it should include calculation table and its working

.0/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.gif”>Semester 2, 2013

BUACC5901 Accounting and Finance

Assignment

1. General information and due date

This assignment
constitutes 35 per cent of the assessment in this unit. The due date for
lodgement will be 5pm on Friday 27 September 2013.

The assignment is
to be submitted via Moodle.

2. Purpose

BUACC5901 is
concerned primarily with the use of accounting information. The purpose of the
assignment is to provide students with the opportunity to apply the knowledge
and skills acquired in Accounting and Finance to a practical task involving the
use of ‘real-world’ accounting information. This is intended to consolidate
students’ accounting knowledge and skills. Students are required to complete
the assignment in groups of two or three. The objective of such group work is
to foster the development of co-operative work skills.

3. Requirements

Students are to organise themselves into
groups of two to complete the assignment.

The basic requirement is to undertake a general financial analysis
comparing Myer Holdings Ltd (Myer) (ASX Code MYR) latest financial
position and performance for 2 Financial Years compared to that of David Jones
(ASX Code DJS) over the same period.

If the 2013 financial statements are released by
Myer and David Jones by 10 September then you should prepare ratios comparing
2013 with 2012 performance for both entities.

If the 2013
financial statements are released after 10 September then you should compare
2012 with 2011 performance for both entities.

(Note: students are
to use the ‘Consolidated’ data in conducting their analysis.) The analysis
should consider each of: profitability, asset efficiency, liquidity, capital
structure, and market performance.

Note that for those
ratios which involve Balance Sheet figures students will require the previous
year’s financial statements (in addition to the latest report) to provide the
beginning-of-year balance sheet figures.

1

The assignment will contain two main elements:

Schedule(s) of relevant
ratios and other useful calculations

The detailed
calculation of relevant ratios and other useful calculations should be included
as one or more appendices prepared using Excel or a similar spreadsheet.
Students are advised to show the formulae used in determining particular ratios
and other figures. Data items (for example ‘Sales Revenue’ or ‘Total Assets’)
should be entered in a single cell in a specially designated ‘data area’ in the
spreadsheet, with any calculation referencing the relevant data cell.

A written report
The written report
should:

·
Explain briefly what is revealed by the ratios
and other calculations in the context of the companies profitability, asset
efficiency, liquidity, capital structure, and market performance. In particular,
any important changes over the period 2012 to 2013 should be identified,
discussed and, where possible, explained.

·
Provide an overall assessment of whether the
companies performance over the 2013 financial year have been better than 2012,
and which company has improved its performance to a greater extent over this
period. The judgement should be made from the perspective of existing equity
investors (shareholders).

4. Other guidelines

·
The
assignment is to comply with the University’s General Guide for the
Presentation of Academic Work (revised edition 2011) and the written report is
not to exceed 3,000 words and a word count must be shown on the cover page of
the assignment.

·
Students
are encouraged to seek and use additional public information about the company
from sources other than the annual report (for example, from the internet,
newspapers, and business magazines). However, it is not envisaged that students
will be engaged in extensive research of this nature and it is expected that
the annual report will be the primary resource relied upon in completing the
assignment.

Students are
requested not to try and make direct personal contact with either company (for
example by telephone, fax, letter or email) in an attempt to gather further
information.

·
Do not reproduce company promotional material
from the annual report or company website and represent it as critical
analysis. It is not!

·
Students
are expected to obtain relevant share price data for the company so that
investment ratios (such as a price earnings ratio) can be calculated. (It is
recommended that students obtain the companys’ share price as at the 2013 and
2012 balance dates for the purpose of calculating relevant ratios on these
dates. Share price data is available from a variety of sources including the
internet.

2

·
Students may find it useful to consult accounting
references, in addition to the prescribed text, which deal with the analysis
and interpretation of company financial reports.

5. Assessment criteria

In assessing
submitted assignments consideration will be given to:

·
Overall neatness, completeness and quality of
presentation. Graduate level students are expected to achieve a satisfactory
standard with respect to this criterion as a matter of course, and for this
reason no credit will be granted for achieving it. However, assignments that
fail to achieve the minimum standard in connection with this criterion may be
penalised. The expected standard concerning this criterion is compliance with
the University’s General Guide for the Presentation of Academic Work (revised
edition 2011).

·
Demonstrated skill in identifying and calculating
relevant ratios and other indicators of profitability, asset efficiency,
liquidity, capital structure, and market performance. This criterion relates
specifically to the requirement to prepare a schedule (or schedules) of
relevant ratios and other calculations and carries a weighting of 10 marks out
of the 35 available for the whole assignment.

·
Demonstrated understanding of financial reports
and ratios and other indicators of profitability, asset efficiency, liquidity,
capital structure, and market performance.

This criterion
relates specifically to the requirement to submit a written report and carries
a weighting of 25 marks out of the 35 available for the whole assignment.
Written reports in excess of 3,000 words may be penalised.

·
A copy of the detailed feedback sheet, showing
how the marks are allocated, is attached on the following page.

A single copy of
the assignment should be submitted, for which each student in the group will
usually receive the same mark. This is based on the expectation that each
student in a group will contribute equally to the preparation of the
assignment. Where this expectation has not been satisfied separate marks may be
allocated.

Assignment Submission

Submit
your assignment (the database file and the word document) through Moodle.

Should you need
help with Moodle please speak with your tutor as offline submissions will not
be accepted.

3

BUACC5901
Accounting and Finance

Assignment
assessment report, TP2 2013

Students:
_______________________________________________________________

(35 marks)

Marks available

Marks

Comments

awarded

Introduction /

2 marks

2.0

Exec Summary

Findings /

5 categories =

Conclusion

about 10 ratios

1.25 marks each

12.5

for interpretation

and analysis

Valid conclusion =

1.5

1.5 marks

Thinking process +

2.5 marks

2.5

clarity of thought

Appendix / Ratio

5 categories =

Calculations

about 10 ratios

10.0

1 mark each for

calculations

Extra marks for

2.5

specifically

relevant ratios

Grammar and

2 marks

2.0

spelling

Overall quality of

2 marks

2.0

assignment

Total Marks

_____ / 35

4