ACCTFIN 7005 - Research Project in Financial Statement Analysis (M)

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2020

This research based capstone course allows students to develop business research skills through the analysis of accounting, finance and industry information. This will be achieved through the delivery of a series of topics allowing students ample time to practice their research skills through the preparation of an investment portfolio. This course will require application of attained knowledge in previous accounting and finance courses in order to provide a portfolio fitting for the assumed investor. As such students will be provided with sufficient opportunities to develop appropriate communication skills to ensure the investor is fully aware of all necessary information. The pedagogy adopted for this course is deliberately designed to allow students to develop their own research style through the opportunity to source and synthesise a diverse range of material as part of the development of a business research report.

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Course Details

Course Code	ACCTFIN 7005
Course	Research Project in Financial Statement Analysis (M)
Coordinating Unit	Adelaide Business School
Term	Semester 1
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	6
Contact	Up to 36 hours
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	N
Prerequisites	Completion of 30 units in the Program, CORPFIN 7017/ACCTFIN 7017
Assessment	Research projects

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Janice Loftus

Associate Professor Janice Loftus
Location: 13:10, Level 13,
10 Pulteney Street (Nexus 10)
Telephone: 8313 1024
email: janice.loftus@adelaide.edu.au

Ms Arti Jhuremalani
email: artil.jhuremalani@adelaide.edu.au

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Integrate advanced theoretical and technical knowledge of financial analysis and related areas
2. Apply advanced technical knowledge and skills to critically analyse financial data to investigate problems in accounting or finance contexts
3. Select and use information from data bases used in accounting and finance
4. Design and execute research in collaboration with others
5. Communicate research findings to specialist and non-specialist audiences

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1, 2, 3
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	2, 3, 4
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	4, 5
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	3, 4, 5
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	4

Learning Resources
Required Resources

Suggested readings will be provided, however extensive use of library facilities including texts, journal articles and databases is necessary.

Recommended Resources
- Rogers, J. 2019, Strategy, Value and Risk, 4th Edition, Springer.
- Subramanyam, K. R. 2014. Financial Statements Analysis, 11th Edition, McGraw-Hill New York.
- Palepu, K. G., Healy, P. M., Bernard, V. L., Wright, S., Bradbury, M., Lee, P. 2015. Business Analysis and Valuation Using Financial
  Statements: Text and Cases, Asia Pacific Edition. South Western, Cengage Learning.
- Online databases: DataAnalysis Premium; Connect 4 Annual Report Database; IBISWorld.
- Neuman, W.L., 2013. Social Research Methods, Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, Pearson Education, Inc.
- Benninga S. 2008. Financial Modeling, The MIT Press.
Online Learning

The course is supported by a course website on MyUni. Students will need to access this regularly for content, assignment submission and announcements.

Learning & Teaching Modes

This course is run in seminar mode combining the elements of lecture and tutorial in the one class.

To facilitate a full understanding of any topic, students are encouraged to both ask questions and participate in class activities. If there is material that any student does not understand, asking of questions at any time during the seminar is encouraged. Concepts from previous courses will serve as foundation for many of the topics under consideration.

As this is a research based course there is a high expectation that students will

engage in additional readings, as well as the provided readings to gain a full appreciation of all aspects of the course
undertake their research activities prior to class to ensure that they have the ability to apply the topic under discussion to a number of possible scenarios.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. As this course is a 6 unit course it is anticipated that you will be undertaking more study time for this course than you would have undertaken in your previous 3 unit courses.

Students in this course are expected to attend all classes

Learning Activities Summary

1	Financial statements and introduction to research
2	Research in accounting and finance and introduction to accounting and finance project topics
3	Industry analysis techniques
4	Developing research, teamwork and communication skills: report writing workshop 1
5	Developing research, teamwork and communication skills: workshop on using databases
6	Developing research, teamwork and communication skills: report writing workshop 2; group meeting
7	Portfolio analysis; group meeting
8	Developing research, teamwork and communication skills: workshop on critiquing writing, providing and using feedback; grooup meeting
9	Developing research, teamwork and communication skills: oral presentation skills workshop; group meeting
10	Developing research, teamwork and communication skills: oral presentations of individual component of group researach project; each student presenting to own group
11	Developing research, teamwork and communication skills: group meeting and consultation
12	Oral presentations of group project

Small Group Discovery Experience

Not applicable, the SGDE initiative is for UG programmes.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

.#	Assessment Task	Task Type	Weight	Learning Outcomes
1	Test	Individual	10 %	1, 2
2	Industry analysis	Individual	20 %	1 - 5
3	Research proposal	Group	10 %	1 - 5
4	Participation in group activities	Individual	10 %	3 - 5
5a	Group research report - oral presentation	Individual	10 %	5
5b	Group research project written report - individual component	Individual	25 %	1 - 5
5c	Group researach project written report -group component	Group	15 %	1 - 5
	Total		100%

Details of each assessment task will be provided in separate documents on MyUni.

Due to the current COVID-19 situation modified arrangements have been made to assessments to facilitate remote learning and teaching. Assessment details provided here reflect recent updates.

The participation mark is replaced by a peer assessment of contribution to the group project.

Assessment Related Requirements

Group composition: Groups will consist of 5 people. (Exceptions to this number will only be considered by the course co-ordinator for exceptional and unavoidable circumstances). Students are encouraged to form their own groups.

Assessment Detail

1. Class test (10%)
Scope - topics 1 - 3 (i.e.., material covered in weeks 1 - 3)

2. Individual industry analysis (20%)
Provide a written strategic evaluation of the industry under utilising evaluation technique(s).

Group Research Project
3. Proposal (10 %)
A written submission of a draft research design outlining the objective and research methods of the group research project.

4. Participation in group activities held in class (10%)

5. Report on Group Research report
a. Oral presentation - group oral presentation individually assessed (10%)
b. Written report
i Individual component (25%)
ii Group component (15%)

Submission

Notes on Assessment
1. All assignments must be provided by the due date and must be genuine attempts, to complete the course.
2. Presentation, and the quality of English expression are considered to be integral parts of the assessment process. You may lose marks because of poor presentation and/or poor grammar.
3. A component of the research report requires a group presentation. It is a requirement that all members of the group be present at the presentation. Failure to attend may result in a zero mark, for that component of the assessment, to those members not in attendance unless there is a legitimate reason that is supported by evidence.

Submission of Assignments
• Retain a copy of all assignments submitted.
• All written assignments must be submitted via the MyUni link provided. All team members are expected to contribute equitably to the group research project as outlined in the group research proposal.

Assignments, not complying with the University’s policy on plagiarism, will be forwarded to Academic Integrity for investigation.

Assignment Guidelines including Referencing Details
The Communication Skills Guide will assist you structure your assignments. A copy of the guide can also be downloaded from the link provided on MyUni. This publication also provides guidelines on a range of other important communication skills including writing essays and management reports, making oral presentations etc. In preparing any written piece of assessment for your postgraduate studies it is important to draw on the relevant ‘literature’ to support critical analysis. Also essential is to reference the literature used. Correct referencing is important because it identifies the source of the ideas and arguments that you present, and sometimes the source of the actual words you use, and helps to avoid the problem of plagiarism.

The Harvard system is the preferred style of referencing for this course. Guidelines for the use of this style of referencing can be found in the Communication Skills Guide. Further assistance with referencing is available from the Faculty’s Learning Support Advisors.

In addition we encourage you to utilise the resources available via online links in the Student Support Section of this outline

Return of Assignments
Every attempt is made to provide feedback on assessments within three (3) weeks of the due date. Assessment of the major component of assessment (the report) is anticipated to take longer than the nominal three (3) weeks.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through .

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

We acknowledge the benefit of feedback from students to assist our ongoing improvement of the course.

In 2019 students of Research Project in FSA were in broad agreement (%) that the course:

was high quality (82%);
helped to build understanding of key concepts (100%);
was intellectually stimulating (100%);
was well organised (100%); and
included digital activities and resources to enhance learning (100%).

Students were also in broad agreement (100%) that:
feedback on assessment tasks was useful and timely;
assessment tasks facilitated learning;
diverse perspectives were valued and accommodated.

During 2019 some students requested rubrics for the group research proposal and the individual component of the group research report. In response, these rubrics were provided and will continue to be provided in future.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student鈥檚 disciplinary procedures.

The 成人大片 is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The 成人大片 therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator

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