acc702 managerial accounting group assessment task t1-15

8/20/2019 ACC702 Managerial Accounting Group Assessment Task T1-15

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ACC702 Managerial Accounting – Written Assignment Task Page

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ACC702 Managerial Accounting

T1-15 Assignment Task Specification

1. Group Report: “Generating and measuring value” – The role of management andthe management accountant.

There is a strong emphasis in this course on the role of Management Accountants providinginformation to decision-makers to create and manage value. The concept of the Value Chainsuggests that value can be added at all levels of an organisation, both „upstream‟ and„downstream‟ of manufacturing operations. Customer value can be said to be the perceivedfeatures and benefits of a product for which customers are prepared to pay. The better a firmdelivers such value it could be reasonably expected that in a well-managed business, thisshould translate into improved financial performance and ultimately into increasedshareholder value.

This thinking is reflected in the attached article “Jeff Bezos n amed world 's best-

performing CEO, despite Amazon losses” (SMH Thurs day 6 November 2104)

Whether the rank as “best” CEO in the world is justified or not, the article and the focus onthis CEO‟s perceived ability to consistently generate “Shareholder Value” as opposed to“Profit” as measured annually is recognised as much more valuable for the long-termsuccess of enterprises around the world.

Task:You are to research one major corporation (Company must be approved by Lecturer inWeek 7) that either has a CEO/Board of Directors/Management Team who consistentlygenerates value for shareholders. You are to research and detail in your report the following:

1. HOW that “shareholder value” has been measured and assessed; 2. WHAT management characteristics are in place or developed to assist in this

process;3. WHAT key factors are considered critical to the ongoing success of this business;4. HOW the “Vision” and “Strategic Goals” are communicated by the Management of

the business (Check the Vision Statement and the Chairman/President or CEO‟sReport in their Annual Report for specific details as well as other availableinformation from their website.)

5. Complete a BASIC comparison to their nearest competitors (if applicable) to comparehow this business has created a competitive advantage or differentiated itself fromthose competitors.

6. Review how the role of the Management Accountant is likely to have an impact in

supporting management in the chosen company by providing information for creatingcustomer and/or shareholder value.

The group is to research, (using an academic search engine such as EBSCO), ONE of thefollowing topics and find three (3) academic journal articles and case studies that explore theconcept of MEASURING SHAREHOLDER VALUE.

Your report must include a summary of the academic journal articles you have found andyour subsequent research findings and include a full bibliography in the Harvard Anglia style.

Research requirements:

Groups need to notify the lecturer of their chosen company topic in WEEK 7. PLEASEHAVE THREE (3) COMPANIES/CEOs SELECTED AS ONLY ONE GROUP MAY DO ONECOMPANY – NO DUPLICATES – AND SOME COMPANIES SUCH AS


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IKEA/APPLE/STARBUCKS ARE NOT PERMITTED! Please see the list of “excluded”companies available on the Moodle Subject Page.

The Group Presentation will give the lecturer the opportunity to ask questions of eachstudent to clarify and points raised in their report that may require clarification and todemonstrate their higher level of critical evaluation of the topic and its application.

2. Student assessment:

Group report (15 Course mark weighting):

The Group Report carries a course weighting of 15 Marks.

You must use Microsoft Word to format and complete the task.

Oral presentation (10 Course mark weighting):

Oral presentations will take place in Weeks 10-12 where the group will have anopportunity (no more than 15 minutes IN TOTAL for each GROUP) todemonstrate further their understanding of the entities and the work you havedone in researching these entities. (Order of presentations will decided by

random ballot held in-class (lecture) on or before Week 8.)

All group members should be part of the presentation and typically, MSPowerpoint presentations are prepared and printed.

“Outline” copies of the presentation should be given to the lecturer BEFOREthe presentation begins to allow marking and note-taking to take place.

At the end of the presentation time, students may be questioned on various aspects ofthe Assignment including research methods and sources, information within the reportand the presentation and about the organisation under review. All members should beable to demonstrate their contributions to the report at this time. Note that your GroupMark will be finalised AFTER the presentation as this will contribute to yourdemonstration of your understanding of the topic.

Oral presentation grading:The presentation will carry a mark out of 10 which will be based on how well studentsdemonstrate the following presentation skills and technical skills. You will be assessedINDIVIDUALLY during the presentation based on the following:

clear communication

engage the audience

use eye contact to involve audience members

appropriateness and use of visual aids ability to answer questions convincingly

Note that a full copy of the presentation slides (and any other class handout) must beprovided at the beginning of the class to assist in assessing the presentation. Eachslide should have the NAME OF THE PERSON PRESENTING on every relevant slide.Note that this will take a little time however, given this part of the assessment taskcarries a value of 10 marks, it is well worth allowing time to create and present well.

3. Submitting your written group assignment

The Report will require that you use Microsoft Word to format and complete the task.

This assessment task is marked progressively. There are THREE steps to submittingyour assignment:

1) The Group is to form by Week 6 – any student not in a group will be subject to a2 Mark Penalty from the final group score.


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2)The group‟s selected Company MUST be reported to the lecturer at the lecture inWeek 7. (2 Mark penalty to the GROUP MARK if not advised.) This should besent by email to the lecturer.

3) The DRAFT Group Report is to be submitted using Turnitin BEFORE yourTutorial in Week 8 to obtain a Turnitin Score and then PRINT the Turnitin scoreand submission receipt. Once you have a printed copy of your submissionreceipt and Turnitin score, you MUST bring this as a printed copy to class

along with a hard (printed) copy of your report as submitted to Turnitin. (5GROUP Mark Penalty if the draft is not submitted and the above complied within Week 8.)

Your draft report will be briefly reviewed in class in Week 8 (Students in multipletutorials should submit it at the EARLIEST tutorial) and an acknowledgementcertificate will be issued as receipt of your DRAFT. Please note that this is a “hurdlerequirement” for final submission of your assignment. (That means, that you MUSTshow your draft AND Turnitin receipt with Turnitin Score in Week 8 to qualify to haveyour assignment submission marked after final submission on the due date.)

The Turnitin Score should be less than 30% as at DRAFT date (Week 8) and the finalTurnitin Score should be below 20% in your final submission.

4) Final due time and date is Week 10 – 8.00pm Monday 25 May 2015. (Pleaseconsult the Library for instructions if necessary WELL BEFORE the due dateand time.)

ONLY ONE soft copy (E.g. MS Word Document) per group is to be uploaded toTurnitin on or before the due date and time. Updated reports may be submittedup until the due date and time however ALL copies MUST be submitted by theSAME GROUP MEMBER. (Nominate who in your group will be responsible forthis uploading so mistakes are not incurred.)

The Turnitin link will be open shortly before the final due date.

Students MUST accompany their submitted copy of the assignment submission

with a completed and KOI Group Assignment Coversheet. Please note thatmarks will be awarded to all members of the group based on their input. Thelecturer should be consulted if a group member is not contributing to the taskWELL IN ADVANCE of the due date so action may be taken.

Only ONE person in EACH GROUP (someone very reliable) should be nominatedto make the GROUP lodgement to Turnitin. Do NOT lodge multiple copies of theGROUP assignment from each group member.

The Total Assignment will be marked out of 100 Marks and this written component ofthe Group Assignment carries a course weighting of 15 COURSE MARKS.


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4. Late submission and penalties: As detailed above there are multiple late submission penalties as summarised below:a) Late formation into a Group by Week 6 – 2 Mark - INDIVIDUAL PENALTY.b) Non-submission AND APPROVAL of Group‟s chosen Company by Week 7 – 2

Mark Penalty.c) Non-submission of the group‟s draft report in Week 8 (with Turnitin Score less than

30%) will incur a 5 mark penalty.d) Please note that late submission (any time after the due date and time) of the final

assignment will incur an initial 3 mark penalty and then an additional 1 mark perday each day or part thereof that the Assignment is late.

No Assignment will be collected or accepted after one week past the due date. Asthis is a Group Assignment, please note that Doctor‟s Certificates for individualgroup members will NOT exempt a Group from lodging on time.

Please lodge the Assignment showing your efforts to the due date andconsideration may be given based upon the level of Assignment completion to thedate of your illness or other misfortune.

Presentation: As there is NO room for movement in time for group presentations, all group membersMUST be available on the due date and allocated time else the presentation marks willbe forfeited and NO mark will be awarded.

5. Penalties will also be applied if all or part of this assessed work is plagiarised.6. Any similarities or collaboration noted between group assignments will result in a fail

grade.7. Before submitting your assignment:

Ensure you have referenced and cited all ideas, words or other intellectual propertyfrom other sources used in the completion of your assignment.Develop a proper reference list, which includes acknowledgement of all sources usedto complete your assignment. References must use the Harvard Anglia Style.


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8. Referencing:

Referencing IS Required. Ensure that you fully reference ALL material that is directlycopied and enclose direct quotations appropriately with full references. Also ensureyou have referenced and cited all ideas, words or other intellectual property from othersources used in the completion of your assignment.

Please see the Library for assistance if you are unfamiliar with the correct procedure

for Academic Referencing.

Please note that WIKIPEDIA is NOT an acceptable reference source other than forvery superficial checking and should NOT be used as a primary resource as there areno controlled peer review of the content on this or similar „Wiki‟ sites.

9. Working as a group:

Group size: Minimum of four (4) and a maximum five (5) students to a group.

Groups found to have less than four members may have additional students randomlyassigned to that group to make up the minimum allowed.

After forming your group and submitting the Group Membership details to the lecturerin week 6, you should commence work immediately. The session immediately after theMid-Trimester Test will be used for this purpose.

Project Group Conflict

For a project like this, success means being organised. The group will have toestablish a division of labour and divide the work that needs to be done in a fairmanner. Contributions to the project MUST be equitable.

All group members will need to meet for a number of hours each week. Agree on aregular time and place and set an agenda.

Group conflict is inevitable and should be resolved early in the semester. Groupbreakdowns are amongst the most common reasons why students fail. Make records(e.g. keeping emails sent and received) of all agreed meetings, who did and did notattend, agreed actions coming from the meeting and who is responsible for each ofthese.

When group conflict becomes destructive, group members should first consider usingmediation to resolve any dispute, disagreement, grievance or complaint.

If the conflict still cannot be resolved, then group members can “fire” a member fromthe group by openly voting a person out BUT only after consulting the module lecturer.

Upon the approval by the lecturer, the group leader/representative must inform theousted person the outcome agreed via email and copy the message to all other groupmembers including the lecturer. The ousted person has the right to present a defencewithin five calendar days if he or she wishes to remain in the group.

In this situation, every group member must complete a Peer Group Evaluation toevaluate the contribution of every group member to the group project during thesemester. All evaluations must be submitted in a sealed envelope directly to the

Lecturer on the project due date. The results of the Peer Group Evaluation to assessgroup members‟ relative contribution to the project task will affect the individual markfor the group project. A mark of zero will be awarded to any student who does notparticipate.


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When a group member has been fired and decides not to challenge the decision,he/she will have to complete the whole project on his/her own (and not just merelysubmit the part that he/she was previously assigned to contribute). Likewise, theremaining group members will have to take over the work originally assigned to theousted person and complete it.

Please note that in the event a project group breaks up and that the disintegrated

groups do not finish the whole project on their own, the submission will be treated aspartially done. The lecturer will not grade the project work on a partial basis (tocompensate as a whole due to the breakup).

Alternatively, the ousted group member is free to join any other project group providedthere is still room for an additional group member (maximum four to a group) and aunanimous decision is made by all project members to accept him or her.

Group members need to be familiar with all aspects of the project requirements. Whilethe group may divide the project tasks up among members, the final document willneed to flow smoothly.

Where to find information:Remember, you are looking for additional academic articles and information to support yourReport. You should try to find current articles written between 2009 and 2015. Earlier articlesmay be OK but you need to think as to whether they are still relevant given today‟scircumstances.

Finding articles:1. Type the term into the Library database or EBSCO2. Add a second search term such as “Shareholder Value” if you don‟t get any results3. Still no results that you can use? Try to use a different term that means the samething.

Reading/reviewing/analysing articles

Many articles you will find will be several pages long – this is quite normal for academicresearch papers as they are required to explain in detail the research methodology andresults. These details are necessary to support and validate the findings.

Do not let this concern you, as, for the purposes of your research for this, and most otherassessment tasks, you do not need to read the detail about the research methodology andresults. What you need to find out is the purpose of the research: what question they aretrying to answer; any context considerations; the findings – i.e. the answer to the question;and any comments about future directions or the application of the findings

To gain this information, points 1 and 2 will be found in the abstract and the introductorysection(s) – usually within the first 2 pages. Points 3 and 4 will be found at the end of thepaper under the headings “Findings” and/or “Conclusions” and/or “Recommendations” orsimilar. These are usually the last page or two pages.

A FULL copy of your „reference‟ article can be found on the subject website along with allother information under the heading „Assignment‟ however there is also an „abbreviatedversion‟ which omits the research methodology and statistical data. Although the article isquite long, only the first two pages (336 & 337) and page 350 have been needed for thereview – i.e. students usually only need to read the introduction and conclusion sections ofthe articles.

Jeff Bezos named world's best-performing CEO, despite Amazon losses


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The best: Jeff Bezos. Photo: BloombergTIM BIGGS

Despite a reputation for putting revenue above profits and the decisive failure of thecompany's Fire Phone, Amazon's Jeff Bezos has been named Harvard Business Review's

best-performing CEO in the world.

This was no popularity contest or mere measure of profit posted over a period of time. Themethod used to quantify performance has a clear slant towards creating long-term valuerather than brand popularity or big returns.

Here's how HBR worked out the winner: starting with a list of CEOs of all companies on theS&P Global 1200, the publication excluded anybody who had been arrested or convicted of acrime.

Next it disqualified anybody who started as CEO before 1995 (sorry, Warren Buffett) or afterApril 30, 2012 (sorry, Marissa Mayer).

Finally it adjusted returns over the whole of each CEO's tenure to eliminate unfair advantagesor disadvantages arising from any company's country, industry or size, and then ranked thecandidates accordingly.


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The numbers showed Bezos as a clear winner.

According to the research, as of April 2014 Bezos has delivered a country-adjusted 15,189 per cent shareholder return and a 14,917 per cent industry-adjusted return, despite thecompany's apparent non-profitability.

It is a fact HBR puts down to Bezos' constant reshuffling of cash back into growing the

business and investing in new Amazon ventures.

"Here's a CEO who has frequently underperformed in the short-term while continuing tomake big bets on the future," wrote Harvard Business Review editor Adi Ignatius.

"Amazon often reports quarterly losses, even as sales continue to rise. And though thecompany is subject, like many firms, to dramatic share price swings, Amazon and Bezos havea long-term track record of delivering shareholder value that is second to none."

Ignatius noted that this aspect of Bezos' operation led to his topping a list filled with theheads of seemingly better-performing companies such as Netflix (CEO Reed Hastings placed

at number 23) and Walt Disney (CEO Robert Iger at 60).

"It presents a marvellous irony," Ignatius wrote. "The leader most adamantly ignoring WallStreet pressure creates the most value – and the company that spends next to nothing onadvertising and public relations ends up with a great reputation."

Indeed, the bulk of the blame for Amazon's last-quarter loss is placed on the cost of newinvestment, with a nearly 40 per cent jump in technology and content operating expenses, upto $US2.4 billion ($2.75 billion).

This figure includes the expansion of Amazon's web services with a new data centre inGermany, and a huge amount of investment in content and programming for its Netflix-likePrime Instant Video service.

The third quarter was also marred by the implosion of the Fire Phone, which left the companywith about $US83 million worth of smartphones languishing unsold in its warehouses afteryears and millions of dollars worth of development.

While the phone – with its faux-3D display and emphasis on shopping – was clearly amisstep, it is representative of Amazon's attitude to investment, with The New York Times

pointing out the company is still in rapid growth mode, "investing heavily and postponing

profits until the halcyon days just around the corner when it will sell all things to all peopleall the time".

After the loss was announced, investors battered the shares to produce a 10 per cent dive. Butas the HBR research would appear to indicate, movement on Wall Street is far from the bestindicator of quality or performance.

Follow IT Pro on Twitter

SMH Thursday 6 November 2104
http://hbr.org/2014/11/the-best-performing-ceos-in-the-world/ar/1http://e/it-pro/business-it/amazon-shares-miss-earnings-forecast-stock-sinks-20141023-11axsd.htmlhttp://e/digital-life/mobiles/jeff-bezos-and-the-amazon-fire-phone-fail-20141024-11b5rf.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/24/technology/amazon-loss-quarterly-earnings.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/24/technology/amazon-loss-quarterly-earnings.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/24/technology/amazon-loss-quarterly-earnings.htmlhttp://e/var/mobile/Containers/Data/Application/9E0B9D70-9D3B-4CAC-9FA4-9B7226E65BC3/Library/Caches/Newsstand/F2CF3E8A-5A20-4DFE-8FF3-41CC073A0C2C/DCDS-62938888/twitter.com/itpro_auhttp://e/var/mobile/Containers/Data/Application/9E0B9D70-9D3B-4CAC-9FA4-9B7226E65BC3/Library/Caches/Newsstand/F2CF3E8A-5A20-4DFE-8FF3-41CC073A0C2C/DCDS-62938888/twitter.com/itpro_auhttp://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/24/technology/amazon-loss-quarterly-earnings.htmlhttp://e/digital-life/mobiles/jeff-bezos-and-the-amazon-fire-phone-fail-20141024-11b5rf.htmlhttp://e/it-pro/business-it/amazon-shares-miss-earnings-forecast-stock-sinks-20141023-11axsd.htmlhttp://hbr.org/2014/11/the-best-performing-ceos-in-the-world/ar/1

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