Task

Part A, 7 marks

You are working as an accountant in a regional accounting firm. You have been approached by the owner of “Goodie Gumdrops”, a start-up wholesaler. They have chosen a cloud based accounting system and have employed you to set up their company in in the AIS and enter the first month’s transactions. You are required to enter a range of transactions and generate some reports to assist with the business start-up. All information has been supplied by the business owner for you to input. The set up and transactional data will be provided in Interact Resources.

Task requirements:

Process your clients transactions for July 2017. Generate and submit the following reports to your client for July 2017;

  1. Profit & Loss
  2. Balance Sheet
  3. Trial Balance
  4. Aged Payables (detail)
  5. Aged Receivables (detail)
  6. Inventory Item Summary.

The marks assigned include correctness of information and the presentation of your reports. They need to look professional, as though they could be provided to your client.

Part B, 3 marks

Part A requires you to use a cloud based accounting system to process transactions for your client. Provide a 1 page executive summary on whether you believe a cloud based accounting system is a better approach for Goodie Gumdrops when compared to a traditional accounting system located on a computer at their head office. Your executive summary needs to include:

  • A concise overview regarding whether you believe a cloud based accounting or a traditional accounting system would be a better approach for Goodie Gumdrops; (0.5 marks)
  • Justification for your decision including the benefits and potential disadvantages of each approach; (1.5 marks) and
  • A clear recommendation to Goodie Gumdrops regarding which accounting system would be best suited for their business. (0.5 marks)

0.5 marks will be awarded for the presentation of your report, in line with the presentation requirements detailed below.

Rationale

This assessment task has been designed to assess your ability to:

  • understand and apply foundation principles relating to computerised information systems in contemporary organisations.

Marking criteria

Criteria / HD / D / Cr / P
Set up and enter data into a computerised accounting information system and generate nominated reports
/ An outstanding level of skill demonstrated in set up and processing of accounting transactions including: correct accounting classifications with accurate coding; correct naming applied to all new accounts and items; outstanding data entry; no errors; follows all specifications. / A high level of skill demonstrated in set up and processing of accounting transactions with: correct accounting classifications with accurate coding; correct naming applied to all new accounts and items; high level skill in data entry with one minor error; follows all specifications. / An above satisfactory level of skill demonstrated in set up and processing of accounting transactions with: correct accounting classifications with mostly accurate coding; correct naming applied to a majority of new accounts and items; above satisfactory level of skill in data entry with a few minor errors; follows all specifications. / A satisfactory level of skill demonstrated in set up and processing of accounting transactions with: correct accounting classifications with mostly accurate coding; correct naming applied to most new accounts and items; satisfactory level of skill in data entry, some errors present; follows a majority of specifications with: mostly accurate data entry; mostly correct setup and accounting classifications, with just a few minor issues; mostly appropriate coding; correct naming applied to a majority of new accounts and items.
Interprets features of computerised information systems for an organisation / Presentation of a clear and concise executive summary to your client which; provides a clear choice of approach; evaluates the relative benefits and potential disadvantages for both cloud and traditional accounting systems; includes a recommendation to your client based on your evaluation of benefits and potential disadvantages. / Presentation of a clear and concise executive summary to your client which; provides a clear choice of approach; analyses the benefits and potential disadvantages for both cloud and traditional accounting systems; includes a recommendation to your client based on your analysis of benefits and potential disadvantages. / Presentation of a concise executive summary to your client which; provides a clear choice of approach; explains the benefits and potential disadvantages for both cloud and traditional accounting systems; includes a recommendation to your client tied back to your explanation of benefits and potential disadvantages. / Presentation of an executive summary to your client which; provides a clear choice of approach; includes a basic description of the benefits and potential disadvantages for both cloud and traditional accounting systems; documents a recommendation to your client based on your description above.
Academic writing skills / Outstanding use of syntax, spelling and punctuation. Is a maximum of one (1) page in length, applying the presentation requirements relevant to the task. / A high level use of syntax, spelling and punctuation. Is a maximum of one (1) page in length, applying the presentation requirements relevant to the task. / Above satisfactory use of syntax, spelling and punctuation.
Is a maximum of one (1) page in length, applying the presentation requirements relevant to the task. / Satisfactory use of syntax, spelling and grammar. Is a maximum of one (1) page in length, applying a majority of the presentation requirements relevant to this task.

Presentation

Your report to your client should include the following items, presented in this sequence;

  • a cover page to your client;
  • your executive summary addressing Part B of the Assignment; and
  • the reports generated in Part A of the Assignment.

It is expected that this will be presented as though it is being provided to your client.

You need to use Times New Roman or Arial font, with a font size 11 or more. The margins for your executive summary should be a minimum of 2.5cm from all sides (left, right, top and bottom).

You report should be prepared using the template provided to you in interact.

Note: an Executive Summary is not an introduction. An Executive Summary should be an overview of an entire report, including recommendations, and no longer than one (1) page in length. This may be the only page read by busy managers.

Requirements

APA must be used to reference all sources you have used for your assignment.

The CSU Library site provides an on-line guide to APA style referencing. This is the referencing style adopted by the School of Accounting and Finance. The guide can be found at:

Review the rules regarding plagiarism and if you are not sure contact your lecturer or student learning skills advisor for advice. There is no excuse for presenting the work of others as your own; this includes cutting and pasting material from the web without properly referencing the source.

You assignment must be submitted viaTurnitin in word format only.

Any difficulties in submitting your assignments online electronically usingTurnitin should be immediately reported by email. Include your name and student number in the header or footer of all documents submitted. Retain a copy of your assignment for your records.