Unit Outline

This unit provides the opportunity for you to acquire an understanding of business from an accounting perspective and to begin your development of a coherent body of knowledge in accounting and finance. You will develop skills in planning and decision making, as well as learning about how to communicate your findings in an accounting context. This unit is designed specifically to provide you with an understanding of the role that accounting plays in various aspects of financial decision‐making in business. A user perspective is adopted in which the outputs of the accounting process are explained and interpreted in both internal and external financial decision contexts. You will learn how: • profit and wealth are measured in a business context; • the major financial statements are constructed; and • the outputs of the accounting process may be interpreted and used for key business decision‐ making. For those of you intending to take further units in accounting, this unit will serve as an essential foundation and preparation for that continued study. For those of you not intending to take further units in accounting, the experience gained from this unit will also be invaluable. Accounting is often referred to as the language of business, so whatever aspect of business you intend to specialise in, you will need to be familiar with the concepts and principles underlying the practice of accounting and financial reporting.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1.	Use accounting principles to measure and report on the financial position of a business.
2.	Analyse and interpret financial reports
3.	Use financial information for internal decision‐making purposes

Alterations as a result of student feedback

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Mid Semester Test	See the MyLO site for the due date	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Group Case Study	See the MyLO site for the due date	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:	Examination	See the MyLO site for the due date	60 %

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Mid Semester Test

Task Description:

JIT Quizzes. Weekly (must be
completed prior to the weekly seminar)

Task Length:

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Identify and explain fundamental accounting principles.	LO1
2	Apply fundamental accounting concepts to analyse and record business transactions, and prepare financial reports, for financial decision making.	LO1
3	Calculate and interpret financial ratios.	LO2
4	Perform financial calculations for management decision making.	LO3
5	Assess and use financial calculations, for management decision making.	LO3

Assessment Task 2: Group Case Study

Task Description:

n/a

Task Length:

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Identify and explain fundamental accounting principles.	LO1
2	Apply fundamental accounting concepts to analyse and record business transactions, and prepare financial reports, for financial decision making.	LO1
3	Calculate and interpret financial ratios.	LO2
4	Perform financial calculations for management decision making.	LO3
5	Assess and use financial calculations, for management decision making.	LO3

Assessment Task 3: Examination

Task Description:

Examination

Task Length:

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

60 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.