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

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2017

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.

  • General Course Information
    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 39 units in the Program, CORPFIN 7017
    Course Description 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.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Mr Dale Blackmore

    Dale Blackmore
    Level 13, Room 13.51
    Ph    : +61 8 8313 0083
    e-mail: dale.blackmore@adelaide.edu.au
    Course Timetable

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

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes

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

    1. critically evaluate financial information provided by listed corporate entities
    2. apply accounting and finance theories to build a reasoned argument for the investment of funds in a portfolio of assets
    3. design an appropriate research plan that allows the sourcing, collation, analysis and reporting of data and information for a business report
    4. determine appropriate courses of action to achieve desired objectives
    5. utilise business software in the research analysis
    6. communicate findings unambiguously to a diverse audience
    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
    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
    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
    6
    Career and leadership readiness
    • technology savvy
    • professional and, where relevant, fully accredited
    • forward thinking and well informed
    • tested and validated by work based experiences
    5
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    Suggested readings will be provided, however extensive use of library facilities including texts and journal articles is necessary
    Recommended Resources
    • High quality accounting and finance journals
    • High quality business articles
    • Online databases
    • Neuman, WL, “Social Research Methods, Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches”, Person Education, Inc., 2013
    • Benninga S, “Financial Modeling”, The MIT Press, 2008
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    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 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
    1. engage in additional readings, as well as the provided readings to gain a full appreciation of all aspects of the course
    2. 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
    Week    Topic
    Preparatory
    1 Research methodologies - the development of a framework
    2 Research methodologies - the concept of logic
    3 Research resources - self-stdy preparation, researching the area of interest
    Background / Literature review
    4 Industry analysis concepts
    5 Company analysis concepts
    6 Assessment
    Assessment 1 presentations will occur this week
    7 Public holiday - self study research developing submission
    Analysis processes
    8 Financial model building
    9 Financial model building
    10 Selection strategies concepts
    Portfolio management
    Assessment
    11 Assessment 2 presentation
    12 Assessment 2 presentation
  • Assessment

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

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

    Assessment Summary
    #Assessment TaskTask TypeLengthWeightLearning Outcomes
    1 Interim report summative -
    Individual and Group
    30% 1, 3, 6
    2 Research report summative -
    Individual and Group
    10,000 words 70% 1-6
    Total 100%

    All assessment tasks are summative in nature, that is, all tasks form part of your overall grade for the course

    Assessment Related Requirements
    The following additional conditions apply:
    1. Group composition: Groups will consist of 4 people. (Exceptions to this number will only be considered by the lecturer-in-charge for exceptional and unavoidable circumstances). At least one group member from an alternative degree program, e.g. if the majority of the group are studying Master of Professional Accounting they require at least one from, say, Master of Applied Finance and vice versa. (Dual degrees require agreement of lecturer-in-charge.)
    2. Industry selection: Each group will be offered 6 industries from which to select their area of investigation. Each group will select sufficient industries to ensure each group member will have their own unique industry to investigate.
    3. Investigation restrictions: Each group will be assigned parameters that will impact on their selection decisions. That is, concepts of risk utility from the investor (tolerant; neutral; averse), style of portfolio (stable; growth, etc.) and trading type (long term, short term)
    Assessment Detail
    1. Interim report
    a. Group component (10%)
    i. An analysis of the investigation restrictions that will influence the final recommendations of the group. That is, if an investor group is deemed to be knowledgeable, risk tolerant and seeking high growth, what are the implications for the assessment of companies within the industries selected.
    ii. Submission of a draft research plan outlining the approach to be undertaken in developing the final determination of a balanced portfolio of assets within the investigation restrictions imposed on the group. This plan must include the agreed duties of each group member, including which industry each member will investigate
      
    b. Individual component (20%)
    i. Each group member to provide an evaluation of one of the company or industry analysis techniques (such as Porter’s, PEST, SWOT, etc.) clearly outlining the strengths and weaknesses of the method under discussion 

    2. Research report
    a. Individual component (50%)
    i. Each member to focus on one industry and undertake the selection of one company for the portfolio. 
    ii. A confidential peer review of all members of the group including self
      
    b. Group component (20%)
    i. The group component will encompass the quality of report, the quality of the analysis and the logical reasoning in developing the portfolio
    ii. A fifteen minute group presentation of the report will comprise 50% of this component.
    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. Individual contributions to group submissions will be assessed via the use of peer assessment. This assessment must evaluate each group member and provide a ranking as to each group member’s contribution to the overall project. This ranking will be used when determining each student’s final grade for the course.
    4. As this course is a research based course and designed to provide students an appreciation of business conditions extensions to assignment due dates are not available.
    5. 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 if they do not have a legitimate reason that is supported by evidence.
       
    Presentation 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 a group assignment as outlined in the research plan required as part of the interim report.
      
    Assignments, not complying with the University’s policy on plagiarism, will be forwarded to Academic Integrity for investigation.
      
    Assignment Guidelines including Referencing Details
    A copy of the Postgraduate Programs: Communication Skills Guide will have been given to you at the beginning of your program. This guide will assist you structure your assignments. A copy of the guide can also be downloaded from  https://www.adelaide.edu.au/professions/hub/downloads/Communications-Skills-Guide.pdf
      
    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. (Further information on plagiarism is provided later in this course outline.)
      
    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 the mid-semester assessment to students within two (2) weeks of the due date. Assessment of the major component of assessment (the report) is anticipated to take longer than the nominal two (2) 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 Access Adelaide.

  • 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.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • 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’s disciplinary procedures.

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