Accounting Individual Assignment
Individual assignment guidelines
The following is a hypothetical case study where you are given an ethical problem and asked to work through the issues presented by the case study. In order to help
you address the assignment requirements, please refer to ‘The Resources list to assist you’ on page 4 below.
The case study:
Garry is a financial controller at Just for you Pty Ltd (JFY). This company imports and distributes beauty products for both men and women and its employs around 100
staff, including Sue and Jane. Sue is the marketing manager of JFY; whilst Jane is the CEO as well as the sole owner of JFY.
JFY imports its products from China and distributes them all across Australia. Since its creation in 2000, JFY has had a history of profitability and growth. However,
over the last two years, JFY has been facing fierce competition from other similar organisations and has been losing its market share. Also, JFY has been struggling to
make positive returns for the last year and has just been able to cover its fixed costs for the last six months. Unless JFY makes a positive return in the next six
months, it may have to go into liquidation.
Given the declining financial performance of JFY, Jane has been putting a lot of pressure on Garry and Sue to come up with innovative ideas that will give the company
a competitive advantage in the market place and that will also generate an increase in profit margins.
One day, Sue and Garry have a phone meeting with Yong Lee. Yong is the owner as well as marketing representative of Xinni Ltd, an organisation which has been supplying
beauty products to JFY for the past ten years. Yong has been a good friend of both Sue and Garry, for the some years now. Yong has suggested that Sue and Garry make a
trip to Xinni Ltd in China, to discuss future business opportunities between Xinni Ltd and JFY.
Yong also mentioned it might be a good idea if Sue and Garry bring their family on the trip. Yong reassured Sue and Garry that Xinni Ltd will incur all the expenses
associated with the trip. Yong added that the trip will give Yong’s family the opportunity to meet as well as get to know both Sue’s and Garry’s families.
During the phone meeting, Yong advised Sue and Garry that Jane need not know about the business meeting, as Xinni’s sponsorship of the Sue’s and Gary’s family trip to
China is unrelated to JFY and is not part of the business trip.
Required:
Answer the following questions, i.e. (a) to (f) inclusive, based on the Case Study presented above on page 1 and assume that you are Garry, the financial controller of
JFY.
(a) Identify the facts which are relevant to you, from the case study.
(b) List four key stakeholders who are affected in the case study.
(c) The APES code 110 sets out ethical standards which are applicable to Professional Accountants (including Financial Controllers). Discuss, with reference
to the case study, the ethical principles which apply and/or which do not apply to Garry.
Set your answer out to part (c) as follows:
Ethical principle
Discussion (how the principle applies or does not apply to the case)
Integrity
Objectivity
Confidentiality
Professional Behaviour
(d) As Garry, which course of action would you take and why:
(i) Tell Jane everything (including the family trip) or
(ii) Only mention the business trip
(e) What would be the advantages and disadvantages to Just for you Pty Ltd of having a code of conduct?
(f) List three principles you would include in a ‘Code of Conduct’ for Just for you Pty Ltd and give a brief description of each.
Note: To assist you in determining this, you may like to examine the ‘Code of Conduct’ of the company assigned to the group you were in during Weeks 1 to 4 of session,
a government agency, and/or a university
2 Reference List:
Includes any references you have used and cited in your report. You must use the Harvard referencing system as per the guide available from the University library
website. (Note: the reference list is not included in the word count).
Resources list to assist you
1. The ‘Individual Assignment Marking Guide’ on pages 8 and 9 below. It is imperative you follow this marking guide in order to optimise the marks you
may receive for this assignment. The marking guide shows what the marker will be looking for and what mark you will get if you reach certain levels of attainment.
Print off a copy and use this to help you in your preparation.
2. Chapter 2 Business Sustainability of the textbook. Birt, J 2014, Accounting: business reporting for decision making, 5th ed, John Wiley and Sons
Australia, Milton, Qld, pp. 40‑75.
3. APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board Limited (“APESB”), issued December, 2010
4. Websites of the professional accounting bodies, such as, CPA Australia, and The ICAA Australia.
This will ensure you use the correct referencing approach.
7. The following ethical decision making models may help you in answering what is Required above.
· Langenderfer, HQ & Rockness, J 1990, Ethics in the accounting curriculum: cases and readings, American Accounting Association, Sarasota, as cited in S
Henderson & G Pierson, chapter 31, Issues in financial accounting, Prentice Hall, Frenchs Forest. NSW.
· St James Ethics Centre 2012, St. James Ethics Centre, http://www.ethics.org.au/
· The Spiral Model ‑ Thompson, IE, Melia, KM, Boyd, KM & Horsburgh, D 2006, ‘Ethical decision‑making and moral theory’, in Nursing ethics, Churchill
Livingstone, Edinburgh, pp. 295‑359.
· The Laura Nash model ‑ Nash, LL 1981, ‘Ethics without the sermon’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 59, no. 6, pp. 78‑90.
· The Mary Guy Model – Guy, ME 1990, ‘The Mary Guy Model ‘, in Ethical decision making in everyday work situations, Quorum Books, New York, pp. 14‑9.
A submission of no less than 500 words and no more than 750 words is expected excluding the reference list. Submissions must be word processed in either Times New
Roman or Arial font, 12 point and 1.5 spaced with a footer on each page including your name, student ID and page number.
What sort of language does this assignment require?
Specialised terms, or “jargon”, should be defined but everyday terms should not. Do not assume that your reader is an expert in the area being discussed, nor assume
that they are entirely uneducated.
How many references do we need?
The reference list should contain only those resources that have actually been referred to (or “cited”) in your answer. The quantity of references is not as important
as the quality of your references, the relevance of your references and how the references are used in your assignment.
‘I A’ MARKING GUIDE
CRITERIA
UNSATISFACTORY
MEETS
EXPECTATIONS
EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS
Addresses the specific questions under Requirement 1:
Identify the relevant facts from the case study
Identifies only 2 or less relevant facts from the case study
Identifies 3 or 4 of the relevant facts from the case study
States three valid reasons why it would help
r 0mk
r 2mks
r 3mks
List four key stakeholders affected by the case study
No relevant key stakeholder listed,
Lists 2 or 3 relevant key stakeholders
List 4 key stakeholders
r 0mk
r 1mks
r 2mks
Garry has identified the ethical principle INTEGRITY. Discuss why he should consider this with reference to the APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants,
and any miscellaneous prof statements.
No / little relevant discussion
Mostly relevant discussion
A comprehensive and relevant discussion
r 0mk
r 2mks
r 4 mks
Garry has identified the ethical principle OBJECTIVITY. Discuss why he should consider this with reference to the APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional
Accountants, and any miscellaneous prof statements.
No / little relevant discussion
Mostly relevant discussion
A comprehensive and relevant discussion
r 0mk
r 2mks
r 4mks
Garry has identified the ethical principle CONFIDENTIALITY. Discuss why he should consider this with reference to the APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional
Accountants, and any miscellaneous prof statements.
No / little relevant discussion
Mostly relevant discussion
A comprehensive and relevant discussion
r 0mk
r 2mks
r 4mks
Garry has identified the ethical principle PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOUR. Discuss why he should consider this with reference to the APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional
Accountants, and any miscellaneous prof statements.
No / little relevant discussion
Mostly relevant discussion
A comprehensive and relevant discussion
r 0mk
r 2mks
r 4mks
Which course of action Garry should take and why?
Identifies the wrong course of action
Identifies the right course of action only.
Identifies the right course of action and also, justifies why the chosen answer.
r 0mk
r 2mks
r 4mks
Advantages and disadvantages of a Code of Conduct for JFY:
States the advantages and disadvantages
No valid advantage or
valid disadvantage stated
States one valid advantage and one valid disadvantage
States two valid advantages and one valid disadvantage OR vice versa
r 0mk
r 2mks
r 3mks
A Code of Conduct for JFY:
Outlines the principles for each code that makes up the Codes of Conduct
States one valid key principle
States two valid key principles and gives a valid brief outline of each
States three valid key principles and gives a valid brief outline of each
r 1mk
r 4mks
r 6mks
Addresses the clarity of the student’s attempt at Requirements 1 and 2:
CRITERIA
UNSATISFACTORY
MEETS EXPECTATIONS
EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS
Referencing and paraphrasing using the “Harvard system”. Refer to the University’s Library website for details.
In‑text citation and/or paraphrasing and/or reference list missing or substantially incomplete
Satisfactory in‑text citation, paraphrasing and reference list, possibly with a few minor errors
Excellent in‑text citation, paraphrasing and reference list
r 0mk
r 2mks
r 3mks
Uses clear prose style: sentence structure, grammar, and spelling
Writing style is difficult to follow and/or contains many grammatical and/or spelling errors
Writing style is coherent, with possibly a few grammatical and/or spelling errors
Writing is clear and error‑free
r 0mk
r 2mks
r 3mks
Not appropriate length/not within the word limit
Outside the word limit i.e. more than 750 words OR less than 500 words
Length is within the set word limit i.e. between 500 – 750 words
r Minus 4 marks
r No penalty