Aidan Booth - 10031526 ACCT11059 – Assignment Stage 1
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Aidan Booth - 10031526 ACCT11059 – Assignment Stage 1
Step 1:
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Step 2:
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Step 3:
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Step 4:
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Step 5:
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Aidan Booth - 10031526 ACCT11059 – Assignment Stage 1
Step 1:
 Setting up your personal profile on Moodle
 Setting up your personal blog
My personal profile on Moodle can be found at the following link: https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/user/profile.php?id=7258
My blog can be found at the following link: https://aidanacctblog.wordpress.com/
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Aidan Booth - 10031526 ACCT11059 – Assignment Stage 1
Step 2:
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Identify your company
 Find their annual reports
 Post background information about your company on your blog
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KCQ’s
 Top 3 Blogs
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 Identify your company
My company is BORAL Ltd. The following is a link to their website: http://www.boral.com.au/home.asp
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 Find their annual reports
BORAL’s annual reports can be found at the following links:
2014: http://www.boral.com.au/Images/common/pdfs/annual-reports/Boral-Annual-Report-2014.pdf
2013: http://www.boral.com.au/Images/common/pdfs/annual-reports/Boral-Annual-Report-2013.pdf
2012: http://www.boral.com.au/Images/common/pdfs/annual-reports/Boral-Annual-Report-2012.pdf
2011: http://www.boral.com.au/Images/common/pdfs/annual-reports/2011_annual_report.pdf
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 Post background information about your company on your blog
Background information relating to BORAL was posted on my blog. You can find the post at the following link: https://aidanacctblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/30/about-boral-limited/
The post is as follows: pg. 4

Aidan Booth - 10031526 ACCT11059 – Assignment Stage 1
Posted on July 30, 2015 by aidanbooth2015
My company is BORAL Limited , a multinational company which manufactures and distributes building and construction materials. Boral operates approximately 550 sites globally with its headquarters being in Sydney, NSW.
As of June 30, 2014, Boral had 8953 FTE employees headed by Chairman Dr Bob Every and CEO & Managing Director Mike
Kane. These employees are split between four divisions. These four divisions are: Boral Construction Materials & Cement,
Boral Building Products, Boral Gypsum and Boral USA.
The ‘flagship’ division which generates the highest revenue is BORAL Construction Materials & Cement, which generated revenue exceeding $3billion.
Together, the four divisions achieved $5.2billion in sales revenue , with a net profit (after tax) of $173 million for the year ended 30 June 2014.
Products which Boral manufacture and distribute include timber, plasterboard, concrete masonry products, roofing tiles, quarry products, cement, fly ash, pre-mix concrete, bricks and pavers. These products are manufactured and distributed to three key markets – Australia, Asia and the USA.
BORAL Limited is listed on the ASX under the company code BLD. Of the 764 million shares on issue, 17.74% (138,877,884) are owned by majority shareholder JP Morgan Nominees Australia Limited.
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Aidan Booth - 10031526 ACCT11059 – Assignment Stage 1
 KCQ’s
Areas of firm’s financial statements I find hard to understand:
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One area which challenges my thinking is called ‘Foreign currency translation reserve transferred to net profit on disposal of controlled entities’. At first glance – this was extremely confusing, however once i re-read and understood the meanings – it was ok.
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I also didn’t understand what a ‘fair value adjustment on cash flow hedges’ was until
I further researched.
Challenges the firm is facing:
Being an international company in a highly regulated industry, Boral faces a number of challenges. These include:
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Adaptation to changing legislation and regulation in different countries
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Remaining competitive in a high volume, competitive pricing environment.
 Finding efficiencies to realise and maximize returns in all areas.
My KCQ’s
Q: The word ‘other’ seems to repeat itself throughout the financial statements (other assets, other liabilities, other income and other expenses). For small amounts of money – I couldn’t see this as a problem – but I get confused when amounts exceed $150million. Why is there no note to say what these are? Is there an amount in which ‘other’ amounts need to be declared?
Q: Another example of broad wording is ‘other expenses’. For the years 2014, 2012 and
2011, ‘other expenses’ averaged around $80million. However, for 2013, this amount expanded to nearly $450million. My studying of the financial statements shows that this is the most prominent factor in the 2013 loss of $205.7 million. Why? Do companies not need to provide explanations for these things? Why couldn’t this be predicted and altered before making a loss?
KC: Boral has a particular emphasis on safety. It is mentioned as their ‘key priority’. Boral is striving to succeed a zero injury rate – however there is still a long way to go. This is confirmed by the report of an employee fatality in the 2014 financial year.
KC: The detail of an annual report is surprising me. I didn’t know just how in-depth it had to be. For example, Boral’s 2014 annual report has 14 separate sections spanning 132 pages.
Q: Boral Ltd is currently operating at a profit, however some of my peers’ companies operate at a loss – year after year. How long can a company operate at a loss? How long is it healthy to operate at a loss in relation to the overall brand confidence? pg. 6

Aidan Booth - 10031526 ACCT11059 – Assignment Stage 1
KC: I find it interesting that the annual report (which you would think would focus on the numbers) also includes sections about computer systems and workforce. The most interesting this ive found in relation to these is the ‘our people’ table, which includes information regarding average length of service, employees by division and ratio of women in the workforce and on the board.
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 Useful news articles and videos
The following is an informative and recent article about the Boral Ltd’s share price after the release of the annual report. http://www.fool.com.au/2015/07/22/why-boral-limited-will-deliver-a-better-than-expected-profit/#
This link is a press release following the announcement of Boral Ltd’s chairman stepping down. http://www.boral.com.au/Images/common/pdfs/Media_Releases/Boral-Chairman-20May2015.pdf
There are nearly 100 videos showing the different facets of Borals construction materials and installation techniques at Boral’s youtube channel (BORAL PR). https://www.youtube.com/user/BoralRoofing/videos
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 Top 3 Blogs
Alisha Casey - http://alishacaseyblog.blogspot.com.au/
I thought this blog was well thought out, well researched and a little more relaxed than some. He blog is easy to navigate and I look forward to reading more in the future.
Erin Hilaire - http://iwannagetfiscal.blogspot.com.au/
Erins blog packed with information. The addition of pictures make the blog a little more interesting than some and the blog is set out in a way which makes it easy to read and understand.
Amanda McFlinn - http://beaudityoucanbe.blogspot.com.au/
This blog has the most information that ive seen on any of the blogs – but it isn’t confusing in any way. The blog is well set out and extremely easy to navigate.
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Aidan Booth - 10031526 ACCT11059 – Assignment Stage 1
Step 3:
 Input your company’s financial statements into your spreadsheet
A link to the company spreadsheet has been uploaded to my blog. The post can be found here: https://aidanacctblog.wordpress.com/2015/08/09/financial-statements/
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Step 4:
 Ideas, reflections and reactions to chapters 1 & 3 of the study guide
Chapter One:
The quote ‘business is about creating value’ interested me. Is this really true for all businesses? I think this quote would draw a lengthy debate between people, including myself in relation to the broad term of ‘value’.
Another standout is ‘about half of the directors of listed companies in Australia and New
Zealand have an accounting background. Half? Really? Its hard to imagine that that many people have an accounting background of some kind. My thinking is that the other half include HR specialists, management specialists, business specialists, property specialists and law specialists. Do these disciplines account for half of the directors of Australia and New
Zealand? Or are these disciplines intertwined with the definition of an accounting background?
The third thing that stood out for me was the list of businesses that are a ‘short walk’ from where Martin lives. The thought that all these businesses require some accounting knowledge startles me. Do they have this knowledge? Is it essential to have some form of accounting competency to run a business? I think everyone has some form of accounting knowledge, whether they have studied it formally or not. So, do they do their accounts themselves or do they pay an accountant to do it for them?
Another fascination of mine was just how long accounting methods had been around. I find it astonishing that concepts of accounting first explored in the 15 th century are still alive and current in todays world.
The equations and ratios at first confuse me. I am not from an accounting background and this is the only accounting course in my diploma. I’m sure, however, that in time I will begin to understand them and use them effectively. pg. 8

Aidan Booth - 10031526 ACCT11059 – Assignment Stage 1
I found reading chapter one to be a real eye opener. Before this course, I saw accounting as crunching a few numbers, however the application in making real business decisions has intrigued and interested me.
Chapter Three:
Firstly, the statement that ‘a firms annual report is a marketing document’ opened my eyes.
I first saw an annual report as somewhat of a tedious chore; something a firm had to do. The thought that a firm can use their annual report as a marketing tool interests, and confuses me slightly. Why would a firm use it as a marketing tool? Are investments made to ensure the annual report is ‘marketing friendly’? How many people actually read a firms annual report? Are people that read the firms report not already in some way connected to the firm?
Something which at a glance seems easy to understand is subsidiary companies. Where I think it will start to confuse me slightly is when there are multiple (10’s or 100’s) and are not wholly owned by the main firm.
I think its important for me to emphasize (to myself) that the companies balance sheets don’t tell the entire story. Whilst the balance sheet might show a downturn, this could be part of a multiple year plan. For many – if not all firms – things cant change over night.
I found it surprising that companies and firms don’t have to explain what their expenses are.
Why not? In some cases there are millions, or billions, of dollars’ worth of undisclosed expenses. Should this not be disclosed for shareholders and associated parties interests?
The explanation that changes in equity are the nerdy or geeky statements couldn’t be truer for me. I found them, as a whole, confusing, to say the least.
Ratios and equations are becoming more clear as of chapter three – I am finding them easier to understand.
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Step 5:
 Provide feedback to at least three (3) other students
The three feedback sheets can be found on my blog: https://aidanacctblog.wordpress.com/ pg. 9

Aidan Booth - 10031526 ACCT11059 – Assignment Stage 1 pg. 10