Individual Assignment
| Assessment Details and Submission Guidelines | |
| Trimester | T1 2026 |
| Unit Code | HA1020 |
| Unit Title | Accounting Principles and Practices |
| Assessment Type | Individual Assignment |
| Weight | 40% |
| Word limit (if applicable) | 2500 words ± 500 words |
| Submission Guidelines |
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| Academic Integrity Information | Holmes Institute is committed to ensuring and upholding academic integrity. All assessments must comply with academic integrity guidelines. Please learn about academic integrity and consult your teachers with any questions. Violating academic integrity is serious and punishable by penalties that range from deduction of marks, failure of the assessment task or unit involved, suspension of course enrolment, or cancellation of course enrolment. |
| Penalties |
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Each student has been allocated a company for completing this assignment. In the excel file "Find Your Company" located under "Assessments", "Individual Assignment" "Individual Assignment Instructions" on Blackboard, you will find the listed company that you have been allocated for this assignment. Companies were randomly allocated from a list of Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) listed companies. Locate your company by searching for your student ID no.
Important note: You are NOT allowed to select your own company. You must complete this assignment with the company that you have been allocated. Your assignment will not be marked if you use a different company to the one that you have been allocated.
Obtain the 2025 Annual Report of your allocated company and save a copy to your computer. The report can be accessed from the company's website or through the ASX website by clicking here: Company directory and then search for your company, then its 2025 Annual Report. Do not use your company's interim financial statements or their concise financial statements.
Using the company's 2025 Annual Report, including the financial statements, you are required to answer the following questions
a) Provide a brief overview of the company you have been assigned to include:
(4 marks)
b) Identify and describe the purpose of the financial statements presented in your company's annual report. (6 marks)
c) Choose three (3) external users who may have an interest in the financial statements of your allocated company, and answer the following:
i) Identify each external user selected. (3 marks)
ii) For each user, explain the reasons for their interest in the company's financial statements. (6 marks)
iii) For each user, provide two (2) specific examples of information from the financial statements that would be useful to them. Present your answer in a table. (6 marks)
Answers must be clearly linked to the chosen company. Generic answers that are not company-specific will receive lower marks.
You have learnt the accounting cycle in class over several weeks. Reflect and describe your understanding of how the accounting cycle leads to the preparation of financial statements for decision-making by users. Support your answer with two (2) relevant evidence, including screenshots from your allocated company's financial statements (e.g. balance day adjustments for depreciation, accruals, prepayments, to name a few).
Higher marks will be awarded for responses that include specific, company-based examples rather than generic explanations. (12 marks)
Log-in details in ProQuest are - Username: Holmes2004; Password: PQLogin2025@.
Some journals can be accessed in ProQuest by clicking on the links below:
All sources used must be referenced using the Holmes Adapted Harvard Referencing Style, which include providing the hyperlink to the full text of the cited reference source.
The assignment should include the following components:
a. The assignment cover page which clearly states your name and student number, and all other required details.
b. Executive summary
c. Table of contents
d. A brief introduction or overview of what the assignment is about
e. Body of the assignment with appropriate section headings
f. Conclusion
g. List of References (follow the Holmes Adapted Harvard Referencing guidelines)
| Marking Criteria | Weighting |
| Part A | |
| a) Company Overview | 4% |
| b) Identify and describe the purpose of the financial statements presented in your company's annual report. | 6% |
| c i) Identification of Users (3 marks) | 3% |
| c ii) Explanation of User Interest | 6% |
| c iii) Information Needs | 6% |
| Part B | |
| You have learnt the accounting cycle in class over several weeks. Reflect and describe your understanding of how the accounting cycle leads to the preparation of financial statements for decision-making by users. Support your answer with two (2) relevant evidence, including screenshots from your allocated company's financial statements (e.g. balance day adjustments for depreciation, accruals, prepayments, to name a few). | 12% |
| Overall Presentation of Assignment | 3% |
| TOTAL Weight | 40% |
Holmes has implemented a revised Harvard approach to referencing. The following rules apply:
1. Reference sources in assignments are limited to sources that provide full-text access to the source's content for lecturers and markers.
2. The reference list must be located on a separate page at the end of the essay and titled: "References".
3. The reference list must include the details of all the in-text citations, arranged A-Z alphabetically by author surname with each reference numbered (1 to 10, etc.) and each reference MUST include a hyperlink to the full text of the cited reference source.
For example:
1. Hawking, P., McCarthy, B. & Stein, A. 2004. Second Wave ERP Education, Journal of Information Systems Education, Fall, http://jise.org/Volume15/n3/JISEv15n3p327.pdf
4. All assignments must include in-text citations to the listed references. These must include the surname of the author/s or name of the authoring body, year of publication, page number of the content, and paragraph where the content can be found. For example, “The company decided to implement an enterprise-wide data warehouse business intelligence strategy (Hawking et al., 2004, p3(4)).”
Holmes Institute is committed to ensuring and upholding academic integrity, as it is integral to maintaining academic quality and the reputation of Holmes' graduates. Accordingly, all assessment tasks need to comply with academic integrity guidelines. Table 1 identifies the six categories of Academic Integrity breaches. If you have questions about Academic Integrity issues related to your assessment tasks, please consult your lecturer or tutor for relevant referencing guidelines and support resources. Many of these resources can also be found through the Study Skills link on Blackboard.
Academic integrity breaches are serious offences punishable by penalties ranging from deduction of marks, failure of the assessment task or unit involved, suspension of course enrolment, or cancellation of course enrolment.
| Table 1: Six categories of Academic Integrity breaches | |
| Plagiarism | Reproducing the work of someone else without attribution. When a student submits their own work on multiple occasions this is known as self-plagiarism. |
| Collusion | Working with one or more other individuals to complete an assignment, in a way that is not authorized. |
| Copying | Reproducing and submitting the work of another student, with or without their knowledge. If a student fails to take reasonable precautions to prevent their own original work from being copied, this may also be considered an offence. |
| Impersonation | Falsely presenting oneself, or engaging someone else to present as oneself, in an in-person examination. |
| Contract cheating | Contracting a third party to complete an assessment task, generally in exchange for money or other manner of payment. |
| Data fabrication and falsification | Manipulating or inventing data with the intent of supporting false conclusions, including manipulating images. |
| Source: INQAAHE, 2020 | |
| Criteria | Excellent (HD) | Very Good (D) | Good (C) | Satisfactory (P) | Unsatisfactory (F) |
| Part A (25 marks) a) Company Overview (4 marks) | (3.4–4) Comprehensive and accurate overview. Clearly explains operations, products/services, revenue sources, and all key financial indicators (equity, NPAT, EPS). Uses correct figures. | (3.0–3.3) Clear overview with most elements covered. Minor omissions or limited explanation. | (2.5–2.9) Adequate overview but lacks depth or clarity. Some indicators missing. | (2.0–2.4) Basic description with limited detail. Minimal use of financial data. | (0-1.9) Incomplete, inaccurate, or very generic. |
| b) Financial Statements (6 marks) | (5.1–6) Accurately identifies all financial statements and provides clear, detailed explanations of their purpose and content. | (4.5–5.0) Correct identification with good explanations, minor gaps. | (3.8–4.4) Identifies most statements; explanations are basic. | (3.0–3.7) Limited understanding; vague or incomplete explanations. | (0-2.9) Incorrect or missing identification; poor understanding. |
| c i) Identification of Users (3 marks) | (2.6–3) Clearly identifies three appropriate external users. | (2.3–2.5) Mostly appropriate users identified. | (2.0–2.2) Some appropriate users, minor issues. | (1.5–1.9) Limited or unclear identification. | (0-1.4) Incorrect or missing users. |
| c ii) Explanation of User Interest (6 marks) | (5.1–6) Insightful and well-developed explanations clearly linked to decision-making needs. | (4.5–5.0) Good explanations with some depth and relevance. | (3.8–4.4) Basic explanations; some links to decision-making. | (3.0–3.7) Limited or generic explanations. | (0-2.9) Poor or incorrect explanations. |
| c iii) Information Needs (Table) (6 marks) | (5.1–6) Two specific, relevant, company-based examples per user. Clear, well-structured table. Strong linkage to financial statements. | (4.5–5.0) Good examples with some company linkage; minor gaps. | (3.8–4.4) Adequate examples but somewhat generic. | (3.0–3.7) Limited or mostly generic examples. | (0-2.9) Incomplete or irrelevant responses. |
| Part B (12 marks) Accounting Cycle & Financial Reporting (12 marks) | (10.2–12) Excellent reflection showing strong understanding of the accounting cycle and its link to financial statements. Uses two clear, relevant company-based examples (e.g., depreciation, accruals). Evidence (screenshots) is well integrated and explained. | (9.0–10.1) Good understanding with relevant examples and evidence. Minor gaps in depth. | (7.5–8.9) Sound understanding; examples provided but lack depth or clarity. Evidence included but not fully explained. | (6.0–7.4) Basic understanding with limited or generic examples. Minimal evidence. | (0-5.9) Poor understanding; lacks relevant examples and/or evidence. |
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