Major Assignment Question“Over the past decades, interest in corporate governance practices has increased as a direct result of highly publicised cases of corporate misconduct and concerns over the

Major Assignment Question

“Over the past decades, interest in corporate governance practices has increased as a direct result of highly publicised cases of corporate misconduct and concerns over the management of corporation” (Rankin et al 2018, p.202).  It is also viewed that corporate governance suffers from being a multilevel concept which differs between the country (or economic) and individual levels.  As such, there is an emergence of corporate governance reforms in various countries; which have created significant implications for auditorsand increased responsibilities for accounting professionals.

Students are required to obtain copies of recent (2018/2019) annual financial reports of two companies listed in the Australian Stock Exchange. The names of two sample companies for each group will be allocated to students in Week 3 of the semester.  

Requirement:

The Group Assignment develops students’ theoretical and technical skills in accounting theory and corporate governance as well as their written communication skills. You are required to form a group by Week 4 with no more than THREE members of your class. 

Each member is fully responsible for the discussion, preparation, composition and submission of the group assignment. Failure by a student to attend, contribute, and submit will result in the said student receiving a zero (0) mark weighting for this assessment task.

The Group Assignment is comprised of two parts: 

Part A:   Case study using ASX listed Companies (10%)

Part B:   Essay - Written Assignment (1500 words) (15%)

Due Date:   Week 10: Friday by 5 pm, 31/05/2019

Submission:  Online on my PIA via Turnitin submission link

You must attach a completed, signed coversheet and a self and peer contribution evaluation form with your written assignment.

Assignment Questions: 

There are two requirements for this assessment. 

Part A involves case study on the following questions (Max 500 words):

1.  Identify and illustrate how the two sample companies disclose their corporate governance strategies, policies and practices. (i.e., approaches considered)

2.  Compute the following corporate governance indicators from the collected annual reports for the selected two companies:

a)  Total number of directors (i.e., board size);

b)  Percentage of non-executive directors (if any);

c)  Percentage of independent directors (if any);

d)  The name of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and/or Chairman and the summary of his/her statement in the annual reports for the selected companies;

e)  Percentage of share hold by the executive directors; and

f)  Percentage of shares owned by the block-holders and institutional investors.  

3.  Compare the corporate governance indicators of the selected two companies and discuss the effectiveness, strength, and adequacy of the corporate governance practices and principles adopted by these companies.

Part B involves writing an essay on Corporate Governance (1500 words). 

The essay is to be written on the role of corporate governance in accounting. Your essay should demonstrate a wide range of aspects of corporate governance including practices in relation to corporate failure, approaches to corporate governance, roles of ASIC and CLERP 9 in Australia, independent director, ethics and integrated reporting and its reflection of international perspectives and developments. You must incorporate academic and professional research including theoretical praxis in your essay.