Solved by verified expert :BUSINESS SERVICES
CENTRE
Assessment
Cover Sheet
Student Name
Student ID No.
Group
Teacher
Name
Helen Wilson
C1.2.15
Phone:
9564 1996
Teacher
Email Contact
[email protected]
Course Name
Bachelor of Business
(Accounting)
Course Code
BACC11
Unit Name
Advanced Management Accounting
Unit Code
BAC204
Semester/Term/Year
2 2013
Elements /
Outcomes
5
Due Date
Start of Tutorial Week commencing 14 October 2013
Assessment
Type
Individual Assignment
Value of
Assessment
25% of final grade
Assessment
Conditions
Individual Work
Special
Requirements
None
DECLARATION
1.
I am aware that penalties exist for cheating, plagiarism (copying)
and unauthorised collusion with other students, or external consultants.
2.
I am aware of the requirements covering style and layout standards
as designated by my teacher/tutor.
3.
For assessments other than those conducted in-class, I have
retained a copy. I understand that uncollected assessments will be
destroyed.
Student’s signature:………………………………………………………….. Date:………………
Questions
Possible Marks
Actual Marks
1
3
2
10
3
5
4
7
Total
25
Sustainability and Management Accounting
Assignment
Fortune Wizard Insurance
has recently set up an internal information system to improve social and
environmental practices within the company. The company has its head office in Melbourne
and offices in all capital cities and every regional city with a population of
more than 50 000 people. One of the underlying principles of the company is to
be socially and environmentally responsible. This principle has been in place
for many years, dating back to the firm’s founder, Jeannette Dai, who felt that
she would like to contribute to society rather than simply maximising profits.
The company is a
major contributor to charities, particularly those that focus on the homeless and
the poor. It actively promotes environmental management in all of the company
operations. It sponsors a program that provides scholarships to disadvantaged
students to allow them to attend university, and it is proud to offer
employment in the company to long-term unemployed and the poor. Each year it
publishes a sustainability report that summarises its achievements across each areaof performance.
Over time these
activities have become a marketing strength of Fortune Wizard. The social and environmental
stance taken by the company has attracted many customers to the company. Listed
on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2001, the company has also become a
preferred investment of ethical and green investment funds.
The mission
statement of Fortune Wizard states that it will aim to:
·
Support employees in achieving their personal and
career goals.
·
Act in a socially responsible way when dealing with
insurance clients and the general community.
·
Promote a better social and physical environment
for the world.
However, the
current chief executive officer, Sylvia Trott, thinks that the firm has become complacent
and is resting on its past achievements. She is concerned that the firm has built
up a reputation for good social and environmental practices but is not ‘walking
the talk’. There is some level of discontent among employees about the way that
management treats staff, and this is impacting on employee satisfaction. There
have also been negative reports in the media of its treatment of businesses in
Phuket and Langkawi that were damaged in the December 2004 tsunami. The reports
claim that the company has tried to minimise the amounts paid to these businesses
by strictly applying clauses in the insurance contracts that cover earthquake
damage but not flood damage.
In 2004, the
company’s net profit rose by 15 per cent to $173 million on an asset base of $1,235
million. This is the third consecutive year of increased profits. Earnings per
share were 62 cents, and the market value was $5.40 per share. The board is
concerned that Fortune Wizard makes a loss on its insurance business, while its
investments yield a strong return and are the main reason for the increase in
profitability. Its investment portfolio includes shares in BHP Billiton,
Qantas, Telstra and James Hardie Industries.
The board adopts a
sustainability approach to viewing its performance and uses the following key
performance indicators to assess company performance:
Financial:
·
Net profit.
·
Gross insurance premiums.
·
Return on investment.
Economic indicators:
·
Policy, practices and spending on local suppliers.
·
Procedures for hiring local staff.
·
Development projects primarily for public benefit.
Social indicators:
·
Employee satisfaction ratings.
·
Percentage of women in the top three tiers of
management.
·
Number of indigenous employees.
·
Customers’ ethical ranking of sales staff.
·
Number of staff hired who were previously
unemployed teenagers.
Environmental indicators:
·
Tonnes of paper recycled
per annum.
·
Percentage reduction in
electricity usage.
·
Litres of fuel per dollar of sales.
Required:
1.
Explain what is meant by sustainability reporting
and why a publicly listed insurance Company like Fortune Wizard may adopt this
approach.
2.
Consider the list of key performance indicators
used by Fortune Wizard. Explain how these could be used to help achieve the
mission.
3.
Suggest alternative performance measures that could
be included in the performance measurement system to assist Fortune Wizard to
achieve its mission.
4.
Write a report to the chief executive officer
explaining what steps she can take to encourage staff to behave in a way that
supports sustainability. Specifically, explain to her how the performance
measurement system could be used in a balanced way to support the achievement of
the company’s goals.
Word
Limit 2000 words
Sustainability and Management Accounting
Assignment
This project is an individual project. Students are required to
complete an assignment that involves application of principles taught in the
subject.
Guide to Assignment Requirements & How to Submit
Your Electronic Copy of Assignments using Turnitin
In this subject, you
are required to submit an electronic copy of your assignments. The assignment is to be submitted to a
website called Turn-It-In, where the work will be checked for plagiarism. Your subject outline gives a full description
as to what constitutes plagiarism, in its many forms.
Prior to your
submission of your first assignment, you will be registered as a student in
your given class with Turn-It-In.
Turn-It-In will send you a notification that you have been enrolled to
your Holmesglen Student e-mail address and, should you be a new student, they
will also notify you of your own individual password.
To submit your
assignment, go towww.turnitin.com and enter your
Holmesglen Student e-mail address and the password sent to you by Turn-It-In.
You are then able to submit your assignment by uploading your electronic copy.
You will need to enter in the unique Class ID and the enrolment password show
below.
Class: BAC204 Advanced Management
Accounting
Class ID: 6856469
Enrolment password: BAC204
The system has been set
to enable you to check an Originality Report of your work. The first time that you do this, the response
time from Turn-It-In will be relatively short, however, should you decide to
change your work before final submission, the response time checking
originality can take a couple of hours.
To ensure that false
readings are kept to a minimum, please take note of the following:
·
Make sure that you reference any quoted
material using APA Style.
·
Always put quoted work in “inverted
commas”
·
Do not submit your Declaration front
sheet with your electronic copy
·
Do not start by stating the question as
outlined in the assignment.
ACADEMIC
CONDUCT
The Institute’s Student Charter expects
that you, as a student, will be honest in your studies and research and that
you will not do anything that will interfere with or frustrate the studies and
research of other students.
In particular, you are expected to:
·
Acknowledge
the work of others in all assessable work
·
Not
knowingly allow another student to use your work without acknowledgement
·
Use
only permitted materials in examinations.
In general, penalties for breaching the
above Academic Rules and Codes of Conduct include receiving a fail grade,
suspension, and/or exclusion from the Institute.
Plagiarism is defined in the Student
Diary as ‘the act of taking and representing as one’s own, material which has
been prepared or written by another person – it applies to both published and
unpublished material’.
Unless the assessment is a group task,
all work submitted for assessment must be completed by the student alone. While
discussion of the topic is encouraged, no student is permitted to use any work
of any other person and/or any material from any publication unless the source
has been acknowledged in full.
Any act of plagiarism in an item of
assessment is deemed to be the same as cheating and will result in the item of
assessment receiving a Fail grade and/or the student’s suspension or exclusion
from the Institute. Please refer to the
Student Diary under the section ‘Student Discipline Rules’ and the Bachelor of
Business (Accounting) Student Orientation kit for details of the penalties
available.
REFERENCING
Referencing is a critical component of
tertiary study. It is important that all sources are cited and that it is done
according to established and accepted conventions. There are many such
conventions and different institutions/faculties will require different
approaches.
In the interests of consistency the
system of referencing selected for this course is the Harvard Style and is
reflected on the Information Commons Intranet Guide to
Research at:
www.ic.holmesglen.vic.edu.au/researchguides/research_resources.htm
Please
note, the Information
Commons on-line resource has been reproduced in your ‘Academic Writing Guide’
booklet.
This guide is a comprehensive resource
designed to ensure that you follow accepted conventions and do not run the risk
of committing plagiarism.
The guide to academic writing provides a
good resource for structuring reports and adhering to accepted conventions. For
students less familiar with these conventions it is also recommended that they
spend some time looking at the self-paced tutorial ‘Know it All’.
ASSIGNMENT
SUBMISSION/EXTENSIONS
All assignments to be submitted through
the Business Services Office should be placed in the Assignment Return Box
located near the Business Services Reception with an official assessment front
sheet attached. The Assignment Return
Box is cleared at 12 noon and 5.00 pm each day.
All assignments should be submitted by
the due date as determined by the lecturer. If circumstances prevent this, a
request for an extension must be made in writing to either the lecturer or
course leader prior to the due date – extensions will not be granted on or
after the due date. Where the lecturer/course leader is satisfied that your
reason for an extension is valid, a date for submission will be agreed.
Computer failure, work and family related pressures do not normally constitute
sufficient reason for the granting of extensions.
Documentary evidence such as a medical
certificate or statutory declaration is expected to accompany any application.
Please
note: The agreed date becomes the final date for submission.
Unless otherwise stated, pro rata
reductions in the awarded mark, (10% per working day) may be
made for assignments received late without a granted extension. However, assignments received more than two
weeks from the due date without an extension having been granted will not be
marked.
