Assessment Information
Subject Code: BUS103
Subject Name: Accounting for Managers
Assessment Title: Team assignment
Weighting: 30% (Assessable value)
Total Marks: 60 marks
Due Date: Before 3.55 pm on Monday 30 January 2017 (Week 11).
Note: Adelaide and Brisbane students please allow for time difference.
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Assessment Description
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Required:
This assignment is to be completed in teams of three students. It consists of four (4) questions, all of which must be attempted. (If it is unavoidable, teams of four will be considered).
The assignment must be submitted before the above due date to avoid any late penalties. Please make sure you follow the usual assignment presentation guidelines especially those relating to presentation of written work, late policy and academic integrity.
Forming Teams: You must discuss the selection of teams with your lecturer, who may decide to allocate you into teams or he/she may decide to form teams using a random process. Any work which has been copied or shared between teams will result in a Fail grade for all students concerned. So please make sure that the answer to this team assignment is your own work and not copied from any source.
Please note that a word limit exists for all questions. You must indicate your word count at the end of each question. Submissions that exceed the word count by more than 10% will cease to be marked from the point at which that limit is exceeded.
Submission:
The assignment will need to be submitted electronically through the student portal – use the link under “Assessments” to submit the information.
QUESTION 1: 15 marks (Word limit: 750 words)
Big Business Tobacco (BBT) is a large Australian producer of tobacco products including a market-leader brand of cigarettes. With the continuing development of Asian countries such as China and its move to a market-based economy, the company has made the decision to sell its cigarettes in this large market from the beginning of next month. The cigarettes will be sold in packs of 40.
Mary Bender, marketing manager, is discussing the design of the cigarette packet for the Asian market with Randall Hedges, the company’s public relations manager. Having agreed on the basic design of the pack, Hedges raised the issue of whether to include the normal health warning on the pack, which has to be displayed under Australian law. He emphasised recent medical findings which predicted many hundreds of thousands of deaths from cigarette smoking in the next few years, particularly in the developing countries.
Mary Bender was strongly opposed to including a ‘health hazard’ warning on the packs destined for parts of the Asian market. She explained: ‘In this business it is the bottom line (i.e. profits) which matters — we have to think of our shareholders. BBT stands to lose a considerable market share to competitors if it includes such a warning. Besides, it is not a legal requirement in many Asian countries to display a health warning on cigarette packs. If Asian law is subsequently amended, then we will be one of the first to comply. Besides, the managing director supports me on this one.’
Hedges expressed a final opinion: ‘The company could be better off in the long term by being seen to be acting with corporate responsibility, and demonstrating some concern for its consumers. Besides, such warnings have not been detrimental to the company’s performance in Australia, where health warnings have been common for many years.’
Required:
A. Who are the major stakeholders in the debate on the health warnings on cigarette packs?
B. What are the main ethical issues involved in the debate?
C. If you were Randall Hedges, what would you do?
QUESTION 2: 10 marks (Word limit: 500 words)
Brian Kelly has spent many years of his life panning for gold, with little success. On several occasions, he has found small traces of gold along the usual river banks that he is licensed to pan.
However, on his last trip to the Ballarat River, almost by accident he managed to find a very promising piece of rock which he placed in his satchel. He took the rock into town to be examined and valued by experts, who assured him that the rock was a valuable gold nugget and that it was worth at least $60,000. Brian was elated and opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate with his friends.
About 2 weeks later, he sold the nugget to a jeweller for $75,000 in cash.
Required:
Evaluate and justify whether and when revenue exists and on the appropriate time for this revenue to be recognised in the accounts of Brian Kelly.
QUESTION 3 (10 + 5 = 15 marks)
A. As a new management accountant, reply to this comment by a plant manager: ‘No “bean counter” knows enough about my responsibilities to be of any use to me. As I see it, our accountants may be needed to keep records for shareholders and the Australian Tax Office, but I don’t want them sticking their noses in my day-to-day
operations.’ (Word limit: 500 words)
B. ‘Knowledge of technical issues such as computer technology is a necessary but not a sufficient condition to becoming a successful management accountant.’ Do you agree? Explain your answer. (Word limit: 250 words)
Question 4 (8 + 8 + 4 = 20 marks)
Required: In relation to the financial statements of Stratum Limited given below answer the following questions -
A. Calculate the changes in the financial statements from 2017 to 2016 in both dollar amounts and percentages.
B. Prepare common size financial statements for 2017 and 2016.
C. Comment on any relationships revealed by the horizontal and vertical analyses using a word limit of 200 words.
The comparative financial statements of Stratum Ltd are shown below and on the next page.
STRATUM LTD
Comparative Statements of Profit or Loss for the years ended 30 June ($000)
Note 2017 2016
Revenue 2 16,000 $13,750
Expenses, excluding finance costs 4 $13,705 $11,965
Finance costs - -
Profit before income tax expense $2,295 $1,785
Income tax expense $878 $535
Profit $1,417 $1,250
STRATUM LTD
Statements of Changes in E for the years ended 30 Ju ($000) quity
ne
Share capital Ordinary:
Balance at start of period
Issue of share capital
1 500 100
1 500 —
Balance at end of period 1 600 1 500
Retained earnings
Balance at start of period
Total recognised profit for the period
Dividend paid — ordinary
350
1 417
(852)
200
1 250 (1 100)
Balance at end of period 915 350
STRATUM LTD
Comparative Statements of Financial Position as at 30 June ($000)
2017 2016
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Trade and other receivables
Inventories
80
380 770
100
335 720
Total current assets 1 230 1 155
Non-current assets
Other financial assets
Property, plant and equipment
140 3 400
160 2 785
Total non-current assets 3 540 2 945
Total assets 4 770 4 100
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables (Note 14)
505
500
Total current liabilities 505 500
Non-current liabilities Long-term borrowings
1 750
1 750
Total non-current liabilities 1 750 1 750
Total liabilities 2 255 2 250
Net assets 2 515 1 850
Equity
Share capital
Retained earnings
1 600 915
1 500 350
Total equity 2 515 1 850
Notes to the financial statements ($000)
Note 2: Revenue 2017 2016
Sales revenue (net) $16 000 $13 750
Note 4: Expenses
Cost of sales 9 000 8 850
Selling and distribution expenses 2 150 1 730
Administration expenses 1 925 1 385
Note 14: Payables
Trade creditors 395 360
Other creditors and accruals 110 140
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