Assessment Details and Submission Guidelines
MA601 Theory and Current Issues in Accounting
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School
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Business
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Course Name
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Master of Professional Accounting (MPA)
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Unit Code
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MA601
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Unit Title
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Theory and Current Issues in Accounting
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Trimester
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Trimester 1, 2020
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Assessment Author
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Dr Jayasinghe Hewa Dulige
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Assessment Type
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Report
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Assessment Title
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Assessment Task4–Group Assignment
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Unit Learning OutcomesAddressed:
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The purpose of this assignment is to assess the following Learning Outcomes:
c.Evaluate different accounting theories and their implications in policy choice bymanagers.
d.Synthesize the complex elements of the Conceptual Framework and apply them to accounting activities.
e.Apply their knowledge to identify strategies to meet accounting issues and problems in new situations.
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Weight
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20%
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Total Marks
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100
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Word limit
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1500-2000
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Release Date
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Weekfour
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Due Date
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Week10
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Submission Guidelines
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•This assignment should be completedin groups of five•All work must be submitted on Moodle by the due date along with a completed Assignment Cover Page.•The assignment must be in MS Word format, 1.5 spacing, 11-pt Calibri (Body) font and 2 cm margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings. •Reference sources must be cited in the text of thereport, andlisted appropriately at the end in a reference list usingAPA6theditionfor the School of Business. |
Extension
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If an extension of time to submit work is required, an Application for Special Consideration and supporting documentation must be submitted directly to the School's Administration Officer via your MIT AMS login
[https://online.mit.edu.au/ams/default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fams%2f]. You must submit this application no later than three working days after the due date of the specific piece of assessment or the examination for which you are seeking Special Consideration. Further information is available at:
http://www.mit.edu.au/about
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mit/institute
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publications/policies
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procedures
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guidelines/special
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Academic Misconduct
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Academic Misconduct is a serious offence. Depending on the seriousness of the case, penalties can vary from a written warning or zero marks to exclusion from the course or rescinding the degree. Students should make themselves familiar with the full policy and procedure available at:http://www.mit.edu.au/about-mit/institute-publications/policies-procedures-and-guidelines/Plagiarism-Academic-Misconduct-Policy-Procedure. For further information, please refer to the Academic Integrity Section in your Unit Description.
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AssessmentCover Sheet
Student ID Number/s:
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StudentLast name/s:
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Unit title:
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Due date:
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Date submitted:
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Lecturer’s Name:
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Tutor:
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Student Declaration
I/We declareand certifythat: 1.the work contained in this assessmentis my/our own work/group work, except where acknowledgement of sources ismade;2.this assessment has not been submitted previously for academic credit in this or any othercourse;3.I/we have read MIT’s Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct PolicyandProcedure, and I/we understand the consequences of engaging in plagiarism, collusion and contractcheating;4.a copy of the original assignment is retained by me/us and that I/we may be required to submit the original assignment to the Lecturer and/or Unit Co-ordinator uponrequest;
I/we have not plagiarised the work of others or participated in unauthorised collaborationor contract cheatingwhen preparing this assessment.
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Assignment Description
The preparation of General-Purpose Financial Reports (GPFR) requires accountants to make decisions as to which accounting policies are the best for any given entity and situation (Accounting Conceptual Framework 2014). It is also accepted that accountants must exercise professional judgements in making a choice, because determining the most appropriate accounting policy is often not simple.
Leases are used to obtain the use of an asset, or to finance the acquisition of the asset. Leases are one of the most important sources of finance for businesses of all sizes and in all industries the world over. It has been customary for leases to be classified by lessees and lessors as either operating leases (off-balance sheet) or finance leases (on-balance sheet). Until the 1980s, Australian accountants treated all leases as operating leases. It was widely, argued that the right of possession and use of leased assets were not recognized as an asset, and the obligation to make lease payments was not recognized as a liability on operating leases. Rent was recognized as an expense in the reporting period during which the rent was payable (Henderson, 2017). The omission of these rights and obligations from financial statements meant that those statements do not show ‘true and fair view’ of financial performance and financial position of the entity as specified in accounting conceptual framework.
However, lease classification remains a contentious issue, and there has been controversy about the appropriate accounting treatment of finance leases. This led to accounting standard setters and capital market regulators tomake revisions tothe accounting standards in an effort to reflect the in-substance nature of the lease transaction rather than its legal form.
AASB 16 ‘Leases’ was issued by AASB replacing AASB 117 leases, and AASB 16 applies to annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019. AASB 16 adopts a new approach to lease accounting recognizing all leases as finance leases (on-balance sheet).
Required:
You are required tocritically examine above arguments and happenings and make your recommendations as to whether the steps taken by AASB to recognise all leases as finance leases are appropriate. This is necessary because its outcome is yet to assess, and it is also widely accepted that anyparticular leaseagreement/contract may contain features typical of both operating and finance leases, making lease classification a matter of professional judgement.
Report should incorporate the followings:
1.Define a lease. Explain five key provisions that are to be included in a lease agreement.2.Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of leasing from the point of the lessee and lessor.3.Critically examine management’s incentives to favour one form of lease accounting over the other.4.Evaluate the motivation for accounting standard setters (IASB and AASB) releasing a new leasing standard AASB 16 replacing with AASB 117, to recognise all leases as finance leases, by comparing both.5.Examine potential implications of the newly introduced leasing standard AASB 16 for the financial statement preparers and users and explain whether AASB 16 ‘leases’ is likely to overcome the problems associated with lease classification under AASB 117 leases.6.Your recommendations.
Henderson, S.,Peirson, G.,Herbohn, K.,Artiach, T. andHowieson, B. (2017).Issues in Financial Accounting (16th ed.). AU: Pearson Higher Education.
This assignment must be written/structured in the form of a ‘business report’. That is, it must have a/an;
(a) Executive summary (between 100 to 150 words),
(b) Introductionthat;
Succinctly summarizes this assignment’s topic and its key issues, controversies, etc. (no more than 200 words), and
(c) Body that addresses allthe requirements – see above 1-6(no more1500words),
(d) Conclusion that sums up the mains issues of this assignment (no more than 200 words), and
(e) Reference list containing all cited works.
(f) Proper English Grammar, appearance, format, etc.
At least2recognized journalarticleshould be cited.
Marking criteria:
MA601/Theory and Current Issues in Accounting/Semester T1, 2020,GroupAssignment
Name:
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AssessmentCriteria
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Total Marks
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Marks awarded
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Criterion 1 -StructureandClarityoftheReport/Assignment ➢introductoryparagraph➢logicalflowofclarityandstructureofideasandarguments➢appropriateuseofparagraphandheadingstoexplainanddiscussideas➢appropriateconcludingparagraph
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3
2
2
3
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Total marks for criterion 1
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10
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Criterion 2 -Body/contents ➢Define a lease. Explain five key provisions that are to be included in a lease agreement.➢Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of leasing from the point of the lessee and lessor.➢Critically examine management’s incentives to favour one form of lease accounting over the other.➢Evaluate the motivation for accounting standard setters (IASB and AASB) releasing a new leasing standard AASB 16 replacing with AASB 117, to recognise all leases as finance leases, by comparing both.➢Examine potential implications of the newly introduced leasing standard AASB 16 for the financial statement preparers and users and explain whether AASB 16 ‘leases’ is likely to overcome the problems associated with lease classification under AASB 117 leases.➢Your recommendations.
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5
10
10
10
10
10
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Total marks for criterion 2
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55
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Criterion 3 -ResearchandAnalysis ➢qualityofresearchundertaken➢accuracyanddepthofanalysis➢appropriateuseofin-text andendtext referencing➢qualityofinformationsources➢appendices |
7
8
5
5
5
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Total marks for criterion 3
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30
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Criterion 4 -Presentation ➢layout➢formatting➢spelling/grammar➢proofread➢professionalformat |
1
1
1
1
1
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Total marks for criterion 4
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5
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Totalmarks
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100
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Total marks
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20
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Other Comments
Using Technology for Assessment
Rationale
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Activities
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Technological tools selected
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•Industry knowledge & skills•reflection on learning•feedback on performance•practice of critical thinking
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