The object of this report is to assist students to develop research skills, critical thinking skills and business report communication skills on an accounting topic relating to fundamental concepts in planning an audit and designing the audit approach. This assessment item assesses the following learning outcomes as identified in the Course Profile for ACCT20040: Ø Evaluate critically significant auditing standards and ethical questions Ø Describe final verification audit testing of financial reports Ø Evaluate the appropriateness of and then prepare different types of audit reports The report is due on Wednesday, 6th May 2015 at 11.45pm AEST. The report is to have a minimum word length of 1,000 and maximum word length of 2,000 words. Please note that penalties will apply for not following the formatting instructions. The Report must consist of: · Cover page which shows the title of the report, the author (Student name and ID number) and the word count · a one-page executive summary outlining the major findings of the report · table of contents · an introduction telling the reader what the report will cover and how it is structured · the report itself · a conclusion/recommendation · references · appendices (if applicable – not included in the word count) Presentation. The report is required to be prepared using 1.5 line spacing, using a Times New Roman 12 point font, with 2 cm margins on all sides (remember penalties apply for not following instructions). You are required to cite at least three (3) current sources which should include items from the following categories: academic literature, media, and websites. It is vital that the sources used are reliable, reputable, and relevant, cited in an accurate manner and properly referenced using the Harvard method. (Please note: Lecture slides do not count as part of your required citations) The report should be presented in simple language and in an interesting, easy-to-read format. Digital file. The entire document is to be prepared in an electronically-friendly format as a single file. Submission. The report is to be submitted online through the Moodle site for this unit. Note: Assignments will be checked for plagiarism Content Resources: Ø Where to start (Note: you must use sources from each of these three groups of resources): o Academic literature: Academic journals can be accessed through the CQU library catalogue. You can start your search on Google Scholar for these articles. If the full text is not available through Google Scholar, you can use the library catalogue to access it as CQU has subscriptions to most Accounting journals. Some journals you may find useful are Auditing and Accountability Journal, International Journal of Auditing and Current Issues in Auditing (available online through CQU Library). o Media: § Financial media, e.g. Business Review Weekly, The Financial Review (available online through CQU library databases). o Websites: § Websites of accounting standard setters and other regulators, especially AUASB, IAASB, ASIC, APRA. See, for example, § Websites of Australian professional accounting bodies: CPA Australia, Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA), Institute of Public Accountants (IPA), and The Institute of Internal Auditors - Australia. § Websites of international accounting firms, e.g. Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, PwC.