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ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
1
PROJECT OVERVIEW AND ADMINISTRATION
Objective
The project provides students with an important opportunity to ‘learn by doing’. You will be asked to
apply most of the analysis from the first six seminars to an Australian public company.
Start working on the project early. Leaving it to the last minute will be stressful and may result
in poor performance.
Company
You need to analyse the financial statements of Baby Bunting Group Limited (ASX ticker: BBN). The
financial statements and notes in Excel format and the annual reports for Baby Bunting for FY 19, FY
20, and FY 21 will be shared with you on Learn.UQ.
Deliverables
The project consists of both short answer questions and Excel spreadsheet work. Please submit answers
to short answer questions in one Word or PDF document (PDF document is recommended) and answers
to spreadsheet questions in one Excel workbook, as indicated in the questions.
Page Limits
I have specified page limits for the questions that are to be answered in the Word document. These are
maximum page limits. I will enforce maximum page limits by simply not marking any material that
appears beyond the page limit for a particular question. You do not necessarily need to write as much
as the page limit if you can provide a correct, but succinct, answer.
Cover pages and references lists are not counted towards the page limit.
Formatting
Your written answers should be in A4 page size, in Times New Roman font, 12pt font size, at least
single line-spacing, margins at least 2cm on all sides.
Please clearly separate and label your written answers to each question.
Your Excel file should be formatted neatly and following the conventions described in class.
Marking Guide
A marking guide is provided at the end of the document. This contains the number of marks assigned
to each part of the project.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
I may issue, and regularly update, an FAQ addressing frequently asked questions about the project.
Please ensure that you check the Assessment tab on Learn.UQ on a regular basis.
Submission of the Project
The project is to be completed individually.
The due date for the project is 13:00 (Tuesday) May 3, 2022.
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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Cover Page
Please include a cover page at the beginning of your Word or PDF document with your name and
student number. This is not strictly necessary, as Learn.UQ manages assignment submissions and
matches them to students, but it provides a useful backup for me to identify the author of each
submission.
Please include your name and student number in the excel file as well in “Student Details” worksheet.
Project Submissions Instructions
For the project, please submit two files by the submission date/time:
- Your written answers must be submitted through the Turnitin link on Learn.UQ. Please use a
format that Turnitin can accept, such as a Word document or PDF.
- Your Excel file must be submitted through the Blackboard submission link on Learn.UQ.
Note that both your written report and Excel workings must be submitted to achieve any marks. This is
because I need to see your workings for financial calculations.
Retention of Submission Receipts
Please keep all submission receipt numbers provided by submission systems such as Turnitin and
Learn.UQ as proof of your submission.
Email Backstop
If you encounter any problems with the submission systems (Turnitin and Learn.UQ), please alert
technical support and me of the problem. (You may email me a copy of your assignment if you have
trouble submitting through the normal systems and if you are concerned about incurring a late penalty
due to technical problems.1)
Late Submission of Assessment
Unless you have an approved extension, you will lose 10% of your assessed grade for the assignment
for each 24-hour period (or part thereof) after the designated due date-time that your submission remains
outstanding.2 The assignment must be submitted by 13:00 seven calendar days after the due date-time
or you will receive zero marks. Your submission time is based on the later of when your written
component is submitted and when your Excel file is submitted, so please make sure to submit both on
time. To be clear, you will incur a late submission penalty even if one component is submitted on time
and the other component is submitted late.
Please note that the 10% penalty rate and the seven-day maximum window for submission are set by
UQ policy, not by me.
1 Note that work received by email will still be subject to plagiarism checking through Turnitin.
2 Times will be based on the submission time recorded by Learn.UQ, Turnitin, the UQ email system, or any other
authorised submission system as the case may be. For the avoidance of doubt, 24-hour periods will be based on
calendar days, i.e. inclusive of weekends and public holidays.
UQ sometimes grants extensions under limited circumstances. These extensions specify a later due date. The due
time of day will remain the same, e.g. if the assignment is due by 13:00 on the due date, then it is due by 13:00
on the extended due date.
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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Multiple Submission ‘Attempts’
Some submission systems, e.g. Learn.UQ, allow students to submit multiple ‘attempts’ at an assessment
before the due date. Only the most recently submitted attempt will be graded, unless otherwise agreed
between the course coordinator and the student involved.
For the avoidance of doubt, in the event that a student submits the assignment on time and then submits
a different version of their assignment late, I will mark the late submission applying the normal late
penalty.
Applying for an Extension
I do not decide on extensions. These are decided by UQ professional staff. Please see the instructions
in Section 5 of the ACCT7106 ECP.
Getting Started
To help you, I will provide my spreadsheet for JB Hi-Fi, which you can adapt to the allocated company.
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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DETAILED PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS AND MARKING GUIDE
Complete the following tasks in your Word document or Excel workbook as indicated in the question
A. Understanding the Business
Answer the following questions in your Word document:
1. Summarise in one-three sentences, what the company does/what is its business model/how
does it make money?
2. What are the company’s main brands, products and services? Describe them.
3. Where are the company’s production facilities or offices or stores located? What markets does
it sell to?
4. Name two competitors for the company and explain how/why they compete.
Focus on direct competitors first (e.g. Coles is a direct competitor for Woolworths), but if there
are no direct competitors, you might have to consider indirect competitors (e.g. Beacon
Lighting is the only large, specialist retailer of light fittings in Australia, but it faces competition
from retailers that sell a variety of products, including light fittings, such as Bunnings and
IKEA).
Page limit: 1 pages (A4; Font: Times New Roman 12pt)
Make sure to include in-text references or footnotes to your sources of information. Make sure to
provide answers in your own words, rather than copying-and-pasting from sources.
Tips: See my practical advice for researching a company in the Appendix of Lecture 1 Slides,
‘Researching Australian Companies’ on Learn.UQ. You will need to consult sources such as the
company’s website, annual reports, industry reports, etc.
B. Industry Analysis (Class 1)
Answer the following questions in your Word document:
B Porter’s Five Forces
Pick two of the Porter’s Five Forces that you think have the biggest impact on the main industry in
which the company competes. Describe how these two forces impact the company and its industry.
Page limit: 1 page (A4; Font: Times New Roman 12pt)
Make sure to include in-text references or footnotes to your sources of information. Make sure to
provide answers in your own words, rather than copying-and-pasting from sources.
If the company operates across multiple industries, answer B only for the main industry it operates in,
which will generally be the industry where the most revenue is generated (clearly identify what this is
in your answer).
Tips: Follow the approach in Class 1 (my JB Hi-Fi example) and in the set reading by Palepu et al. (link
on Learn.UQ). You should consult multiple sources of information, such as the company’s annual
reports and industry reports from IBISWorld.
C. Reformulation and Accounting Analysis (Classes 2-5)
You will be given an Excel file with the raw financial statements and notes for the company, which you
should use as inputs in the reformulation and valuation. This information was obtained from 2019, 2020
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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and 2021 annual reports of the company. These annual reports have been shared with you on Learn.UQ
under Assessment tab. You should go through the annual reports carefully to better understand the
company’s accounting.
Answer the following in your Excel workbook in the indicated worksheet/tab:
C1 Balance Sheet Reformulation (Excel worksheet: BS_R)
• Reformulate the Balance Sheet (including any relevant information in the notes), following the
approach taught in class, for FY183, FY19, FY20 and FY21.
• For ambiguous accounts, state any assumptions you made with justifications in the Excel file
next to the relevant account (in red text). You should consult the annual reports to help you to
interpret the accounts.
• Ensure you provide workings for how you separated operating and financing cash.
• Ensure you utilise any relevant footnote information.
C2 Income Statement Reformulation (Excel worksheet: IS_R)
• Reformulate the Income Statement/Statement of Comprehensive Income (including any
relevant information in the notes), following the approach taught in class, for FY19, FY20 and
FY21.
• For ambiguous accounts, state assumptions you made with justifications in the Excel file next
to the relevant account (in red text). You should consult the annual reports to help you to
interpret the accounts.
• Ensure you utilise any relevant footnote information.
C3 Equity Statement Reformulation (Excel worksheet: EQ_R)
• Reformulate the Equity Statement (including any relevant information in the notes), following
the approach taught in class, for FY19, FY20 and FY21.
• For ambiguous accounts, state assumptions you made with justifications in the Excel file next
to the relevant account (in red text). You should consult the annual reports to help you to
interpret the accounts.
C4 Cash Flow Statement Reformulation (Excel worksheet: CF_R)
• Reformulate the Cash Flow Statement (including any relevant information in the notes),
following the approach taught in class, for FY19, FY20 and FY21.
• For ambiguous accounts, state assumptions you made with justifications in the Excel file next
to the relevant account (in red text). You should consult the annual reports to help you to
interpret the accounts.
C5 Check Financial Statement Relations (Excel worksheet: Relations)
• Calculate FCF = OI (after tax) – Change in NOA for all three years using inputs from your
reformulated Income Statement and Balance Sheet.
• Calculate FCF = NFE (after tax) – Change in NFO + d or Change in NFA – NFI (after tax) + d
for all three years using inputs from your reformulated Income Statement, Balance Sheet and
Equity Statement.
3 ‘FY’ is an abbreviation of ‘financial year’, e.g. ‘FY21’ indicates the company’s financial year ending in 2021.
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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• Calculate Change in CSE for all three years using data from your reformulated Balance Sheet.
• Calculate Change in CSE = CI – d using data from your reformulated Income Statement and
Equity Statement.
• If your two FCF calculations produce different numbers, double-check that your reformulation
is correct. If it is correct, explain why there is a difference between the two FCF numbers.
o Hint: this may be due to dirty surplus gains/losses recognised directly in equity.
• If your two Change in CSE calculations produce different numbers, double-check that your
reformulation is correct. If it is correct, explain why there is a difference between the two FCF
numbers.
o Hint: this may be due to dirty surplus gains/losses recognised directly in equity.
Tips: Follow the approach in Classes 2-5 and my JB Hi-Fi example spreadsheet. Use the Penman (2013)
textbook as an additional source, but note that we are not doing everything described in the textbook.
Please follow the Excel formatting convention described in lectures and in the document ‘ACCT7106
Excel Formatting Conventions’. There are marks allocated for correct Excel formatting.
D. Ratio Analysis (Class 6)
Answer the following in your Excel workbook. Please label the Excel worksheet as indicated in each
part of the question:
D1 Ratio calculations (Excel worksheet: Ratios)
• Calculate RNOA and ROCE for 2019, 2020 and 2021 following the approach taught in class.
Use averages in the denominators, e.g. average NOA and average CSE.
• First-level break-down: calculate FLEV, NBC (or RNFA) and SPREAD for 2019, 2020 and
2021. Show that: ROCE = RNOA + FLEV x SPREAD (if the firm has NFO) or ROCE = RNOA
– FLEV x SPREAD (if the firm has NFA).
• Second-level break-down: calculate PM and ATO for 2019, 2020 and 2021. Show that: RNOA
= PM x ATO.
• Break-down RNOA into the different components of OI (after tax) scaled by average NOA:
Core OI from Sales (after tax)/AvgNOA, Core Other OI (after tax)/AvgNOA, Unusual OI (after
tax)/AvgNOA, Operating OCI (after tax)/AvgNOA.
• Calculate the year-to-year change in important line items that affect RNOA, such as: sales,
gross margin, NOA, etc.
Answer the following in your Word document
D2 RNOA interpretation
• Explain the operation factors/reasons for changes in RNOA over the year period FY19-FY21.
You will need to research what happened to the company over this period to understand the
major causes of changes in RNOA (e.g. “the company opened ten new stores, driving an
increase in sales (2021 Annual Report)”). Refer to your calculations in D1 to support your
answer, e.g. the breakdown of RNOA into PM and ATO.
• Your explanations must be supported by evidence. Make sure to include in-text references or
footnotes to your sources of information. Make sure to provide answer in your own words.
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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D3 ROCE interpretation
• Consider the first-level break-down: ROCE = RNOA + FLEV x SPREAD. How does financial
leverage affect the company’s ROCE over the three-year period FY19-FY21? Has financial
leverage increased or decreased ROCE compared to RNOA? Why? If there have been
significant changes in financial leverage, discuss why they occurred. Make sure to assess and
discuss the effects that changes in accounting standards may have had
• Your explanations must be supported by evidence. Make sure to include in-text references or
footnotes to your sources of information. Make sure to provide answer in your own words.
You may need to refer to the commentary at the beginning of the company’s annual report, company’s
investor presentation, earnings conference call transcripts or newspaper reports to discover the cause of
changes in the company’s performance and financial leverage.
Page limit: 2 pages (A4; Font: Times New Roman 12pt)
Tips: Consult Class 6 to help you. You do not have to do the third-level break-down or analyse operating
leverage as discussed in Class 6 and Penman (2013) Chapter 12.
All Parts of the Assignment:
• Marks will be awarded for clear and correct English expression. Please ensure your Word
document is carefully proof-read.
• Marks will be awarded for ensuring your Excel file is correctly formatted and clearly presented.
Please follow the Excel conventions described at the end of Lecture 3 and applied throughout
the course.
• Marks will be awarded for correct and complete referencing of sources. See below for
referencing requirements.
Referencing and Research Requirements
Some parts of this assignment require students to conduct relevant research about the company. For
written answers, evidence of appropriate research and understanding of the company is included in the
marks allocated to the question. Appropriate references help to provide evidence that you have
conducted research to support your answers. There are also a small number of marks allocated to proper
referencing formats/conventions.
Research
I expect you to conduct research into the company, its industry and its operating environment. To be
clear, I do not want you to reference academic research (e.g. journal articles), unless they are highly
relevant to the company or the point you are making. This is a practical course, not an academic research
course. The emphasis of your research should be on practical materials, such as, annual reports,
company presentations, company websites, industry reports, newspaper articles, analyst reports etc.
Source of information should be credible. For example, materials produced by a company, by a major
industry research provider (e.g. IBISWorld), by a major financial institution, by a financial data
platform (e.g. Morningstar or CapitalIQ), or by a mainstream newspaper are credible sources of
information. Examples of low credibility sources include (but are not limited to): Wikipedia, obscure
websites not associated with a credible source, articles from obscure news organisations, and essays
available on cheating websites such as ‘Coursehero’ or ‘Fern Fort University’. To be clear, references
to low credibility sources will not be taken as evidence of research and will generally result in low
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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grades. In addition, much of the information available from low-credibility sources is also low-quality
and so relying on this information will usually result in low grades.
Referencing
Proper referencing is crucial for two reasons:
• To comply with plagiarism rules
• To provide evidence that you have conducted research in answering your questions
You must follow one of the following two approaches to referencing for the project:
• Brief in-text references AND a reference list. The in-text reference should be brief but clear,
while the reference list should provide sufficient detail for me to locate the source information.
Use one consolidated reference list for the whole project, rather than a reference list for each
answer.
• Footnote references with similar detail to a reference list. You may use standard footnote
referencing conventions like ‘ibid’ if you like.
In-text references and footnotes should be included in every sentence where you make a claim that
requires supporting evidence. Do not simply put one reference at the end of an entire paragraph or page.
Please include the page number or numbers when referencing a lengthy document, such as an annual
report, investor presentation or industry analysis document. If you are referring to a note to the financial
statements, you can also mention the note number instead of a page number.
References are essential for direct quotes, for example:
JB Hi-Fi describes its one of the competitive advantages as follows: “#1 player in the Australian
market with the opportunity for further consolidation” (2020 Annual Report, p. 19).
References should also be used when you make a claim about a company, its industry or environment
that requires some evidence to support it, for example:
JB Hi-Fi has a 33.2% market share in Domestic Appliance Retailing (IBISWorld Industry
Report G4221a, p. 33).
Most of JB Hi-Fi’s revenue is generated in Australia (2020 Annual Report, p. 70).
The following is an example of what to avoid:
In the future, more and more people will choose to travel by air, or prefer aircraft as the main
long-distance transportation.
This is a claim without any evidence to support it. Who says that ‘more and more people will choose to
travel by air’? A statement like this needs to be supported by a reference or by a surrounding sentence
which provides evidence.
Certain claims are so self-evident or obvious that they don’t need a supporting reference. However, note
that these should generally form only a small part of your answer. For example:
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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Qantas faces virtually no threat of substitutes on most of its international flights, as Australia’s
major population centres are geographically distance from most overseas destinations, so that
travelling by other means (e.g. by ship) would take a prohibitively long time.
It is obvious the Australia is geographically isolated from most overseas destinations, so no reference
would be needed for this claim. But be careful with relying on a statement being obvious. It is generally
better to provide a reference.
There is also no need to put a reference if you are citing the lecture slides or the textbook, unless you
are directly quoting.
The following is a guide to how you might reference some typical sources:
Source Example In-Text Reference
(Brief)
Example Reference List
Entry (Detailed)
Company annual reports for
the company you are
analysing
(2020 Annual Report, p. X) JB Hi-Fi 2020 Annual Report.
Company annual report for
another company
(2020 Harvey Norman Annual
Report, p. X)
Harvey Norman 2020 Annual
Report.
Company investor
presentations for the company
you are analysing
(FY20 Investor Presentation, p.
X)
JB Hi-Fi FY20 Investor
Presentation, 17 August 2020.
A company announcement,
other than the annual report or
investor presentation
(ASX announcement, 4 August
2020)4
JB Hi-Fi ASX Announcement,
4 August 2020, “Temporary
closure of metropolitan
Melbourne stores”.
IBISWorld reports IBISWorld + Report number,
e.g.:
(IBISWorld G4221a, p. X)
IBISWorld Industry Report
G4221a, “Domestic Appliance
Retailing in Australia”.
News reports Newspaper + date,
e.g.
(Australian Financial
Review, 12 June 2020)4
You may abbreviate Australian
Financial Review to AFR if
you like.
Australian Financial Review, 12
June 2020, “JB Hi-Fi set for
biggest profit growth in years”.
Website (JB Hi-Fi investor website)5 JB Hi-Fi investor relations
website,
https://www.jbhifi.com.au/.
4 This is a short document, so no page number would be needed.
5 Page numbers generally do not make sense for websites and so are not needed
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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Notes:
• For sources not listed in the table, use your common sense, but make sure you provide enough
information for me to clearly identify the source.
• If you provide footnotes instead of in-text references + a reference list, then please provide as
much detail as the ‘Example Reference List Entry’ column of the table.
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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Project Marking Guide
Question Max
Marks
High Effort Answer
Characteristics
Low Effort Answer
Characteristics
A. Understanding the
Business
6 Accurate and suitably detailed
answers to all questions.
Appropriate sources cited where
necessary.
Most questions not accurately
answered/attempted and/or not
answered in enough detail, and/or
most sources not cited.
B. Porter's Five Forces 6 Sufficiently detailed and logically
coherent discussion with evidence
of significant, relevant research,
including appropriate references
Insufficiently detailed or logically
incoherent discussion, and/or little
or no evidence of research
C1. BS Reformulation 6 Cash & cash equivalents has been
correctly divided between
operating and financing cash. All
assets have been appropriately
divided into OAs and FAs. All
liabilities have been appropriately
dividend into OLs and FOs. CSE
has been adjusted if necessary.
Information from relevant
financial statement footnotes has
been appropriately utilised.
Appropriate justifications have
been included where assumptions
have been made.
Major errors or evidence of lack of
effort in the reformulation, such as
obvious misclassifications of
assets/liabilities, no or very poor-
quality separation of cash & cash
equivalents into operating and
financing cash. Relevant footnotes
have not been utilised
appropriately. Justifications are
absent or inadequate where they
are needed.
C2. IS Reformulation 10 Revenues and expenses have been
appropriately divided into the
correct categories. Income tax
expense has been appropriately
allocated. Other comprehensive
income has been appropriately
divided between Operating OCI
and Financing OCI. Subtotals and
totals are correct. Information from
relevant financial statement
footnotes has been appropriately
utilised. Appropriate justifications
have been included where you
have made assumptions.
Major errors or evidence of lack of
effort in the reformulation, such as
obvious misclassifications of
revenues/expenses, incorrect tax
allocation, or obvious
misclassification of OCI. Relevant
footnotes have not been utilised
appropriately. Justifications are
absent or inadequate where they
are needed.
C3. EQ Reformulation 4 Beginning and closing balances are
correct and correspond to the
reformulated Balance Sheet. CI
and d are correctly calculated. If
necessary, proper adjustment has
been made for restatements of
equity, preference shares,
preference dividends, dividends
payable, etc.
Major errors in the reformulation.
No adjustments or incorrect
adjustments for restatements of
equity, preference shares,
preference dividends, dividends
payable, etc, where needed.
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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C4. CF Reformulation 8 Sources of Free Cash Flow (C-I) =
Uses of Free Cash Flow (F+d). C
has been correctly adjusted for net
interest paid/received (after tax). I
has been correctly adjusted for
transactions in FAs/FOs.
Transactions in FAs/FOs have
been correctly allocated to F.
Transactions with equity have been
correctly allocated to d. Investment
in operating cash and investment
in financial cash have been
correctly incorporated.
Appropriate justifications have
been included where you have
made assumptions.
Sources and Uses of FCF do not
balance. Major errors or evidence
of lack of effort in the
reformulation
C5. Check Financial
Statement Relations
5 Change in CSE from the
reformulated Balance Sheet is the
same as Change in CSE = CI – d
(from the reformulated Income and
Equity Statements), or a good
explanation for any difference is
provided. FCF = OI-Change in
NOA is the same as FCF = NFE-
Change in NFO +d), or a good
explanation for any difference is
provided. All cell
references/formulae are correct
The relations do not equate and an
adequate explanation has not been
provided, and/or there are
many/serious errors in cell
references and/or formulae
D1. Ratio Calculations 6 All of the formulas are correct and
reference the correct cells
Most of the ratios have been
incorrectly calculated/not
calculated or reference incorrect
cells
D2 and D3. Ratio
Interpretation
7 Sufficiently detailed and logically
coherent discussion with evidence
of significant, relevant research,
including appropriate references
Insufficiently detailed or logically
incoherent discussion, and/or little
or no evidence of research
Proper Excel spreadsheet
conventions
4 Virtually all cells in the Excel
workbook are correctly coloured,
i.e. between blue/red/blue/green.
The correct number formats have
been used in virtually all cells.
Tabs are correctly named. Excel
formatting is generally
professional and clear.
Most cells are incorrectly coloured
and do not have the correct number
formats; and/or tabs not clearly
named; and/or formatting is
sloppy.
Proper referencing 4 References are complete, clear and
understandable
No proper referencing or
incoherent referencing
English expression 4 The written answers have been
proof-read and are largely free
The written answers have many
deficiencies in expression,
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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from obvious typos or sentences
that are unclear/badly expressed
grammar and/or spelling, and/or
are difficult to understand
Total 70
Note:
• The table shows the characteristics of a high effort/high-grade answer and a low effort/low-grade
answer for each question. Answers that fall in between these extremes will receive grades in between
full marks and no marks for that question.
• English expression, grammar and spelling is worth only 4 marks, but poor English expression, grammar
and spelling may also affect my ability to understand answers to other written answers.
• The 4 marks for ‘Proper referencing’ refer to the overall standard of referencing. Evidence of research
is also part of the marking criteria for many questions, e.g. A.
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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PLAGIARISM WARNING
A NOTE ON PLAGIARISM
‘Plagiarism’ is a broad term referring to the practice of appropriating someone else’s ideas or work and
presenting them as your own without acknowledgment. Plagiarism is literary or intellectual theft. It can take a
number of forms, including:
• copying the work of another student or Team, whether that student or Team is in the same class, from
an earlier year of the same course, or from another tertiary institution altogether;
• copying any section, no matter how brief, from a book, journal, article or other written source, without
duly acknowledging it as a quotation;
• copying any map, diagram or table of figures without duly acknowledging the source; or
• paraphrasing or otherwise using the ideas of another author without duly acknowledging the source.
Whatever the form, plagiarism is unacceptable both academically and professionally. By plagiarising, you are
both stealing the work of another person and cheating by representing it as your own. Any instances of
plagiarism can therefore be expected to draw potentially severe penalties.
Cheating means to defraud or swindle. Students who seek to gain an advantage by unfair means such as copying
another student’s work, or in any other way misleading a lecturer about their knowledge or ability or the amount
of work they have done, are guilty of cheating. Students who condone plagiarism by allowing their work to be
copied will also be subject to disciplinary action.
1
PROJECT OVERVIEW AND ADMINISTRATION
Objective
The project provides students with an important opportunity to ‘learn by doing’. You will be asked to
apply most of the analysis from the first six seminars to an Australian public company.
Start working on the project early. Leaving it to the last minute will be stressful and may result
in poor performance.
Company
You need to analyse the financial statements of Baby Bunting Group Limited (ASX ticker: BBN). The
financial statements and notes in Excel format and the annual reports for Baby Bunting for FY 19, FY
20, and FY 21 will be shared with you on Learn.UQ.
Deliverables
The project consists of both short answer questions and Excel spreadsheet work. Please submit answers
to short answer questions in one Word or PDF document (PDF document is recommended) and answers
to spreadsheet questions in one Excel workbook, as indicated in the questions.
Page Limits
I have specified page limits for the questions that are to be answered in the Word document. These are
maximum page limits. I will enforce maximum page limits by simply not marking any material that
appears beyond the page limit for a particular question. You do not necessarily need to write as much
as the page limit if you can provide a correct, but succinct, answer.
Cover pages and references lists are not counted towards the page limit.
Formatting
Your written answers should be in A4 page size, in Times New Roman font, 12pt font size, at least
single line-spacing, margins at least 2cm on all sides.
Please clearly separate and label your written answers to each question.
Your Excel file should be formatted neatly and following the conventions described in class.
Marking Guide
A marking guide is provided at the end of the document. This contains the number of marks assigned
to each part of the project.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
I may issue, and regularly update, an FAQ addressing frequently asked questions about the project.
Please ensure that you check the Assessment tab on Learn.UQ on a regular basis.
Submission of the Project
The project is to be completed individually.
The due date for the project is 13:00 (Tuesday) May 3, 2022.
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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Cover Page
Please include a cover page at the beginning of your Word or PDF document with your name and
student number. This is not strictly necessary, as Learn.UQ manages assignment submissions and
matches them to students, but it provides a useful backup for me to identify the author of each
submission.
Please include your name and student number in the excel file as well in “Student Details” worksheet.
Project Submissions Instructions
For the project, please submit two files by the submission date/time:
- Your written answers must be submitted through the Turnitin link on Learn.UQ. Please use a
format that Turnitin can accept, such as a Word document or PDF.
- Your Excel file must be submitted through the Blackboard submission link on Learn.UQ.
Note that both your written report and Excel workings must be submitted to achieve any marks. This is
because I need to see your workings for financial calculations.
Retention of Submission Receipts
Please keep all submission receipt numbers provided by submission systems such as Turnitin and
Learn.UQ as proof of your submission.
Email Backstop
If you encounter any problems with the submission systems (Turnitin and Learn.UQ), please alert
technical support and me of the problem. (You may email me a copy of your assignment if you have
trouble submitting through the normal systems and if you are concerned about incurring a late penalty
due to technical problems.1)
Late Submission of Assessment
Unless you have an approved extension, you will lose 10% of your assessed grade for the assignment
for each 24-hour period (or part thereof) after the designated due date-time that your submission remains
outstanding.2 The assignment must be submitted by 13:00 seven calendar days after the due date-time
or you will receive zero marks. Your submission time is based on the later of when your written
component is submitted and when your Excel file is submitted, so please make sure to submit both on
time. To be clear, you will incur a late submission penalty even if one component is submitted on time
and the other component is submitted late.
Please note that the 10% penalty rate and the seven-day maximum window for submission are set by
UQ policy, not by me.
1 Note that work received by email will still be subject to plagiarism checking through Turnitin.
2 Times will be based on the submission time recorded by Learn.UQ, Turnitin, the UQ email system, or any other
authorised submission system as the case may be. For the avoidance of doubt, 24-hour periods will be based on
calendar days, i.e. inclusive of weekends and public holidays.
UQ sometimes grants extensions under limited circumstances. These extensions specify a later due date. The due
time of day will remain the same, e.g. if the assignment is due by 13:00 on the due date, then it is due by 13:00
on the extended due date.
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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Multiple Submission ‘Attempts’
Some submission systems, e.g. Learn.UQ, allow students to submit multiple ‘attempts’ at an assessment
before the due date. Only the most recently submitted attempt will be graded, unless otherwise agreed
between the course coordinator and the student involved.
For the avoidance of doubt, in the event that a student submits the assignment on time and then submits
a different version of their assignment late, I will mark the late submission applying the normal late
penalty.
Applying for an Extension
I do not decide on extensions. These are decided by UQ professional staff. Please see the instructions
in Section 5 of the ACCT7106 ECP.
Getting Started
To help you, I will provide my spreadsheet for JB Hi-Fi, which you can adapt to the allocated company.
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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DETAILED PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS AND MARKING GUIDE
Complete the following tasks in your Word document or Excel workbook as indicated in the question
A. Understanding the Business
Answer the following questions in your Word document:
1. Summarise in one-three sentences, what the company does/what is its business model/how
does it make money?
2. What are the company’s main brands, products and services? Describe them.
3. Where are the company’s production facilities or offices or stores located? What markets does
it sell to?
4. Name two competitors for the company and explain how/why they compete.
Focus on direct competitors first (e.g. Coles is a direct competitor for Woolworths), but if there
are no direct competitors, you might have to consider indirect competitors (e.g. Beacon
Lighting is the only large, specialist retailer of light fittings in Australia, but it faces competition
from retailers that sell a variety of products, including light fittings, such as Bunnings and
IKEA).
Page limit: 1 pages (A4; Font: Times New Roman 12pt)
Make sure to include in-text references or footnotes to your sources of information. Make sure to
provide answers in your own words, rather than copying-and-pasting from sources.
Tips: See my practical advice for researching a company in the Appendix of Lecture 1 Slides,
‘Researching Australian Companies’ on Learn.UQ. You will need to consult sources such as the
company’s website, annual reports, industry reports, etc.
B. Industry Analysis (Class 1)
Answer the following questions in your Word document:
B Porter’s Five Forces
Pick two of the Porter’s Five Forces that you think have the biggest impact on the main industry in
which the company competes. Describe how these two forces impact the company and its industry.
Page limit: 1 page (A4; Font: Times New Roman 12pt)
Make sure to include in-text references or footnotes to your sources of information. Make sure to
provide answers in your own words, rather than copying-and-pasting from sources.
If the company operates across multiple industries, answer B only for the main industry it operates in,
which will generally be the industry where the most revenue is generated (clearly identify what this is
in your answer).
Tips: Follow the approach in Class 1 (my JB Hi-Fi example) and in the set reading by Palepu et al. (link
on Learn.UQ). You should consult multiple sources of information, such as the company’s annual
reports and industry reports from IBISWorld.
C. Reformulation and Accounting Analysis (Classes 2-5)
You will be given an Excel file with the raw financial statements and notes for the company, which you
should use as inputs in the reformulation and valuation. This information was obtained from 2019, 2020
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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and 2021 annual reports of the company. These annual reports have been shared with you on Learn.UQ
under Assessment tab. You should go through the annual reports carefully to better understand the
company’s accounting.
Answer the following in your Excel workbook in the indicated worksheet/tab:
C1 Balance Sheet Reformulation (Excel worksheet: BS_R)
• Reformulate the Balance Sheet (including any relevant information in the notes), following the
approach taught in class, for FY183, FY19, FY20 and FY21.
• For ambiguous accounts, state any assumptions you made with justifications in the Excel file
next to the relevant account (in red text). You should consult the annual reports to help you to
interpret the accounts.
• Ensure you provide workings for how you separated operating and financing cash.
• Ensure you utilise any relevant footnote information.
C2 Income Statement Reformulation (Excel worksheet: IS_R)
• Reformulate the Income Statement/Statement of Comprehensive Income (including any
relevant information in the notes), following the approach taught in class, for FY19, FY20 and
FY21.
• For ambiguous accounts, state assumptions you made with justifications in the Excel file next
to the relevant account (in red text). You should consult the annual reports to help you to
interpret the accounts.
• Ensure you utilise any relevant footnote information.
C3 Equity Statement Reformulation (Excel worksheet: EQ_R)
• Reformulate the Equity Statement (including any relevant information in the notes), following
the approach taught in class, for FY19, FY20 and FY21.
• For ambiguous accounts, state assumptions you made with justifications in the Excel file next
to the relevant account (in red text). You should consult the annual reports to help you to
interpret the accounts.
C4 Cash Flow Statement Reformulation (Excel worksheet: CF_R)
• Reformulate the Cash Flow Statement (including any relevant information in the notes),
following the approach taught in class, for FY19, FY20 and FY21.
• For ambiguous accounts, state assumptions you made with justifications in the Excel file next
to the relevant account (in red text). You should consult the annual reports to help you to
interpret the accounts.
C5 Check Financial Statement Relations (Excel worksheet: Relations)
• Calculate FCF = OI (after tax) – Change in NOA for all three years using inputs from your
reformulated Income Statement and Balance Sheet.
• Calculate FCF = NFE (after tax) – Change in NFO + d or Change in NFA – NFI (after tax) + d
for all three years using inputs from your reformulated Income Statement, Balance Sheet and
Equity Statement.
3 ‘FY’ is an abbreviation of ‘financial year’, e.g. ‘FY21’ indicates the company’s financial year ending in 2021.
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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• Calculate Change in CSE for all three years using data from your reformulated Balance Sheet.
• Calculate Change in CSE = CI – d using data from your reformulated Income Statement and
Equity Statement.
• If your two FCF calculations produce different numbers, double-check that your reformulation
is correct. If it is correct, explain why there is a difference between the two FCF numbers.
o Hint: this may be due to dirty surplus gains/losses recognised directly in equity.
• If your two Change in CSE calculations produce different numbers, double-check that your
reformulation is correct. If it is correct, explain why there is a difference between the two FCF
numbers.
o Hint: this may be due to dirty surplus gains/losses recognised directly in equity.
Tips: Follow the approach in Classes 2-5 and my JB Hi-Fi example spreadsheet. Use the Penman (2013)
textbook as an additional source, but note that we are not doing everything described in the textbook.
Please follow the Excel formatting convention described in lectures and in the document ‘ACCT7106
Excel Formatting Conventions’. There are marks allocated for correct Excel formatting.
D. Ratio Analysis (Class 6)
Answer the following in your Excel workbook. Please label the Excel worksheet as indicated in each
part of the question:
D1 Ratio calculations (Excel worksheet: Ratios)
• Calculate RNOA and ROCE for 2019, 2020 and 2021 following the approach taught in class.
Use averages in the denominators, e.g. average NOA and average CSE.
• First-level break-down: calculate FLEV, NBC (or RNFA) and SPREAD for 2019, 2020 and
2021. Show that: ROCE = RNOA + FLEV x SPREAD (if the firm has NFO) or ROCE = RNOA
– FLEV x SPREAD (if the firm has NFA).
• Second-level break-down: calculate PM and ATO for 2019, 2020 and 2021. Show that: RNOA
= PM x ATO.
• Break-down RNOA into the different components of OI (after tax) scaled by average NOA:
Core OI from Sales (after tax)/AvgNOA, Core Other OI (after tax)/AvgNOA, Unusual OI (after
tax)/AvgNOA, Operating OCI (after tax)/AvgNOA.
• Calculate the year-to-year change in important line items that affect RNOA, such as: sales,
gross margin, NOA, etc.
Answer the following in your Word document
D2 RNOA interpretation
• Explain the operation factors/reasons for changes in RNOA over the year period FY19-FY21.
You will need to research what happened to the company over this period to understand the
major causes of changes in RNOA (e.g. “the company opened ten new stores, driving an
increase in sales (2021 Annual Report)”). Refer to your calculations in D1 to support your
answer, e.g. the breakdown of RNOA into PM and ATO.
• Your explanations must be supported by evidence. Make sure to include in-text references or
footnotes to your sources of information. Make sure to provide answer in your own words.
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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D3 ROCE interpretation
• Consider the first-level break-down: ROCE = RNOA + FLEV x SPREAD. How does financial
leverage affect the company’s ROCE over the three-year period FY19-FY21? Has financial
leverage increased or decreased ROCE compared to RNOA? Why? If there have been
significant changes in financial leverage, discuss why they occurred. Make sure to assess and
discuss the effects that changes in accounting standards may have had
• Your explanations must be supported by evidence. Make sure to include in-text references or
footnotes to your sources of information. Make sure to provide answer in your own words.
You may need to refer to the commentary at the beginning of the company’s annual report, company’s
investor presentation, earnings conference call transcripts or newspaper reports to discover the cause of
changes in the company’s performance and financial leverage.
Page limit: 2 pages (A4; Font: Times New Roman 12pt)
Tips: Consult Class 6 to help you. You do not have to do the third-level break-down or analyse operating
leverage as discussed in Class 6 and Penman (2013) Chapter 12.
All Parts of the Assignment:
• Marks will be awarded for clear and correct English expression. Please ensure your Word
document is carefully proof-read.
• Marks will be awarded for ensuring your Excel file is correctly formatted and clearly presented.
Please follow the Excel conventions described at the end of Lecture 3 and applied throughout
the course.
• Marks will be awarded for correct and complete referencing of sources. See below for
referencing requirements.
Referencing and Research Requirements
Some parts of this assignment require students to conduct relevant research about the company. For
written answers, evidence of appropriate research and understanding of the company is included in the
marks allocated to the question. Appropriate references help to provide evidence that you have
conducted research to support your answers. There are also a small number of marks allocated to proper
referencing formats/conventions.
Research
I expect you to conduct research into the company, its industry and its operating environment. To be
clear, I do not want you to reference academic research (e.g. journal articles), unless they are highly
relevant to the company or the point you are making. This is a practical course, not an academic research
course. The emphasis of your research should be on practical materials, such as, annual reports,
company presentations, company websites, industry reports, newspaper articles, analyst reports etc.
Source of information should be credible. For example, materials produced by a company, by a major
industry research provider (e.g. IBISWorld), by a major financial institution, by a financial data
platform (e.g. Morningstar or CapitalIQ), or by a mainstream newspaper are credible sources of
information. Examples of low credibility sources include (but are not limited to): Wikipedia, obscure
websites not associated with a credible source, articles from obscure news organisations, and essays
available on cheating websites such as ‘Coursehero’ or ‘Fern Fort University’. To be clear, references
to low credibility sources will not be taken as evidence of research and will generally result in low
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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grades. In addition, much of the information available from low-credibility sources is also low-quality
and so relying on this information will usually result in low grades.
Referencing
Proper referencing is crucial for two reasons:
• To comply with plagiarism rules
• To provide evidence that you have conducted research in answering your questions
You must follow one of the following two approaches to referencing for the project:
• Brief in-text references AND a reference list. The in-text reference should be brief but clear,
while the reference list should provide sufficient detail for me to locate the source information.
Use one consolidated reference list for the whole project, rather than a reference list for each
answer.
• Footnote references with similar detail to a reference list. You may use standard footnote
referencing conventions like ‘ibid’ if you like.
In-text references and footnotes should be included in every sentence where you make a claim that
requires supporting evidence. Do not simply put one reference at the end of an entire paragraph or page.
Please include the page number or numbers when referencing a lengthy document, such as an annual
report, investor presentation or industry analysis document. If you are referring to a note to the financial
statements, you can also mention the note number instead of a page number.
References are essential for direct quotes, for example:
JB Hi-Fi describes its one of the competitive advantages as follows: “#1 player in the Australian
market with the opportunity for further consolidation” (2020 Annual Report, p. 19).
References should also be used when you make a claim about a company, its industry or environment
that requires some evidence to support it, for example:
JB Hi-Fi has a 33.2% market share in Domestic Appliance Retailing (IBISWorld Industry
Report G4221a, p. 33).
Most of JB Hi-Fi’s revenue is generated in Australia (2020 Annual Report, p. 70).
The following is an example of what to avoid:
In the future, more and more people will choose to travel by air, or prefer aircraft as the main
long-distance transportation.
This is a claim without any evidence to support it. Who says that ‘more and more people will choose to
travel by air’? A statement like this needs to be supported by a reference or by a surrounding sentence
which provides evidence.
Certain claims are so self-evident or obvious that they don’t need a supporting reference. However, note
that these should generally form only a small part of your answer. For example:
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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Qantas faces virtually no threat of substitutes on most of its international flights, as Australia’s
major population centres are geographically distance from most overseas destinations, so that
travelling by other means (e.g. by ship) would take a prohibitively long time.
It is obvious the Australia is geographically isolated from most overseas destinations, so no reference
would be needed for this claim. But be careful with relying on a statement being obvious. It is generally
better to provide a reference.
There is also no need to put a reference if you are citing the lecture slides or the textbook, unless you
are directly quoting.
The following is a guide to how you might reference some typical sources:
Source Example In-Text Reference
(Brief)
Example Reference List
Entry (Detailed)
Company annual reports for
the company you are
analysing
(2020 Annual Report, p. X) JB Hi-Fi 2020 Annual Report.
Company annual report for
another company
(2020 Harvey Norman Annual
Report, p. X)
Harvey Norman 2020 Annual
Report.
Company investor
presentations for the company
you are analysing
(FY20 Investor Presentation, p.
X)
JB Hi-Fi FY20 Investor
Presentation, 17 August 2020.
A company announcement,
other than the annual report or
investor presentation
(ASX announcement, 4 August
2020)4
JB Hi-Fi ASX Announcement,
4 August 2020, “Temporary
closure of metropolitan
Melbourne stores”.
IBISWorld reports IBISWorld + Report number,
e.g.:
(IBISWorld G4221a, p. X)
IBISWorld Industry Report
G4221a, “Domestic Appliance
Retailing in Australia”.
News reports Newspaper + date,
e.g.
(Australian Financial
Review, 12 June 2020)4
You may abbreviate Australian
Financial Review to AFR if
you like.
Australian Financial Review, 12
June 2020, “JB Hi-Fi set for
biggest profit growth in years”.
Website (JB Hi-Fi investor website)5 JB Hi-Fi investor relations
website,
https://www.jbhifi.com.au/.
4 This is a short document, so no page number would be needed.
5 Page numbers generally do not make sense for websites and so are not needed
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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Notes:
• For sources not listed in the table, use your common sense, but make sure you provide enough
information for me to clearly identify the source.
• If you provide footnotes instead of in-text references + a reference list, then please provide as
much detail as the ‘Example Reference List Entry’ column of the table.
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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Project Marking Guide
Question Max
Marks
High Effort Answer
Characteristics
Low Effort Answer
Characteristics
A. Understanding the
Business
6 Accurate and suitably detailed
answers to all questions.
Appropriate sources cited where
necessary.
Most questions not accurately
answered/attempted and/or not
answered in enough detail, and/or
most sources not cited.
B. Porter's Five Forces 6 Sufficiently detailed and logically
coherent discussion with evidence
of significant, relevant research,
including appropriate references
Insufficiently detailed or logically
incoherent discussion, and/or little
or no evidence of research
C1. BS Reformulation 6 Cash & cash equivalents has been
correctly divided between
operating and financing cash. All
assets have been appropriately
divided into OAs and FAs. All
liabilities have been appropriately
dividend into OLs and FOs. CSE
has been adjusted if necessary.
Information from relevant
financial statement footnotes has
been appropriately utilised.
Appropriate justifications have
been included where assumptions
have been made.
Major errors or evidence of lack of
effort in the reformulation, such as
obvious misclassifications of
assets/liabilities, no or very poor-
quality separation of cash & cash
equivalents into operating and
financing cash. Relevant footnotes
have not been utilised
appropriately. Justifications are
absent or inadequate where they
are needed.
C2. IS Reformulation 10 Revenues and expenses have been
appropriately divided into the
correct categories. Income tax
expense has been appropriately
allocated. Other comprehensive
income has been appropriately
divided between Operating OCI
and Financing OCI. Subtotals and
totals are correct. Information from
relevant financial statement
footnotes has been appropriately
utilised. Appropriate justifications
have been included where you
have made assumptions.
Major errors or evidence of lack of
effort in the reformulation, such as
obvious misclassifications of
revenues/expenses, incorrect tax
allocation, or obvious
misclassification of OCI. Relevant
footnotes have not been utilised
appropriately. Justifications are
absent or inadequate where they
are needed.
C3. EQ Reformulation 4 Beginning and closing balances are
correct and correspond to the
reformulated Balance Sheet. CI
and d are correctly calculated. If
necessary, proper adjustment has
been made for restatements of
equity, preference shares,
preference dividends, dividends
payable, etc.
Major errors in the reformulation.
No adjustments or incorrect
adjustments for restatements of
equity, preference shares,
preference dividends, dividends
payable, etc, where needed.
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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C4. CF Reformulation 8 Sources of Free Cash Flow (C-I) =
Uses of Free Cash Flow (F+d). C
has been correctly adjusted for net
interest paid/received (after tax). I
has been correctly adjusted for
transactions in FAs/FOs.
Transactions in FAs/FOs have
been correctly allocated to F.
Transactions with equity have been
correctly allocated to d. Investment
in operating cash and investment
in financial cash have been
correctly incorporated.
Appropriate justifications have
been included where you have
made assumptions.
Sources and Uses of FCF do not
balance. Major errors or evidence
of lack of effort in the
reformulation
C5. Check Financial
Statement Relations
5 Change in CSE from the
reformulated Balance Sheet is the
same as Change in CSE = CI – d
(from the reformulated Income and
Equity Statements), or a good
explanation for any difference is
provided. FCF = OI-Change in
NOA is the same as FCF = NFE-
Change in NFO +d), or a good
explanation for any difference is
provided. All cell
references/formulae are correct
The relations do not equate and an
adequate explanation has not been
provided, and/or there are
many/serious errors in cell
references and/or formulae
D1. Ratio Calculations 6 All of the formulas are correct and
reference the correct cells
Most of the ratios have been
incorrectly calculated/not
calculated or reference incorrect
cells
D2 and D3. Ratio
Interpretation
7 Sufficiently detailed and logically
coherent discussion with evidence
of significant, relevant research,
including appropriate references
Insufficiently detailed or logically
incoherent discussion, and/or little
or no evidence of research
Proper Excel spreadsheet
conventions
4 Virtually all cells in the Excel
workbook are correctly coloured,
i.e. between blue/red/blue/green.
The correct number formats have
been used in virtually all cells.
Tabs are correctly named. Excel
formatting is generally
professional and clear.
Most cells are incorrectly coloured
and do not have the correct number
formats; and/or tabs not clearly
named; and/or formatting is
sloppy.
Proper referencing 4 References are complete, clear and
understandable
No proper referencing or
incoherent referencing
English expression 4 The written answers have been
proof-read and are largely free
The written answers have many
deficiencies in expression,
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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from obvious typos or sentences
that are unclear/badly expressed
grammar and/or spelling, and/or
are difficult to understand
Total 70
Note:
• The table shows the characteristics of a high effort/high-grade answer and a low effort/low-grade
answer for each question. Answers that fall in between these extremes will receive grades in between
full marks and no marks for that question.
• English expression, grammar and spelling is worth only 4 marks, but poor English expression, grammar
and spelling may also affect my ability to understand answers to other written answers.
• The 4 marks for ‘Proper referencing’ refer to the overall standard of referencing. Evidence of research
is also part of the marking criteria for many questions, e.g. A.
ACCT7106 Financial Statement Analysis – Individual Project Semester 1, 2022
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PLAGIARISM WARNING
A NOTE ON PLAGIARISM
‘Plagiarism’ is a broad term referring to the practice of appropriating someone else’s ideas or work and
presenting them as your own without acknowledgment. Plagiarism is literary or intellectual theft. It can take a
number of forms, including:
• copying the work of another student or Team, whether that student or Team is in the same class, from
an earlier year of the same course, or from another tertiary institution altogether;
• copying any section, no matter how brief, from a book, journal, article or other written source, without
duly acknowledging it as a quotation;
• copying any map, diagram or table of figures without duly acknowledging the source; or
• paraphrasing or otherwise using the ideas of another author without duly acknowledging the source.
Whatever the form, plagiarism is unacceptable both academically and professionally. By plagiarising, you are
both stealing the work of another person and cheating by representing it as your own. Any instances of
plagiarism can therefore be expected to draw potentially severe penalties.
Cheating means to defraud or swindle. Students who seek to gain an advantage by unfair means such as copying
another student’s work, or in any other way misleading a lecturer about their knowledge or ability or the amount
of work they have done, are guilty of cheating. Students who condone plagiarism by allowing their work to be
copied will also be subject to disciplinary action.
