HOLMES
INSTITUTE
FACULTY OF
HIGHER
EDUCATION
ASSESSMENT DETAILS AND SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Trimester T2 2020
Unit Code HA2042
Unit Title Accounting Information Systems
Assessment Type Assessment 2: Individual Assignment
Assessment Title System Analysis and Selection
Purpose of the assessment (with ULO Mapping) Students are required to:
• Understand and explain the place of an accounting information system in the context of the organisational structure and operating practices (ULO 2),
• Identify, analyse and compare different types of accounting information systems (ULO 3), and
• Use different methodologies to evaluate various accounting information systems (ULO 4).
Weight 30% of the total assessments.
Total Marks 30 Marks.
Word limit No more than 2500 words.
Due Date The written report is due in Week 9, dated 18th September 2020, on Friday at 11.59 pm.
Submission Guidelines • All work must be submitted on Blackboard by the due date along with a completed Assignment Cover Page.
• The assignment must be in MS Word format, double 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.
• Include a minimum of ten (10) references, at least five (5) from peerreviewed journal relevant to the unit.
Assignment Details
Background
You are working in an accounting/management consultancy firm. Your firm is focusing on different aspects of the accounting information systems. One of your firm’s clients is currently evaluating its accounting system, and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of your client thinks that they needed to invest in cloud-based accounting software to support the growth of the business.
Required
You are required to prepare a report to evaluate and recommend a cloud-based accounting software for an Australian ASX-listed company of your choice (your firm’s client). The report should include the following components:
1. Background
• Describe your client and its business activities.
• Briefly describe the basic business activities involved in the revenue and expenditure cycles of the selected company.
• And identify the weak internal controls in these business activities. Further, identify the risks associated with these weak controls.
2. Systems requirements
• Outline the software features and functionalities that your client should consider to support its business activities.
3. Software selection
• Visit the websites of at least two (2) accounting software package vendors (e.g. SAP, MYOB, Xero, etc.) and provide a brief description of each vendor and its products.
• Compare and contrast the features/functionalities of two cloud-based accounting software packages offered by accounting software package vendors.
• Identify the most suitable vendor and accounting software package for your client and explain why it is the best option.
Assignment Structure
The report should include the following components.
1. Holmes Institute Assignment Cover Sheet 2. Executive Summary
The executive summary should be concise and not involve too much detail. It should make commentary on the main points only and follow the sequence of the report. Write the Executive Summary after the report is completed, and once you have an overview of the whole text.
3. Contents Page
This needs to show a logical listing of all the sub-headings of the report’s contents. Note this is excluded from the total word count.
4. Introduction
Typically, the introduction is a short paragraph which includes background, scope and the main points raised in the order of importance. There should be a brief conclusion statement at the end of the introduction.
5. Main Body Paragraphs with Numbered Sub-headings
This section contains the detailed information which elaborates on the main points raised in the introduction. Each paragraph should begin with an exact topic sentence, then supporting sentences with facts and evidence obtained from research and finish with a concluding sentence at the end.
6. Conclusion
This section contains a logical and coherent evaluation based on a thorough and objective assessment of the research performed.
7. Appendices
This section includes any additional explanatory information which is supplementary and/or graphical to help communicate the main ideas made in the report. Refer to the appendices in the main body paragraphs, as and where appropriate. (Note this is excluded from the total word count.)
Note: The report should be grounded on relevant literature, and all references must be cited appropriately and included in the reference list.
Marking criteria
Marking criteria Weighting in Total Grades
Describe your client and its business activities 3%
Evaluate the key business processes for your client 5%
Outline the software features and functionalities that your client should consider supporting its business activities 3%
Visit the websites of at least two (2) accounting software package vendors (e.g. SAP, MYOB, Xero etc.) and provide a brief description of each vendor and its products 5%
Compare and contrast the features/functionalities of two cloud-based accounting software packages offered by accounting software package vendors 5%
Identify the most suitable vendor and accounting software package for your client and explain why it is the best option 5%
Presentation 2%
Research quality 2%
TOTAL Weight 30%
Marking Rubric
Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
(80-100%) (70-79%) (60-69%) (50-59%) (0-49%)
Describe your client and its business activities.
(3 Marks) An excellent description of your client and its business activities. A very good description of your client and its business activities. A good description of your client and its business activities. An adequate description of your client and its business activities. Inappropriate description of your client and its business activities.
Evaluate the key business processes for your client. (5 Marks) Demonstrate an excellent understanding of key business
processes for your client in the discussion. Demonstrate a very good understanding of
key business processes for your client in the discussion. Demonstrate a good understanding of key
business processes for your client in the discussion. Demonstrate an adequate understanding of key business
processes for your client in the discussion. Unable to present a proper discussion of key business processes for your client.
Outline the software features and functionalities that your client should consider supporting its business activities. (3 Marks) Present an excellent discussion on the features and
functionalities of
accounting software that your client should consider. Present a very good discussion on the features and
functionalities of
accounting software that your client should consider. Present a good discussion on features and functionalities of
accounting software that your client should
consider with minor errors and/or omissions. Present a discussion on features and
functionalities of
accounting software that your client should
consider with errors and/or omissions. Unable to present a proper discussion on features and
functionalities of
accounting software that your client should consider
Visit the websites of at least two (2) accounting software package vendors (e.g. SAP, MYOB, Xero etc.) and provide a brief description of each vendor and its products. (5 Marks) Present an excellent description of
accounting software
package vendors and their products. Present a very good description of
accounting software
package vendors and their products. Present a good description of
accounting software
package vendors and their products with
minor errors and/or omissions. Present a description of accounting software
package vendors and their products with errors and/or omissions. Unable to present an accurate description of accounting software
package vendors and their products.
Compare and contrast the features/functionalities of two cloud-based accounting software packages offered by accounting software package vendors. (5
Marks) Present an excellent comparison of features
and functionalities of two cloud-based
accounting software packages. Present a very good comparison of features
and functionalities of two cloud-based
accounting software packages. Present a good comparison of features
and functionalities of two cloud-based
accounting software packages with minor errors and/or omissions. Present a reasonable comparison of features
and functionalities of two cloud-based
accounting software
packages with errors and omissions. Unable to present a proper comparison of features and
functionalities of two
cloud-based accounting software packages.
Identify the most suitable vendor and accounting software package for your client and explain why it is the best option. (5 Marks) Propose a choice of an accounting software
package based on very strong arguments. Propose a choice of an accounting software
package based on strong arguments. Propose a choice of an accounting software package based on reasonable arguments. Propose a choice of an accounting software
package based on weak or inadequate arguments. Unable to propose a proper choice of an
accounting software package or back the
proposed choice with a valid argument.
Presentation.
(2 Marks) The report included all elements and is very well presented.
The writing flowed clearly, and sections are
linked very effectively.
Referencing is exemplary.
English is used very effectively and is errorfree. The report included all elements and is well presented.
The writing flowed clearly, and sections are linked effectively.
Referencing is of a high standard.
English is used effectively with very few errors present. The report included all elements and is
generally presented appropriately.
The writing flowed well in most of the cases, and sections are linked.
Referencing is in accordance with guidelines.
English is used effectively with few errors present. The report included most elements and is
adequately presented.
Writing sometimes does not flow clearly, leaving the paper to seem
disjointed in areas.
Referencing is somewhat in accordance with guidelines.
Basic English is used with some errors present. The report lacked some elements and is poorly presented.
Writing often does not flow clearly, leaving the paper to seem
somewhat disjointed.
Referencing is not entirely in accordance
with relevant guidelines.
Basic English is used with errors present.
Research Quality. An extensive amount of
high-quality evidence
(2 Marks) from peer-reviewed
journal articles and other sources is included and used effectively to support discussion.
A broad range of quality peer-reviewed journal references and other
sources is included and used effectively to support discussion.
An adequate range of peer-reviewed journal references is included and used to support discussion.
An adequate range of peer-reviewed journal references is included and used to a basic extent to support discussion.
Little or no peerreviewed journal
references are included, and these are rarely used to support discussion effectively.
Academic Integrity
Holmes Institute is committed to ensuring and upholding Academic Integrity, as Academic Integrity is integral to maintaining academic quality and the reputation of Holmes’ graduates. Accordingly, all assessment tasks need to comply with academic integrity guidelines. Table 1 identifies the six categories of Academic Integrity breaches. If you have any questions about Academic Integrity issues related to your assessment tasks, please consult your lecturer or tutor for relevant referencing guidelines and support resources. Many of these resources can also be found through the Study Sills link on Blackboard.
Academic Integrity breaches are a serious offence punishable by penalties that may range from deduction of marks, failure of the assessment task or unit involved, suspension of course enrolment, or cancellation of course enrolment.
Table 1: Six categories of Academic Integrity breaches
Plagiarism Reproducing the work of someone else without attribution. When a student submits their own work on multiple occasions this is known as self-plagiarism.
Collusion Working with one or more other individuals to complete an assignment, in a way that is not authorised.
Copying Reproducing and submitting the work of another student, with or without their knowledge. If a student fails to take reasonable precautions to prevent their own original work from being copied, this may also be considered an offence.
Impersonation Falsely presenting oneself, or engaging someone else to present as oneself, in an in-person examination.
Contract cheating Contracting a third party to complete an assessment task, generally in exchange for money or other manner of payment.
Data fabrication and falsification Manipulating or inventing data with the intent of supporting false conclusions, including manipulating images.
Source: INQAAHE, 2020
HA2042 T2 2020 - Assessment 2: Individual Assignment 7