BFA209/309 Unit Outline Corporate Reporting and Disclosure

School of Accounting and Corporate Governance
Faculty of Business
BFA209/309
Corporate Reporting and Disclosure
Semester 2 2012
Unit Outline
Debbie Wills
CRICOS Provider Code: 00586B
Unit coordinators
Unit coordinator:
Campus:
e-mail:
Phone:
Fax:
Room number
Consultation hours:
Debbie Wills
Hobart
[email protected]
(+61 3) 6226 7591
(+61 3) 6226 7845
416
By appointment in Hobart or via email with
48 hour turn around during business hours
(Mon - Fri, 9.00am - 5.00pm).
Flexible Education
Officer Coordinator:
Ms Latha Jeyaraj
Campus:
e-mail:
Phone:
Launceston
Fax:
Room number
[email protected]
1800 449 902
(+61 3) 6324 3186
(+61 3) 6324 3369
Building D, Room D126
© The University of Tasmania 2012
Contents
Unit description
Learning Outcomes/Assessment/Generic Graduate Attributes
Alterations to the unit as a result of student feedback
Prior knowledge and/or skills
Learning resources required
Details of teaching arrangements
Learning expectations and strategies
Assessment details
Specific attendance/performance requirements
How your final result is determined
Submission of assignments
Requests for extensions
Penalties
Review of results and appeals
Academic referencing
Plagiarism
Further information and assistance
Unit schedule
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1
3
3
3
6
6
7
9
9
10
10
10
11
11
12
12
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Unit description
In this unit we look at the major ways in which Australian companies report and
disclose information to external stakeholders. We identify the sources of mandatory
disclosure requirements and overview the various reporting obligations that are
imposed on companies by the Corporations Act and the Australian Stock Exchange
Listing Rules. We also consider the incentives that firms have to make voluntary
disclosures of information and look at the nature of the information that is disclosed
voluntarily. We consider how firms might manage their disclosure decisions to create
certain impressions through the information voluntarily included in annual reports.
Learning Outcomes/Assessment/Generic Graduate Attributes
See the table on the following page that sets out the Learning Outcomes, Criteria for
Assessment Tasks, Assessment Methods and Graduate Attribute Outcomes for this unit and
the linkages between them.
Generic Graduate Attributes
The University has defined a set of generic graduate attributes (GGAs) that can be
expected of all graduates :
(www.learningsupport.utas.edu.au/generic_attributes.html)
By undertaking this unit you should make progress in attaining those attributes as
described in the table on the following page:
1
Learning Outcomes
In this unit you will learn:
Knowledge of corporate
reporting and the
corporate reporting
environment:
Mandatory components of
corporate reports:
Voluntary aspects of
corporate disclosure:
Assessment Criteria:
In assessing the learning outcome I will be looking at
ability to:
Assessment
Methods
Demonstrate a general knowledge of corporate reporting.
Discussions
Project 1
Project 2
Capstone
Discuss the nature and use of corporate reports.
Discussions
Discuss regulatory and institutional arrangements.
Discussions
Project 1
Capstone
Discuss general mandatory reporting requirements.
Discussions
Project 1
Identify and explain the mandatory elements in corporate
reports.
Discussions
Project 1
Discuss and describe how companies meet mandatory reporting
requirements.
Discussions
Project 1
Discuss enforcement of mandatory reporting requirements.
Discussions
Describe types of voluntary disclosures found in corporate
reports and explain reasons for their presence.
Discussions
Project 2
Capstone
Discuss and explain the use of narratives and imagery in
corporate annual reports and evaluate their appropriateness.
Discussions
Project 2
Capstone
Graduate Attribute Outcomes
The assessments and teaching activities in this unit
have been designed to develop the following
graduate attributes in students:
Knowledge (2) – Reasonably detailed knowledge of
corporate reporting and the ability to apply
knowledge to corporate reporting situations.
Lifelong learning skills in pursuit of professional
development.
Communication (2) – High level written
communication skills in a range of formats,
considering audience needs and appropriate to real
world business situations.
Problem Solving (2) – The ability to apply logical
thinking to corporate reporting issues.
An awareness of when information is needed and the
capacity to locate, analyse and use relevant
information.
Global Perspective (1) – An awareness of the
different thinking and viewpoints of diverse cultures,
ages, genders, races, religions or political
persuasions in relation to the business environment.
Social responsibility (1) – The ability to apply the
ethical requirements of University study.
2
Alterations to the unit as a result of student feedback
Alterations to unit as a result of student feedback Where appropriate, alterations have
been made to this unit as a result of student feedback.
Prior knowledge and/or skills
In order to enrol in this unit, you need to have satisfactorily completed BFA103
Accounting and Financial Decision Making, or its equivalent.
Learning resources required
There is no prescribed text for this unit. All materials will be posted on MyLO (the
University’s online service).
These materials include narrated PowerPoint
presentations, PowerPoint Slides in PDF format; some online activities; and notes to
accompany each topic.
Some of the files made available through MyLO may be in Portable Document
Format (PDF). These files can be viewed from within your web browser or separately
by using a program called Adobe Acrobat Reader. This software is already installed
on the Faculty of Business laboratory machines, but can be downloaded free of charge
from the Adobe site: http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep2.html
E- (electronic) resources
Learning online - for online learning and MyLO support
URL: http://www.utas.edu.au/coursesonline/
Information Technology Resources - for general IT support
URL: http://www.its.utas.edu.au/
Library services - for information on literacy support
URL: http://www.utas.edu.au/library/
MyLO
MyLO is an internet service that has been adopted by the University and will be used
in this unit. MyLO may be accessed on computers in computing laboratories at the
University or on your computer at home or at work. Information about accessing and
using this service, about required computer specifications, frequently asked questions,
and about how to get help if you experience difficulties, is available at the following
University website: http://www.utas.edu.au/coursesonline
You are strongly advised to visit this site and become familiar with the features of
MyLO, especially if you have not used it before. You will probably be using it in
other units that you are studying as well. Here are some important points about
accessing our web site:
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MyLO expectations
1. Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct across all
modes of communication, either with staff or with other students. Penalties
may be imposed if the Unit Coordinator believes that in any instance or mode
of communication that your language or content is inappropriate or offensive.
MyLO
In particular provides a public forum. Due levels of respect, professionalism
and high ethical standards are expected of all at all times.
2. Submission of assessment tasks via MyLO presumes that students have read,
understood and abide by the requirements relating to academic conduct, and in
particular those requirements relating to plagiarism. All work submitted
electronically is presumed to be “signed-off” by the student submitting as their
own work. Any breach of this requirement will lead to student misconduct
processes.
3. As all of the delivery of this unit will be available through MyLO, it is
expected that students will access the facility on a regular basis, preferably at
least once per day.
4. Students are also expected to check their UTAS email site on a regular basis
5. Students submitting requests or queries to staff via email should provide very
clearly their:
Family name: Preferred name; Student ID; Unit code (i.e. BFA209/309)
and allow teaching staff at least 24 hours on business days to reply.
Access to MyLO
You can access your MyLO course from the Student Page on the University’s web
site: Current Students Quick Links MyLO or go directly to the web address
noted above:
•
Enter your email POP account “Username” (for example, dsmith) and your
“Password”. These are identical to the pop account/email username and
password that you are given with your enrolment confirmation form.
•
When you enter your user name and password, click on OK and choose
“BFA209/309” from the list of units in which you are enrolled.
o
MyLO will automatically check that your browser is properly configured.
If the MyLO ‘browser checker’ window appears – scroll down to make sure
you have a tick in each area shown – then close the window.
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•
From the Unit’s homepage click on the area you wish to access. A table of
contents will appear on the left hand side of your screen. Scroll through the list
until you find what you want and click the underlined topic.
To access MyLO from your own computer you will need the appropriate software,
and hardware to run that software. See Learning Online at http://uconnect.utas.edu.au
for computer software you will need.
Note: Older computers may not have the hardware to run some of the required
software applications. Contact your local IT support person or the Service Desk on
6226 1818 if you experience difficulties.
For further information on using MyLO self help sheets can be accessed at:
http://www.utas.edu.au/coursesonline
MyLO course tools used for this unit
Announcements– This is used to make announcements to you from time to time. You
should look at these on a regular basis.
MyLO offers a “Discussion” facility, which we will use in connection with this unit.
Discussion is arranged under ‘Topics’, which are as follows.
Assessable Discussion – Assessable discussions are a part of this unit. Topics have
been created for each assessable discussion question.
General Discussion – There are topics for each module in which you can make
postings in relation to particular aspects of a module’s content for non-assessable
discussion. For example, you may have comments to make to other group members or
questions to ask of them in terms of generating discussion that will help them or may
be of interest to them.
Major Projects (1 and 2) – There are two topics in which you can make postings in
relation to the major projects. You may have queries that you wish to raise and can
use these topics for that purpose.
Social Café – This topic is opened so that we can communicate with each other with a
view to getting to know everyone in the unit. You should provide some information
about yourself and what you are doing, what your interests are, etc. We are trying to
create an interesting and active on-line community.
Feedback – This topic has been opened so that you can make comments, suggestions
and criticisms, which are anonymous. There may be issues that need to be addressed
and a ‘Feedback’ Topic allows these matters to be identified so that we can respond
appropriately.
If you wish to communicate with the unit coordinator privately, you should use the
MyLO Mail facility to do this OR you can send emails to the unit coordinator at:
[email protected]
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Details of teaching arrangements
Self-paced, student-focussed learning
There are NO face-to-face classes in this unit. The unit is planned to enable you to
work at your own pace. Although no formal face-to-face meetings are scheduled, you
should maintain regular contact with the unit coordinator through MyLO, e-mail, and
telephone, and with other students through MyLO. You can expect a response to
MyLO and email queries within two working days.
Learning expectations and strategies
The learning approach in this unit reflects a student focussed philosophy, a key
strategy of which is “learning by doing”. Compared with some of the face-to-face
units that you may have studied, you can typically expect to spend a little less time
pre-reading and problem-solving prior to working through the materials for each
module but relatively more time subsequently consolidating that material with
discussion and project work. As detailed further on in this unit outline, there are two
assessable major projects in this unit and these are designed to engage you in “handson” work to facilitate your learning and understanding in this unit. These projects
should be a key focus of your attention.
This unit is planned to enable you to work at your own pace. It is important, however,
to work consistently through the materials and complete all the tasks. If there is any
area of the work that you do not understand, please contact the unit coordinator
immediately, and make sure that you do not progress to the next stage without a
thorough understanding of the previous one. Each part of the unit develops themes
from, and assumes an understanding of, the previous parts, so it is important that areas
are not skipped. The topic schedule below has suggested dates for completion to
assist your time management and there are dates at which the assessable discussions
and the projects must be completed and submitted in order for you to earn marks that
will count to your overall final assessment.
Encouraging you to study and learn independently is an important goal of university
study. It is a feature of a reflective approach to learning in which you reflect on what
it is you are learning and how you plan your learning strategy. It is not the aim of
flexible delivery that students feel they must work through problems alone.
Throughout the unit, topics are provided for discussion with other students via the
discussion facility of MyLO, and the exchange of information and ideas is a very
important part of your learning development. You will gain most benefit by staying
in close contact with other students and with your Unit Coordinator.
Do not be reluctant to ask questions or contribute ideas, even if only partly formed, as
these can often form a basis for very constructive interaction. Remember that the
MyLO discussions will be as interesting and useful as you make them.
If you need assistance in preparing for study please refer to the Learning Support
website: http://www.utas.edu.au/learndev/
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In general, you should do well in this unit if you:
•
•
•
•
have a strong interest in corporate reporting, stewardship and
governance issues;
keep up-to-date with your coursework;
consolidate your understanding by undertaking the on-line activities
and give yourself plenty of time to complete your projects;
prepare for and actively participate in the discussion group.
The University is committed to high standards of professional conduct in all activities,
and holds its commitment and responsibilities to its students as being of paramount
importance. Likewise, it holds expectations about the responsibilities students have as
they pursue their studies within the special environment the University offers.
The University’s Code of Conduct for Teaching and Learning states:
Students are expected to participate actively and positively in the
teaching/learning environment. They must attend classes when and
as required, strive to maintain steady progress within the subject or
unit framework, comply with workload expectations, and submit
required work on time.
Occupational health and safety (OH&S)
The University is committed to providing a safe and secure teaching and learning
environment. In addition to specific requirements of this unit you should refer to the
University’s policy at: http://www.admin.utas.edu.au/hr/ohs/pol_proc/ohs.pdf
Assessment details
There are three types of assessment in this unit:
Participation in the on-line discussion on MyLO
Two consolidating major projects
A capstone assignment.
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The assessment weightings and due dates are as follows:
Assessment task
Date due
Assessment Task 1: Discussion on MyLO:
Midnight AEST:
Section One
Section Two
Section Three
Percent
weighting
Monday August 6
Monday September 10
Monday October 8
6.66%
6.66%
6.66%
Assessment Task 2: Project 1
Midnight AEST
Monday August 27
20%
Assessment Task 3: Project 2
Midnight AEST
Monday October 1
20%
Assessment Task 4: Capstone assignment
One week from receipt
but no later than
9.00am AEST Monday
November 5 2012
40%
Participation in discussion (3 @ 6.66%):
For the modules in the first three sections in this unit, broad questions for discussion
are posed. You are expected to engage in the discussion on each question. You may,
and are expected to, move the discussion in any direction that is related to the issues
raised. The unit coordinator will monitor the discussion regularly, but will not
interfere, except to correct misconceptions, errors and so on. It is your discussion to
explore in whatever directions and dimensions that you wish provided they are at least
tangentially related to the module content. The discussion is relevant to achieving all
of the learning outcomes in this unit and to developing your generic communication
skills.
Your participation in discussion will be assessed according to the criteria outlined in
the assessment rubric.
Your discussion is likely to be more constructive and effective if you participate when
others are also discussing the topic. You cannot expect to stimulate or direct the
discussion if you leave your contributions until late in the discussion. Therefore, you
should monitor the discussion board regularly to see what discussion is taking place.
You should be mindful that there are set dates after which contributions to the discussion
component are no longer assessable.
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Key points for obtaining feedback and for ensuring that your discussion is assessed for
marks that count towards your final grade are:
Discussion on:
Section One (Modules 1, 2 & 3)
Section Two (Modules 4, 5 & 6)
Section One (Modules 7, 8 & 9)
Indicative feedback
provided at the end
of Week:
Three
Eight
Eleven
Assessable discussion
ends midnight AEST on:
Monday August 6
Monday September 10
Monday October 8
The major projects (2 @ 20%)
The major projects require you to look at specific aspects of corporate reporting and
disclosure. The details for each project can be found at the end of this unit outline.
The capstone assignment
The capstone assignment draws together all elements of the unit. When you have
worked completely through the unit materials, participated in the discussion,
completed and submitted the major projects and are ready to do the capstone
assignment, send an e-mail request to your unit coordinator requesting that the
assignment be sent to you. Twenty-four hours is required and it will not be sent on
weekends or public holidays. Once sent, the assignment is to be completed and
submitted within one week of receipt, and is worth 40% of the marks in this unit.
Late submissions will not be accepted.
If you have not requested the capstone assignment by Monday October 29, the start of
the second week of the examination period for Semester Two, it will be sent to you on
that day. It must be returned by 9.00 am Australian Eastern Standard Time on the
following Monday, November 5.
Specific attendance/performance requirements
You must achieve an overall mark of at least 50 per cent AND have participated in all
of the assessable discussion AND have completed and submitted each item of
assessment to pass the unit.
How your final result is determined
Your final grade is determined by aggregating your score on the assessable discussion
activities, the two projects and the capstone assignment.
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Submission of assignments
Assignments are to be presented and submitted in accordance with the Guide for
Students - Presentation and Submission of Assignments issued by the Faculty of
Business.
In line with Faculty policy all assignments are, where practical, to be submitted via
MyLO.
Your your attention is drawn to the University’s rules on plagiarism, and to page 14
of this Unit Outline. Assignments will be marked as quickly as possible after all have
been submitted, and returned with comments and grades awarded.
Requests for extensions
Requests for extensions must be consistent with Faculty policy (Paragraph 4).
The relevant form to apply for an extension is available at:
http://www.utas.edu.au/accg/Current%20Students.html
Penalties
Late Submission of Continuous Coursework
Assignments that are not handed in by the due date will have marks deducted, unless a
signed and approved late submission form is attached. The penalty for late
submission of assignments in this unit is 10% of the available mark for each day the
assignment is late.
In this Policy
1.
(a)
‘day’ or ‘days’ includes weekends and public holidays;
(b)
‘late’ means after the due date and time; and
(c)
‘coursework’ includes all internal non examination based forms of
assessment
2.
This Policy applies to all students enrolled in Units taught by the Faculty
of Business at whatever Campus or location.
3.
Students are expected to submit coursework on or before the due date and
time specified in the relevant Unit Outline. The onus is on the student to
prove the date and time of submission.
4.
Students with special circumstances may apply for an extension. Requests
for extensions should, where possible, be made in writing to the Unit
Coordinator on or before the due date. Students will need to provide
independent supporting documentation to substantiate their claims.
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5.
Late submission of coursework will incur a penalty of 10% of the
available marks for each day the coursework is late unless an extension
had been granted on or before the relevant due date.
Coursework submitted more than five (5) days late will not be accepted.
6.
Late work must be submitted to a staff member in the relevant School or
Faculty Office and the time of submission recorded.
7.
Academic staff DO NOT have the discretion to waive a late penalty.
Review of results and appeals
1.
It is expected that students will adhere to the following School Policy for a
review of any piece of continuous/internal assessment:
Within 5 days of the release of the assessment result, a student may request a
meeting with the assessor for the purpose of an informal review of the result
(Academic Assessment Rule No 2 Clause 22
http://www.utas.edu.au/university-council/university-governance/rules ).
At the meeting the student should be prepared to discuss specifically the marks
for the section/s of the marking criteria they are disputing and why they
consider their mark/s is/are inappropriate. The assessor shall provide a
response to the request for review at the meeting or within 5 days. If the
student is dissatisfied with the response, he/she may within 5 days of the
response request the Head of School to arrange for a formal review of the
assessment by completing and lodging with the School a ‘Review of
Assessment Form’.
2. Students may also request a review of the final result in a unit. The request and
payment must be made within 10 days from the date of the result notification.
Students are referred to Academic Assessment Rule No 2. Clause 23.
Academic referencing
In your written work you will need to support your ideas by referring to scholarly
literature, and other sources of information such as the accounting regulatory bodies.
It is important that you understand how to correctly refer to the work of others and
maintain academic integrity. Failure to appropriately acknowledge the ideas of others
constitutes academic dishonesty (plagiarism), a matter considered by the University of
Tasmania as a serious offence.
The appropriate referencing style for this unit is the Harvard referencing method.
Further information on presentation of assignments, including referencing styles is
available at: http://utas.libguides.com/referencing
Please read the following statement on plagiarism. Should you require clarification
please see your unit coordinator or lecturer.
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Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a form of cheating. It is taking and using someone else's thoughts,
writings or inventions and representing them as your own; for example, using an
author's words without putting them in quotation marks and citing the source, using
an author's ideas without proper acknowledgment and citation, copying another
student's work.
If you have any doubts about how to refer to the work of others in your assignments,
please consult your lecturer or tutor for relevant referencing guidelines, and the
academic integrity resources on the web at: http://www.utas.edu.au/plagiarism/
The intentional copying of someone else’s work as one’s own is a serious offence
punishable by penalties that may range from a fine or deduction/cancellation of marks
and, in the most serious of cases, to exclusion from a unit, a course or the University.
Details of penalties that can be imposed are available in the Ordinance of Student
Discipline – Part 3 Academic Misconduct, see
http://www.utas.edu.au/universitycouncil/legislation/
The University and any persons authorised by the University may submit
your assessable works to a plagiarism checking service, to obtain a report on
possible instances of plagiarism. Assessable works may also be included in a
reference database. It is a condition of this arrangement that the original
author’s permission is required before a work within the database can be
viewed.
For further information on this statement and general referencing guidelines, see
http://www.utas.edu.au/plagiarism/ or follow the link under ‘Policy, Procedures and
Feedback’ on the Current Students homepage.
Further information and assistance
If you are experiencing difficulties with your studies or assignments, have personal or
life planning issues, disability or illness which may affect your course of study, you
are advised to raise these with your lecturer in the first instance.
There is a range of University-wide support services available to you including
Teaching & Learning, Student Services, International Services. Please refer to the
Current Students homepage at: http://www.utas.edu.au/students/
Should you require assistance in accessing the Library visit its website for more
information at http://www.utas.edu.au/library/
If you have a problem
The procedures within the School are that in the first instance, you should discuss the
matter with your unit coordinator, lecturer or tutor. If you do not feel comfortable
approaching one of these people, or if you have a discussion and are not satisfied with
the outcome, then you are encouraged to contact the major/course coordinator:
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MPA: Simone Bingham
Room: 421
Phone: 6226 2314
[email protected]
Students with Disabilities –University & Faculty Equity Plans
Goal 1 of the University of Tasmania Equity Plan provides for: “An inclusive
teaching and learning environment that values diversity, supports the pursuit of
academic excellence and produces high quality education and employment results for
all students and staff”.
The University’s Equity Plan can be accessed at:
http://www.human-resources.utas.edu.au/strategic-hr-management/equity-anddiversity/equity-and-diversity-policy-and-planning-documents/building-an-inclusivecommunity
The Faculty of Business Equity Plan facilitates the University Plan at an operational
level and has developed an ‘Action Plan’. The Action Plan for Goal 1 lays down
procedures to ensure that all students, including those with disabilities, have equal
access to lecture and course materials. The School of Accounting & Corporate
Governance complies with these procedures.
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Unit schedule
The following schedule pages sets out the modules and topics that make up this unit.
A suggested target time schedule is set out for those who wish to complete the course
progressively throughout the semester.
Suggested
schedule
Module
Topics
Section One: Introduction
1
Introduction to Corporate Reporting and Disclosure in
Australia
2
The Nature and Use of Corporate Reports
• Annual reports: definition and reporting circa 1950
• Evolution of annual reports and the contemporary
annual report
• The role and purpose of annual reports
• The usefulness of annual reports
3
Regulatory and Institutional Arrangements
• Reporting requirements of the Corporations Act
• Stock Exchange Listing Rules
• The FRC, the AASB and accounting standards
Week One
to
Three
Section Two: Mandatory Reporting Requirements
Week
Five
4
Mandatory Elements in Financial Reports
• The balance sheet
• The income statement and statement of changes in
equity
• The cash flow statement
• Notes to the accounts and the Directors’ Declaration
5
Other Mandatory Elements in Annual Reports
• The directors’ report
• Additional disclosures required by ASX listing rules
• AASB 124: Related party disclosures
• Concise financial reports
6
Other Mandatory Reporting Requirements
• Half yearly reports
• Continuous disclosure requirements
• General governance disclosures
To
Week
Seven
Project One: due midnight AEST Monday August 27
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Section Three: Voluntary Aspects of Disclosure
Week
Nine
7
The nature of voluntary disclosures
• Types of voluntary disclosures
• Incentives for voluntary disclosure
• Social and environmental disclosures
8
The use of narrative in annual reports
• Content choices in narratives
• Linguistic styles and devices used
• Readability of narratives
9
The use of imagery in annual reports
• Creating the overall report “package”
• Graphs – benefits and design principles
• The use and misuse of graphs in corporate reports
• Strategic use of imagery
To
Week
Eleven
Project Two: due midnight AEST Monday October 1
Section Four: Concluding Overview
10
Week
Thirteen
An Overview
• Mandatory reporting requirements
• Voluntary reporting decisions
Request capstone assignment
Submit capstone assignment within one week of receipt and no later than 9.00 am
AEST Monday November 5
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Project One: Mandatory reporting requirements
On MyLO you will find the annual report for Leighton Holdings Limited for 2010 and
a copy of the G100’s Guide to Review of Operations and Financial Condition. We
are going to use these documents to consolidate our understanding of parts of Sections
One and Two of this unit. This assignment addresses learning outcomes and develops
generic attributes as outlined in the table above.
Required:
Prepare a report in which you:
•
Describe what must be included in the annual reporting document of a publicly
listed company in Australia in order to meet the requirements of ASIC and the
ASX. Explain, in broad terms, the role of the AASB’s accounting standards in the
reporting process (you do not need to discuss the content of any particular
standard in detail). With reference to Leighton’s 2010 Annual Report, indicate
where, through page number references, Leighton has met each of the
requirements that you identified above.
• Evaluate the extent to which the information about activities and operations
included in its annual directors’ report and elsewhere in the annual report, if
relevant, conforms with the G100’s recommendations in its Guide to Review of
Operations and Financial Condition that relate to general requirements for the
framework and presentation of the review (summarised in Table 1) and the
essential features of the review (summarised in Table2).
•
Leighton’s 2010 annual report is a concise financial report. Describe how a
concise report differs for their 2010 full financial report (available from their
website), using illustrative material from both reports. Evaluate whether you feel
that the concise annual report is likely to result in improved communication with
less sophisticated shareholders. Clearly justify the views that you present.
Links to unit’s learning outcomes: See details in the table on Page 5
Assessment criteria: An assessment criteria matrix following the framework on page
5 will be available on MyLO
Length: Your completed report should not exceed 2,000 words.
The word limit specified for your assignment is a maximum. If you submit overlength work there is an automatic 10% penalty of available marks. It is at the
discretion of the Unit Coordinator whether the words beyond the limit will be
assessed. Title pages, reference lists and appendices are not included in word counts.
Due date: midnight AEST Monday August 27.
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Project Two: Voluntary disclosure decisions, narratives, and use of
graphs
On MyLO you will find the annual reports for Leighton Holdings Limited for 1969,
1985, 2008 and 2010. We are going to use these documents to consolidate our
understanding of Section Three of this unit. This assignment specifically addresses
learning outcomes 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 and develops the generic attributes of knowledge,
communication skills and social responsibility.
Required:
•
Describe how the nature of voluntary content in the annual reports has changed
over the reporting periods (focus on as many things as you can, including what is
presented/discussed, where it is presented, how it is presented, how much is
presented, whether pictures are used and so on). Speculate, with examples to
support your reasoning, why you might have observed the specific changes that
you did over the time periods examined.
•
On MyLO you will find two text files. The first (Letter) contains the text from
Leighton’s 2010 Chairman’s Report. The second (Note_One) contains Note One
to the full financial report. It is the note that provides a summary of significant
accounting policies. You will also find a copy of “Flesh” on MyLO. This is
freeware that allows you to calculate readability scores. Calculate the readability
score for the text from the report letter and for the extract from the notes. Explain
how and why these scores might differ.
Based on the readability scores calculated, explain their implications for the users
of the reports and discuss whether you feel any changes should be recommended
in the narrative styles adopted. If so, explain, with justification, what actions the
company might take.
• Describe and evaluate, with respect to the use of good graphical guidelines, the
way in which graphs have been used by Leighton in its 2008 annual report.
Compare Leighton’s use of graphs and photographs in its 2008 report to that in its
2010 report, the first annual report prepared after the full impact of the Global
Financial Crisis was felt in Australia. Note any differences in the use of graphs
and photographs in 2010 to that in the 2008 annual report for this company.
Explain whether the observed practices in both the 2008 and the 2010 reports were
consistent with the usage you would have expected to see in these reports.
Links to unit’s learning outcomes: See details in the table on Page 5
Assessment criteria: An assessment criteria matrix following the framework on page
5 will be available on MyLO
Length:
Your completed report should not exceed 2,000 words.
The word limit specified for your assignment is a maximum. If you submit overlength work there is an automatic 10% penalty of available marks. It is at the
discretion of the Unit Coordinator whether the words beyond the limit will be
assessed. Title pages, reference lists and appendices are not included in word counts.
Due date: midnight AEST Monday October 1
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