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BAC 305 Auditing Principles Assessment 2 S1 2020 It requires students to write a research essay on the recent Australian Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial services. This is an independent research task, which broadly aligns to regulation of auditing, audit quality, auditor independence and meeting user expectations. It is expected that the interim report will form the basis of your submission but additional reading and the sourcing of information from newspaper articles and the internet is required. The format of the assignment is to be in essay form (report style not required), sub-headings are encouraged, 12 font calibre or times new roman styles are recommended and use of the Harvard style of referencing is also required (please seek assistance from the librarian if necessary). You are to write a 3,000 word essay, using a minimum of 10 different references. Specific requirements include answering the questions within Part A, Part B, Part C and Part D. Each of the four parts comprise of ¼ of the assignment. The overall marks will be out of 30 marks. Each part should comprise of approximately 700-750 words. Some suggested minimum prompts are included below each part, which MUST be addressed and fully discussed. A brief introduction and conclusion of no more than 100 words each is required. A list of references/bibliography is also required. However, an abstract and table of contents are optional. Part A – Background, impetus, rationale, momentum and support and/or resistance: · What is the purpose of audit quality for big business and discuss whether it been successful in Australia? · Describe what is the purpose of a Parliamentary Committee? · What were the motivations for the inquiry? · Was there any resistance to the Joint Parliamentary Committee? If so, who from and why? · How was the information collected? Part B – Interim findings, revelations: · What have been the key findings of the Committee to date? Discuss any specific examples, which have been identified as having breached professional and ethical standards. · What conflicts of interest are apparent? · What threats to independence were discussed? · What is the auditors ‘duties in relation to a GPFR? · Has there been any evidence of systemic audit failure in Australia? Part C – User expectations, scope of the audit, digital financial reports: · Who are the likely stakeholders for the Parliamentary report? · What are the roles of ASIC, AUASB, FRC, Treasury, Professional bodies? · What is your opinion on the findings to date? · What impacts and reforms are likely because of the Parliamentary Committee, including discussion of self-regulation etc. Will these reforms be positive / negative and who will they most likely impact? · How has the scope of the audit changed? · What changes have occurred in relation to the expectation gap? · What is the current status of digital reporting? Part D – Global awareness, globalisation, cross-cultural awareness and comparisons in global financial markets: · Given that the Inquiry was relevant to only Australia how do you see the ethics and levels of professionalism varying between countries? Are the issues that have been exposed by this committee unique to Australia, or are they typical issues faced by our profession, regardless of culture, nationality and background? What standards should Australia be upholding based on what mechanisms and controls and how do these compare with overseas? Discuss using some international comparative examples. The essay is to be submitted to the Assignment 2 drop box, in the Brightspace resources. Any work you submit will be checked by electronic or other means for the purposes of detecting collusion and/or plagiarism. · Penalties for late submission: The following marking penalties will apply if you submit an assessment task after the due date without an approved extension: 5% will be deducted from available marks for each day up to five days, and work that is submitted more than five days after the due date will not be marked. · Allocation of marks: Introduction 1 mark Part a 5 marks Part b 5 marks Part c 5 marks Part d 5 marks Conclusion 1 mark Referencing, spelling ,grammar 3 marks Research 5 marks Total 30 marks · Due date : Friday week 11 at 5pm.