: Exposure to key accounting and business issues in insolvency practice and the place of insolvency practitioners in the accounting and legal professions; understanding important signs and warnings of insolvency for both personal and business advisory use; being alert to insolvency options; understand legal alternatives and advise companies and their directors on effective insolvency planning and remedial action; and takeovers.