ACCT 20051/20077: Practical and written assessment

Due date: Thursday of Week 7 [11:45pm [AEST] 28 April 2016] ASSESSMENT

Weighting: 20%

Part B
Objectives
This assessment item relates to the course learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Details

The assignment must be completed as an individual assignment. There is a specific writing style and
required to write an executive report. Word limit is 1500 words. Please do not repeat the question in
your answer, and simply provide the answer.

Students are not allowed to either directly or indirectly contact the companies for which annual
reports are used in this assignment. Students are also not allowed to contact analysts directly or
indirectly to gather information and/or advice about this assignment. Students must base their
analyses purely on the information that is provided on the companys website and/or on the
Australian Stock Exchange.
In all your calculations, show the absolute figures from the financial statements. Also support any
arguments with absolute figures from the financial statements.

Retain a copy of your assignment for your records.

Dont:
Spend time unnecessarily paraphrasing any information provided in the course material and
textbooks.
Just simply identify and mention the issue. You need to elaborate on it, explain exactly what you
mean and justify your arguments with the help of literature where appropriate.

Academic Learning Centre (ALC)

It is highly recommended to seek help and guidance from the ALC as early as possible, especially if
English is not your first language. The ALC can help you with the written communication by checking
your assignment for grammatical correctness and that your arguments are logical. They will also help
you to ensure that you understand the questions and answer them by applying theoretical knowledge
in answering the questions. You will not receive any marks if you make generic, theoretical, vague and
stray claims and statements without applying them to the particular situation.

Allocation of marks
Please use the marking criteria sheet as a guideline for how marks will be allocated. You will note that
marks are allocated for referencing as it is expected that you do research in this assignment. If you
choose to support your answer with using the work of others, please ensure that you use the correct
referencing style (Harvard referencing style) as stated in the Course Profile.

Formatting
Please keep in mind that marking is done in soft copy, hence allocating marks for the formatting. To
obtain these marks, ensure you comply with the following:
Font: Time New Roman, 12 point, 1.5 line spacing
Document submitted onto Moodle must be in Word format, allowing the marker to use track-
changes to provide comments and indicate where you received marks. Please do not submit a pdf
document or copy from another source such as for example include screen shots of calculations
done in excel. The track-changes function cannot be used to do the marking in these and hence
only information created in Word will be marked.
Page: portrait orientation
Footer: Your full name and student ID, page number and number of pages (i.e. Pat Bird
s0123456, page 1 of 3)
Marking criteria sheet is completed and attached as the first page of the assignment.
Please note: 2 marks are allocated for complying with formatting and submission requirements.

Plagiarism
Work submitted by a student that is the work of another person with no referencing or
acknowledgement is considered to be plagiarism. If plagiarism is suspected, your assignment and
results will be withheld and a Plagiarism Incident Report (PIR) lodged. You will then receive
notification from the University with details of the necessary course of action.

Submission requirements
You must submit your assignment Word document electronically through the secure upload facility in
the Moodle system. Please do not email your assignment to your lecturer or the Course Coordinator.
Please ensure you add your student name and your student ID in the marking criteria sheet and
ensure that it is the FIRST page of your assignment. Word limit is 1500 words. Also ensure you
include your student ID and name in the file name when you save the document, and ensure that you
include the appropriate .doc or .docx at the end. For example, save your file name as: Pat Bird
s0123456.docx
Assignment question
Your task is to compare and contrast the historical (for the last 2 years 2014 and 2015) and expected
future performance of Wesfarmers Limited (a listed company) and Woolworths Limited (a listed
company) a competitor in the same industry, and present your findings in the form of an executive
report which will cover quantitative performance elements in a logical cohesive format. (Word limit
is 1500 words). Please use the figures provided in the most recent annual reports. You must use the
ratios and formulae given in chapter 8 of the prescribed textbook. Show all the formulae and
absolute figures used in calculating all the ratios as an appendix. You do not have to show any graphs
to illustrate trends in the ratios. Show ALL your calculations. You will note marks are provided for
correct figures. Partial marks can only be provided if you provide your workings and the marker can
identify where you went wrong in the calculations.
The executive report based on quantitative analysis should include (but is not constrained to):

An executive summery
A brief introduction on each company including how they are placed within the industry.
An initial analysis of trends in the items contained in the profit and loss statements, balance
sheets and statements of cash flows; appropriate relevant ratios measuring Profitability
(Return on Assets and Net Profit Margin), Liquidity (Current Ratio and Quick Ratio),
Capital structure (Debt to Equity Ratio and Equity Ratio) and Market performance
(Earnings per share and Dividend per share).
A highlighting of the most important changes within these ratios and an identification of the
reasons for these changes. A comparison of the quantitative analysis for the two companies
on Profitability, Asset efficiency, Liquidity, Capital structure an identification of the reasons
for any differences.
Conclusions - You should include a conclusion in which you comment on the strengths and
weaknesses of your overall analysis encompassing what your analysis has accomplished and
what are its limitations.
Recommendation.

Taking into account the quantitative analysis, you are required to make a recommendation which
will fall into one of the following three categories:

1. Invest in the company

2. Invest in the competitor

3. Invest in neither

When you prepare the executive report based on quantitative analysis, you will be able to get some
important data and information from following web sites (but is not constrained to):
Industry standards - from the IBISWorld website http://clients1.ibisworld.com.au
ASX 2015, Woolworths Limited http://www.asx.com.au/asx/research/company.do#!/WOW
http://www.woolworthslimited.com.au/
ASX 2015, Wesfarmers Limited http://www.asx.com.au/asx/research/company.do#!/WES
http://www.wesfarmers.com.au/
Student name Student ID

Marking Criteria Sheet: ACCT20051 and ACCT20077

Word count Allowed Actual

1500

Marks Marks
available awarded
Knowledge and understanding 10

Reasoning and analysis 50

Profitability analysis: two ratios (1.25 marks for each ratio, 0.625 marks per year for
correct figures)
Liquidity: two ratios (1.25 marks for each ratio, 625 marks per year for correct figures)
Capital structure: two ratios (1.25 marks for each ratio, 625 marks per year for correct
figures)
Market performance: two ratios (1.25 marks for each ratio, 625 marks per year for
correct figures)
Writing skills and presentation 10

Cohesiveness 10

Referencing, use of references and background reading 10

Submission requirements 10

Assignment total marks 100

Assignment Total out of 20 marks (20%) 20