buacc 2606 financial accounting summer semester 2012 82754

BUACC 2606 – Financial Accounting

Summer semester, 2012

Group Assignment

“Financial accounting is fairly heavily regulated in Australia. There are numerous Corporations Act requirements, and there are many accounting standards, with additional standards being issued fairly frequently. The ASX provides extensive regulation for listed companies. But is all this regulation really necessary? What if we had no standards, and reporting entities could report what information they wanted in whatever format they considered appropriate?

Opinions on the need for regulation vary, and range from the ‘free-market’ perspective to the ‘pro-regulation’ perspective.” (Deegan, 2010, p.38)

Required:

Discuss the above quotation. Explain and evaluate the arguments for and against regulation. What is your opinion of the current level of accounting regulation?

Please note the following:

Format: Essay
Contribution to overall assessment: 25%
Length: 2000 – 2500 words
Due date: Week 10 (Wednesday 25^th January 2012 at 4pm)

Your work must comply with the University’s General Guide for the Presentation of Academic Work. http://guerin.ballarat.edu.au/aasp/student/learning_support/generalguide/
You must reference all sources of information throughout the assignment and provide a detailed bibliography at the end. When referencing within the main body of the assignment use the following syntax: (Author/Authors, Year of Publication, Page Number/Numbers). See the unit description for examples of the acceptable bibliography format – APA (Harvard style). All direct quotations must be acknowledged by the use of quote marks (” “) as well as the correct reference. Your bibliography must include full details of all sources referred to in the body of the text. Sources not referred to in the body of the text must not be included in the bibliography.

This is a group-assignment. Each group needs to have 2 to 3 members in it. Please organise yourselves into groups.

Please make sure that names and ID numbers of all group members are stated on the cover sheet of your submission.

As this is a group assignment, each member of a group is awarded the same mark. Working in groups has its pros and cons. I am sure that you will hold constructive and energetic group discussions on the issues at hand. In case of any disagreements, you will be able to resolve them in a democratic and rational way. There will be times when you may have to agree to disagree with each other. Invariably different group members bring different skills to a project; it is up to you to make the best of it. I believe one can learn a lot by discussing the issues with one’s colleagues.

If you happen to find your group members are “not pulling their weight” or there are problems with any member’s commitment, then please try to resolve those issues amongst yourselves. Open and honest communication always helps. If you are unable to resolve these issues, you are most welcome to see me and we will try to sort out the problems together. Do this as soon as possible and certainly before the due date.

Please adapt this to suit your group, particularly the last two paragraphs.

BUACC2606, Financial Accounting
Summer semester, 2012
Group Assignment

Bases of assessment	HD D C P F
Content – Identification of relevant issues. Research – Selection of relevant material. A demonstration of critical evaluation of the material. Expression of your viewpoint (and not a catalogue of quotes/ others’ ideas).
Expression – clarity, style (formal and academic), coherence in writing, grammar, punctuation, spellings and sentence structure. A logical flow of argument at both the paragraph level and the overall text level. Use of supporting arguments. Use of literature to support the argument.
Structure – Synopsis (stated the topic, reflected main arguments and identified conclusions reached). Introduction (clearly stated the essay question; outlined the plan for answering the question). Discussion in appropriately linked sections and paragraphs. Conclusion (no new material; reiterated the main line of argument).
Referencing procedure (within the text, and at the end of the text). Appropriately styled and punctuated bibliography.
Overall Presentation – including cover page, line spacing, page numbering.