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IT NEWS COMMENTARY ASSIGNMENT

IT News Commentary Assignment. This assignment requires students to research and comment on an emerging/prevailing information technology (IT) issue relevant to accounting practice. Required Submission: Each student will be required to submit a short write-up AND deliver a short informal presentation during class. Write-ups (not to exceed 1-2 pages) must be properly prepared, formatted, and submitted in accordance with instructions in the “Assignment Policies” documents posted on Blackboard. Write-ups must be submitted to Blackboard via the appropriate assignment link before 10:00 AM on the date you are scheduled to present. Presentations must be delivered during class on the scheduled presentation date; students must sign up for class presentation dates. Late, emailed, or hardcopy write-ups will NOT be accepted and late presentations will NOT be permitted.

REQUIREMENTS

1. IT News Commentary Research. Identify a recent IT news item of interest (e.g., article, issue, report, or event) to serve as the focus for your news commentary. The news item must be recent in occurrence[footnoteRef:1] and address an information systems (IS) related technology topic of direct relevance to accounting practice and/or course content.[footnoteRef:2] Conduct supporting research to synthesize a sound understanding of the selected news item and IT topic(s) to which it relates. Supporting research is required and may be conducted using print, media, and/or online sources. Note : Research must include a minimum of 3 distinct outside sources. [1: The news item must have occurred within the last 6 months; older items are only appropriate if more recent items (i.e., recent items that follow-up on or update the selected item) can be integrated into your commentary.] [2: There are numerous IT topics relevant to accounting practice/course content. See the AICPA Information Technology Resource page https://www.aicpa.org/interestareas/informationtechnology.html and/or Cybersecurity Resource Center https://www.aicpa.org/interestareas/frc/assuranceadvisoryservices/cyber-security-resource-center.html for examples of relevant IT topics.]

2. IT News Commentary Write-Up. Prepare a concise, properly formatted write-up (1-2 pages including written responses, illustrations, references). Write-ups must

a. Be submitted to Blackboard before 10:00 AM on the scheduled presentation date.

b. Include the title and original source of the recent news item (1 line).

c. Include a discussion of the IT topics(s) (e.g., background/concepts/issues) to which the news item relates (1 paragraph)

d. Include a discussion of the key point(s) of the news item (1 paragraph).

e. Include a commentary on the relevance of the news item to accounting practice and/or course content[footnoteRef:3] AND a statement re the personal value of the knowledge you acquired while completing this assignment[footnoteRef:4] (1 paragraph). [3: Consider the topics(s)/issue(s) to which the news item relates and comment on relevance to course content.] [4: Consider what you learned while completing this assignment and comment on the personal importance of such knowledge to you, how such knowledge furthered your understanding, and/or how such knowledge offers value to you as an aspiring accounting professional.]

f. Include a properly formatted reference section containing a minimum of 3 distinct outside sources (e.g., articles, news reports, websites) used to support your news commentary.[footnoteRef:5] [5: The course text, course notes, and other assigned course materials may be referenced but will NOT count as outside sources. Moreover, Wikipedia is NOT a legitimate reference for the purposes of this assignment.]

3. IT News Commentary Presentation. Deliver a brief informal presentation to the class (2-3 minutes). Presentations must

a. Be delivered on the scheduled presentation date. Students must sign up for class presentation dates; instructions on how to sign-up for a presentation date will be posted on Blackboard. Note : There are a limited number of slots allotted for news commentary presentations during the semester. Sign-up is on a first-come-first-serve basis. Do NOT wait until the last minute to sign-up. If you wait until the last minute and there are no presentation slots remaining, you will not be allowed to present and you will forfeit credit for the presentation portion of this assignment. If you sign up for a presentation slot and fail to complete your presentation on the scheduled date, you will NOT be allowed to “make up” your presentation unless there are open presentation slots remaining. 

a. Address key content included in your write-up (Requirement 2 above).

b. Include a brief interactive discussion related to the news item. Presenters may advance a particular point or question related to the news item as a basis for initiating this discussion.

c. Be well practiced and well delivered but may be informal in the manner of normal class.

d. Be supported by apt visual aid(s) (e.g., illustrations, slides, videos, web content). Note : Formal presentation slides are not required, but presentations MUST include apt visual aids to support presented content). Slide presentations (if used as a visual aid) must be submitted to Blackboard with the writeup.

EVALUATION OF IT NEWS COMMENTARIES

IT news commentary write-ups will be evaluated based on content,[footnoteRef:6] concept application,[footnoteRef:7] presentation, [footnoteRef:8] and timeliness.[footnoteRef:9] IT news commentary presentations will be evaluated based on content[footnoteRef:10], delivery[footnoteRef:11], and timeliness[footnoteRef:12]. Scores will be posted to Blackboard in a timely fashion; students may also visit office hours to discuss their work or receive additional feedback. [6: Evaluated based on completeness, informativeness, and relevance of required content and references.] [7: Evaluated based on technical accuracy and/or logical application of course concepts.] [8: Evaluated based on conformity with stipulated formatting requirements, writing mechanics (clarity, logical flow, language/word choice, spelling, grammar, punctuation), and referencing requirements. ] [9: Write-ups must be submitted to Blackboard before 10:00 AM on the scheduled presentation date. ] [10: Evaluated based on completeness and relevance of required presentation content.] [11: Evaluated based on delivery mechanics (i.e., preparedness, organization, elocution, interest), time (within allowed time), and visual aids (clarity, relevance, professionalism, visual appeal).] [12: Presentations must be delivered on the scheduled presentation date; students must sign up for dates.]

REMINDER NOTE RE PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is a serious academic integrity violation at UT. All work you submit must be YOUR work in YOUR words. Do NOT reproduce any material verbatim from the course notes, course textbook, online sources, or any other source and submit it as a response to assignment requirements; this constitutes plagiarism (even if you cite/reference your source). Moreover, you MUST properly cite (in the body of the text) AND reference (in an end-of-text reference section) ALL sources you rely on to construct and/or support responses to assignments; failure to provide proper citation/reference information constitutes plagiarism (even if you paraphrase). See Blackboard for further guidance.

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