You are required to conduct and document a business risk analysis for an Australian public
company (one ASX listed company you select) and then prepare a broad audit strategy for
the company for inclusion in the audit report.
Assignment Objectives:
– practical experience in gaining an understanding of an auditee and the
processes of conducting a detailed strategic risk analysis from an auditor
perspective
– enhance your report writing skills
Approach
– read background material on business risk assessment that you can find. Don’t
limit yourself to the textbook. Use audit firm websites for example.
Consider the following matters and how they affect the financial statement assertions:
Circumstantial information:
a. key economic factors about company’s industry
b. stage of company’s life cycle
c. business success factors
d. notable accounting issues for this industry
e. legal or regulatory matters of concern
f. social matters
Internal information:
g. its primary products
h. company size (sales, assets, employees)
i. locations / segments
j. related parties / associates
k. corporate governance issues
Analyse the company’s position:
l. financial strength
m. performance trends
n. sources of capital
o. market / media responses to company news
p. quality of earnings
q. compare company to rest of industry
r. use industry benchmarks, ratio analysis
Outline your broad audit strategy:
s. identify high-risk areas of the business
t. identify low risk areas for the business
u. explain how these risk areas are reflected in the financial statements
v. identify significant types of transactions and transaction cycles
w. Will it be appropriate to reduce assessed control risk?
x. Use the Fraud Triangle and Fraud Scale to critically analyse your listed company?
NOTE:
The above list does not provide an appropriate structure for your report and is not
intended to be exhaustive. It is merely a list of some things to consider and provides a
default minimum task list.
How much weight you place on any matter is an exercise in your judgement and you are
expected to use your initiative in developing your own assessment.
Grading Criteria (30%)
– Company description (6%)
Originality (non-annual report material)
Relevant matters
Depth
– Analysis (12%)
Understanding of Business
Understanding of Industry
Analytical Review/Fraud Analysis
Industry Comparisons
Attention to detail
Depth/quality of interpretation
– Conclusions and audit strategy (8%)
Supported by the analysis
Plausibility
Usefulness for audit planning
Identifies important audit matters
– Presentation (4%)
Indexing
Executive summary
Physical layout
Ordering of material
Maximum Length: 10 double-spaced typed A4 pages
FAQs
1. Can I choose a listed company from any industry?
Yes, you can choose any ASX listed company from any industry.
2. When should I start this assignment?
You can start any time, however to complete this task, knowledge of the audit risk
model is required and that model is only first covered in Topic 6.
3. Where do students usually fail in this assessment?
It is important to recognise the grading criteria (%) and where marks are assigned.
Do not provide information that is not requested above.
4. Is prior knowledge of accounting assumed?
Yes, all students should have completed some financial accounting course/s before
enrolling into this course MPAC110. This assignment requires knowledge of how to
perform a financial statement analysis and how to interpret the results of that
analysis.
5. Is there a word limit?
No, but you are restricted to 10 pages. See instructions above.
IMPORTANT NOTE
1. Academic integrity is about honest presentation of your academic work. It means
acknowledging the work of others while developing your own insights, knowledge and
ideas. RMIT’s website outlines the Rights and Responsibilities of students with regard to
academic integrity. This includes plagiarism, cheating in an exam and copying or
submitting whole or parts of computer files as if they are your own (e.g. web pages).
Penalties outlined on the RMIT website will be imposed if students are found guilty of
breaching academic integrity.
2. All submitted assessments will be subject to Turnitin checks for bad referencing and
suspected plagiarism (see http://www.turnitin.com for more information). Penalty for
bad referencing depends on the magnitude of the similarity index reported by Turnitin.
Details are given below:
(1) A reported similarity index of 25% or less: acceptable due to lack of experience
or writing skills but student needs to be cautious and improve in future;
(2) A reported similarity index of 26% – 50%: the same percentage of the originally
obtained marks will be deducted as a penalty. For example, if the reported
similarity index is 40%, 40% of the obtained marks will be deducted as penalty.
(3) A reported similarity index of 51% or more: all marks will be deducted as a
penalty, i.e., no marks will be given to the assignment. The case may be reported
subject to further investigation on suspected plagiarism and student may have to
attend a hearing.Assessment Essentials
Maximum lengths will be strictly enforced. Any part of the assignment beyond the
maximum length will not be marked and your answer may be marked as incomplete at
that point.
Use spell check and grammar check but do not solely rely on it.
You must clearly acknowledge your sources, or else face the consequences of plagiarism.
Please note that Harvard Style of referencing must be used in referencing any outside
materials used in the assignments. If you are not sure, ask the Course Co-ordinator.
Students are strongly advised to back up their assignment on the hard drive, as they are
typing it and to print out drafts as they go along. This means that if it is accidentally
deleted in the final typing or the computer breaks down, a backup or earlier draft is
available for submitting on time. Expect that something could go very wrong when you are
writing your assignment so start early in order that any emergencies can be met within the
time limit.
Assignment Submission Procedure
Submit Assessment 1: Research Project online using the e-submission Turnitin link
provided in the Assessment content area on RMIT Canvas by the due date.
Students are required to always keep a back-up copy of their work in case of loss or
damage to electronic equipment.
Upon submission, your work will be checked by Turnitin. Turnitin is a plagiarism checking
tool that assesses your work and returns a colour coded response for the originality of the
text. If you have any concerns about the report from Turnitin, please contact your course
coordinator.
Plagiarism is the presentation of the work, idea or creation of another person as though it
is your own. It is a form of cheating and is a very serious academic offence that may lead
to expulsion from the University. Plagiarised material can be drawn from, and presented
in, written, graphic and visual form, including electronic data, and oral presentations.
Plagiarism occurs when the origin of the material used is not appropriately cited.
Further Information on Turnitin is provided on RMIT Canvas.
Online Submission Difficulties
If you are having trouble submitting your assignment, please contact the Student Service
and Support Centre. Also, send an email to your course coordinator advising of the
difficulty. This will ensure that online submission problems are managed by a specialist
team who will ensure that future problems are minimised and also your submission issues
are documented, and unnecessary penalties to your grades removed.
Penalties for Late Submission
Each day or part of a day your assignment is late, the mark awarded will be reduced by
10%. Assignments that are late by 7 days or more will not be marked and will be awarded
zero marks (unless Special Consideration is approved).
Changes to Assessment Method
Changes to the method of assessment described above may be made with the documented
consent of 70% of students enrolled in the course. Students will receive written
notification of any such changes.
Application for Extension of Assignment Submission (Special Consideration)
Assignment due dates have been set so that you may progress evenly from one topic to
another. Failure to keep up with the set pace will invariably jeopardise your future
progress into advanced topics and will compromise your ability to absorb successive
material.
If you believe, you are unable to submit your work on time and require an extension, the
following procedures may apply:
Extension for up to 7 Days
An application for extension of an assessment task of up to seven calendar days after the
original submission due date must be lodged with the Course Coordinator at least a day
PRIOR to the due date by completing the Application for Extension of Time Submission of
Assessable Work form, and where appropriate supporting documents such as a medical
certificate in case of illness should be provided. The outcome of the applications will be
communicated in writing. Extensions of work are only granted in cases of exceptional and
genuine hardship (not including poor planning or pressure of work).
Extension of more than 7 Days
Applications for extensions for submission of assessment tasks greater than seven calendar
days after the original submission due date should be made via the Special Consideration
Procedure within 2 work days of the submission due date.
Review and Appeals
Students are advised they have the right to appeal the result of any assessment. If you are
dissatisfied with any assessment, you must first take up the matter with your tutor or the
course coordinator. If the matter is not satisfactorily resolved you can then discuss the
situation with the Program Director. For further information on appeals, please refer to
the Appeals Against Assessment Policy.
University Plagiarism Statement
Plagiarism: the presentation of the work, idea or creation of another person as though it
is your own. It is a form of cheating and is a very serious academic offence that may
lead to expulsion from the University. Plagiarised material can be drawn from, and
presented in, written, graphic and visual form, including electronic data, and oral
presentations. Plagiarism occurs when the origin of the material used is not appropriately
cited.
Examples of plagiarism include:
i. Copying sentences or paragraphs word-for-word from one or more sources, whether
published or unpublished, which could include but is not limited to books, journals,
reports, theses, websites, conference papers, course notes, etc. without proper
citation;
ii. Closely paraphrasing sentences, paragraphs, ideas or themes without proper citation;
iii. Piecing together text from one or more sources and adding only linking
sentences;
iv. Copying or submitting whole or parts of computer files without acknowledging their
source;
v. Copying designs or works of art and submitting them as your original work;
vi. Copying a whole or any part of another student’s work; and
vii. Submitting work as your own that someone else has done for you.
Ethical Behaviour
In the course of their studies, and especially in assignments, students may consult with
industry, undertake research projects or case studies, and otherwise discuss business
issues with managers and employees of companies. Students must appreciate the goodwill
of the companies in assisting students, and demonstrate basic respect and ethical
behaviour. Students must never use or divulge the confidential information of any
company, including their employer, in any assignment or report without the written
permission of this company. Students must also properly represent themselves. While
indicating they are students of a RMIT program and the purpose of this project, they must
– if they are employed or have a potential conflict of interest – indicate who their
employer is or the nature of the potential conflict; e.g., the latter could especially occur
if the student was an actual or potential competitor of the respondent’s business.
Students must never indulge in any form of misrepresentation nor use unethical practices
to collect information. If in any doubt they must consult their lecturer