ACC5218 Assignment Guidelines
The following quotes are extracts from Reiter, SA & Williams, PF 2004, 'The philosophy and rhetoric of auditor independence concepts', Business Ethics Quarterly, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 335376.
“Auditor independence has been a troublesome concept for a long time. Part of the intractable nature of the conflict is no doubt rooted in the economic arrangement whereby clients pay for audit services” (Reiter & Williams. 2004. 364-65)
“Lay persons seize on the term independence with its separative context and have a difficult time granting auditors independence in appearance given the obvious economic connections between auditor and client”. (Reiter & Williams. 2004. 367)
Required: Write an essay with reference to standards, legislation and academic research including the Reiter & Williams (2004) article and discuss and critically evaluate what it means for an auditor to be independent and how an auditor can be independent when they are being paid by the client.
Style and format: The following must be included/followed:
• An abstract of approximately 150 words on a separate page.
• A reference list, listing all references that have been used AND cited in the essay, with the heading REFERENCE LIST and presented starting on new page. DO NOT list references that you did not cite in the essay.
• Harvard referencing must be used (both in text referencing and a reference list)
• 12p font
• 1.5 line spacing
• 2cm margins all round
• Writing an essay is NOT like writing a report. Do NOT write a report or you will be penalised.
• Students who do not follow ALL of the above, will lose marks (see marking criteria)
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Marking Criteria
Essays will be marked based on the following criteria:
• Abstract (5 mark) - concise summary of the main aims, arguments, and conclusion(s) reached in the essay.
• Introduction (5 mark) - providing a clear and concise introduction of the topic and how the essay will address the topic in the remainder of the content.
• Body/main evaluation (50 marks) - relevant and specific discussion of the issues identified, well developed arguments, use of examples and research throughout to support arguments.
• Conclusion (5 mark) - strong, clear, and concise summary of findings.
• Presentation and writing style (15 marks) - meets the required style and format requirements, followed closely the word count, academic writing style, clear expression, structure and readability (eg, effective use of paragraphs), correct spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentence construction.
• Referencing (20 marks) - Harvard style of referencing used within the body of the essay and in the reference list, listed AND cited a minimum of ten (10) references including at least 6 academic references, and all material that is not student’s own, either direct quotes or paraphrased, has been referenced.
The essay will be given a mark out of 100, and converted to a final mark out of 25.
Length: 1500 words (this word count does not include the abstract which should be approximately 150 words or the bibliography).
Weighting: 25%
Assessment Due: 15th May 2017
Type of Collaboration: Individual Assessment
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