200101 UEH, Quarter 1 2017 Individual Assignment Guidelines © Copyright Western Sydney University, 2016 No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission from the Dean, School of Business. Copyright for acknowledged materials reproduced herein is retained by the copyright holder. All readings in this publication are copied under license in accordance with Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968. The Case Study , as set out on page 2 is adapted from a case used by The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA) in its PY Ethics (2) Module Workbook 2000.Individual assignment guidelines The following is a hypothetical case study where you are given an ethical problem and asked to work through the issues presented by the case study. In order to help you address the assignment requirements, please refer to 'The Resources list to assist you' on page 4 below. The case study: Due to economic downturn George & Sheila were laid-off by a larger audit firm in Sydney. They decided to establish a new audit firm and were able to attract a few clients in the first year. They coaxed a senior audit manager Joyce CPA of the larger firm to join them with a view to securing her old clients from the larger audit firm. Joyce was promised partnership within three (3) years as an inducement. A prospective client well known to Joyce from the construction industry has decided to re-bid for audit services due to dissatisfaction with the larger audit firm for some audit issues with accounting treatment and recognition of profits on uncompleted projects in the previous year. The audit issues was not probed further by Joyce as she saw it as an opportunity to receive credit by bringing in more audit work and potentially some accounting related services from this client. They also require some advisory assistance from professional accountants for preparing profit and cash-flow projections for existing and potential projects. Joyce proceeds to prepare a draft proposal for the client fully aware of the Construction Industry Report prepared by her previous firm advising clients to abide with conservative estimates of profit recognition from uncompleted development projects due to the risks of economic down-turn. Many contractors are beset by construction delays, late collection of contract payments and disputed contract work variation claims caused by the economic downturn. She is aware that the client intends to apply for a bank loan for US$5.0 Million and requires unqualified audit reports with good financials to secure credit facilities. She submits the draft proposal to George & Sheila and it is duly approved. They commend her on the excellent proposal which will earn the firm extra $200,000 in fee revenues if accepted by the client. School of Business 2Required: 1. Answer the following questions, i.e. (a) to (d) inclusive, based on the Case Study presented above on page 2. (a) Identify the main ethical issues relevant to this case. [2 marks] (b) Discuss the main ethical issues in the case with regard to the various stake-holders of this case (give reasons). [3 marks] (c) Using an appropriate ethical framework, perform an analysis of Joyce's behavior demonstrated by the facts presented in this case. [2 marks] (d) Evaluate the consequences of a range of actions that Joyce could choose ( e.g. say nothing to George and Sheila or tell George and Shelia) [2 marks] (e) With reference to an appropriate Code of Ethics (e.g. Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board (APESB) ), an ethical framework/model and/or other relevant references, make appropriate recommendations to Joyce to encourage corporate socially responsible behavior. [2 marks] 2 Reference List: Ensure any references you use are directly relevant to the case study. Include any references you have used and cited in your report. You must use the Harvard referencing system as per the guide available from the UWS library website. (Note: the reference list is not included in the word count). [2 marks] 3 Writing Style: Use clear prose style, structure your sentences carefully and use correct spelling and grammar in your report. [2 marks] 4 Word Count: Answer your report in no less than 400 words and no more than 750 words. 3 School of BusinessResources list to assist you 1. The 'Individual Assignment Marking Guide' on pages 8 and 9 below. It is imperative you follow this marking guide in order to optimise the marks you may receive for this assignment. The marking guide shows what the marker will be looking for and what mark you will get if you reach certain levels of attainment. Print off a copy and use this to help you in your preparation. 2. Chapter 2 Business Sustainability of the textbook. Birt, J 2014, Accounting: business reporting for decision making, 5th ed, John Wiley and Sons Australia, Milton, Qld, pp. 40-75. 3. APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board Limited ("APESB"), current edition, see: http://www.apesb.org.au/page.php?id=12 4. Websites of the professional accounting bodies, such as, CPA Australia, and The ICAANZ Australia. 5. The library resources link on vUWS and academic articles accessed via the library database. From library website >> e-Resources >> (scroll down to) Accounting >> select either ABI/INFORM or ACCOUNT. You can search using suitable keywords. 6. The library website – at http://library.westernsydney.edu.au/main/guides/referencing-citation This will ensure you use the correct referencing approach. 7. The following ethical decision making models may help you in answering what is Required above. • Langenderfer, HQ & Rockness, J 1990, Ethics in the accounting curriculum: cases and readings, American Accounting Association, Sarasota, as cited in S Henderson & G Pierson, chapter 31, Issues in financial accounting, Prentice Hall, Frenchs Forest. NSW. • St James Ethics Centre 2012, St. James Ethics Centre, http://www.ethics.org.au/ • The Spiral Model - Thompson, IE, Melia, KM, Boyd, KM & Horsburgh, D 2006, 'Ethical decision-making and moral theory', in Nursing ethics, Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, pp. 295-359. • The Laura Nash model - Nash, LL 1981, 'Ethics without the sermon', Harvard Business Review, vol. 59, no. 6, pp. 78-90. • The Mary Guy Model – Guy, ME 1990, 'The Mary Guy Model ', in Ethical decision making in everyday work situations, Quorum Books, New York, pp. 14-9. School of Business 4Submission information Assignment Submission This assessment task is to be submitted online via the Turnitin link within the 'Individual Assignment' folder in vUWS. This is an online only submission. The only acceptable file types are word files .doc or .docx. There is no need to attach a cover sheet or to hand a hardcopy of your assignment to your tutor. The Turnitin link will be open from 10am (Vietnam time) Monday 6 March, 2017 and close 10am (Vietnam time) Friday 11 March, 2016 which is the last day your assignment can be submitted. That is, the closing time and date to submit your attempt at the 'Individual Assignment' is 10am Monday 13 March, 2017. When your assignment is successfully submitted your will receive a copy of the digital receipt in your UWS email account. Keep the digital receipt for your records as it is your proof of successful submission. On first submission to the assignment link an originality report will be generated within two minutes. Subsequent submissions will take up to 24 hours to receive a response. For links to videos outlining this process please see the Help and Further information section below. Remember, the closing time and date for you to submit your attempt at the 'Individual Assignment' is 10am Monday 13 March, 2017. Student Submission guide http://library.uws.edu.au/FILES/turnitin/Turnitin_Student_Instructions.pdf Note: You must use a desk-top or laptop computer to access grades and feedback (not an iPad or mobile phone device). Disclaimer All online submissions via Turnitin are presented with a declaration to students at each upload via the Turnitin interface. The declaration is: By submitting your work using this link you are certifying that: • You hold a copy of this assignment if the original is lost or damaged • No part of this assignment or product has been copied from any other student's work or from any other source except where due acknowledgement is made in the assignment • No part of the assignment/product has been written/produced for you by any other person except where collaboration has been authorised by the subject lecturer/tutor concerned • You are aware that this work may be reproduced and submitted to plagiarism detection software programs for the purpose of detecting possible plagiarism (which may retain a copy on its database for future plagiarism checking) 5 School of BusinessMarks and feedback Your assignment will be marked online. Once marking is completed, individual feedback and commentary on your assignment will be available from your Turnitin link or the My Grades section of your vUWS site. Please see videos from the link in Help and Further information listed below. You are encouraged to download a copy of your marked assignment with feedback for your records. Help and further information Information for students on how to submit an assignment into Turnitin, how to view and interpret their originality report, accessing assignment feedback via Turnitin/Grademark and FAQs for students is available here: http://library.uws.edu.au/uws_library/guides/turnitin/resources-for-students Format A submission of no less than 500 words and no more than 750 words is expected excluding the reference list. Submissions must be word processed in either Times New Roman or Arial font, 12 point and 1.5 spaced with a footer on each page including your name, student ID and page number. Late Submissions No late assignments will be accepted unless prior authorisation granted by the coordinator. In case such an authorisation is not granted, grade deduction will be applied. The coordinator may decide not to accept assignments that are not submitted within 3 days after the assignment due date. However, if there are extenuating or unforeseen circumstances, an exception may be granted at the discretion of the unit coordinator and based on a Special Consideration Application for assessment task extension. School of Business 6Frequently Asked Questions What is being asked for? Are we on the right track? Making sure you understand what is being asked for is the first step! A good answer to a question that has not been asked is actually a bad answer! Reading Chapter 2 of the textbook would be a good starting point! In particular look at; the role of ethics in business, comparing ethical philosophies and approaches relevant to business decision making; the use of codes of ethical conduct and the fundamental principles of APES 110; the application of ethical decision- making methods to business situations; and combining issues relevant to ethics, regulation, sustainability and politics. What sort of language does this assignment require? Specialised terms, or "jargon", should be defined but everyday terms should not. Do not assume that your reader is an expert in the area being discussed, nor assume that they are entirely uneducated. How many references do we need? The reference list should contain only those resources that have actually been referred to (or "cited") in your answer. The quantity of references is not as important as the quality of your references, the relevance of your references and how the references are used in your assignment. Can we ask people we know and use their views and include it in the assignment? No. Use published sources only. Will our tutor (or other staff) read our drafts before we submit? No. We will give guidance but will not actually read (or proof-read) any reports in advance. Who should I ask if I have more questions? You should ask the Unit coordinator as there may be other students who have the same questions and there is a need for consistency in advice. How does the assignment contribute to my assessment mark? This assignment is worth 15% of your total marks in the unit. You will be given a score out of 30 which will then be converted to a mark out of 15 for this assessment task. School Business Page 7200101 Accounting Information for Managers INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT MARKING GUIDE CRITERIA UNSATISFACTORY MEETS EXPECTATION EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS Identify the main ethical issues No ethical issues identified. Good coverage of essential items with material linked to question. Possibly a few minor errors. Critically chooses relevant information succinctly answers question. Demonstrates clear understanding. Marks 0 1 2 Discuss the main ethical issues in the case. Limited coverage and/or fails to link material to question. Good coverage of essential items with material linked to question. Possibly a few minor errors. Critically chooses relevant information and clearly integrates it to succinctly answer question. Demonstrates clear understanding. Marks 0 2 3 Analyse corporate socially responsible behaviour using an appropriate framework Limited coverage and/or fails to link material to question. Good coverage of essential items with material linked to question. Possibly a few minor errors. Critically chooses relevant information and clearly integrates it to succinctly answer question. Demonstrates clear understanding. Marks 0 1 2 Evaluation of corporate socially responsible behaviour Limited coverage and/or fails to link material to question. Good coverage of essential items with material linked to question. Possibly a few minor errors. Critically chooses relevant information and clearly integrates it to succinctly answer question. Demonstrates clear understanding. Marks 0 1 2 Recommendation s for improving corporate socially responsible behaviour Limited coverage and/or fails to link material to question. Good coverage of essential items with material linked to question. Possibly a few minor errors. Critically chooses relevant information and clearly integrates it to succinctly answer question. Demonstrates clear understanding. Marks 0 1 2 School of Business 8200101 Accounting Information for Managers Addresses the clarity of the student's attempt : Referencing and paraphrasin g using the "Harvard system". Refer to the University's Library website for details In text citation and/or paraphrasing and/or reference list missing or substantially incomplete Satisfactory in text citation, paraphrasing and reference list, possibly with a few minor errors Excellent in text citation, paraphrasing and reference list Marks 0 1 2 Uses clear prose style: sentence structure, grammar, and spelling Writing style is difficult to follow and/or contains many grammatical and/or spelling errors Writing style is coherent, with possibly a few grammatical and/or spelling errors Writing is clear and error free Marks 0 1 2 Not appropriate length/not within the word limit Outside the word limit i.e. more than 750 words OR less than 400 words Length is within the set word limit i.e. between 400 – 750 words Marks minus 1 mark No penalty 9 School of Business