INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT (20%)

Answer ALL questions in all the THREE TASKS given below

TASK  1:

Mary has been offered a retirement package from her work as a flight attendant with Qantas. Her long-term goal has been to buy a day-spa resort on the central coast of New South Wales with her sister Martha, who is a marketing consultant.  Mary and Martha do up a business plan. They find an old yet suitable building at Nelson Bay which is on the market for sale. With their husbands (John who is a builder and James who is a plumber) they decide to sell their homes in the Sydney CBD for a fortune and purchase the building to start their day-spa.  They think the potential for the business venture is enormous, but expect that additional capital will be required over the next five years for their dreams to be realised.

Required:  {Answer each question in no more than 300 words}

1. 1. http://business.gov.au.  Click on and read details of ‘Starting a business guide’ and ‘Make Key Decisions’ and then select ‘Decide on a business structure’. Compare and contrast the income tax issues associated with the partnership and company forms of business structure.                                                                                                                                                                                             (5marks)        

TASK  2:

Write an essay on the following:

Financial reports are largely based on historical financial information and are therefore useful in assessing the accountability (stewardship) of management, but of little use to external decision-makers when it comes to allocating scarce resources.  (maximum 750 words)                                                                                        (10 marks)

TASK  3:

Refer to the Financial Statements of the company listed below (as per workshop you are enrolled in) for the latest three years and complete the tasks (a) to (f) :   (500 words)

Students enrolled in Workshop 1 Monday 6-9pm, Newcastle: https://www.begacheese.com.au/

Students enrolled in Workshop 2, Wednesday 2-5pm, Newcastle: https://www.jbhifi.com.au/

Students enrolled in Workshop 3, Thursday 2-5pm, Newcastle: https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/

Students enrolled in Workshop 4, Friday 9-12noon, Newcastle: https://www.begacheese.com.au/

Students enrolled in Workshop 5, Friday 1-4pm, Newcastle: https://www.jbhifi.com.au/

Students enrolled in Workshop 6, Friday 9-12noon, Ourimbah: https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/

1. What types of products or services do they sell?                                                                          (2 marks)
2. On what day of the year does its current financial year end?                                                     (1 mark)
3. Why does it publish more than the current year’s data?                                                             (1 mark)
4. Are its financial statements audited by independent auditors? If so, by whom?                     (1 mark)
5. For the most recent three years calculate and explain:
   1. Any two profitability ratios                                                                                          (6 marks)
   1. Any two efficiency ratios                                                                                             (6 marks)
   1. Any two liquidity ratios                                                                                                                (6 marks)
   1. Any two financial gearing ratios and                                                                       (6 marks)
   1. Any two investment and market ratios                                                                     (6 marks)

Refer to your text book for the list of ratios and their formulae.

• Having calculated the above ratios, you now need to take into consideration the company’s corporate governance and ethical standards and provide advice to an investor who wishes to invest all his life savings in the company.  (maximum 500 words)                                                                            (10 marks)

Individual Project – assessment criteria

TASK 1

		Max	Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good (3.5-4)	Excellent (4.5-5)
Mark	-0.5	(1-2)	(2.5-3.0)
a	Demonstrate ability to identify and list  the necessary skills with appropriate explanation	5
b	Comparison and explanation about tax issues and the form of business	5
c	Choice of business structure – arguments for and against with conclusion.	5
d	Reasons for bank to finance /not to finance  with explanations to support the argument	5
Task 1  marks (max 20) =
Remarks:

TASK 2

Weight		Poor	Fair	Good	Very Good	Excellent (4.5-5)	Total (Weight x mark)
-0.5	(1-2)	(2.5-3.0)	(3.5-4)
	Information(0.2)
0.1	Demonstrates appropriate skills in identifying strategic issues.
0.1	Evaluation of the stewardship, financial reporting and decision-makers
	Arguments(0.2)
0.1	Relationships between specific points/issues are made clear.
0.05	The writing is interpretative and analytical rather than merely descriptive.
0.05	Appropriate evidence is used to support arguments
	Originality (0.2)
0.2	Reveals independence of thought beyond a mere restatement of received ideas with regard to the argument and discussion.
	Structure and Interpretation(0.15)
0.05	The introduction is clear and signals the direction the paper will take.
0.05	The body of the paper is cohesive and built on a logical sequence of relevant paragraph based points.
0.05	Analysis and discussion of the relevant issues that support the argument are done well.
	Writing skills (0.15)
0.05	The writing is clear, concise and smooth-flowing.
0.05	Sentences are properly constructed and the prose is grammatically correct and well punctuated.
0.05	Word choice is appropriate and words are correctly spelt.
	Referencing (0.10)
0.05	Sources used are adequately and accurately referenced throughout the paper
0.05	References are drawn from relevant sources
Task 2  marks (max 10)  = (Total/5)*10 =
Remarks:

Individual Project – assessment criteria (Cont’d)

TASK 3

		Max Mark	Given Mark	Remarks
a	Minimum two products clearly identified	2
b	Day of the current financial year end identified	1
c	Explanation to support the publication of more than the current year’s data clear and concise	1
d	Independent auditors full name identified	1
e(i)	Correct formula, calculation and explanation for any 2 profitability ratios for 3 years	6
e(ii)	Correct formula, calculation and explanation for any 2 efficiency ratios for 3 years	6
e(iii)	Correct formula, calculation and explanation for any 2 liquidity ratios for 3 years	6
e(iv)	Correct formula, calculation and explanation for any 2 financial gearing ratios for 3 years	6
E(v)	Correct formula, calculation and explanation for any 2 interest and market ratios for 3 years	6
f	Explanation about company’s corporate governance & ethical standards and how they link to financial ratios that support the advice given to the investor. Detailed arguments supported by data and a proper conclusion	10
Task 3  marks (max45)  =
Overall remarks

 

APPENDIX 4

Newcastle Business School

Student Name:                                                                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                         Last name                                                                 First Name

(Your studentmail account)

Student Number:                                                                                             Email:________________________________________________

Course:

ode              

           Course Code                                                                      Course Title

Campus of Study:                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Assessment Item Title:                                                                                                                                                                                              

Tutorial Group:                                        Word Count (If applicable):                                             Due Date/Time:

Lecturer’s Name:                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Tutorial Time and Day            —————————————————————————————————————————

Extension Granted:                          Yes             No                                             Granted Until:_______________________________________

                                                  Please attach the approved copy of your extension approval.

Include here any instructions / checklist for submission

I declare that this assessment item is my own work unless otherwise acknowledged and is in accordance with the University’s plagiarism policy available from the Policy Library on the web at

http://www.newcastle.edu.au/policy/academic/general/academic_integrity_policy-new.pdf

Insert this way

I certify that this assessment item has not been submitted previously for academic credit in this or any other course. I certify that I have not given a copy or have shown a copy of this assessment item to another student enrolled in the course.

I acknowledge that the assessor of this assignment may, for the purpose of assessing this assignment:

• Communicate a copy of this assessment item to a plagiarism checking service (which may then retain a copy of the item on its database for the purpose of future plagiarism checking).

I certify that any electronic version of this assignment item that I have submitted or will submit is identical to this paper version.

Turnitin ID:   

Signature:                                                                             Date:

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