ACCT601: Auditing and Assurance Services
Semester 2, 2018
Assessment 2: Group Assignment
Assessment weight : 20%
Due : 13 May 2016 by 23.59
Word limit: : 2500 words±10%
The group assignment aims to:
1. Give students an understanding of real life auditing issues
2. Help students understand the link between theory and practice; and
3. Foster students’ research, team-working, critical analysis and written communication skills.
Students will form teams of up to four members. You should give careful consideration to the selection of members comprising the group. By the end of week 3, all groups must be formed, and groups should provide the names of members to the lecturer-incharge by Monday 2 April 2018. It is very important for all members to take an active part in completing the assignment and make an equal contribution. Students must notify the Lecturer-in-Charge in a timely manner and provide substantiating documentation of any problems in relation to group work. Each student should also complete the “Peer Evaluation of Team Members” sheet and hand it in to the lecturerin-charge.
You are required to write a business report addressing the questions below:
1. Evaluate the social responsibility of HIH by identifying where they failed.
2. Identify weaknesses of HIH’s internal controls and suggest ways for improvement.
3. Provide an assessment of the audit committee of HIH, the stance of the auditors regarding the audit committee, and comment on their role in the fallout of the company.
4. Describe the major deficiencies of the audit and discuss if auditors could prevent the demise of HIH.
Your report should include an introduction, conclusion, appropriate headings, and diagrams or graphs where appropriate. Your report should contain an introduction followed by answers to questions and a conclusion. Grading will be based on critical analysis of the issue, evidence of wide reading on topic, coherence in the development of arguments, use of appropriate evidence, and clarity of expressions. You are expected to cite at least five (5) acceptable sources. If you are not clear what constitutes an acceptable source, please consult the Lecturer-In-Charge.
Grading criteria for Assessment #2
Questions Max
point
Introduction
1
Identify weaknesses of HIH’s internal controls and suggest ways for improvement. 4
Provide an assessment of the audit committee of HIH, the stance of the auditors regarding the audit committee, and comment on their role in the fallout of the company. 4
Describe the major deficiencies of the audit and discuss if auditors could prevent the demise of HIH. 4
Conclusion
1
Format and presentation (referencing, tidiness, grammar, spelling, spacing, paragraphing, page formatting, etc.) 2
Total 20
Assignments will be graded by 28 May 2018, and grades will be posted on LEO.
Submission guidelines
Submission is via Turnitin only.
Assignments must be submitted with an ACU cover sheet and should:
Use an assignment cover sheet signed by all students.
Be typed using one-and-a half (1.5) spacing left justified.
Use Ariel or Times New Roman font size 12.
Display a one inch margin on all sides.
Appropriately cite original work, author(s) etc. Citation and referencing must conform to Harvard format both in the body of the paper and its attached reference section.
Students should retain both hard and electronic copies of all work submitted for
Late submission of assignments
Due dates will be strictly adhered to. However, in the case of exceptional circumstances, students may apply for extensions in the following manner.
In accordance with the ACU Assessment Procedures (para 3):
You may seek extension of submission date for an assessment task prior to the due date by submitting the Application for Extension of time for an Assignment (EX) form. https://www.acu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/126668/EX__Application_for_Ext_of_Time_for_Submission_of_Assessment.pdf
You may seek up to five working days after the relevant due date by submitting the Special Consideration form. https://www.acu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/48493/SC_Application_for_Spe cial_Consideration_20170615.pdf
Assessment tasks submitted after the due or extended date will incur, for each whole or part of a calendar day that the work is overdue, a 5% penalty of the maximum marks available for that assessment task up to a maximum of 15%. Assessment tasks received more than three calendar days after the due or extended date will not be allocated a mark.
Links for further reading about HIH
HIH Insurance Group Collapse (Parliament of Australia)
https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentar y_Library/Publications_Archive/archive/hihinsurance
The rise and fall of HIH Insurance Group
https://treasury.gov.au/publication/economic-roundup-issue-1-2015/economicroundup-issue-1/the-hih-claims-support-scheme/2-the-rise-and-fall-of-hih-insurancegroup/
The HIH collapse: a catalyst for costly reform file:///C:/Users/bt/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/IE/83Q7UY07/fulltext .pdf
Case studies on the HIH Insurance Group file:///C:/Users/bt/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/IE/N1RDSLAA/0610 04_BGN-0_hih_background_note.pdf
The HIH Report and Clerp 9 http://www.findlaw.com.au/articles/1450/the-hih-report-and-clerp-9.aspx
Adams, M. A. (2005). Australian corporate governance: lessons from HIH Insurance. -One Law for All?-: 60th Annual ALTA Conference, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand 5-8 July 2005.
Buchanan, B. (2003). Beware of the ides of March: The demise of HIH insurance, Finance Faculty Publications, University of Georgia. https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.co m.au/&httpsredir=1&article=1016&context=finance-faculty-publications
Leung, P. & Cooper, B.J. (2005). The Mad Hatter’s corporate tea party, Managing Auditing Journal, 18 (6/7), 505-516.
Mirshekary, S., Yaftian, A, M & Cross, D. (2005). Australian corporate collapse: The
case of HIH Insurance. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 9 (3). pp. 249-258 PEER EVALUATION OF TEAM MEMBERS
Each student should complete this from with respect to other students in the syndicate and hand it in to the lecturer-in-charge.
Name (write full name) Meetings Quality and quantity Cooperation and team work Follow through Total score
Meetings:
1 Rarely attended meetings and when attending arrived late or left early
2 Attended some group meetings, arrived late or left early on occasion
3 Attended most group meetings, arrived on time, stayed for length of time scheduled
4 Attended all meetings, arrived on time, stayed longer than the scheduled meeting time
Quality and quantity of output
1 Contributed very little, if at all, to the paper
2 Ideas were weak, and input limited, performed only work assigned
3 Provided useful input most of the time and was helpful in getting tasks accomplished
4 Always provided valuable input into the project and facilitated discussions
Cooperation and team effort
1 Created problems and was disruptive
2 Went along with whatever the rest of the group decided
3 Sometimes led the group, provided support for other team members on occasion
4 Led the group in establishing a cooperative team environment
Follow through
1 Rarely completed assignments, work completed was often not useful
2 Required some prompting to complete assignments on time, several changes required
3 Completed work on time with some changes required
4 Completed assigned work on time and error free