ACCT6001 – Financial Reporting and Analysis
Group Assignment
(Semester 2, 2023)
Instructions and Information
• The group assignment is to be completed in groups of three to four students. Each
student must be in only one group for the completion of the group assignment.
• Students within a group must be enrolled in the same tutorial class. A penalty of 20%
of the maximum will apply for each member of the group in excess of four. E.g., a
group of five will attract a penalty of 20% and a group of six, a penalty of 40%.
Penalties apply for groups with fewer than three members as follows: two members,
a penalty of 20%; one member, a penalty of 40%.
• Each group member is expected to be involved in the preparation, drafting, proofing
and checking of all aspects of this group assignment including ensuring no breaches
of academic honesty. Members will be held jointly responsible for the entire
submission. In the event of a breach of academic honesty the penalty will apply to all
group members irrespective of which member(s) caused the breach.
• The length of this group essay should not exceed 2,500 words excluding Part C and the
reference list. Please check the word count and record it at the end of your essay.
• Answers are to be 12-point font (either Times Roman or Arial) and paragraphs
formatted with 1 or 1.5 line spacing and with margins not less than 2cm. Students
should refer to the University of Sydney Business School Referencing Guide for further
information and expectations about consistent referencing.
• The group essay must be submitted by 9 am (Sydney time) on 9 October 2023. Any
submissions received after the due date will incur a late penalty of 10% per day,
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including weekends. Failure to meet the deadline will result in an AF grade being
awarded.
• The Group Essay must be submitted in electronic form (through the Canvas ‘turnitin’
assignment submission option included within the “Group Essay” section under
“Group Assignment” folder). Please submit your Group Essay only once from one
student in your group. The Individual Reflection Report must be submitted individually
by every member of the group in electronic form (through the Canvas ‘turnitin’
assignment submission option included within the “Individual Reflection Report”
section under “Group Assignment” folder).
• In the header of your Group Essay you must show the SIDs of all students in your
group, separated by a comma. This is critical; as it is the only way we can identify
which group you were in. Failure to do this will mean we will not be able to assign you
a grade. Once you have submitted we will manually take note of all other students
from the information you have provided in the header. In your Individual Reflection
Report, please provide your name and SID as well.
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Group Assignment Questions
You are not permitted to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, to generate any
part of your responses. AI tools cannot be relied upon to generate responses that will
adequately address the requirements of this assessment. This assignment must be in your
own words.
Integrity Statement
Academic Integrity
As a student of the University, you are responsible for taking part in your education in an
honest and authentic manner. It is, therefore, expected that you take extra care to ensure
that there are no breaches of academic honesty. All assignments will be manually and
electronically checked for plagiarism (copying). Any perceived breaches of academic honesty
will be referred to the Office of Educational Integrity for further investigation and penalised
if verified. You can read more information on what plagiarism is and how to avoid plagiarism
from the University link: https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/academic-dishonesty.html
Students are reminded that all sources of support for the group assignment must be
acknowledged and failure to acknowledge such support may potentially breach the
University’s academic honesty requirements, that the trustworthiness and reliability of the
sources of information should be considered. You are not permitted to use artificial
intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT to generate any part of your responses. Their
undeclared use will be reported as a major breach of policy for investigation.
Each group member is expected to be involved in the preparation, drafting, proofing and
checking of all aspects of this group assignment including ensuring no breaches of academic
honesty. Group members will be held jointly responsible for the entire submission and
awarded the same merit mark. In the event of a breach of academic honesty the penalty could
apply to all members irrespective of which member(s) caused the breach.
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Group Essay Requirements
Each group is required to prepare a 2,500-word essay based on one of the central readings
listed below. Students will be divided into two clusters with their presentations scheduled
during their allocated tutorials in week 10 and week 11 respectively.
For the groups presenting in week 10, you should choose one of the following articles as
central reading for the assignment:
• Dillard and Ruchala 2005, 'The rules are no game: From instrumental rationality to
administrative evil', Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 18, no. 5, pp.
608-630.
• Christine Cooper 2015, “Accounting for the fictitious: A Marxist contribution to
understanding accounting's roles in the financial crisis”, Critical Perspectives on
Accounting, Volume 30, Pages 63-82
For the groups presenting in week 11, you should choose one of the following articles as
central reading for the assignment:
• Dillard, J.F. 1991, "Accounting as a Critical Social Science", Accounting, Auditing &
Accountability Journal, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 8-28.
• Mouck, T. 1992, 'The rhetoric of science and the rhetoric of revolt in the story of
positive accounting', Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, vol. 5, no.4,
pp.35-56.
Part 1: 300 words
Your essay must include an introductory overview to provide context and set the stage for
your discussion.
Part 2: 1,000 words
You must present an insightful overview of your chosen central reading. The overview should
explore the central theme of the paper, analyse its key strengths and weaknesses, and how it
contributes to accounting knowledge. Additionally, identify the author(s)’s epistemological,
ontological and methodological positions. To support your analysis, you should refer to the
following three readings:
• Gaffikin, M. 2008, Accounting theory: research, regulation and accounting practice /
Chapter 1: Understanding Theory, Pearson, Frenchs Forest.
• Chua, Wai-Fong 1986, “Radical developments in accounting thought”, The
Accounting Review, Vol. 61, No. 4, pp. 601-632
• Hopwood, Anthony G. 1983, “On trying to study accounting in the contexts in which
it operates”, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 8, No. 2-3, pp. 287-305.
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Part 3: 1200 words
You are required to select one financial accounting issue covered in ACCT6001, or from your
previous studies, as an example to illustrate one key argument point raised by the central
reading.
In this process, you should provide an overview of the chosen example and explain how it
relates to the specific argument you have selected. It is up to you to decide the most effective
way of illustration. Your illustration could involve calculations, conceptual explanations, or a
combination of both.
You must research the topic and provide evidence and references from other sources to
support your argument. You must incorporate at least five academic journal articles and three
newspaper articles in your essay.
You must keep a record of all group meetings and discussions [date, time, who was present],
and this must be submitted with your group essay as an Appendix (refer to pages 9-10 for
further detail). If a member is not participating, the group must contact the unit of study
coordinator prior to the due date. A decision will be made as to how to proceed on a case-by
case basis.
Individual Reflection Report
Each individual is also required to submit a Personal Reflection Report (up to 1,000 words)
upon which your personal contribution to this group essay and the learning outcomes are
reflected.
Group Presentation Requirements
Group presentations will take place during the tutorials in weeks 10 and 11. Each group will
have a designated time frame of 20 to 25 minutes to present their essay.
Each group is required to submit a hard copy of their essay to the tutor at the beginning of
the presentation.
During your presentation, you must also address the following points:
• How did you arrive at the decision to choose the specific example?
• Discuss the most challenging aspects of your group work and the difficulties you
encountered during the process?
You will be required to create a fun, engaging and interesting presentation. For example, you
may want to use YouTube clips; examples from the current press (The Sydney Morning Herald;
Financial Review; The New York Times); cartoons to demonstrate ideas; case studies that help
explore the details of the topic; sections of novels or stories that may help create interest in
the topic or help students to see things differently; music; debates to discuss a topic; role
plays to tell a story; examples from your experience and so forth. Overall, your creativity will
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be encouraged, and you will be rewarded for thinking of a creative way to talk about the
issues.
Your group assignment will be marked out of 30 as shown in the assessment criteria below.
Please note this assessment criteria are one of the primary feedback sources for your group
assignment.
GROUP ESSAY MARKING SCHEDULE
Group Number:
Key to rating:
A excellent/no problems
accurate/very appropriate
B good/minor problems
mainly accurate/largely appropriate
C fair/some problems
fairly accurate/reasonably
appropriate
D poor/major problems
inaccurate/inappropriate
Essay Criteria A B C D Notes
• Understanding of the specific readings
• Analysis of example
• Synthesis of material.
• Accuracy and substance of argument.
• Extent of exploration
• Argument flows logically
• Evidence of extensive reading
• Effective use of citations to support
argument
TOTAL
/10
GROUP PRESENTATION MARKING SCHEDULE
Group Number:
Key to rating:
A excellent/no problems
accurate/very appropriate
B good/minor problems
mainly accurate/largely appropriate
C fair/some problems
fairly accurate/reasonably
appropriate
D poor/major problems
inaccurate/inappropriate
Presentation Criteria A B C D Notes
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• Coordinated transitions & teamwork,
including equal share of time
• Showed understanding of the topic
• Used readings to explore answers to the
questions.
• Used creativity to present ideas.
• Had strategies for encouraging
participation (planned ahead)
• Used technology, examples, movies, stories
etc to make the whole thing interesting.
TOTAL
/10
INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATION PERFORMANCE AND PERSONAL REFLECTION REPORT
Student Name: . . . . . . . . .. . . . …… . . . Student Number: . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(A) Individual Presentation Performance
A B C D
• Comprehension of the topic
• Appropriate body language & eye contact
• Natural output (not memorised or read
aloud) & pace
• Engagement of & response to the audience
• Pronunciation & audibility
• Range & appropriateness of vocabulary
• Range & accuracy of grammar
/5
(B) Personal Reflection Report A B C D
• Personal contribution to the group work
• Sufficient knowledge of materials
presented
• Learning outcomes demonstrated
• Clear and easy to read (Well presented)
/5
TOTAL
/10
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Grade Descriptors
Due to the specific nature of this group assignment students are advised generic submissions
will not score high marks as the assignment requirements will not be met. The following may
be considered only a general indication, assuming consistency in quality of component parts.
High Distinction
Has addressed the purpose of the assignment comprehensively and imaginatively. The
attempted solution substantially exceeds minimal requirements, and is consistent and
coherent. It excels in substantive content and demonstrates professional communication
skills.
Distinction Has addressed the purpose of the assignment coherently and with some attempt
to demonstrate imagination. The attempted solution substantially exceeds minimal
requirements across most tasks and through effective communication demonstrates a strong
understanding of the accounting issues and relevant accounting requirements.
Credit Has addressed the main purpose of the assignment. The attempted solution exceeds
minimal requirements across most tasks, e.g., correct technique but a small number of errors
or omissions in application.
Pass Some of the work is focused on the aims and themes of the assignment. A minimal
standard is reached across various aspects of the task; for example, accounting treatments
reflect an application of the appropriate technique but there are errors made in
implementation.
Fail Fails to address the task set. The task is not completed; the solution does not reflect an
appropriate understanding of the question/assigned task.
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Appendix Requirements
(Although this section is not graded nor weighted positively in the marking, non-completion
will result in a penalty of 20% of the maximum marks attainable)
Your group should response to the following three requirements, which should be attached
as an Appendix and is not included in the word limit.
1. Each group is required to discuss and complete the following table at their first group
meeting. The aim of this is for the group to set out resolution principles for managing
potential conflicts in group work.
Dealing with potential conflict in groups
Date of the meeting
Name & Student No.
& Signature
1.
2.
3.
4.
Different goals:
Unfair allocation of work:
Someone refuses to do the work:
Different ways of doing the task:
Personality clashes (such as dominating personalities):
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2. Prepare an account of participation and contribution of each member of the team. If a
member joined late, this should be clearly identified. It is assumed that all members
contribute equally. This should be confirmed, and any non-trivial departure from equal
contribution should be identified.
Example: An account of participation and contribution by team members:
Name and
Student No.
Date Joined Brief description of role or
responsibility (if applicable
% of contribution Explanation if not
equal contribution
1) C Li 8/M/0Y Took minutes of meetings;
jointly prepared draft
response to Parts A, B and C;
provided comments on other
section and final submission
25%
2) K Brown 8/M/0Y Jointly prepared draft
response to Parts B and C;
proof-reading
25%
3) A Kim 8/M/0Y Jointly prepared draft
responses to Parts A, B and C;
compiled final report for
approval by group
25%
4) G Schmidt 9/M/0Y Jointly prepared draft
responses to Parts A and B;
prepared cover sheet and
submitted in Digital Dropbox
after approval by group
25%
3. Prepare a summary of meetings, showing when each meeting was held, who attended
and what was decided. Minutes should be kept for each meeting to enable your group to
prepare the summary. If meetings are being conducted by email circulation/instant
messaging etc., the group should agree a time (e.g. Thursday 8 a.m. – midnight) within
which responses are considered as participation in the meeting.
Example: A summary of meetings
Date and place of
meeting
Attendees Discussions held & decisions made Other comments
5 – 6 p.m. 8 April, Fisher
library
J Smith,
A Ng,
L Zhang,
N Chand
Agreed to read documents and bring
ideas on approach to next meeting;
agreed to take turns keeping minutes;
12 – 1 p.m 14 April
coffee shop
J Smith,
A Nguyen,
L Zhang
Approaches to each task discussed; Plan
developed to complete assignment; JS
and AN to draft answer to Part A and
send to others by Monday to review and
discussion at next meeting;
N Chand could not
attend due to
unexpected work
commitments but
emailed her ideas to
group in advance
5 – 6 p.m. 17 April Fisher
Library
J Smith,
A Ng,
L Zhang,
N Chand
Comments made on draft answer to Part
A; all members suggested ideas on Part B;
best ideas chosen for group answer; LZ
and NC to draft answer to Part B and
email to others by Wednesday to review
before next meeting