report

HA2011 Management Accounting Group Assignment T3 2019

HOLMES INSTITUTE

FACULTY OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Assessment Details and Submission Guidelines

Trimester T1 2020

Unit Code HA2011

Unit Title Management Accounting

Assessment Type Group Assignment

(Report format)

Assessment Title Performance Measurement Systems - Implementation of the Balanced Score

Card (BSC)

Purpose of the

assessment (with

ULO Mapping)

In this group based assessment, students will demonstrate their knowledge and

apply the key themes and concepts from the topic in Week 9 - Performance

Measurement Systems, particularly the “Balanced Score Card.” This is also an

opportunity for students to extend their current knowledge by engaging in

additional research of the topic.

Based on the Unit Learning outcomes, students are required to:

 Appraise how pricing decisions are made (ULO 3)

 Calculate both return on investment and residual income and explain how each method is used (ULO 4)

 Implement systems to plan and control business operations (ULO 7)

Weight 30% of the total assessments

Total Marks 30 Marks

Word limit Not more than 3,000 words

Due Date Week 10, Friday 11:59 pm (AEST)

Late submission incurs penalties of 5 (five) % of the assessment value per

calendar day unless an extension and/or special consideration has been

granted by the interactive tutor prior to the assessment deadline.

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HA2011 Management Accounting Group Assignment T1 2020

Submission

Guidelines

• Students should complete the assignment in groups of 3 – 5 students. Students must self-enrol the membership of their groups before the end of week 8.

• All work must be submitted on Blackboard by the due date along with a completed Holmes Assignment Cover Page.

• The assignment must be in MS Word format, no spacing, 12-pt Arial font and 2 cm margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings and page numbers.

• Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report and listed

appropriately at the end in a reference list using Harvard referencing style.

• Note – All assignments must be submitted through safe-assign in order to be

assessed for similarity. Assignments which have not been firstly submitted

through safe-assign will not be marked and graded. If you are unsure about

using safe-assign, plagiarism and the similarity percentages in the report, you

should consult with your interactive tutor.

Assignment Specifications

Purpose

In this group assignment, students will need to work in co-operative groups, demonstrate their

knowledge and understanding of the topic through active online discussion and then apply this

knowledge through group collaboration to a unique publically listed company from the ASX. Students

will need to apply critical and analytical thinking skills and then compose a group report for final

submission.

Background

You were recently employed as a management accountant in a listed firm on the ASX. The Managing

Director of your company has formed a small taskforce to explore the possibility of implementing a

Balanced Score Card (BSC) system in the company. You are assigned to work with others in the

taskforce due to your management accounting background.

Required

Your group is required to prepare a report to provide advice on the suitability of the BSC for an ASX-

listed company, which is selected by your group. The company selected must be “unique” and it is

NOT allowed to be the same as another group.

NOTE - You must check your selected ASX listed company on shared excel sheet. If the company has

already been selected, then you must go back and select another ASX listed company.

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HA2011 Management Accounting Group Assignment T1 2020

The report must cover the following key points:

a) A description of your company.

b) Calculation of Return on Investment (using net profit divided by total assets) and a discussion of

the ways to improve ROI.

c) A description of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and its key components.

d) A description of the ways the implementation of the BSC can improve the competitive

advantage(s) of your company.

e) A discussion and conclusion of the overall suitability of BSC to your selected company.

Assignment Structure

The report should include the following components:

• Assignment cover page clearly stating your name and student number (Use Holmes Template)

• An executive summary and table of contents (note executive summary must be before the

table of contents)

• A brief Introduction or overview of what the report is about.

• Body of the report with sections to answer the above issues and with appropriate section

headings

• Conclusion

• List of References based on the Harvard referencing style

• Appendix including your supporting material and Assignment Participation Table (as below)

NOT - The report should be grounded on relevant academic literature and all references must be properly cited and included in the reference list. To ensure that all students participate equitably in the group assignment and that students are responsible for the academic integrity of all components of the assignment, all groups need to include a table which identifies which student/students are responsible for the various sections of the assignment and include it in their report, right before the executive summary.

Assignment Participation Table

Assignment Section Student/Students

Note: This table needs to be completed and submitted with the assignment as it is a compulsory component required before any grading is undertaken.

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HA2011 Management Accounting Group Assignment T1 2020

Marking Criteria

Marking criteria Weighting

Description of the Chosen Company 3%

Calculation of Return on Investment (Using Net Profit Divided by Total Assets) and

a Discussion of the Ways to Improve ROI.

6%

Description of the BSC and its Features. 6%

Description of the Ways the Implementation of BSC Can Improve the Competitive

Advantage(s) of the selected Company.

6%

Discussion on the Suitability of BSC to the Chosen Company. 3%

Report Presentation 3%

Research Quality and compliance with Harvard referencing conventions 3%

TOTAL Weight 30%

Marking Rubric

Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory

Description of the Chosen Company

/Max 3 Marks

An excellent

description of the

chosen company

3 Marks

A very good

description of the

chosen company

2.5 Marks

A good

description of the

chosen company

2 Marks

An adequate

description of the

chosen company

1.5 Marks

A poor or

incomplete

description of the

chosen company

1-0 Mark

Calculation of

Return on

Investment and a

Discussion of the

Ways to Improve

ROI.

/ Max 6 Marks

Demonstrate an excellent calculation of

Return on

Investment and a

discussion of the

ways to improve

ROI.

6 Marks

Demonstrate a

very good

calculation of

Return on

Investment and

a discussion of

the ways to

improve ROI.

5 Marks

Demonstrate a

good calculation

of Return on

Investment and a

discussion of the

ways to improve

ROI.

4 Marks

Demonstrate an

adequate

calculation of

Return on

Investment and

a discussion of

the ways to

improve ROI.

3 Marks

Unable to

demonstrate an

adequate

calculation of

Return on

Investment and a

discussion of the

ways to improve

ROI.

1 -2 Marks

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HA2011 Management Accounting Group Assignment T1 2020

Description of

the BSC and its

Features.

/ Max 6 Marks

Demonstrate an excellent understanding of the description of

the BSC and its

features.

6 Marks

Demonstrate a very good understanding of the description of

the BSC and its

features.

5 Marks

Demonstrate a good understanding of the description of

the BSC and its

features.

4 Marks

Demonstrate an adequate understanding of the description of

the BSC and its

features.

3 Marks

Unable to demonstrate an understanding of the description of

the BSC and its

features.

1 -2 Marks

Ways the

Implementation

of BSC Improves

the Competitive

Advantage(s) of

the Chosen

Company.

/ Max 6 Marks

Present an

excellent

discussion of the

ways the

implementation

of BSC improves

the competitive

advantage(s) of

the chosen

company.

6 Marks

Present a very

good discussion

of the ways the

implementation

of BSC improves

the competitive

advantage(s) of

the chosen

company.

5 Marks

Present a good

discussion of the

ways the

implementation

of BSC improves

the competitive

advantage(s) of

the chosen

company.

4 Marks

Present a

reasonable

discussion of the

ways the

implementation

of BSC improves

the competitive

advantage(s) of

the chosen

company.

3 Marks

Unable to

present a proper

discussion of the

ways the

implementation

of BSC improves

the competitive

advantage(s) of

the chosen

company.

1 -2 Marks

Discussion of

Suitability of

BSC to the

Chosen

Company.

/Max 3 Marks

Present an

excellent

discussion of the

suitability of BSC

to the chosen

company.

3 Marks

Present a very

good discussion

of the suitability

of BSC to the

chosen company.

2.5 Marks

Present a good

discussion of the

suitability of BSC

to the chosen

company.

2 Marks

Present a

reasonable

discussion of the

suitability of BSC

to the chosen

company.

1.5 Marks

Unable to

present a proper

discussion of the

suitability of BSC

to the chosen

company.

1-0 Mark

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HA2011 Management Accounting Group Assignment T1 2020

Presentation

/Max 3 Marks

Report included all elements and was very well presented. Writing flowed clearly and sections were linked very effectively. Referencing was

exemplary.

English was used

very effectively

and was error

free.

3 Marks

Report included all elements and was well presented. Writing flowed clearly and sections were linked effectively. Referencing was

of a high

standard. English

was used

effectively with

very few errors

present.

2.5 Marks

Report included all elements and was generally presented appropriately. Writing mostly flowed well and sections were linked. Referencing was

in accordance

with guidelines.

English was used

effectively with

few errors

present.

2 Marks

Report included most elements and was adequately presented. Writing sometimes did not flow clearly leaving the paper to seem disjointed in areas. Referencing was

somewhat in

accordance with

guidelines. Basic

English was used

with some errors

present.

1.5 Marks

Report lacked some elements and was poorly presented. Writing often did not flow clearly leaving the paper to seem somewhat disjointed. Referencing was

not entirely in

accordance with

relevant

guidelines. Basic

English was used

with errors

present.

1-0 Mark

Research Quality

/Max 3 Marks

An extensive

amount of high-

quality evidence

from peer-

reviewed journal

articles and

other sources

was included and

used effectively

to support

discussion.

3 Marks

A broad range of

quality peer-

reviewed journal

references and

other sources

was included and

used effectively

to support

discussion.

2.5 Marks

An adequate

range of peer-

reviewed journal

references was

included and

used to support

discussion.

2 Marks

An adequate

range of peer-

reviewed journal

references was

included and

used to a basic

extent to support

discussion.

1.5 Marks

Little or no peer-

reviewed journal

references were

included, and

these were rarely

used to support

discussion

effectively.

1-0 Mark