Assessment #1 - Minor paper (Graded)
Weighting: 15%
1,200 words (maximum)
Topic:
Students would by now be aware that general purpose financial reporting is subject to a great deal of regulation. In addition to the requirements of Corporations Law and securities exchange listing requirements, listed companies must comply with an increasing number of accounting standards. There is ongoing debate as to whether the accounting profession is now over regulated and different accounting research have advanced different arguments about what causes regulation to be introduced. Some theories of regulation proposed that regulation is introduced in the public interest, while other theories suggest that regulation is introduced to benefit some people at the expense of others that is, in self-interest.
Students are required to provide a brief overview of some of the theories developed to explain why regulation is introduced. At a minimum, you are to consider public interest theory and economic interest group theories of regulation.
The intended audience for this information is a group of first-year accounting students-something you need to keep clearly in mind when constructing your paper. This will affect the language you use in your paper (which should be straightforward but not overly simplistic) and the way in which you present the information. Remember that you cannot assume that these students have any particular accounting knowledge but you can assume that they have some knowledge of business in general from their previous studies and that they are somewhat familiar with material from newspapers, television coverage etc.
What is not required here is a list of advantages and disadvantages of regulation.
In approaching this assignment consider:
· Of what regulation of accounting consists – you need to provide some background, but don’t use up too much of the word count on this. Keep it brief.
· Remind yourself often of your audience - the content and presentation must be appropriate for those to whom you are presenting the material.
· Don’t try to cover too much – the word count is limited, so you need to be succinct. You do not need to discuss any theories other than those which are in the question.
· Try to think of ways to make the material interesting - originality will be highly regarded!
Format/expectations
There is no specific format for this assignment - report format is not required. You should give some thought however to the most effective way to present the material – remember who your audience is and try to tailor your material to your expectations about their level of understanding and interest. There are absolutely no limits to how this material can be presented-you need to take this on as a task which not only tests your own understanding but also your ability to get a message across to others. You may choose to do this as a simple report or an essay, but equally you may choose to do it in any other format that you think is appropriate perhaps a newsletter or even a presentation. If you choose the latter, you will need to submit an audio or video file plus a printout of the transcript (remembering that the transcript must be within the word limit for the assignment).
Your assignment must be prepared in 1½ line or double spacing with 3cm left and right margins, and 2.5cm top and bottom margins.
The submission should be no more than 1,200 words in length. Penalties for assignments exceeding the maximum word limit will be imposed at 10% per 100 words or part thereof in excess of 1,200 words. There is no minimum number of words, but you need to consider that 1,000 – 1,200 words provides a guide as to the depth and or breadth of coverage you should be seeking to achieve. It is unlikely that you can achieve this if your word count is significantly lower than 1,000. On the other hand, you should not seek to increase your word count simply by padding out a very short response – rather you should consider the depth and breadth of what you have prepared.
Your assignment must have a title page. The word count must be printed on the title page. Markers cannot be expected to look for the word count on cover sheets, in headers or footers or elsewhere. Marks will be deducted if the word count is not on the title page. (Note: the title page must include your name and ID or network username, unit code and name, title of the paper and the word count.) Students do not need to attach an assignment cover sheet as these are attached automatically when the assignment is submitted on Gradebook.
A high standard of presentation is expected. This is a capstone course in a professional qualification and it is expected that students are able to present a paper of professional quality. At the very least, check spelling and grammar. Ensure that all aspects of the requirements have been addressed.
Ensure that you comply with Harvard referencing conventions in preparing this assignment and that plagiarism is not an issue. You are expected to adhere to high standards of academic integrity and all assignments submitted in this course may be checked for plagiarism, using text comparison software and other means.
You need to ensure you comply with all these requirements – failure to do so will result in penalties being applied.
There is no specific format for this assignment - report format is not required. You should give some thought however to the most effective way to present the material – remember who your audience is and try to tailor your material to your expectations about their level of understanding and interest. There are absolutely no limits to how this material can be presented-you need to take this on as a task which not only tests your own understanding but also your ability to get a message across to others. You may choose to do this as a simple report or an essay, but equally you may choose to do it in any other format that you think is appropriate perhaps a newsletter or even a presentation. If you choose the latter, you will need to submit an audio or video file plus a printout of the transcript (remembering that the transcript must be within the word limit for the assignment).
Your assignment must be prepared in 1½ line or double spacing with 3cm left and right margins, and 2.5cm top and bottom margins.
The submission should be no more than 1,200 words in length. Penalties for assignments exceeding the maximum word limit will be imposed at 10% per 100 words or part thereof in excess of 1,200 words. There is no minimum number of words, but you need to consider that 1,000 – 1,200 words provides a guide as to the depth and or breadth of coverage you should be seeking to achieve. It is unlikely that you can achieve this if your word count is significantly lower than 1,000. On the other hand, you should not seek to increase your word count simply by padding out a very short response – rather you should consider the depth and breadth of what you have prepared.
Your assignment must have a title page. The word count must be printed on the title page. Markers cannot be expected to look for the word count on cover sheets, in headers or footers or elsewhere. Marks will be deducted if the word count is not on the title page. (Note: the title page must include your name and ID or network username, unit code and name, title of the paper and the word count.) Students do not need to attach an assignment cover sheet as these are attached automatically when the assignment is submitted on Gradebook.
A high standard of presentation is expected. This is a capstone course in a professional qualification and it is expected that students are able to present a paper of professional quality. At the very least, check spelling and grammar. Ensure that all aspects of the requirements have been addressed.
Ensure that you comply with Harvard referencing conventions in preparing this assignment and that plagiarism is not an issue. You are expected to adhere to high standards of academic integrity and all assignments submitted in this course may be checked for plagiarism, using text comparison software and other means.
You need to ensure you comply with all these requirements – failure to do so will result in penalties being applied.
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