Assignment Brief
Module Title:
Accounting & Finance Theories &
Issues
Module Code:
BAF-6-AFT
Assignment No/Title:
1
Assessment Weighting:
100%
Submission Date:
16th December 2022
Feedback Target Date:
6 January 2023
Module Co-ordinator/
Tutor:
Ivor Pingue
Word count
2,500-3,000 words
Submission Instructions:
This assignment is to be submitted electronically
1. This assignment must be submitted electronically by 4.00 pm on the submission date.
2. To submit electronically you must upload your work to the e-submission area within the respective module on
Moodle.
3. Multiple drafts can be submitted up to the submission date.
4. Please remember you must leave at least 24 hours between submissions if you make changes to your work.
Each submission will overwrite the previous one until the due date and time has passed.
5. You are reminded of the University’s regulations on cheating and plagiarism. In submitting your assignment,
you are acknowledging that you have read and understood these regulations.
6. You are reminded that it is your responsibility to keep an electronic copy of your assignment for future
reference.
7. Your citation needs to follow the Harvard style referencing.
The Assignment Task(s)
This Assignment was developed to assess the following Learning Outcomes:
-
Critically evaluate the various approaches to accounting theory.
Appraise significant and current issues in financial reporting
Demonstrate an understanding of strategies for evaluating accounting and finance research data and
synthesising data from multiple sources
Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of a chosen topic of personal interest within the field of
accounting and finance.
Please choose ONE of the following topics to research and write a report with a minimum word count of 2,500
words and a maximum of 3,000 words +10% (3,300 words excluding references)
Please adhere to the work-plan time-table which will assist you to both research and write up your report in good
time to submit on the submission date (23 January 2023).
Make sure that you discuss your work and obtain feedback from the Module Leader (Ivor Pingue) or your
seminar tutor before you submit your final report.
Hint : DO NOT START YOUR RESEARCH TOO LATE !!!
Page 1 of 7
The brief for this assessment is as follows:
Assignment Topic 1
It could be argued that the world is in a state of flux, following the pandemic and the current economic
crisis leading to a re-think of business strategies and approaches. Accordingly, accountants will have to
show that they can be the new ‘innovators’ in their approach.
Empirical and experiential evidence demonstrate that - despite institutional differences - the practice of
accounting is dynamic and highly contextualised, thus evolving with business needs and changes to the
market environment.
An example of this change in the innovation of business is the rise in cryptocurrencies and other digital
assets. This largely unregulated environment is laden with risks and dangers to crypto and digital asset
holders.
It could be argued that the regulators have been slow to regulate these markets, and accountants have
had ‘free reign’ to interpret the accounting rules to deal with crypto-currencies and digital assets.
Also, whether you agree with it or not, environmental concerns are front and centre of the global agenda,
and the world has decided that ‘ESG’ (Environmental, Social and Governance) matters should be at the
forefront of the political and regulatory agenda.
There are a number of alternative accounting methods which could be adopted and that have been
explored and for which there are a number of theoretical and practical approaches.
As far as accounting is concerned, there is a growing concern that a fragmented regulatory landscape
around ‘ESG’ disclosures would hinder firms’ access to green financing.
To compound the issue, corporate governance codes and best practices guide boards, but are not strictly
embedded in law which leads to the slow adoption of the ‘green agenda’ for companies.
Page 2 of 7
REQUIRED:
You are required to write an individual report
Topic 1
1. Drawing upon relevant research and theories, critically evaluate the idea from paragraphs 1 & 2 that the
world is in a state of flux and that accountant have been innovative in their approach in recent years –
Research this by week 3
2. Critically evaluate the idea that accounting is ‘dynamic’ – Research by week 4
3. Critically evaluate the idea that crypto currencies are unregulated and that the accountants have had ‘free
reign’ in this area – Research by week 5
4. Critically evaluate the idea that the ESG mandate is growing considerably greener, and that the direction
of capital is subsequently changing. – Research this by week 8
5. Critically evaluate the need for more stringent regulation around environmental and social governance by
considering the theoretical and other aspects pertinent to this area. – Research this by week 10
6. Critically assess the idea that, in both an advisory and a technical capacity, accountants are dynamic and
proactive professionals at the forefront of innovation, who act in the best interests of an ever-widening
pool of stakeholders. – Attend the LSBU/PQ conference on Wed Dec 7th, ‘Accountants are the new
innovators’ [details to follow in due course].
7. Produce a conclusion to your report – to be done by week 12
Page 3 of 7
Assignment Topic 2
The International Federation of Accountants (“IFAC”) recently produced a paper entitled ‘Redefining
Accounting for Tomorrow’ where, amongst other things, they addressed the question of what defines
accounting for the future and opined that the revised definition “in our perspective, (there is a) need to
recognise and reflect the multi-faceted conception of accounting as a technical, social and moral practice
more pro-actively”.
Accordingly, they have considered the following as an appropriate ‘new’ definition of accounting:
“Accounting is a technical, social and moral practice concerned with the sustainable utilisation of
resources and proper accountability to stakeholders to enable the flourishing of organisations, people
and nature” (Carnegie et. Al. 2020)
If this definition was adopted, then it could be argued that accountants and accounting would be at the
forefront of innovation.
However, ‘traditional’ accounting has changed very little over the years despite there being a wide variety
of alternative accounting methods which would truly reflect this new definition.
It could also be argued that in order for accounting to change, there should be a corresponding change
in the corporate governance and taxation system to encourage companies to behave more ethically and
be more socially and environmentally accountable.
In addition, if the new definition for accounting was implemented, the audit process would also need to
change to incorporate the audit of the social and environmental aspects of businesses.
An example of the innovation of business is the rise in cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. This
largely unregulated environment is laden with risks and dangers to crypto and digital asset holders. It
could be argued that the regulators have been slow to regulate these markets, and accountants have
had ‘free reign’ to interpret the accounting rules to deal with crypto-currencies and digital assets.
In addition, most of the wealth in the world is managed by sovereign wealth and pension plans and these
billions, trillion mandates do not own a single bitcoin. This suggest that despite the excitement around
Page 4 of 7
the world, the cryptocurrencies sphere is merely nascent and still inconsequential to these huge asset
allocators, calling for the regulation of digital assets as they currently sit outside a market-indexed
framework.
Until such a time, presumably, as there is activity on the regulatory front on both accounts, the status
quo - as far as traditional accounting is concerned - still prevails.
REQUIRED
You are to write an individual report clearly identifying the following:
Topic 2
1. Using relevant research and current accounting theory, critically evaluate the new definition of
accounting and whether or not traditional accounting has changed – Research this by week 3
2. Critically evaluate that ‘accountants are the new innovators’ – Research this by week 4
3. Critically evaluate the need for changes in the corporate governance and taxation systems either in the
UK or a country of your choice – drawing upon relevant theories and accounting and governance research.
– Research this by week 6
4. Critically evaluate the idea that the audit process would need to change to reflect the ideas discussed
above– Research this by week 8
5. Critically evaluate the idea that there has been a rise in crypto and digital assets and the notion that there
has been a lack of regulation and that there is not likely to be any change sometime soon – Attend the
LSBU/PQ conference on Wed Dec 7th, ‘Accountants are the new innovators’ [details to follow in due
course]. Research this by week 10
6. Produce a conclusion to your report – to be done by week 12
Page 5 of 7
Assessment Criteria:
Each task is being marked according to the following rubric:
ACCOUNTING & FINANCE THEORIES & ISSUES (BAAF)
INDIVIDUAL COURSEWORK MARKSHEET
STUDENT NUMBER:
STUDENT NAME:
ASSIGNMENT TOPIC:
CRITERIA
MARKS
MARKS
COMMENTS
AVAILABLE
AWARDED
PRESENTATION
15
Format- Format (5 marks)
Spelling- Spelling (5 marks)
Grammar- Grammar (5 marks)
RELEVANCE OF
RESEARCH
20
RELEVANCE OF CONTENT:
- ORIGINALITY OF
APPROACH (20
marks)
- ARGUMENTS PUT
FORWARD (20
marks)
55
CONCLUSION(S)
REACHED (15 marks)
BIBLIOGRAPHY /
REFERENCING LINKED TO
TURNITIN REPORT
TOTAL
Originality –
Arguments –
Conclusion –
-
SIGNED (1st Marker)
Page 6 of 7
10
100
SIGNED (2nd Marker)
DATE:
Grading Criteria- Guidelines
80- and
above
70 – 79%
60 - 69%
50 - 59%
40 – 49%
39% and
less
Ivor Pingue
Module Leader
pinguei@lsbu.ac.uk
Page 7 of 7
Work of exceptional quality showing clear understanding of the subject matter.
Critical appraisal of literature and data. Very high level of intellectual work
High quality work showing strong grasp of subject matter. Arguments well
formulated and sustained. Consideration of all dominant issues with some critical
appraisal. Selective use of relevant literature.
Work of solid quality showing competent understanding of subject matter.
Arguments clearly developed and supported with relevant literature. Appreciation
of main issues but limited critical analysis. Well prepared and presented material.
Writing coherent
Adequate work but lacking depth and breadth. Descriptive rather than analytical
approach. Arguments presented but not developed. Referencing unfocused.
Competent writing
Simple factual approach. Narrow or misguided selection of material. Superficial
treatment of issues. Limited presentation. Arguments inadequately presented.
Writing style limited
Unsatisfactory. Title of coursework assignment not adhered to. Work shows lack of
understanding of topic. Unstructured approach. Writing style very poor