Individual Assignment

Sydney Graduate School of Management

School of Business

200494 Management Accounting

Individual Assignment (20%), Quarter 4, 2019

Key factors to keep in mind when writing your submission are:

1. The due date for the electronic copy is to be lodged through Turnitin on vUWS by 12:00 midnight on Monday, 4 November, 2019
2. You must submit Microsoft Word (electronic) copy of your assignment through vUWS by 12:00 midnight on Monday, 4 November, 2019. Please also refer to instructions within the Learning Guide.
3. The file name for the electronic copy must follow the following pattern: your student ID number followed by 200494Assignment. For example, if your student ID number is 17432968, the file name should be 17432968_200494Assignment.
4. Students are to keep a copy of all assignments submitted for marking.
5. Ensure you use accurate spelling and grammar. It is often best to state things simply and clearly rather than using complicated language in the wrong context. Prior to submission make sure you use tools like spelling and grammar checkers in WORD. You may also want to make use of online tools (e.g. the Writer’s Diet http://writersdiet.com/WT.php?home to improve the quality of your written work).
6. All sources of information must be appropriately acknowledged. Ensure that all in-text references are accurate and comply with the Harvard referencing style. A guide is available on the vUWS with examples to assist you. Ensure you use only credible sources appropriate to your level of studies. Wikipedia, for example, is not a credible source. A Reference list of all works cited in your submission must be provided.
7. THIS IS AN INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT REQUIRING AN EVAUATION OF A CONTEMPORARY MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING TECNIQUE. IT IS NOT A GROUP ASSIGNMENT. Each student must present their own work. Failure to do so could lead to accusations of academic misconduct. Please refer to the Misconduct Policy. For the full definition of academic misconduct and the consequences of such behaviour, you are advised to read the Student Misconduct Rule at http://www.westernsydney.edu.au/about_uws/leadership/governance/student_misconduct_rule.
8. Use the Assignment Cover Sheet and include your Name and Student ID on the cover sheet. Ensure that the declaration is signed and dated on the Assignment Cover Sheet.
9. In addition to loss of marks for incorrect answers, marks may be deducted for untidy presentation including inappropriate formatting, poor numerical punctuation, not adhering to other requirements of the assignment. Begin each question on a new page. All journals, tables and statements must have appropriate headings and be presented in a proper format. All answers must be supported by relevant calculations.
10. Solutions to the questions contained in this assignment may require research beyond the recommended textbook.
11. Assessment percentage 20% (out of 100% total for the unit). Assignment will be marked out of 100 and converted to 20%. Marks for each question are shown alongside the question number.

Evaluating EMA reporting under GRI standards in Australia

‘The GRI Reporting Framework is a generally-accepted framework for reporting on an organization’s performance in terms of economic, environmental and social impact. The G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and the GRI standards prescribe principles for defining the content of sustainability report and for ensuring the quality of data reported. This framework is widely used by organizations reporting voluntarily or in accordance with regulations, The G4 guidelines and GRI 101 Foundation Standard define four principles concerned with report content. First, stakeholder inclusiveness requires the report to identify its stakeholders and how it addresses their reasonable expectations and interest. Second, the organization should report its performance in regards to sustainability. Materiality is the third principle how the report treats aspects that (1) demonstrates the organization’s major economic, environmental and social impacts or (2) considerably influence the assessments and decision of stakeholders. Finally, the report should aim for completeness and cover material aspects and their boundaries to the extent that the report illustrates significant economic, environmental and social impacts, which should assess the organization’s performance in the reporting period.’Mowen et. al. (2016), page 865¹.

¹ Mowen, MM, Hansen, DR, Heitger, D, Sands, J, Winata, L, Su, S 2016, Managerial Accounting, Asia-Pacific

2nd edition, Cengage Learning, Australia.

Requirements:

In the following table you are given the GRI sustainability framework:

Task 1:

Download a 2018 annual report of one Australian listed company from any sector (i.e., manufacturing, retail, real estate, finance and banking etc.) and identify whether the company provide any general standard disclosure related to sustainability that apply the sector the company belongs to.

Task 2:

(a) From the above indicators of the GRI framework, use the Environmental category only to identify what aspects of EMA information reported by your selected company in its annual report. [You must provide a copy of the relevant section from the annual report as evidence as appendix of your report].

(b) Based on you finding in (a) above, prepare a critical evaluation on the Completeness of the following environmental aspects covered:

1. does it report all environmental aspects under GRI? or
2. reported only selected aspects, if so what could be the underlying reasons?

iii. present your arguments on the relevance of the reported environmental aspects to the nature of business (or sector) and

Task 3:

Using the Return of Asset ratio (ROA) comment on the company’s performance from previous year.

Task 4:

Based on your finding in task 1 and 2 prepare a summary report on the overall Quality of the company’s environmental sustainability report and provide recommendation for further improvement.

(Please read all the information provided in the previous page before starting the report)