Solved: ACCT 3563 – Individual Report

1. Objectives of project:

• to provide an opportunity for students to learn about segment reporting;
• to provide an opportunity for students to locate detailed information in annual reports of their chosen companies and compare them;
• to provide an opportunity for students to identify differences between their Australian and Hong Kong companies that could be attributable to legal, cultural, regulatory or other differences between the two markets that have the same accounting standards. The Australian (AASB 8) and Hong Kong (HKFRS8) standards on segment reporting are based on International Financial Reporting Standard IFRS

2. Assessment: Required Content (15 Marks); and Written Expression (5 Marks).

• What is segment reporting and why are segment reports considered a useful disclosure for companies even if they already prepare consolidated accounts covering the parent company and subsidiaries? (2 Marks)
• What is the difference between an operating segment and a reportable segment in AASB8/HKFRS8? Do the definitions of these two segment types give discretion to management that might help or hinder comparisons between companies? (3 Marks)
• Compare the segment reports of your two companies in each company’s 2017/2018 annual report (try to select the two reports in the same year if possible, otherwise you can choose one in 2017 and the other in 2018). (5 Marks)

• the number, and nature, of operating segments reported;
• which segment items are reconciled to the company’s consolidated financial statements;
• information about geographical areas in which the company operates, including revenues from external customers and non-current assets, indicating how extensively the company operates outside its country/region of origin, where its headquarters is

• Identify and comment on differences between the segment reporting practices of your two companies that could result from legal, regulatory, cultural or other differences between Australia and Hong Kong. (5 Marks)
  • Written Expression (5 Marks): These marks will be given based upon the quality of writing, including structure, flow of argument, grammar, sentence construction, word choice and punctuation. Do not copy word-for-word what your companies have written in their annual reports as this is an example of

3. Maximum Length: Two A4 pages only of (word-processed) written text, with no tables, no illustrations, no charts, no diagrams, no A reference list, if any, will be considered as outside the page limit. Single space, font size 10, margins 2.54 centimetres all round. Include your name, student number, class time and group number in a header to the page submitted. Text over the limit of two A4 pages will not be marked.
4. Company Selection: If you find that a company that you select does not have a segment report, you may choose a different pair of companies.
5. Submission: Submit (in electronic form only) by 11.59 pm Friday of Week 7 (1 November 2019) in the Turn-It-In submission box in Moodle. Late submission penalty: 2 marks off for each day late without sufficient reason. Please name the document of the report as "Class ID" + "ZID" + "Student Name" to facilitate the marking For example, "M12A - Z1234567 - Tony Stark" is the name of Tony Stark's document, who is in Monday's 12:00 class and has ZID, Z1234567.
6. Reading: Deegan textbook, Chapter 22, AASB 8 and HKFRS 8, plus additional references on Moodle under “Individual Report”. Also, your textbook from ACCT2542 Corporate Financial Reporting & Analysis has a chapter on Operating Segments that could be consulted for this project (If you do not have the ACCT2542 textbook, it is held by the UNSW library in closed reserve).