ACC5502 Accounting and Financial Management
Assignment 1
S1 2017
Due date: 27th April 2017
This Assignment is designed to give you an opportunity:
• demonstrate applied knowledge of the accounting regulatory environment (Objective 1)
• apply financial statement analysis (Objective 2)
• apply and use financial statement analysis…and provide solutions to real world problems (Objective 4)
• appreciate ethical frameworks and codes of practice and their application to accounting and finance outcomes to help comprehend and address complex ethical dilemmas (Objective 5)
Part One (60 Marks)
Read the following article which discusses various ethical issues associated with the Dick Smith Electronics collapse.
http://theconversation.com/the-ugly-story-of-dick-smith-from-float-to-failure-55625
Part one of this assignment requires you to apply elements of ethical decision making models to a contemporary corporate issue. This section of the assignment will be marked based on the quality of your discussion and research.
Instructions
You are required to research the Dick Smith Electronics case and use relevant sources to answer the following questions. You should use a mixture of academic articles, newspaper articles and other relevant financial commentary.
1. Determine the facts of the case.
2. Identify and discuss the main ethical issues that arise from the Dick Smith case?
3. Determine the norms, principles and values relevant to the case (Hint: you may like to look at contemporary theories such as agency theory, stakeholder theory and social contract theory).
4. Identify stakeholders affected by Dick Smith’s collapse. Describe each stakeholder, their probable concerns and how they are likely to be affected.
5. Identify the accounting issues that have been reported in regards to the Dick Smith collapse.
6. Consider the Dick Smith case in relation to the Australian regulatory environment for corporate governance and present your opinion on the current framework.
Part Two (40 Marks)
Refer to the 30 June 2016 financial reports of Qantas Australia Group on their web site:
http://www.qantas.com.au/infodetail/about/corporateGovernance/2016AnnualReport.pdf
1. Answer the following questions using the consolidated financial report and the notes to the consolidated financial report for the year ending 30 June 2016 (20 marks):
a) Compare the director’s report and director’s declaration. What are the key features of each of these? Why are both reports required?
b) State the accounting equation at the beginning and end of the year.
c) Which accounting firm audited the financial statements and what opinion was issued?
d) Did the auditor provide any other services to Qantas during the year? If so, provide specific details of what these services were?
e) What is the largest asset the company owns and state its opening and closing net book value? What valuation method is used for this asset?
f) What depreciation method is used for the company’s property, plant and equipment?
g) According to the financial statements what is the largest source of revenue for Qantas? What does the “other” revenue category consist of?
h) How much did Qantas recognise as an expense for finance costs during 2016. Has this increased or decreased since 2015? Suggest a possible explanation for this change?
i) The directors of Qantas declared a fully franked dividend during 2016. How much was the dividend in total, and how much was the dividend per share?
j) Compare the net profit with the net cash flows from operating activities. Which amount is larger? Provide an explanation for this.
k) Have the directors identified any contingent liabilities for the group? If so what are they and how have these been disclosed?
l) Qantas has reported Unredeemed Frequent Flyer revenue as a liability. Construct an explanation for what this represents.
2. Calculate the following ratios for Qantas for the year ending 30 June 2016 (20 marks):
a) return on equity
b) return on assets
c) profit margin ratio
d) asset turnover ratio
e) current ratio
f) debt to equity ratio
g) interest coverage ratio
h) debt coverage ratio
i) price earnings
j) dividends per share
General Requirements:
1. Answer each question using a heading indicating the question number. Part one and part two of the assignment should be answered within the same word document.
2. Full referencing is required in accordance with the USQ preferred Harvard Referencing style.
3. There is no specified word length for this assignment. However, be as concise and efficient in your writing as possible. You should not require more than a maximum of eight 1.5 spaced A4 pages (12 point font).
4. Assignment extensions will only be granted if there are extenuating circumstances. University policy provides that the maximum extension is 5 business days.
5. The assignment is to be submitted electronically. Submit the assignment using the link on the study desk. File types allowed include doc and docx. Only one file will be accepted. If more than one file is uploaded, only the first file listed will be marked. Do not submit a cover sheet.
(Sources withheld: Questions for this assignment are taken from other sources. Details of this source have been withheld for assessment purposes. This material is reproduced under the provisions of the Section 200 (1) (b) of the Copyright Amendment Act 1980.)