Assessment
BUSINESS WRITING
SMIPA - The Skilled Migration Internship Program
PARTICIPANT FIRST NAME
PARTICIPANT SURNAME
PARTICIPANT ID NUMBER
DATE OF ASSESSMENT
PARTICIPANT SIGNATURE
FACILITATOR NAME
FACILITATOR SIGNATURE
FACILITATOR COMMENTS:
ASSESSMENT OUTCOME:
COMPETENT
NOT YET COMPETENT
ASSESSMENT
This assessment has two parts. You are required to be competent in all assessment criteria.
PART A – WRITE AN EMAIL
Assume you are working as an assistant accountant in a small accounting practice. One of your clients (Adam Baker - Adam Bakery Pty Ltd) is about to terminate the employment contract of an employee. The client is inquiring whether they should pay annual leave loading to employees on termination. Conduct some research on the topic and advise your client via email. Your recommendation should be supported with evidence. You should send your email to your facilitator for assessment.
Assessment Criteria for Part A
Assessment criteria Explanation of the criteria Competent Not Yet Competent
Linear style The purpose of the information is made obvious and follows a logical structure.
Unity, logic, cohesion All words are necessary. And each paragraph has a specific purpose
Tone is appropriate for audience The words are the right level of formality.
This includes the greeting and sign-off. The language used must be at an appropriate level for two colleagues communicating. Therefore ‘Hi’ is too informal. Emotive language is not acceptable ‘I’d love to…’ and text language must be avoided.
The following are allowable: Contractions e.g. ‘I’m’/’wouldn’t’ Dashes combine sentences e.g. ‘Harry came over from accounts – he helped me with the payroll’
Grammar The following grammatical structures are correct - articles, prepositions, tenses, subject/verb agreement
Capital letters are correct (proper nouns, first person singular, first word of a sentence) Capital letters should be used for proper nouns, first person singular, first word of a sentence
Linear style The purpose of the information is made obvious and follows a logical structure.
The participants are required to complete written assessments 100% error-free. This is the standard expected in the workplace and should be the aim in this unit. Although facilitators are encouraged to locate and highlight errors in documents they should not correct them on behalf of the participants.
PART B – WRITE A BUSINESS REPORT
Background Information: It is crucial for accountants to understand employment laws and regulations. For the purposes of this task, assume you are working for a small accounting practice and dealing with number of clients. One of your clients is preparing to start a new business and first time employ around 10 to 12 employees (a mix of casual, full-time, part-time and contract workers). Your client (Adam Baker – Adam Bakery Pty Ltd) has approached you for information about the tax and workplace related obligations regarding employing these workers.
Task: Prepare a business report for your client about employer responsibilities in relation to Fair Work Act and ATO requirements. At a minimum, you are required to include the following aspects; work cover insurance, PAYG withholding obligations, TFN declaration form, Superannuation Guarantee, types of employment, pay slips and record keeping obligations, leave entitlements, awards, enterprise agreements, National Employment Standards, types of ending employment (redundancy, unfair dismissal) overtime, penalty rates, annual PAYG reporting obligations. Structure your report following the requirements below.
Requirements:
Appropriate formats: MS Word 2010 or later versions / PDF
Font: Times New Roman, Size: 11 or 12, Align the text both the left and right margins
Margins: 2.54 cm (top, bottom, right, left)
Space between the lines: 1.15 or 1.5
Means of communication: Email to your facilitator or submission via AAPoly LMS assignment drop-box
Do not exceed 2,000 words.
Overview of structure and content: ? Title Page
? Letter or Memo of Transmittal
? A letter or memo of transmittal presents an overview of the report, suggests how to read it, describes limitations, acknowledges assistance, and expresses appreciation.
? Table of Contents
? List of Figures (if any)
? Executive Summary
? Introduction- A good report introduction typically covers the following elements, although not necessarily in this order:
o Background: Describe the events leading up to the problem or need.
o Problem or purpose: Explain the report topic and specify the problem or need that motivated the report.
o Significance: Tell why the topic is important. You may wish to quote experts or cite newspapers, journals, books, Web resources, and other secondary sources to establish the importance of the topic.
o Scope: Clarify the boundaries of the report, defining what will be included or excluded.
o Sources and methods: Explain how you collected information. o Organization: Orient readers by giving them a road map that previews the structure of the report.
? Discussion of Findings
? Conclusions and Recommendations
Assessment Criteria for Part B
Assessment criteria Explanation of the criteria Competent Not Yet Competent
No sign of plagiarism If there are any paragraphs devoid of errors and which use complicated sentence structures they may be plagiarised. You can determine this by using software to detect plagiarism or by placing a phrase in Google to see if any documents come up.
Style Guide Ensure that the style adheres to the style guide provided. This includes font, font size, headings and footer.
Use of APA Style Referencing
The report is structured
The report is structured in the following way:
Title page, contents, Executive Summary,
Introduction, Main body, Summary,
Recommendations, References, Appendix
Report answers the question The report shares research findings, explores and makes recommendations
There are no unexplained abbreviations Standard abbreviations such as ICT are allowed. Any unusual acronyms must be explained by the writer.
There are no word/phrases which are too informal for a business report. Informal language includes slang, emphatic language, emotive language, text language.
Grammar The following grammatical structures are correct – articles, prepositions tenses, subject/verb agreement
Capital letters are correct
Capital letters should be used for proper
nouns, first person singular, first word of a sentence
No gender specific language or other generalisations Gender specific language might be the use of the word ‘he’ when speaking about both genders. ‘Other generalisations’ means assumptions made to a broad section of society for which there is no evidence to substantiate the claim. An example ‘elderly people do not like living in retirement villages’
Paragraphs have a topic with a topic sentence. Each topic has its own sentence. The first sentence of the paragraph introduces the reader to the idea. The other sentences expand upon this idea.
Planning documents
have been submitted
Check that these documents were submitted
The participants are required to complete written assessments 100% error-free. This is the standard expected in the workplace and should be the aim in this unit. Although facilitators are encouraged to locate and highlight errors in documents they should not correct them on behalf of the participants.
Moderation
Moderation refers to the practice of quality assurance of assessable tasks and assessment carried out by SMIPA program facilitators. Moderation addresses the interests of participants, facilitators, SMIPA program provider and external stakeholders, namely the Joint Accounting Bodies and potential employers. Moderation seeks to ensure that:
• Good practice in assessment is being applied consistently across different groups;
• Participant performance is being appropriately, fairly and consistently assessed;
• Assessment methods and outcomes are appropriate, reliable and comparable considering the purposes of the Professional Year program.
Moderation of assessment may result in an assessment outcome being amended. Moderators are the individuals who are suitably qualified and have sufficient exposure to the current industry practices. Moderators are appointed by the SMIPA Program Coordinator.
This assessment task is subject to moderation. Evidence of assessment material will be randomly selected and reviewed by the moderator.
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