University of Bedfordshire Business School
BA (Hons) Accounting Academic Year 2014– 2015
BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance
Auditing (AAF 004-3) Assessment 1 (Coursework) for 3rd Year Students
Assessment tasks (adapted from the University’s unit specification)
There are two parts to the assessment of this unit, a piece of coursework and a written examination.
The first assessment (Coursework) is a research study on a current issue in auditing. This will be undertaken in groups, normally of 4-6, in order to produce a group presentation and an individual report. The presentation will be made prior to the completion of an individual report allowing some informal feedback after each presentation. This will form 40% of the assessment weighting.
If you require further information and help on what is expected of you for each assessment task then consult your unit tutor. If you want more general help with preparing for assessments then visit PAD web site at http://lrweb.beds.ac.uk/pad or their BREO site which provides access to a range of relevant additional on-line resources.
As stated on the UIF the first assessment is a research study on a current issue in auditing. Studentsneed to prepare a report of about 3,000 words +/- 10% on a topic agreed with their tutor. Indicative topics may include:
• Risk-Based Internal Auditing and its Implementation in the UK
• The effectiveness and purpose of the Auditor’s Client meetings
• The Role of Auditors in the UK Public Sector
• The advantages and disadvantages of Internal Audit Function in Small and medium size Organisations.
• The Policing and the Value Adding Functions in Internal Auditing.
• The Role of I.T. in Internal Audit
• The Role of I.T. in external Audit
• The Role of the Internal Auditor in the Prevention, Detection and Reporting of Fraud within companies.
• The Development of Medium-sized Accountancy Firms in the UK or (your country of choice)
• The importance and contributions of Medium-sized Accountancy Firms to economic growth in the UK or (your country of choice).
• The role of internal auditors and the effectiveness of Audit committee members
• How internal auditors can help Audit committee members to be more effective?
• The Effectiveness of the Audit Committee in the Private Sector
• Audit risk: rhetoric of rationality?
• The effect of auditor’s liability on the accounting profession and organisations in UK or any country of your choice
• Accounting, ethics and the links missing between them in the UK.
• Sustainability reporting and the UK .public sector
• Auditor’s independence: Perception or a reality?
• Perceptions of risk in the UK audit industry
• Does securing assets or causing insecurities among employees impact internal control?
• Do internal controls have an impact on employees? A case study within the banking industry
• The effects of gender imbalance on the UK audit profession.
• Do the current accounting standards live up to their objectives?
• International accounting standards: What is convergence and is any likelihood of convergence between the EU and the US?
• The changes brought to Auditor-client relationships in the UK due to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
• Audit Committees and agency problems with the combined code.
• Is The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 capable of preventing future accounting scandals?
Other topics may be proposed by students but they are at the discretion of the tutor
Students should work in groups of, normally, 4-6 and they should prepare a presentation. Each group must choose a separate topic. Each student must take part in the presentation. The presentation will be assessed prior to the completion of an individual report.
Coursework submissions date
A submission will constitute a recognisable response to the task brief. The coursework report must be submitted before 11.59pm on Saturday, 28 February 2015. The group presentations will be made in class during the week commenting 20 February 2015. Late work is not accepted, and will be deemed a fail and graded G (0) (no work submitted).
If you believe that you are likely to miss a deadline because of extenuating circumstances you should apply for an extension (see your course guide for further details). Your application should be accompanied by documentary evidence of your extenuating circumstances. Please note that lecturers are not able to extend published deadlines.
A hardcopy is NOT required. Only the electronic copy needs to be submitted via TURNITIN on BREO. Late work is not accepted, and will be deemed a fail and graded G (0) (no work submitted).
Working to deadlines is an important life-skill and we would encourage you to develop appropriate practices.
Plagiarism
Be sure you have read carefully the warning about plagiarism in the module handbook.
Feedback
Once your results are approved at the next meeting of the Board of Examiners your results will be made available. Feedback on the assignment will be posted on BREO; you are welcome to see your tutor during office hours if you require individual feedback.
Marking
Marks will be assessed based on
Presentation / Report Template 10%
Contents/ logic of argument/ 60%
Analysis and flow of report or essay 20%
Referencing 10%

Further criteria for assessment are below.
Assessment Criteria
An excellent pass (A: 14, 15, 16): In addition to the criteria for a good pass (below), an excellent essay will demonstrate:
• comprehensive and accurate coverage of the area;
• critical, balanced and well-informed evaluation;
• clarity of argument and expression;
• the introduction of new ideas, creativity, and independent thought;
• transfer and integration of models, ideas and information from a range of sources;
• depth of insight into theoretical issues;
• originality of exposition or treatment.
A good pass (B: 11, 12, 13): A good pass essay will:
• be generally accurate and well-informed;
• show some evidence of a wide range of reading utilising primary sources;
• show clear understanding of the material;
• show an ability to evaluate the material, although this may be derivative;
• demonstrate the ability to analyse;
• be reasonably comprehensive;
• directly address the question;
• be clearly presented in a concise manner;
• be well organised and logically structured ;
A clear pass (C: 8, 9, 10): A clear pass essay may demonstrate:
• generally sound work but with a number of notable errors or omissions;
• general accuracy, although with some omissions and errors;
• an adequate answer to the question, although with less evidence of wide-ranging reading;
• a strong answer to a related question, but not the one set;
• only limited development of arguments;
• only limited analysis and interpretation of presented material;
• clear presentation.
A bare pass (D: 5, 6, 7): A bare pass is likely to include a number of significant errors and/or omissions. A bare pass essay may:
• fail to answer the question directly;
• miss key points of information;
• contain important inaccuracies;
• show only sparse coverage and analysis of relevant material;
• fail to support arguments with adequate evidence/meaning unclear.
A marginal fail (E: 4): This is unsatisfactory work with serious errors or omissions. Specifically it may:
• contain very little appropriate material;
• show some evidence of relevant reading but provide only cursory coverage with numerous errors, omissions or irrelevancies;
• be disorganised;
• contain much inappropriate material;
• lack any real argument.
A clear fail (F, G: 2, 0): Work of a very poor standard with little relevant information constitutes an F (2) fail and “nothing of merit” constitutes a G (0). A clear fail essay is likely to:
• show a profound misunderstanding of basic material;
• show a complete failure to understand the question or anything related to it;
• provide totally inadequate information;
• be an incoherent or inappropriate submission.