Postgraduate - UnitACF5350 - Applied contemporary accounting

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 3, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Level	Postgraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Business and Economics
Organisational Unit	Department of Accounting
Offered	Caulfield First semester 2015 (Day) Caulfield Second semester 2015 (Evening)

Synopsis

This capstone unit requires students to synthesize, analyse, evaluate and apply prior knowledge and skills gained throughout the Master of Accounting in a manner that is designed to enhance their ability to transition to a chosen career path. The unit adopts a thematic approach that examines how external and regulatory factors, decision making processes, and stakeholder expectations interact to drive contemporary organisational success. Collectively, these three interrelated pillars of knowledge provide a comprehensive framework for those aspiring for challenging accounting and finance positions. Content is delivered in a weekly seminar format and draws upon selected case studies that cover topics including strategy, corporate governance, financial reporting and performance management. Given the integrative nature of the unit, assessment is primarily based on a combination of individual and group case study analysis.

Outcomes

The learning goals associated with this unit are to:

analyse, synthesize and evaluate the effect of accounting policies, regulatory requirements and other external factors on organisational performance
analyse, synthesize and evaluate drivers of sustainable competitive advantage and value creation in various organisational and industry settings, including their impact on stakeholder satisfaction
analyse, synthesize and evaluate contemporary performance management systems (PMS) and the role played by PMS in strategy formulation and decision making
demonstrate written and presentation skills at a level required for a senior career in accounting and business
demonstrate research and analytical skills to solve complex accounting and business problems and ethical dilemmas
demonstrate a capacity to work independently and lead and participate in teams.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 60%
Examination: 40%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Independent study may include associated readings, assessment and preparation for scheduled activities. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Aldonio Ferreira (First semester)
Dr Stephen Smith (Second semester)

Prerequisites

ACF5100 or AFF5100 and ACF5120 or AFF5120 and ACF5130 or AFF5130 and ACF5150 or AFF5150

Co-requisites

Students must be enrolled in course 0503 to undertake this unit.