CO5122-Accounting For Corporations

Objectives

The aim of this assessment task is to demonstrate your understanding of the consolidated corporate structure, including the form, nature and content of group accounts and accounting for impairment of assets. In this business report assignment you will be required to choose a company from a given list and discuss the nature of the company’s activities and conduct a study into various stated aspects of the company’s financial statements. This assessment item relates to the subject and course learning outcomes:

This assessment item relates to the subject and course learning outcomes:

1.Develop a sound understanding of the accounting approaches applied to company formation.

2.Appreciate the impact of consolidated accounting on the economic entity, and the various accounting adjustments required to portray this relationship.

3.Understand how to apply impairment testing on the valuation of certain types of assets.

4.Critically analyse complex accounting-related knowledge and practice from both historical and contemporary perspectives

5.Research and apply established concepts to solve business and professional practice problemsCompany financial statement analysis:

Task

You are required to access the most recent annual report of one of the following companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (Annual reports are available via the Library Database ‘DatAnalysis’. They are also available on the company website.):

1.Boral Ltd

2.Cochlear Ltd

3.JB HiFi Ltd

4.Wesfarmers Ltd

5.Qantas Airways Ltd

You are required to write an executive report with a maximum length of 2500 words, which will address all of the following points:

1.Describe the nature of the company’s activities

2.Discuss the composition of the company’s equity

3.Identify (look up and state) the Share price for the company’s ordinary shares for the last day of the financial year. What relationship does this have with the share capital as reported in the financial statements? 

4.Identify the share price for the company’s ordinary shares one calendar month after the end of financial year. What may have caused any difference over this one month period?

5.Discuss the debt structure and the source of external (i.e. non-equity) financing

6.Discuss the key elements in the fixed assets categories

7.Identify the intangible assets and discuss  the policy for recognising the impairment of these assets

8.Summarise the company’s financial operations during the financial year (i.e.  retained earnings, dividend distributions, changes in capital).

When preparing your report you should refer to:

1.the financial statements

2.disclosures

3.academic journals (minimum of 2)

4.textbooks (minimum of 3)

5.the assignment rubric

You are not expected to systematically reference the annual report that you are analysing and you are not required to attach the financial statements to your report.  However, when referring to specific information inside your report, you should include a page and section reference to indicate the source of your information.  Any source other than the company financial report which you use in your report, such as journals and textbooks, should be referenced both in-text and at the end of text.  

1.Develop a sound understanding of the accounting approaches applied to company formation.

2.Appreciate the impact of consolidated accounting on the economic entity, and the various accounting adjustments required to portray this relationship.

3.Understand how to apply impairment testing on the valuation of certain types of assets.

4.Critically analyse complex accounting-related knowledge and practice from both historical and contemporary perspectives

5.Research and apply established concepts to solve business and professional practice problems