RECENT ASSIGNMENT

VALUE: 25% of OVERALL ASSESSMENT
DUE DATES:
Written work - Friday, 26 September 2014 (The portal will close at 11.59pm AEST –
Students in Adelaide and Brisbane please note to adjust for the time difference accordingly).
Presentation – during the tutorial in the week beginning 22 September 2014
Submission: The written component of the assignment will need to be submitted
electronically through the student portal – use the link under “Assessments and Revision” to
submit the information. Presentations will be made in class and marked accordingly.
REQUIRED:
This assignment comprises three parts:
1. Written answers to a research case study involving two companies (See Part 1 below);
2. Written answers to a research question on a current area of concern in auditing (See
Part 2 below);
3. A group presentation.
You are required to complete the assignment working in teams of 3 - 4 members. You need
to obtain your lecturer’s approval as to the size and members of your group. Your group
presentation will be limited to 10 minutes (per group) and each member of the group must
present a part of it demonstrating and understanding of the technical aspects being tested
and individual oral presentation skills. A separate mark will be given to each member of the
team for presentation skills. Minutes of team meetings must also be maintained and
submitted with the assignment.
The Assignment is designed to test the following skills:
1. Your knowledge and your ability to research the issues and then apply the information
appropriately using judgement.
2. Your teamwork and communication skills.
Please make sure you follow the guidelines noted in your subject outline especially those
relating to presentation of written work, late policy and academic integrity. You should
also familiarise yourself with the assessment marking rubric (attached) to guide you in how
you can score marks.
ACCM 4400
Auditing and Assurance
Assignment
Trimester 2, 2014Group Assignment: Research and Presentation
Kaplan Business School is part of Kaplan Inc., a leading global provider of educational services. Kaplan Business School Pty Ltd ABN
86 098 181 947 is a registered higher education provider CRICOS Provider Codes SA/QLD 02426B, NSW 02913J and VIC 02887F
ACCM 4400/2TRIMESTER2014/Assignment /MIR
- 2 -
PART 1: (50 marks)
Review the annual reports including financial statements presented to the shareholders in
respect of the two companies noted below and answer the questions. Please note that if the
web-link fails to open you may need to “right click” on it and use “open hyperlink” to access it.
(A) Woolworths Limited: Financial year ended 30 June 2013
http://www.woolworthslimited.com.au/annualreport/2013/ and/or
http://www.woolworthslimited.com.au/annualreport/2013/downloads/WoolworthsLimited_Ann
ualReport_2013_FullReport.pdf
(B) Commonwealth Bank Limited: Financial Year ended 30June 2014
https://www.commbank.com.au/about-us/shareholders/financial-information/annual-reports.html
Questions to be answered by the group or team:
Assume that your team is responsible for planning the audit for both “Woolworths” (year
ended 30 June 2013) and “Commonwealth Bank”(year ended 30 June 2014 discuss your
strategies in relation the questions noted below –
(A). Identify at least three (3) inherent risks that you would have considered for each company
in the audit planning phase and justify your answer
(B). What audit procedures and/or tasks would you have plan to carry out in response to the
inherent risks identified by you in (A) above?
(C). Carry out an analytical review on the financial statements of these companies in the
planning phase and identify areas of concern (high risk or problem areas) or comfort. Justify
your answer - identify at least three (3) points for each company.
(D). What audit procedures and/or tasks would you have planned to carry out in response to the
high risks or problem areas identified by you in (C) above? Alternatively, in relation to which area
would you have minimised your evidence gathering procedure?
(E). An Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members has been issued for each company:
(a) Identify the type of audit opinion issued by each auditor, and justify your answer.
(b) Do you agree with the type of opinion issued by the auditor? Why or why not? Please
indicate an alternative audit opinion if you do not agree with the one issued.
(c) Are there any other matters or events that have taken place after the issue of the audit report
that strengthens or weakens the auditor’s opinion?
(F). In relation to corporate governance research and justify your answer to the following questions-
(a) Do the above companies have any process relating to corporate governance?
(b) Under which section of the annual report would you expect to find information on it?
(c) Do the companies have an audit committee and does it have the correct composition?
(d) In your opinion, are audit committees of benefit to the auditor, the company, the auditing
profession and/or society as a whole? Group Assignment: Research and Presentation
Kaplan Business School is part of Kaplan Inc., a leading global provider of educational services. Kaplan Business School Pty Ltd ABN
86 098 181 947 is a registered higher education provider CRICOS Provider Codes SA/QLD 02426B, NSW 02913J and VIC 02887F
ACCM 4400/2TRIMESTER2014/Assignment /MIR
- 3 -
PART 2: (30 Marks)
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) released Information Sheet 196 in
March 2014 titled “Audit Quality: the Role of Directors and Audit Committee”. In response to this
the Head of Audit Policy at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and New Zealand
welcomed it saying it was “important in supporting audit committees fulfill their responsibilities in
the financial reporting and external audit process.”
In your own words (as a group/team) comment on this statement. Your team commentary
should include (but doesn’t have to be restricted to) answers to the following: What your
team understands by audit quality? Is it important? Do audit committees and directors have
an impact on audit committees? How? The report also makes a number of
recommendations? Explain whether you think they are necessary, useful or redundant? Is
this mandatory or should it be made mandatory? Why or why not? Should the auditing
profession be regulated in this manner? Why or why not?
You are required to:
1. Complete the questions to Parts 1 and 2 and submit ONE ANSWER FOR YOUR TEAM
electronically using the link on the student portal under assessments and revision named “Group
Assignment”. Please make sure that all team members names and student ID numbers are
noted on the first page of your answer or individual members may not receive marks. A copy of the
minutes of team meetings (noted below) should also be attached. Please make sure that all
members of the team sign the minutes of the meetings.
2. Group Presentation – prepare and present a group presentation of 10 minutes (for 3 members)
on all or some of the material you have researched in parts 1 and/or 2 above. All members of the
group should be part of the presentation. Questions will be asked of the group during and/or after
the presentation. You are also required to assess the other members in your team (peer review) in
terms of their contribution and award each one a mark out of 5. The lecturer will also award each
one of you a mark out of 5 for your efforts in team work.
Summary of Marks:
Part 1 Written (Group) 50 marks
Part 2 Written (Group) 30 marks
Presentation (individual) 10 marks
Teamwork (lecturer and peer) 10 marks
100 Marks
Team Meetings
The team should have a minimum of three meetings (the team may have as many meetings as
they need to) and should maintain minutes of those meetings which should be included with the
hard copy of your assignment as an attachment. Minutes should include -
1) Where and when the meeting was held
2) People present; absent; apologies
3) What was discussed and agreed on;
3) The follow up action relating to each member of the team;
4) Any other relevant matter, things you agreed or disagreed on etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End of Assignment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~