Purpose:
Assignment Specifications
This assignment aims at developing student’s ability to critically examine the financial reporting regulations for Australian reporting entities, and the relevance of Positive Accounting Theory (PAT) in predicting accounting practice. They will have to identify a real-life accounting fraud case and evaluate it based on their violations of financial reporting regulations. Students will have to do research on relevant academic literature and demonstrate understanding and critical evaluation of the Australian financial reporting environment and its current regulatory framework, and recommend future directions to the Australian financial reporting regulators.
Students are required to review the relevant academic literature, incl. relevant organisation websites and write in-text citations when answering this assignment.
Required Tasks:
In the body of the assignment, students will have to critically discuss the following issues:
1. Identify and discuss the current regulatory framework or regulations encompassing the preparation of financial statements by reporting entities in Australia. (5 marks)
2. In your opinion, is the Australian financial reporting environment over regulated? Justify your answer. [Hint: Cite relevant literature source(s) to back up your answer]. (5 marks)
3. Identify one (1) real-life ‘financial reporting accounting fraud’ that occurred post 1990 (i.e. in the last 30 years), in any country, and answer the following questions:
a) Summarise the key facts about your chosen ‘financial reporting accounting fraud’ (5 marks)
b) Explain which of Positive Accounting Theory’s (PAT’s) hypotheses predicted the practice(s) of the parties involved in your chosen accounting fraud. (5 marks)
c) Discuss what specific accounting regulations were violated? (5 marks)
d) What valuable lessons can the accounting community (incl. reporting entities and regulators), learn from the outcomes of your chosen accounting fraud? (5 marks)
e) Provide two (2) recommendations to the Australian financial reporting regulators, to prevent accounting frauds from happening in the future. (5 marks)
Assignment Structure should be as the following:
To ensure that all students participate equitably in the group assignment and that students are responsible for the academic integrity of all components of the assignment. You need to complete the following table which identifies which student/students are responsible for the various sections of the assignment
Assignment Section Student/Students
This table needs to be completed and submitted with the assignment as it is a compulsory component required before any grading is undertaken.
Marking Criteria – Written Report
Marking Criteria Weighting
Abstract 1%
Introduction 2%
1. Identify and discuss the current regulatory framework or regulations encompassing the preparation of financial statements by reporting entities in Australia. 5%
2. In your opinion, is the Australian financial reporting environment over regulated? Justify your answer. [Hint: Cite relevant literature source(s) to back up
your answer]. 5%
3. Identify one (1) real-life ‘financial reporting accounting fraud’ that occurred post 1990 (i.e. in the last 30 years), in any country, and answer the following questions:
a) Summarise the key facts about your chosen ‘financial reporting accounting fraud’
5%
b) Explain which of Positive Accounting Theory’s (PAT’s) hypotheses predicted the practice(s) of the parties involved in your chosen
accounting fraud. 5%
c) Discuss what specific accounting regulations were violated? 5%
d) What lessons have been learnt from your chosen accounting fraud? 5%
e) Provide two (2) recommendations to the Australian financial reporting
regulators, to prevent accounting frauds from happening in the future. 5%
Overall Presentation of Assignment 2%
TOTAL Marks (40) 40%
Marking Rubric
Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Abstract (1 mark) (1 mark) (0.8 mark) (0.6 mark) (0.5 mark) (0 mark)
Clear, concise, A very good A good abstract. A poorly No abstract
compelling abstract worded or included.
abstract. incomplete
abstract.
Introduction (2 marks) (2 marks) (1.6 marks) (1.2 mark) (1 mark) (0 - 0.5 mark)
Presented an Presented a Presented a Adequate Unable to
excellent very good good introduction present a
introduction. introduction. introduction. presented. proper
introduction or
confusing.
1. Identify and discuss the (4.1 - 5 marks) (3.6 - 4 marks) (3.1 – 3.5 marks) (2.1 - 3 marks) (0 - 2 marks)
current regulatory Identify 4 or Identify 4 or Identify 2-3 Identify 2-3 Identify 1 or less
framework or regulations more current more current current current number of the
encompassing the regulatory regulatory regulatory regulatory current
preparation of financial framework or framework or framework or framework or regulatory
statements by reporting regulations regulations regulations regulations framework or
entities in Australia. (5 encompassing encompassing encompassing encompassing regulations
marks) the preparation the preparation the preparation the encompassing
of financial of financial of financial preparation of the preparation
statements by statements by statements by financial of financial
reporting reporting reporting statements by statements by
entities in entities in entities in reporting reporting
Australia, with Australia, with Australia, with entities in entities in
excellent very good good discussion Australia, with Australia.
discussion of discussion of of them. errors and/or
them. them. omissions in
the discussion.
2. In your opinion, is the (4.1 - 5 marks) (3.6 - 4 marks) (3.1 – 3.5 marks) (2.1 - 3 marks) (0 - 2 marks)
Australian financial Clear, concise, Very good Good Adequate Unable to
reporting environment compelling explanation on explanation on explanation on present proper
over regulated? Justify explanation on whether the whether the whether the explanation on
your answer. [Hint: Cite whether the Australian Australian Australian whether the
relevant literature Australian financial financial financial Australian
source(s) to back up your financial reporting reporting reporting financial
answer]. (5 marks) reporting environment is environment is environment reporting
environment is over regulated, over regulated, is over environment is
over regulated, with very good with adequate regulated, over regulated,
with excellent relevant relevant with with inadequate
relevant literature to literature to inadequate relevant
literature to back up back up relevant literature to
back up explanation. explanation. literature to back up
explanation. back up explanation. or
explanation. confusing.
3. Identify one (1) real-life ‘financial reporting accounting fraud’ that occurred post 1990 (i.e. in the last 30 years), in any country, and answer the following questions:
a) Summarise the key facts about your chosen ‘financial reporting accounting fraud’ (5 marks) (4.1 - 5 marks) Clear, concise, summary of the key facts about your chosen
‘financial reporting accounting fraud’. (3.6 - 4 marks) Very good summary of the key facts about your chosen
‘financial reporting accounting fraud’. (3.1 – 3.5 marks) Good summary of the key facts about your
chosen ‘financial reporting accounting fraud’. (2.1 - 3 marks) Reasonable summary of the key facts about your chosen
‘financial reporting accounting fraud’. (0 - 2 marks) Unable to summarise the key facts about your chosen
‘financial reporting accounting fraud’, or confusing.
b) Explain which of Positive Accounting Theory’s (PAT’s) hypotheses predicted the practice(s) of the parties involved in your chosen accounting fraud. (5 marks) (4.1 - 5 marks) Clear, concise, compelling explanation as to which of Positive Accounting Theory’s (PAT’s) hypotheses predicted the practice(s) of the parties involved in your chosen accounting fraud. (3.6 - 4 marks) Very good explanation as to which of Positive Accounting Theory’s (PAT’s) hypotheses predicted the practice(s) of the parties involved in your chosen accounting fraud. (3.1 – 3.5 marks) Good explanation as to which of Positive Accounting Theory’s (PAT’s) hypotheses predicted the practice(s) of the parties involved in your chosen accounting fraud. (2.1 - 3 marks) Reasonable explanation as to which of Positive Accounting Theory’s
(PAT’s)
hypotheses predicted the practice(s) of the parties involved in your chosen accounting fraud. (0 - 2 marks) Unable to present proper explanation as to which of Positive Accounting Theory’s (PAT’s) hypotheses predicted the practice(s) of the parties involved in your chosen accounting fraud, or
confusing.
c) Discuss what specific accounting regulations were violated? (5 marks) (4.1 - 5 marks) Clear, concise, compelling discussion of what specific accounting regulations were violated. (3.6 - 4 marks) Very good discussion of what specific accounting regulations were violated. (3.1 – 3.5 marks) Good discussion of what specific accounting regulations were violated. (2.1 - 3 marks) Reasonable discussion of what specific accounting regulations were violated (0 - 2 marks) Unable to present proper discussion of what specific accounting regulations
were violated or confusing.
d) What lessons have been learnt from your chosen accounting fraud? (5 marks) (4.1 - 5 marks) Clear, concise, compelling discussion of the lessons learnt from your chosen accounting fraud. (3.6 - 4 marks) Very good discussion of the lessons learnt from your chosen accounting fraud. (3.1 – 3.5 marks) Good discussion of the lessons learnt from your chosen accounting fraud. (2.1 - 3 marks) Reasonable discussion of the lessons learnt from your chosen accounting fraud. (0 - 2 marks) Unable to present proper discussion of the lessons learnt from your chosen accounting fraud, or confusing.
e) Provide two (2) (4.1 - 5 marks) (3.6 - 4 marks) (3.1 – 3.5 marks) (2.1 - 3 marks) (0 - 2 marks)
recommendations to the Clear, concise, Very good 2 Good 2 Reasonable 2 Unable to
Australian financial compelling 2 recommenda- recommenda- recommenda- present 2
reporting regulators, to recommenda- tions to the tions to the tions to the recommenda-
prevent accounting tions to the Australian Australian Australian tions to the
frauds from happening in Australian financial financial financial Australian
the future. (5 marks) financial reporting reporting reporting financial
reporting regulators, to regulators, to regulators, to reporting
regulators, to prevent prevent prevent regulators, to
prevent accounting accounting accounting prevent
accounting frauds from frauds from frauds from accounting
frauds from happening in happening in happening in frauds from
happening in the future. the future. the future. happening in
the future. the future, or
confusing.
Overall Presentation of (2 marks) (1.6 marks) (1.2 marks) (1 mark) (0 – 0.5 marks)
Assignment (2 marks) Include all Include all Include all Include most Lack key
elements and is elements and is elements and is elements and elements and is
very well well presented. generally is adequately poorly
presented. Writing flows presented presented. presented.
Writing flows clearly and appropriately. Writing Writing does
clearly and sections are Writing mostly sometimes not flow clearly
sections are linked flows well and does not flow leaving the
linked very effectively. sections are clearly leaving paper to seem
effectively. Referencing is linked. the paper to disjointed.
Referencing is of a high Referencing is in seem Referencing is
exemplary. standard. accordance with disjointed in not in
English is used English is used guidelines. areas. accordance with
very effectively effectively with English is used Referencing is relevant
and error-free. very few errors effectively with somewhat in guidelines. Basic
present. few errors accordance English is used
present. with with errors
guidelines. present.
Basic English is
used with
some errors
present.
TOTAL Marks (40) /40
• The assignment must be in MS Word format, no spacing, 12-pt Arial font and 2 cm margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings and page numbers.
Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report, and listed appropriately at the end in a reference list using Harvard referencing style.