ASSESSMENT BRIEF
Subject Code and Title ACCT6004 Management Accounting
Assessment Research Component
Individual/Group Individual
Length No word limit for Part 1 and Part 2
800 words for Part 3
Learning Outcomes 1. Explain the nature and importance of management accounting, and the current roles and responsibilities of management accountants in contemporary business organizations.
2. Identify and analyse ethical and organisational issues confronting contemporary management accountants.
Submission End of Module 6, i.e. midnight Sunday of Week 12 (AEST)
List of positions: submitted by midnight Sunday 12 November 2017 (AEST) – See Section 1 on page 2 below for detail.
Weighting 40%
Data collection: 10%
Data analysis: 10%
Final report: 20%
Total Marks 100 marks
Context:
The research component requires students to explore the current roles and responsibilities of management accountants in contemporary business organisations.
Instructions:
Students are required to search job advertisements for cost accountants and management accountants from diverse job websites, to identify selection criteria for cost and management accountant roles, and to reflect on the skill set required to fulfil the responsibilities of management accounting position in the work place.
The instructions for data collection, data analysis and final report are below.
1) Data Collection: 10% (25 marks)
• You are required to collect data from the Australian job websites. Examples are, but not limited to, the following job websites:
1. www.seek.com.au
2. www.mycareer.com.au
3. www.careerone.com.au
4. www.jobsearch.gov.au
5. www.apsjobs.gov.au
• Identify ten (10) cost accounting or management accounting positions advertised during the time period from 1 August 2017 to 12 November 2017. These positions must be based in Australia.
• You should exercise your best effort to ensure your positions differ substantially from the positions selected by any other student in class. Please submit your list of positions by midnight Sunday 12th November 2017 to the subject facilitator for interim feedback if necessary.
• Note: Please keep a record of your positions when first downloaded as the positions may be deleted from the websites. One way to do this is to copy, paste and save the job descriptions in Word.
• Record the collected data for the above positions in Table 1 below.
No. Position Title Sector (if available)
Industry or
Government Position Description Date Listed Website Address Search
Word(s) or Phrases
2) Data Analysis: 10% (25 marks)
Complete Table 2 below.
No. Position Title Position Requirements
(selection criteria, responsibilities, etc.) Cost and Management
Accounting Criteria
Required for Position Alignment with Learning Outcomes of ACCT 6004
3) Final Report: 20% (50 marks) – 800 words
Respond to the following requirements in your report. Note: References to Table 1 and Table 2 are required, where applicable.
Part 1: 200 words – 10 marks
1) Summarise the positions in the following areas
• The job websites where your positions are found
• The common sectors (industry or government organisations) of the positions
• Whether the positions are classified as ‘cost accountants’, ‘management accountants’, or other classifications (if so, what are these classifications?)
• The common requirements, selection criteria, responsibilities, and other detail of the positions
• The common requirements, selection criteria, responsibilities, and other detail, which relate to cost and management accounting knowledge and skills
Part 2: 600 words – 40 marks
2)
• Describe the most common cost and management accounting skills and knowledge required for the positions.
• Discuss why these knowledge and skills are required. You are expected to explain and justify your own opinions. You may refer to extra sources of references to support your arguments.
3)
• Identify the less common cost and management accounting skills and knowledge required for the positions.
• Discuss why these knowledge and skills are not as highly sought as those in Part 2 (2) above. You are expected to explain and justify your own opinions. You may refer to extra sources of references to support your arguments.
4) Draw practical implications from your research findings: Apart from cost and management accounting knowledge and skills, identify and explain any challenge(s) facing management accountants.
5) Explain and elaborate the alignments you have provided in last column of Table 2:
• What are the specific topics that you have learnt in ACCT 6004, which have helped you align the cost and management accounting knowledge and skills of the positions with the learning outcomes of ACCT 6004?
• To what extent do you think the subject learning outcomes are aligned to job requirements?
6) Reflect on your research:
• What cost and management accounting knowledge and skills required for the positions but not taught in ACCT 6004?
• Do you think these knowledge and skills should, or should not, be covered in this subject ACCT 6004? Why?
Assessment Rubric – Research Component (100 marks)
Assessment Attributes Fail (0-49%) Pass (50-64%) Credit (65-74%) Distinction (75-84%) High Distinction (85-100%)
Identify selection criteria of
management
accounting roles
30% No or little selection criteria of management accounting roles is identified Minimum selection criteria of management accounting roles is identified
Little or no explanation of
selection criteria is
provided
Common selection criteria of management accounting roles are
identified
Minimum explanation is
provided for the identified selection criteria Diverse selection criteria of management accounting roles are
identified
Explanation is provided for majority of identified criteria Comprehensive selection criteria of management accounting roles are
identified
Full explanation is provided for all of the identified selection criteria
Relate selection criteria of
management
accounting jobs to
subject learning outcomes
60% No or little awareness of the connections between selection criteria of management accounting jobs to
subject learning
outcomes
Understanding research requirements, and relating selection criteria of management accounting jobs to relevant study modules covered in the subject
Identifying and understanding the rationale of research requirements
Being able to fully relate selection criteria of
management accounting jobs to relevant modules
Being able to interpret and explain selection criteria of management accounting jobs, how these criteria relate to different management accounting processes
and tools
Fully understanding selection criteria of
management accounting jobs, how these criteria relate to different management accounting
processes and tools
Interpreting and linking job requirements to learning experience
Effective communication
Difficult to understand for audience, no logical/clear structure, poor flow of ideas, argument lacks supporting evidence. Information, arguments and evidence are presented in a way that is not always clear and logical.
Information, arguments and evidence are well presented, mostly clear flow of ideas and arguments.
Information, arguments and evidence are very well presented, the presentation is logical, clear and well supported by evidence. Expertly presented; the presentation is logical, persuasive, and well supported by evidence, demonstrating a clear flow of ideas and arguments.
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10%
No effort is made to keep audience engaged, audience cannot follow the line of reasoning.
Attempts are made to keep the audience engaged, but not always successful. Line of reasoning is often difficult to follow. The audience is mostly engaged, line of reasoning is easy to follow.
Engages the audience, demonstrates cultural sensitivity.
Engages and sustains audience’s interest in the topic, demonstrates high
levels of cultural sensitivity
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