代做ACC202 Accounting Theory (S2, AY2024/25)代写C/C++编程

2nd SEMESTER 2024/25

BA Accounting

ACC202 Accounting Theory

Group Coursework (weighing 35% of overall module mark)

ACC202 Accounting Theory (S2, AY2024/25)

Group Coursework Instructions

(35% of Total Module Mark)

A. The Task:

You are expected to work with your group members to evaluate the accounting quality of a public company listed on LSE (London Stock Exchange). The task includes the following five steps:

Step 1: Look for group members and sign up for a group on LM

You are required to identify your own group members and sign up for a group on LM by the specified deadline.

Notes:

•   Each group can consist of up to 6 students.

•   If you cannot find any  other  students to work with,  or if you prefer to work independently, please consult with the examiner.

Step 2: Choose a company for your group coursework

Please decide which company you would like to select (the list of companies can be found  on  LM),  and  send  your  choice  to  the  examiner  for  his  approval  (email: [email protected]) by the specified deadline. In your email, please include the required details (Group ID number, Company name, and ICB Super-Sector), filling out the table below accordingly.

Student Group ID	Company Name	ICB Super-Sector
Group No. 123	1SPATIAL PLC	Technology

Notes:

•   Do not select any companies that have been discussed (or will be discussed) in our ACC202 lectures/tutorials.

•   Each group must select a unique company, different from the choices of other groups. If your chosen company has already been selected by another group, you will then be required to make a second choice.

Step  3: Complete the   accounting  analysis (i.e., presentation PPT document submission and on-site group oral presentation)

Evaluate the accounting quality (i.e., earnings quality) of the company in the most recent three full financial years. You may like to follow those examples discussed in the lectures/tutorials.

The analysis may be structured as follows:

Part one: Introduce the company’s main operations, its business environment it operates in, and/or the challenges it faces within the competitive landscape.

Part two: Make a list of factors that you believe may influence the company’s accounting quality [example: Euro Disney], such as: • Regulatory requirements or other institutional factors • Or managers’ incentives

Part three: Examine 2-4 accounting items from the following list. You need to investigate the unusual and/or unexplained changes of those accounting items, which may raise concerns the company’s accounting quality. Normally, you should compare your company  with  the  industry average (or its industry peers), before reaching a conclusion [example: ZM]. • Revenue recognition policy [example: Angle PLC] • Credit sales policy and accounts receivables [example: ZM; M&S; LG; IHG] • Depreciation policy of tangible assets [example: M&S; IAG; LG; IHG] • Impairment losses [example: Vodafone (2005-2008); IAG; IHG] • R&D expenditures, and/or intangible assets: amortisation and impairment loss [example: M&S; Toyota; LG; IHG] • Non-recurring items (asset sales, restructuring/acquisition or other expenses e.g., litigation or oil spill etc.) [example: Vodafone (2009-2011); Disney; BP; IAG] • Any other items, if relevant: e.g., audit opinions & auditor change, as well as R&D partnerships and related party transactions. Your chosen items should be critical to the company and its industry sector, and should contain a certain level of accounting flexibility.

Part four: A summary of your main findings.

Notes:

•   Consider  the  two  following  options  for  benchmarking  purpose:  (1)  you  may calculate the average of industry peers, by accessing WRDS (Compustat); or (2) you may identify 1-2 specific industry peers from the list of companies listed on LSE. To do this, sort companies by industry and size, and then choose the industry peers with the same ICB Super-Sector and the market cap close to your company.

•   It is important to make references to the accounting literature and to demonstrate your knowledge of prior theoretical arguments. If you cite any academic papers from the prior literature or any public sources, you must make in-text citations and a list of references at the end of your presentation PPT document. APA or Harvard referencing is recommended. However, if you quote any data from company annual reports, you don’t have to make a reference on this occasion.

•   Keep your presentation PPT document concise, and make frequent use of tables, diagrams, and figures to communicate your message effectively. Any technical details or further explanations can be included in the appendix.

•   Recent annual reports of the company are downloadable from the company website (Investor Relations).

Step 4: Complete an individual reflection report

To answer the questions below:

Question 1: Ethicality of earnings management practices

First of all, you need to present the definition of earnings management that you follow in your discussion. Then, you may follow the six-factor model (Merchant and Rockness, 1994; Grasso et al., 2009) and to develop your arguments on the acceptability of earnings management practices. Make references to the accounting literature and to demonstrate your knowledge of prior theoretical arguments.

	Factors	Accounting item one	… … .
1	Type of action
2	Consistency with GAAP
3	Direction of the effect on earnings
4	Materiality
5	Period of effect
6	Purpose in mind

Question 2: Limitations of your group coursework

Mentioning limitations can show your skills of critical thinking.

You need to discuss whether there are any limitations of your accounting analysis (i.e., not only the section contributed by you, but also other sections contributed by your group members). Do you have any specific recommendations on how to enhance the accounting analysis?

References:

•   Merchant, K.A., & Rockness, J. (1994). The ethics of managing earnings: An empirical investigation, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 13(1), 79-94.

•   Grasso, L., Tilley, P., & White, R.A. (2009). The Ethics of Earnings Management: Perceptions after Sarbanes-Oxley. Management Accounting Quarterly, 11, 45.

Notes:

•   Word  count  guideline:  Normally,   500-1,500  words   in  length  for  the   entire individual reflection report (for Q1 and Q2 together). Please keep your individual reflection report concise.

•   Students are expected to write the individual reflection report independently.

B. Group Oral Presentation Instructions:

The group oral presentation will take place on Monday/Tuesday evenings of week 7 (BS492). The detailed schedule will be released separately in due course.

The format of the presentation will consist of 10 minutes for the presentation, followed by 5 minutes for Questions and Answers.

C. Submission Instructions:

Each group should submit a presentation PPT document onthe LM module page, before the oral presentation takes place. After the oral presentation, a revised version, if any, should be submitted by Sunday of week 7. Please note, the newest submission of the PPT document will be used for marking purpose.

Each student should submit an individual reflection report on the LM module page by the deadline above.

General notes:

•   Late submission penalty applies according to university’s policy: 5% penalty each working day up to 5 working days. 0 mark will be awarded after 5 working days.

•   Both the written report and the oral presentation must be original work. IBSS has zero tolerance for academic integrity offences. Please check the Academic Integrity Policy on e-Bridge. There will be no cut-off threshold for Turnitin similarity rate. Each submission will be reviewed carefully on a case-by-case basis. The main argument/discussion in each submission must be students’ own work.

•   The use of Generative AI for content generation is not permitted for the coursework. For more  information  and  resources  on  Generative  AI  and  your  learning  and assessment, please consult the “XJTLU AI for Learning” pages of the Learning Mall Core.

Notes for the group presentation PPT document (one submission per group):

•   Only one of the group members is required to submit the PPT document.

•   The file name for submission should be “Group ID + company name”: for example, “Group 123 1SPATIAL PLC”.

•   A recommended structure of the PPT document is provided in Appendix A. Do not mention non-contributing students on the cover slide. The front slide of the PPT document should contain a list of all contributing students. Each subsequent slide should mention the student who contributes to that particular content.

Notes for the individual reflection report (one submission per student):

•   The file name for submission should be “Group ID + student name + student ID”: for example, “Group 123 Peng Cheng 221234567”.