Group Report: “Measuring Performance and Management Control Systems” – A study of Executive Performance Measurements in Australian Public Companies Subject Learning Outcomes (LOs) assessed (from Subject Outline):
A Marking Rubric is attached so you are aware of exactly how your submission will be marked.
Most of the second half of this subject focusses on how firms can measure performance and in turn, reward effort through bonus and incentive schemes, often using accounting concepts and tools (LO a) and LO b). It is important that firms have a clear understanding of what their overall corporate strategy is and set targets for performance in line with those goals and in line with the Mission and Vision Statement.
Over the past decade publicly listed companies have been required to report in more detail, how their highest paid executives are being rewarded. This became enshrined in the Corporations Act 2010 in Section 300A which details what declarations are required.
This information should be presented in detail in the Annual Reports of all Public Companies that have their ‘home listing’ on the Australian Stock Exchange. The level of compliance and the amount of detail presented is increasing, however, each company has their own way of presenting the detail of their executive remuneration schemes.
One thing that has been common is that with each passing year, the financial press, in response to the growing demand by investors for more transparency, have ‘shone a bright light’ on those companies that are considered to be withholding information or not being clear about why their executive team are receiving bonus payments.
Task:
Each member of the group is to research the annual report (and corporate website) for one major publicly listed Australian corporation. The companies will be allocated by your Tutor during the tutorial in Week 6 (following the Mid-Trimester Exam). Much of the information
you require for management performance measures is likely to be found in the Remuneration Report within the selected Companies’ Annual Report.
To give some consistency and a good basis for comparison, your group will be given companies to research within the SAME INDUSTRY or having close links. (For example NOT a bank and a retailer.)
Please note: The research conducted by examining the Annual Reports of the companies MUST also be matched to research of academic articles assessing the effectiveness of Executive Remuneration schemes and methods!
Report format required:
The following format is a modification to the layout suggested in the Subject Outline. You should follow this guide.
The REPORT component (Learning Outcome c) )
Each group member is to research and write an individual summary report that includes the following:
1. Research the Academic Literature using EBSCOHOST and/or other Academic Search Engines and discover academic articles discussing methods of measuring
Executive Performance. (Note in the USA, remuneration is referred to as Executive
Compensation so you may wish to substitute this term in your searches.) 2. Research and discover the corporate goals of each of the companies reviewed.
(Review the Chairman and CEO’s Statements in the Annual Report and the Corporate Website for this information.)
3. Research and discover the means by which the senior managers are having their performance assessed. The CEO and top 5-10 executives will usually be listed.
NOTE – DO NOT REVIEW THE REMUNERATION OF THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS OTHER THAN THE EXECUTIVE MEMBERS SUCH AS THE CEO
4. Discover the performance of the company from a shareholder’s perspective by reviewing growth (or decline) in each company’s share price and dividends paid.
(Use a copy of the share price chart for the past 3 years)
5. Research commentary on each company’s performance (see newspaper and other reputable financial information sources – all MUST be referenced) and document (cut and paste as referenced materials (use JPEG images of screen grabs/scans etc.) a few (no more than THREE!) to enter into your report.
6. Reflect and COMPARE the information given in the most recent year’s annual reports to that given 3 years prior. You should focus on whether there is an increasing level of disclosure for each of these companies, or the same amount and/or a decline in transparency. Thoroughly report your findings and present your comparisons.
7. Your group should write up your findings AND conclude which of these companies are being the most transparent and which company is producing the best result for the shareholders. In essence, you are concluding whether you believe their management control systems are working
8. The GROUP as a whole should then write up a comparison (analyse, compare AND contrast approaches) for each of the companies researched by the individual members.
9. Finally, draw conclusions on which company’s performance measurement systems are producing the best results for the shareholders. (Note – there may be more than one conclusion, e.g. Company A is achieving great results in the short term however Company B appears to be setting a good foundation for growth in the long term.)
How to layout your report
To help you understand how to go about evaluating the Remuneration Report, I have posted an academic article by Clarkson, P., Lammerts Van Bueren, A. and Walker, J. (2006) Chief executive officer remuneration disclosure quality: corporate responses to an evolving disclosure environment Accounting and Finance, 46, pp. 771-796. Please note that you do NOT have to summarise this article (or even read all of it), however please see Table 5 on page 785 to and review the 10 items this study looked at to review the openness of the reporting of each company.
YOU MAY FIND IT VERY USEFUL TO MAKE A TABLE USING THESE 1O POINTS AS A STARTING POINT TO REVIEW YOUR COMPANY’S REMUNERATION REPORT!
Headings and layout questions often arise and for this report, it is suggested the following headings would make the work more readable:
Executive summary – This is a ONE PAGE review of ALL of the report. This should be a stand-alone document which could be read by the CEO (for example) to find out what the report was about AND what was found in conclusion.
Introduction – This is an introduction TO THE REPORT NOT an introduction to the specific companies being studied. It introduces WHY the report exists, what it is examining (see the topic and tasks notes above for guidance) and how it is laid out. (Include a short summary of the aims and scope of the report in this section.)
Review of Topic and review of Literature
NOTE – THIS SECTION WILL REPRESENT UP TO 30% OF YOUR TOTAL MARK!!!
Present a summary of the literature researched on the topic of executive performance evaluation and remuneration in public companies. Creating this section allows your group to develop your knowledge on the topic to enable a better-informed consideration of the individual company’s remuneration reports. Include a discussion on the effectiveness of control systems within companies, in particular focussing on management/executive performance and reward systems.
Company reviews – This includes the investigative report – one for each group member on their company – answering the questions about the remuneration report as required in the task requirements above.
It is suggested that each group decide on the items they wish to subsequently compare in the next section. These should be defined as headings which are used for each company. This provides the points for comparison as well as helps organise your work in a professional and readable format.
For example you may wish to use the following sub-headings:
1. Allocation of Executive Remuneration (Fixed pay/STIs/LTIs)
2. Change in Executive Remuneration Reporting – 2013 versus 2016 (or 2014 versus 2017 if available)
3. Company performance (Total Shareholder Value) versus executive pay
(This could compare the change in company share price AND dividends or Earnings per Share versus executive pay – e.g. Company share price is going up and pay is coming down – or visa versa?)
4. Mix of performance measures used
(This could be used to consider the use of or weightings of Financial Performance measures such as EPS/ROI/ROE versus non-financial measures such as balanced scorecards etc.)
Comparison of remuneration systems – Summarise with tables or brief discussion how each company varied from each other based on your individual company reviews.
Summary of findings – Bring together the findings of the group members about each company and a discussion about how effective (or ineffective) the company’s remuneration program appears to be in improving company performance.
Analysis of remuneration methods used – Ensure you consider how well each company’s approach worked in encouraging higher performance by the executive team and consider if this translated to higher COMPANY PERFORMANCE. (Note it may be difficult to separate executive performance from overall company performance – say by considering the share price – as other market and industry factors may also influence share price.) Recommendations – present any recommendations you may have, SUPPORTED BY THE LITERATURE, on how each, or all companies may improve the reporting or broaden their performance measures.
Conclusion – Here NO NEW IDEAS should be introduced. Only a conclusion of your findings and perhaps your group’s nomination of which company has the best remuneration system and what your group believes can be learned from the report and the method of remunerating manager’s in organisations. i.e. ‘Remind’ the reader, why you undertook the report (no – not because you HAD TO DO IT!) and the purpose of remuneration systems. It should LINK with the Introduction!
Bibliography – Full Harvard Anglia referencing should be undertaken for this report.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
This section has been provided to assist and guide students in creating your report, the things that may be useful to include, more detail on how marks will be awarded and tips on working in groups.
How can you find all that data for your company?
Download and review the last 2 year’s annual reports from the relevant corporate websites and search “Remuneration Report”. Additionally I would recommend reading the latest
Chairman’s and CEO’s Reports to see what is being said about what is the most important management consideration going forward, and READ the explanatory notes and summary in the downloaded report.
DO NOT START BY REQUOTING THE WORDING IN THE TASK SPECIFICATION ABOVE! THIS WORK MUST BE YOUR OWN WORK, IT IS A WORK OF DISCOVERY, AN INVESTIGATION AND A LEARNING EXERCISE!
Academic articles and how to use them
A number of academic articles have been placed in the Assignment Folder on Moodle which you can refer to include more in-depth analysis. Please note that some of these have very lengthy sections on the methodology the writers used to test their hypotheses. It is NOT IMPORTANT that you read all of that material. However it IS IMPORTANT to read ABOUT what it was they were trying to test (called a hypothesis) and then their conclusions and summary at the end to see what they discovered.
Does anything in these articles match what you have found? If so, write about it and quote that article, if not, do NOT include that article. Alternatively, spend a few minutes researching using EBSCOHOST (NOT just Google or Wikipedia) and find articles that you can use.
Your report must include a summary of the academic journal articles you have found and your subsequent research findings and include a full bibliography in the Harvard Anglia style.
Research requirements:
Industry and Companies will be allocated to each group during the
‘workshop/tutorials’ in ‘week 6’ held immediately after the Mid-Trimester Exam. Begin your research of the academic literature NOW searching EBSCOHOST and any other academic search engine (see the great resources made available through the KOI Library and website!) to find at least three to four articles for EACH group member. Start reading and reviewing this literature immediately so you will be better informed when you are allocated your companies for review!
The GROUP PRESENTION OVERVIEW
The Group Presentation will give the lecturer the opportunity to ask questions of each student to explain any points raised in their report that may require clarification and to demonstrate their higher level of critical evaluation of the topic and its application.
1. Student assessment:
Group report (20 Subject marks):
• The Group Report carries a subject weighting of 20 Marks.
• You must use a word processor to correctly format and complete the task.
• This is a mark awarded to the group however your individual mark may be adjusted up or down depending on the individual contribution to the report.
• Ensure the individual sections (company review) are labelled with each student’s name and ID.
Oral presentation (10 Subject mark weighting):
• Oral presentations will take place in Weeks 10-12 where the group will have an opportunity (no more than 15 minutes IN TOTAL for each GROUP) to further demonstrate their understanding of the entities and the work you have done in researching these entities. (Order of presentations will decided by random ballot held in-class (lecture) on or before Week 9.)
• These 10 marks will be awarded by the tutor/assessor individually based on the presentation itself and the notes provided.
• All group members should be part of the presentation and typically, MS Powerpoint presentations are prepared and printed.
• “Outline” copies of the presentation should be given to the lecturer BEFORE the presentation begins to allow marking and note-taking to take place.
At the end of the presentation time, students may be questioned on various aspects of the Assignment including research methods and sources, information within the report and the presentation and about the organisation under review. All members should be able to demonstrate their contributions to the report at this time. Note that your Group Mark will be finalised AFTER the presentation as this will contribute to your demonstration of your understanding of the topic.
Oral presentation grading:
The presentation will carry a mark out of 10 which will be based on how well students demonstrate the following presentation skills and technical skills. You will be assessed INDIVIDUALLY during the presentation based on the following:
• clear communication
• engage the audience
• use eye contact to involve audience members
• appropriateness and use of visual aids
• ability to answer questions convincingly
Note that a full copy of the presentation slides (and any other class handout) must be provided at the beginning of the class to assist in assessing the presentation. Each slide should have the NAME OF THE PERSON PRESENTING on every relevant slide. Note that this will take a little time however, given this part of the assessment task carries a value of 10 marks, it is well worth allowing time to create and present well.
2. Submitting your written group assignment
The Report will require that you use Microsoft Word to format and complete the task.
This assessment task is marked progressively. There are THREE steps to submitting your assignment:
1) The Group is to form by Week 6 – any student not in a group will be subject to a 2 Mark Penalty from the final group score.
2) The DRAFT Group Report is to be submitted using Turnitin BEFORE your Tutorial in Week 8 to obtain a Turnitin Score and then PRINT the Turnitin score and submission receipt. Once you have a printed copy of your submission receipt and Turnitin score, you MUST bring this as a printed copy to class along with a hard (printed) copy of your report as submitted to Turnitin. (5 GROUP Mark Penalty if the draft is not submitted and the above complied with in Week 9.)
Your draft report will be briefly reviewed in class in Week 8 (Students in multiple tutorials should submit it at the EARLIEST tutorial) and an acknowledgement certificate will be issued as receipt of your DRAFT. Please note that this is a “hurdle requirement” for final submission of your assignment. (That means, that you MUST show your draft AND Turnitin receipt with Turnitin Score in Week 8 to qualify to have your assignment submission marked after final submission on the due date.)
The Turnitin Score should be less than 30% as at DRAFT date (Week 8) and the final Turnitin Score should be below 20% in your final submission.
Final due time and date is Friday 8.00pm 15 September 2017 (Week 9).
ONLY ONE soft copy (E.g. MS Word Document or pdf file) per group is to be uploaded to Turnitin on or before the due date and time. Updated reports may be submitted up until the due date and time however ALL copies MUST be submitted by the SAME GROUP MEMBER. This should be the person your group nominated as the Communications Director.
The Turnitin link will be open shortly before the final due date.
Students MUST accompany their submitted copy of the assignment submission with a completed and KOI Group Assignment Coversheet. Please note that marks will be awarded to all members of the group based on their input. The lecturer should be consulted if a group member is not contributing to the task WELL IN ADVANCE of the due date so action may be taken.
REPEAT:
Only ONE person in EACH GROUP (the ‘group COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR) is to make the GROUP lodgement to Turnitin. Do NOT lodge multiple copies of the GROUP assignment from each group member.
Summary
The written report component will be marked and then scaled to a mark out of 20 subject marks. While a group mark will be awarded, each student must be able to show evidence of their contribution to the overall success of the group’s efforts and submission.
The presentation will be made in weeks 10-12 in tutorials and each students will be given a group mark however it maybe incrementally adjusted for each individual within the group and this will be scaled to a mark out of 10 subject marks.
3. Referencing:
Referencing is required. Ensure that you fully reference ALL material that is directly copied and enclose direct quotations appropriately with full references. Also ensure you have referenced and cited all ideas, words or other intellectual property from other sources used in the completion of your assignment.
Please see the Library for assistance if you are unfamiliar with the correct procedure for Academic Referencing.
Please note that WIKIPEDIA is NOT an acceptable reference source other than for very superficial checking and should NOT be used as a primary resource as there are no controlled peer review of the content on this or similar ‘Wiki’ sites.
4. Working as a group:
Group size: Minimum of three (3) and a maximum four (4) students to a group.
Groups found to have less than four members may have additional students randomly assigned to that group to make up the minimum allowed.
After forming your group and submitting the Group Membership details to the lecturer in week 6, you should commence work immediately. The session immediately after the Mid-Trimester Test will be used for this purpose.
Project Group Conflict
For a project like this, success means being organised. The group will have to establish a division of labour and divide the work that needs to be done in a fair manner. Contributions to the project MUST be equitable.
All group members will need to meet for a number of hours each week. Agree on a regular time and place and set an agenda.
Group conflict is inevitable and should be resolved early in the semester. Group breakdowns are amongst the most common reasons why students fail. Make records (e.g. keeping emails sent and received) of all agreed meetings, who did and did not attend, agreed actions coming from the meeting and who is responsible for each of these.
When group conflict becomes destructive, group members should first consider using mediation to resolve any dispute, disagreement, grievance or complaint.
If the conflict still cannot be resolved, then group members can “fire” a member from the group by openly voting a person out BUT only after consulting the module lecturer.
Upon the approval by the lecturer, the group leader/representative must inform the ousted person the outcome agreed via email and copy the message to all other group members including the lecturer. The ousted person has the right to present a defence within five calendar days if he or she wishes to remain in the group.
In this situation, every group member must complete a Peer Group Evaluation to evaluate the contribution of every group member to the group project during the semester. All evaluations must be submitted in a sealed envelope directly to the Lecturer on the project due date. The results of the Peer Group Evaluation to assess group members’ relative contribution to the project task will affect the individual mark for the group project. A mark of zero will be awarded to any student who does not participate.
When a group member has been fired and decides not to challenge the decision, he/she will have to complete the whole project on his/her own (and not just merely submit the part that he/she was previously assigned to contribute). Likewise, the remaining group members will have to take over the work originally assigned to the ousted person and complete it.
Please note that in the event a project group breaks up and that the disintegrated groups do not finish the whole project on their own, the submission will be treated as partially done. The lecturer will not grade the project work on a partial basis (to compensate as a whole due to the breakup).
Alternatively, the ousted group member is free to join any other project group provided there is still room for an additional group member (maximum four to a group) and a unanimous decision is made by all project members to accept him or her.
Group members need to be familiar with all aspects of the project requirements. While the group may divide the project tasks up among members, the final document will need to flow smoothly.
Where to find information:
Remember, you are looking for additional academic articles and information to support your Report. You should try to find current articles written between 2010 and 2017. Earlier articles may be OK but you need to think as to whether they are still relevant given today’s circumstances.
Finding articles:
1. Type the term into the Library database or EBSCO
2. Add a second search term such as “Shareholder Value” if you don’t get any results 3. Still no results that you can use? Try to use a different term that means the same thing.
Reading/reviewing/analysing articles
Many articles you will find will be several pages long – this is quite normal for academic research papers as they are required to explain in detail the research methodology and results. These details are necessary to support and validate the findings.
Do not let this concern you, as, for the purposes of your research for this, and most other assessment tasks, you do not need to read the detail about the research methodology and results. What you need to find out is the purpose of the research: what question they are trying to answer; any context considerations; the findings – i.e. the answer to the question; and any comments about future directions or the application of the findings
To gain this information, points 1 and 2 will be found in the abstract and the introductory section(s) – usually within the first 2 pages. Points 3 and 4 will be found at the end of the paper under the headings “Findings” and/or “Conclusions” and/or “Recommendations” or similar. These are usually the last page or two pages.
Student Presentations with other group members
Task:
Each student is to present, along with their other group members, the examples they have researched and presented within the group report, accompanied with a visual presentation.
Each student must show at least one graphic example of the findings of a) their section of the report relating to the company they researched and b) some portion of the overall comparison material the group compiled when the individual company reviews were combined. Please do NOT cut and paste from your report. You may use some of the graphic images (charts or pictures) but not the text. The presentation should be used to illustrate or present the MOST IMPORTANT (in your own view) points that you discovered in your individual research and in your collaborative work as a group about your chosen company and about this topic.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
This section has been provided to assist and guide students in creating your presentation, the things that may be useful to include, more detail on how marks will be awarded and tips on working in groups.
How much time does each student have and how many slides should I show?
Often with slide-show based presentations, LESS IS MORE! Please understand that to get through all the presentations, you MUST manage your presentation time very carefully. No student will have more than THREE MINUTES to present their findings. To keep to the tight timing, each student should prepare no more than ONE slide to introduce the company and no more than TWO additional slides for the individual company analysis and no more than THREE slides for the overall compare/contrast analysis. Therefore there is a limit of SIX SLIDES MAXIMUM per student! (You may have a slide or two for general group introduction and a slide each at the end for each group member for the conclusion. If in doubt, consult your tutor in the Week 8 tutorial.)
What software to use for your presentation?
To simplify and minimise the time to setup for delivery, it is recommended you use “static presentation” software such as MS PowerPoint however if you believe you can be setup and run a presentation directly using ‘cloud-based’ applications such as Google Slides or Prezi then you may do so. Please bear in mind that time is crucial and ANY TIME LOST setting up
will be deducted from your available presentation time. (You are starting with only three minutes each so be VERY CAREFUL!) Any delays with internet connection etc. will NOT be added to your available time.
How will you be marked?
At the end of this guide is a copy of the marking criteria sheet that the tutor will use to grade your presentation. Note it is a combination of presentation, communication and demonstrated technical knowledge and depth of research as evidenced by your presentation that is being assessed.
Those students who have made a minimal contribution to the group’s efforts in preparing the report are unlikely to be able to demonstrate a high degree of research knowledge of the topic even if the presentation is made with a great deal of confidence and this will considerably reduce your marks for the presentation.
When will the presentations be held?
During the tutorials of Weeks 10-12 (Monday Group should be aware that due to the Public Holiday, any presentations scheduled for Week 12 will be held on Monday 9 October during the Study Break Week). The presentation will be marked immediately as you present and your marks will be released as soon as practical after the last presentation in Week 13 in Moodle.
Hints and tips on a successful presentation
1. NEVER turn your back on the audience.
2. Remember you are presenting to ALL the class – NOT JUST THE TUTOR (Use eye contact around the room as you present.)
3. Have one of your group members operate the software rather than try and control everything yourself which is distracting for the audience.
4. Practice as a group so you know who will be first, second, third, last and ensure you have your timing correct (Use a stop watch when you practice!)
5. Ensure the graphics on your slides are LEGIBLE at the back of the room. Too fine or small a font or pictures makes the slides meaningless to the marking WHO WILL SIT IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM.
6. If you are not going to use ‘hand cards’ with prompts and must look at the slide during the presentation, ensure you look briefly ONLY at the laptop in front of you, NOT turn around and read the slide from the screen behind you! (Besides if you turn and talk to the Monitor or Screen, generally you will not be heard at the back of the room affecting your marks!)
7. EVERYONE SURVIVES – even if you find presenting to a group of people raises your pulse, makes your palms sweat and your knees week remember you are not alone in feeling this way. The key is to turn that nervous energy into USABLE energy to present well! It is that elevated level of stress that allows us to reach our potential in life so do not be afraid, just go ahead and present, we will all appreciate your efforts because all the audience (both Tutors and students) can empathise with how you are feeling!
How will the presentation order be decided?
There will be a random ballot in the Week 9 classes which determine which group presents in which class and in what order. Note however groups will be paired so two groups will present similar companies and the audience and the tutor may award ‘bonus’ marks to the group presenting the strongest research in their presentations.
If you have an important work engagement (or doctor’s appointment etc.) on one particular week, either in Week 10, 11 or 12, (Week 13 for the MONDAY GROUP due to Public Holiday) you MUST notify the Tutor before the ballot to ensure your group is not selected in
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that one week as NO CHANGES ARE POSSIBLE ONCE THE ORDER OF PRESENTATION HAS BEEN SET! ANY STUDENT OR GROUP OF STUDENTS NOT READY AND AVAILABLE TO PRESENT AT THE ALLOTED TIME WILL FORFEIT THEIR 10 MARKS.
What weighting of marks does the presentation carry and are these marks allocated to the group as a whole or each individual student marked on their presentation efforts?
The Presentation carries a weight of ten marks. Your mark will depend upon the quality of the presentation (see attached marking guide) and this will be a group mark however depending on the presentation each member may be awarded an incremental mark different to the other group members. Therefore all group members may well achieve four different marks. The reason all group members must present as a group is for coordination purposes AND to allow combined presentation of your ‘innovation’ idea.
What do you have to ‘turn in’ to the tutor and how do you do this?
A copy of the presentation (if MS PowerPoint) is to be uploaded to a Moodle Assignment Link which will be setup on the KOI Moodle subject home page for this subject. If you are using a cloud-based presentation software, ensure a print of the slides is made and perhaps saved as a pdf file and uploaded. Your presentation material (slides and/or notes) should be uploaded to this Moodle Link by 9am Monday 18 September (Before Week 10 start). This submission deadline applies to ALL groups regardless of which week you are presenting.
ADDITIONALLY, a PRINTED COPY of your slides AND a PRINTED COPY OF YOUR
GROUP REPORT AND A COPY OF YOUR TURNITIN REPORT SHOWING THE
SIMILARITY SCORE should be handed to the Tutor before the presentation commences so they have that available during your presentation to assist in assessing the work and allocating marks.
PLEASE NOTE – EACH Slide MUST have the STUDENT NAME AND STUDENT ID of the
student who prepared and is presenting that slide so there is no confusion either at the time of the presentation or afterwards as to who presented what material. If you do not know how to put names on a slide, FIND OUT NOW!
Final comments
Please read through all of the above material, practice your presentation BEFORE the day of presentation, checking your timing (do NOT run over or under time or your marks will be affected) and present as if this was you, as an accounting professional making a presentation to your CEO and other colleagues in a professional accounting practice or workplace.
The tutors are looking forward to listening to your presentations and hearing all of your great original ideas in relation to this topic.
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Marking rubric for Group Report
Criteria Fail (0-49%) Pass (55%) Credit (65%) Distinction (75%) High distinction (90%)
Research – extent and application Value 30% Mark awarded Inaccurate, inappropriate or no use of literature. Analysis not developed. Few original explanations provided. Minimum number of sources, not all current or relevant.
Paraphrasing used throughout but not always accompanied by original explanations.
Theory relevant but not always Sound selection of theory from a range of sources to build and adequately justifies analysis. Paraphrasing used throughout but accompanied by original explanations Insightful and appropriate selection of theory from a good range of current and relevant sources to systematically build and justify analysis. Minimal paraphrasing Integration and originality in the selection and handling of relevant theory to build and justify analysis.
Wide range of current and relevant sources integrated in a
Analysis of the organisations Value 30% Mark awarded Poor evaluation.
Significant gaps in knowledge of the theory and lack of understanding of company’s capabilities.
No analysis provided.
Disjointed or no discussion. Simple discussion of areas of strength and weakness in the organisation’s capabilities. Work reflects limited
engagement with organisational context or relevant theory. Most aspects of the task completed but assessment lacks cohesion. Identifies and discusses areas of strength and weakness in the organisation’s capabilities. Discussion of some relevant issues in theory and organisational content in evaluation providing some cohesion. Identifies and clearly explains areas of strength and weakness in the organisation’s
capabilities. Links to organisational context and relevant theory in evaluation. All aspects of the task completed with minimal errors in cohesion Identifies and insightfully discusses areas of strength and weakness in the organisation’s capabilities. Strong links to organisational context and relevant theory in evaluation. All aspects of the task completed in a comprehensive and cohesive
Comparisons and
conclusions Value
30%
Mark awarded Few of the major comparative elements have been identified. Conclusions mostly lack cohesion with the theory. Some of the comparisons were not well linked to the results of the evaluation or relevant theory. Sound comparisons made,
linked to the evaluation results / may not be linked back systematically to relevant theory Displays elements of critical comparisons made, linked to the evaluation. Theory used
systematically in the comparison of the organisation’s capabilities In depth critical comparisons made. Theory used in insightful ways in application and discussion of the organisation’s capabilities
Presentation Value 10% Mark awarded Referencing mostly absent / not systematic / incorrect however some effort has been made. Acceptable presentation – but errors demonstrate lack of attention to detail. Some attempt at referencing Sound presentation overall but some errors.
Referencing is mainly accurate Displays elements of critical presentation Minor errors in some elements. Correct referencing throughout Excellent presentation – satisfies all elements.
Correct referencing throughout
T217 Group assignment task specification: ACC702 PG – Managerial Accounting Page 12 of 13
Marking guide for Group Presentation
ORAL PRESENTATION ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Outcomes assessed:
a) Analyse the roles of cost and management accounting in organisations through the analysis of accounting concepts and tools
b) Evaluate and apply financial and non-financial performance measures and tools used in assessing and rewarding individual and corporate performance
c) Describe how management control theory and concepts apply to organisational settings through the generation of accounting and organisational reports
d) Apply contemporary approaches to pricing and product mix decisions in organisational contexts (Indirectly)
Presentation: Please note you will be assessed during your presentation on the following technical skills: The presentation will carry a mark out of 10 and will be based on how well students demonstrate the following presentation skills: (Linked to the Graduate Outcome of Professional Skills)
• clear communication and engage the audience and use eye contact to involve audience members
• appropriateness and use of visual aids
• ability to answer questions convincingly
• a ONE-mark penalty will be deducted for exceeding the time limit by 1 minute (TWO marks for more than 1 minute). Individual groups members’ presentation marks may be adjusted up or down from the group mark depending on relatively superior or inferior individual performances.
MARKS MARKING CRITERIA
A 9-10 • Presents in an articulate and confident manner and shows excellent innovation and originality in the presentation
• Displays a complete set of the technical skills related to this topic
• Has a sophisticated understanding of the topic presented.
• Shows a refined understanding of the material researched
B 6-8 • Presents in a competent and confident manner and shows some very good innovation and originality in the presentation
• Displays a most of the technical skills
• Has a competent understanding of the topic presented
• Shows a clear understanding of the material research.
C 4-5 • Presents in a proficient and sustained manner and shows some attempt to be creative with innovation and originality in the presentation.
• Displays a some of the technical skills
• Has a sound understanding of the topic presented
• Shows some understanding of the material researched.
D 1-3 • Presents with little preparation and limited confidence and shows no innovation or originality in the presentation.
• Displays very few of the technical skills
• Has a very limited understanding of the topic presented
• Shows a limited understanding of material researched.
T217 Group assignment task specification: ACC702 PG – Managerial Accounting Page 13 of 13