HA2042 Individual Assignment – Assessment 2, T1 2021 Page 1 of 9 ASSESSMENT DETAILS AND SUBMISSION GUIDELINESTrimesterT1, 2021Unit CodeHA2042Unit TitleAccounting Information SystemsAssessment TypeAssessment 2: Individual AssignmentAssessment TitleSystem Analysis and SelectionPurpose of theassessment (withULO Mapping)Students are required to:• Understand and explain the place of an accounting informationsystem in the context of the organisational structure and operatingpractices (ULO 2),• Identify, analyse, and compare different types of accountinginformation systems (ULO 3), and• Use different methodologies to evaluate various accountinginformation systems (ULO 4).Weight30% of the total assessmentsTotal Marks30 MarksWord LimitMaximum 2,500 wordsDue DateDue Date – Week 9, Friday 21st May 2021, 11:59pm.SubmissionGuidelines• All work must be submitted on Blackboard by the due date along witha completed Assignment Cover Page.• The assignment must be in MS Word format, double spacing, 12-ptArial font and 2 cm margins on all four sides of your page withappropriate section headings and page numbers.• Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report and listedappropriately at the end in a reference list using Harvard referencingstyle.• Include a minimum of ten (10) references, at least five (5) from peerreviewed journal relevant to the unit.Adapted Harvard ReferencingHolmes has now implemented a revised Harvard approach to referencing:1. Reference sources in assignments are limited to sources whichprovide full text access to the source’s content for lecturers andmarkers.2. The Reference list should be located on a separate page at theend of the essay and titled: References.3. It should include the details of all the in-text citations, arrangedalphabetically A-Z by author surname. In addition, it MUSTinclude a hyperlink to the full text of the cited reference source.For example; HA2042 Individual Assignment – Assessment 2, T1 2021 Page 2 of 9 P Hawking, B McCarthy, A Stein (2004), Second Wave ERPEducation, Journal of Information Systems Education,Fall, http://jise.org/Volume15/n3/JISEv15n3p327.pdf4. All assignments will require additional in-text reference detailswhich will consist of the surname of the author/authors or nameof the authoring body, year of publication, page number ofcontent, paragraph where the content can be found.For example;“The company decided to implement an enterprise wide datawarehouse business intelligence strategies (Hawking et al, 2004,p3(4)).”Non – Adherence to Referencing GuidelinesWhere students do not follow the above guidelines:1. Students who submit assignments which do not comply with theguidelines may be required to resubmit their assignments or incurpenalties for inadequate referencing.2. Late penalties will apply per day after a student or group has beennotified of a resubmission requirements.• Students whose citations are fake will be reported for academicmisconduct HA2042 Individual Assignment – Assessment 2, T1 2021 Page 3 of 9Assignment DetailsBackgroundYou are working as a junior Business Analyst in a Big Four Accounting and Management Consultingfirm in Australia. Recently, you are assigned to work with one client who owns and operates mediumsized fashion stores across all states in Australia with the head office in Melbourne. In addition, thisclient also has a busy online fashion boutique business being operated by staff members in the headoffice. Currently, each store has its own accounting software and monthly management reports aremanually prepared and submitted to the head office via email. As to the limitations of its’ currenttraditional accounting system, the client believes that an investment in cloud-based accountingsoftware is needed to support the growth of the business.RequiredYou are required to prepare a report to evaluate and recommend a cloud-based accounting softwarefor the above client. The report should include the following components:1. Background• Briefly describe the basic business activities involved in the revenue and expenditure cycles ofthe above client. (Hint: Observe the operations of a typical fashion store which you know)• Identify the major internal control weaknesses in these business activities.• Discuss the possible risks associated with each of the identified control weaknesses.2. System Requirements• Outline the software features/ functionalities that your client should consider supporting itsbusiness activities.3. Software Selection• Visit the websites of at least two (2) accounting software package vendors (e.g. SAP, MYOB,Xero, etc.) and provide a brief description of each vendor and its products.• Compare and contrast the features/functionalities of two cloud-based accounting softwarepackages offered by accounting software package vendors.• Identify the most suitable vendor and accounting software package for your client and explainwhy it is the best option.HA2042 Individual Assignment – Assessment 2, T1 2021 Page 4 of 9Assignment StructureThe report should include the following components1. Holmes Institute Assignment Cover Sheet2. Executive SummaryThe executive summary should be concise and not involve too much detail. It should makecommentary on the main points only and follow the sequence of the report. Write the ExecutiveSummary after the report is completed, and once you have an overview of the whole text.3. Contents PageThis needs to show a logical listing of all the sub-headings of the report’s contents. Note this isexcluded from the total word count.4. IntroductionTypically, the introduction is a short paragraph which includes background, scope and the mainpoints raised in the order of importance. There should be a brief conclusion statement at the end ofthe introduction.5. Main Body Paragraphs with Numbered Sub-headingsThis section contains the detailed information which elaborates on the main points raised in theintroduction. Each paragraph should begin with an exact topic sentence, then supporting sentenceswith facts and evidence obtained from research and finish with a concluding sentence at the end.Body of the report should contain sections to answer the above issues and with appropriate sectionheadings6. ConclusionThis section contains a logical and coherent evaluation based on a thorough and objectiveassessment of the research performed.7. List of ReferencesInclude a minimum of ten (10) references, at least five (5) from peer-reviewed journal relevant tothe unit.8. AppendicesThis section includes any additional explanatory information which is supplementary and/orgraphical to help communicate the main ideas made in the report. Refer to the appendices in themain body paragraphs, as and where appropriate. (Note this is excluded from the total word count.)Safe-Assign Similarity Percentage:1. Plagiarism in any form, shape or manner is unacceptable under any circumstances andwill be dealt with according to Institute policy on plagiarism. Refer to the section belowon Academic Integrity.2. In general, for written reports, a LOW Safe-Assign similarity percentage of 25% orbelow is acceptable. Regardless of the similarity figure, all group reports must use thecorrect in-text citation protocols and proper referencing rules.HA2042 Individual Assignment – Assessment 2, T1 2021 Page 5 of 9Academic IntegrityHolmes Institute is committed to ensuring and upholding Academic Integrity, as Academic Integrityis integral to maintaining academic quality and the reputation of Holmes’ graduates. Accordingly, allassessment tasks need to comply with academic integrity guidelines. Table 1 identifies the sixcategories of Academic Integrity breaches. If you have any questions about Academic Integrityissues related to your assessment tasks, please consult your lecturer or tutor for relevant referencingguidelines and support resources. Many of these resources can also be found through the StudySkills link on Blackboard.Academic Integrity breaches are a serious offence punishable by penalties that may range fromdeduction of marks, failure of the assessment task or unit involved, suspension of courseenrolment, or cancellation of course enrolment.Table 1: Six Categories of Academic Integrity Breaches PlagiarismReproducing the work of someone else withoutattribution. When a student submits their own work onmultiple occasions this is known as self-plagiarism.CollusionWorking with one or more other individuals to completean assignment, in a way that is not authorised.CopyingReproducing and submitting the work of anotherstudent, with or without their knowledge. If a studentfails to take reasonable precautions to prevent their ownoriginal work from being copied, this may also beconsidered an offence.ImpersonationFalsely presenting oneself, or engaging someone else topresent as oneself, in an in-person examination.Contract cheatingContracting a third party to complete an assessmenttask, generally in exchange for money or other mannerof payment.Data fabrication andfalsificationManipulating or inventing data with the intent ofsupporting false conclusions, including manipulatingimages. HA2042 Individual Assignment – Assessment 2, T1 2021 Page 6 of 9Marking Criteria Marking CriteriaWeighting in TotalGradesBriefly describe the basic business activities involved in the revenue andexpenditure cycles of the above client.2%Identify the major internal control weaknesses in these businessactivities.3%Discuss the possible risks associated with each of the identified controlweaknesses3%Outline the software features and functionalities that your client shouldconsider supporting its business activities3%Visit the websites of at least two (2) accounting software packagevendors (e.g. SAP, MYOB, Xero etc.) and provide a brief description ofeach vendor and its products5%Compare and contrast the features/functionalities of two cloud-basedaccounting software packages offered by accounting software packagevendors5%Identify the most suitable vendor and accounting software packagefor your client and explain why it is the best option5%Report Presentation and Formatting2%Research Quality2%TOTAL Weight30% HA2042 Individual Assignment – Assessment 2, T1 2021 Page 7 of 9Marking Rubric CriteriaMarksExcellent(80-100%)Very Good(70-79%)Good(60-69%)Satisfactory(50-59%)Unsatisfactory(0-49%)Describe the client’sbusiness activities/2 marks in totalAn excellentdescription of yourclient’s businessactivities in therevenue andexpenditure cycles ofthe above client.A very gooddescription of yourclient’s businessactivities in therevenue andexpenditure cycles ofthe above client.A good description ofyour client’s businessactivities in therevenue andexpenditure cycles ofthe above client.An adequatedescription of yourclient’s businessactivities in therevenue andexpenditure cycles ofthe above client.An appropriatedescription of yourclient’s businessactivities in therevenue andexpenditure cycles ofthe above client.Identify the majorinternal controlweaknesses in thesebusiness activities./3 marks in totalIdentify all majorinternal controlweakness for thebusiness processes.Identify most majorinternal controlweakness for thebusiness processes.Identify most majorinternal controlweakness for thebusiness processeswith minor errorsIdentify some internalcontrol weakness forthe business processeswith errors and/ oromissionsFail to identify anymajor internal controlweakness for thebusiness processes.Discuss the possiblerisks associated witheach of the identifiedcontrol weaknesses/3 marks in totalDiscuss all possiblerisks associated witheach of the identifiedcontrol weaknesses.Discuss most possiblerisks associated witheach of the identifiedcontrol weaknesses.Discuss most possiblerisks associated witheach of the identifiedcontrol weaknesseswith minor errors.Discuss some possiblerisks associated witheach of the identifiedcontrol weaknesseswith errors and/oromissions.Fail to discuss anypossible risksassociated with each ofthe identified controlweaknesses.Outline the softwarefeatures andfunctionalities that yourclient should considersupporting its businessactivities/3 marks in totalPresent an excellentdiscussion on thefeatures andfunctionalities ofaccounting softwarethat your client shouldconsider.Present a very gooddiscussion on thefeatures andfunctionalities ofaccounting softwarethat your client shouldconsider.Present a gooddiscussion on featuresand functionalities ofaccounting softwarethat your client shouldconsider with minorerrors and/oromissions.Present a discussion onfeatures andfunctionalities ofaccounting softwarethat your client shouldconsider with errorsand/or omissions.Unable to present aproper discussion onfeatures andfunctionalities ofaccounting softwarethat your client shouldconsider HA2042 Individual Assignment – Assessment 2, T1 2021 Page 8 of 9 Visit the websites of atleast two (2) accountingsoftware packagevendors (e.g. SAP,MYOB, Xero etc.) andprovide a briefdescription of eachvendor and its products/5 marks in totalPresent an excellentdescription ofaccounting softwarepackage vendors andtheir products.Present a very gooddescription ofaccounting softwarepackage vendors andtheir products.Present a gooddescription ofaccounting softwarepackage vendors andtheir products withminor errors and/oromissions.Present a descriptionof accounting softwarepackage vendors andtheir products witherrors and/oromissions.Unable to present anaccurate description ofaccounting softwarepackage vendors andtheir products.Compare and contrastthe features/functionalities of twocloud-based accountingsoftware packagesoffered by accountingsoftware packagevendors/5 marks in totalPresent an excellentcomparison of featuresand functionalities oftwo cloud-basedaccounting softwarepackages.Present a very goodcomparison of featuresand functionalities oftwo cloud-basedaccounting softwarepackages.Present a goodcomparison of featuresand functionalities oftwo cloud-basedaccounting softwarepackages with minorerrors and/oromissions.Present a reasonablecomparison of featuresand functionalities oftwo cloud-basedaccounting softwarepackages with errorsand omissions.Unable to present aproper comparison offeatures andfunctionalities of twocloud-basedaccounting softwarepackages.Identify the mostsuitable vendor andaccounting softwarepackage for your clientand explain why it is thebest option/5 marks in totalPropose a choice of anaccounting softwarepackage based on verystrong arguments.Propose a choice of anaccounting softwarepackage based onstrong arguments.Propose a choice of anaccounting softwarepackage based onreasonable arguments.Propose a choice of anaccounting softwarepackage based onweak or inadequatearguments.Unable to propose aproper choice of anaccounting softwarepackage or back theproposed choice with avalid argument.Report Presentation andformattingReport included allelements and was verywell presented. Writingflowed clearly andsections were linkedvery effectively.Referencing wasexemplary. English wasReport included allelements and was wellpresented. Writingflowed clearly andsections were linkedeffectively. Referencingwas of a high standard.English was usedReport included allelements and wasgenerally presentedappropriately. Writingmostly flowed well andsections were linked.Referencing was inaccordance withReport included mostelements and wasadequately presented.Writing sometimes didnot flow clearly leavingthe paper to seemdisjointed in areas.Referencing wasReport lacked someelements and waspoorly presented.Writing often did notflow clearly leaving thepaper to seemsomewhat disjointed.Referencing was not HA2042 Individual Assignment – Assessment 2, T1 2021 Page 9 of 9 /2 marks in totalused very effectivelyand was error-free.effectively with veryfew errors present.guidelines. English wasused effectively withfew errors present.somewhat inaccordance withguidelines. BasicEnglish was used withsome errors present.entirely in accordancewith relevantguidelines. BasicEnglish was used witherrors present.Research Quality/2 marks in totalAn extensive amountof high-qualityevidence from peerreviewed journalarticles and othersources was includedand used effectively tosupport discussion.A broad range ofquality peer-reviewedjournal references andother sources wasincluded and usedeffectively to supportdiscussion.An adequate range ofpeer-reviewed journalreferences wasincluded and used tosupport discussion.An adequate range ofpeer-reviewed journalreferences wasincluded and used to abasic extent to supportdiscussion.Little or no peerreviewed journalreferences wereincluded and thesewere rarely used tosupport discussioneffectively.
