Melbourne Institute of Technology Pty Ltd

Assessment Details and Submission Guidelines
Course Name	Master of Professional Accounting
Unit Code	MA512
Unit Title	Management Accounting
Assessment Type	Group Assignment –  Trimester 3, 2017
Assessment Title	Assessment 3 – Group Report
Purpose of the assessment	The purpose of this assignment is to assess the following Learning Outcomes:                  c. Produce business reports which present critical analysis and evaluation of financial solutions to management issues in writing.                  d. Apply knowledge to review and analyse problems and generate adaptable, flexible, and ethical approaches to problem solving and decision making
Weight:	20%
Word limit	1500
Total Marks:	100
Release Date:	Week 7
Due Date:	Week 10
Submission Guidelines:	·       Group size: This assignment should be completed in groups of two. ·      All work must be submitted via Turnitin by the due date along with a completed Assignment Cover Page. ·      You are allowed to resubmit your assignment until due date. ·      All presentations will be made in class. ·      The assignment must be in Ms Word format, 1.5 spacing, 11-pt Calibri (Body) font and 2 cm margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings.  ·      Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report, and listed appropriately at the end in a reference list using APA referencing style.
Extension:	·      If an extension of time to submit work is required, a Special Consideration Application must be submitted directly to the School’s Administration Officer, in Melbourne on Level 6 or in Sydney on Level 7.  You must submit this application three working days prior to the due date of the assignment. Further information is available at: http://www.mit.edu.au/about–mit/institute–publications/policies–procedures–and–guidelines/specialconsiderationdeferment

Assignment Cover Sheet

Student ID Number/s:	Student Surname/s:	Given name/s:
Course:		School:
Unit code:	Unit title:
Due date:	Date submitted:	Campus:
Lecturer:		Tutor:

All work must be submitted via Turnitin by the due date.  If an extension of time to submit work is required, a Special Consideration Application must be submitted. Further information is available at:

http://www.mit.edu.au/about–mit/institute–publications/policies–procedures–and–guidelines/specialconsiderationdeferment

 

Academic Misconduct  Academic Misconduct is a serious offence. Depending on the seriousness of the case, penalties can vary from a written warning or zero marks to exclusion from the course or rescinding the degree. Students should make themselves familiar with the full policy and procedure available at: http://www.mit.edu.au/about-mit/institute-publications/policies-procedures-and-guidelines/Plagiarism-Academic-Misconduct-Policy-Procedure. For further information please refer to the Academic Integrity Section in your Unit Description.

 

Student Declaration
I/We declare that: o  the work contained in this assignment is my/our own work/group work, except where acknowledgement of sources is made; o  certify that this assessment has not been submitted previously for academic credit in this or any other course; o  I/we have read the MIT’s Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct Policy Procedure, and I/we understand the consequences of engaging in plagiarism; o  a copy of the original assignment is retained by me/us and that I/we may be required to submit the original assignment to the Lecturer and/or Unit Co-ordinator upon request;   I/we have not plagiarised the work of others or participated in unauthorised collaboration when preparing this assignment.
Student Signature:	Date:
Group member 1:
Group member 2:

                                         Assessment Task 3 – Group Assignment

Date Due: Week 10           

Requirements

This assignment is comprised of two requirements, worth a total of 100 marks. The first requirement must be completed and the second requirement addressed. Each group is required to prepare a business report for Barrett Mann the purchasing manager of Atmel Ltd to assist him in choosing the right vendor for the materials required to complete a customer’s job. Recommendations are to be supported by quantitative, qualitative and ethical analysis based on the data and information provided in the case study.

Case Study

Barrett Mann the purchasing manager for Atmel Ltd is reviewing supply options to complete a customer’s job. Atmel Ltd needs a total of 145 tonnes of sheet –50 tonnes of 5 centimetre width and 75 tonnes of 9 centimetre width to complete the job. Atmel can purchase the sheet steel in these widths directly from Jardensteel Ltd, a steel manufacturer, or it can purchase sheet steel from Jarden Steel that is 49 centimetres wide and then have it slit into desired widths by Parker Pty Ltd. Both vendors are local and have previously supplied materials to Atmel.

Parker Pty Ltd., specialises in slitting sheet steel, provided by a customer, into any desired width.  When negotiating a contract, Parker Pty Ltd tells its customers that there is a scrap loss in slitting operation, but that this loss has never exceeded 3.5 per cent of input tonnes. Parker recommends that if a customer has a specific tonnage requirement, it should supply an adequate amount of steel to yield the desired quantity. Parker’s charges for steel slitting are based on good output, not input handled.

The 49-centimetre-wide sheet steel is a regular stock item of Jardensteel and can be shipped to Parker within five days of receipt of Atmel’s purchase order. If Jardensteel is to do the slitting, shipment to Atmel would be scheduled for 15 days from receipt of the order. Parker has quoted delivery at 10 days after receipt of the sheet steel. In prior dealings Atmel has found both Jardensteel and Parker to be reliable vendors with high-quality products.

Atmel has received the following price quotations from Jardensteel and Parker Pty Ltd.

Jardensteel Ltd
Size	Gauge	Quantity	Cost per tonne
5 cm	12	60 tonnes	$215.00
9 cm	12	85 tonnes	210.00
49 cm	12	145 tonnes	185.00

 

Parker Pty Ltd steel slitting rates
Size	Gauge	Quantity	Price per tonne of output
5 cm	12	60 tonnes	$19.00
9 cm	12	85 tonnes	16.00

 

Freight and handling charges
Destination	Cost per tonne
Jarden Steel to Atmel	$12.00
Jarden Steel to Parker	6.00
Parker to Atmel	6.50

In addition to the above information, Parker has informed Atmel that if Atmel purchases 100 output tonnes of each width, the per-tonne slitting rates would be reduced by 20 per-cent.

Atmel knows that same customer will be placing a new order in the near future for the same material and estimates it would have to store the additional tonnage for an average of three months at a carrying cost of $1.00 per month for each tonne. There would be no change to Jardensteel’ s prices for additional tonnes delivered to Parker.

Requirement 1(70 marks):

1. Prepare an analysis to determine whether Atmel Ltd should purchase the required slit steel directly from Jardensteel Ltd. Provide all calculations to support your analysis.
2. Analyse the option of Purchasing the 49-centimetre-wide sheet steel from Jardensteel and have it slit by Parker Pty Ltd into 60 output tonnes, 5 centimetres wide 85 output tonnes, 9 centimetres wide. Provide all calculations to support your analysis.
3. Analyse the option of Atmel Ltd taking advantage of Parker’s reduced slitting rates by purchasing 100 output tonnes of each width. Provide calculations to support your analysis.
4. Independent of your answer to above parts, present three additional reasons, reflecting qualitative rather than financial information, as to why Atmel Ltd may favour the purchase of the slit steel directly from Jardensteel Ltd.
5. Suppose Barrett Mann’s final analysis shows that purchasing slit steel directly from Jardensteel is Atmel’s least costly option. Before making his decision, Mann receives a call from a good friend who is the production manager at Parker Pty Ltd. His friend has called to urge Mann to use Parker’s services. ‘We’re really hurting here at Parker, Mann’, his friend insists. ‘If we don’t get this job, it’s going to be a long cold winter for some of us’. Discuss Barrett Mann’s ethical obligations in this matter. (Assume company has a code of conduct which has the fundamental principles such as Integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality and professional behavior)

Note, to obtain 70 percent or more for part e of this requirement there must be evidence of significant (i.e., quality and quantity) research. By research, this includes citing at least 3 to 4 publications/articles from academic/professional journal articles, as available from the library’s databases, etc. Therefore, and as per the submission guidelines (on the cover sheet to this assessment task document), it is important that all reference sources / websites used are cited in the text of your report and listed appropriately at the end of the report in a reference list using APA referencing style.

Requirement 2: (30 marks):

Format and presentation quality.

The requirements should be presented in a report format.

A key aspect in your group’s choice of format/layout should be to ensure you impart your key messages effectively (i.e., complete the requirements) and efficiently (i.e., it should be succinct and take into account the word limit).

The report also should be coherent, and so consistency is expected throughout (e.g., formatting, language style, and English grammar). 

Marking Guide:

	Mark Available	Mark Received	Comment
Executive Summary	5
Introduction	5
1a Analysis determining the purchase of required slit steel directly from Jardensteel Ltd	10
1b Analysis determining the purchase of sheet steel from Jarden and have it slit by Parker Pty Ltd	10
1c Analysis determining whether Atmel should take advantage of reduced slitting rates offered by Parker Pty ltd	15
1d Provide three additional reasons, reflecting qualitative rather than financial information justifying the purchase of slit steel directly from Jardensteel Ltd	10
1e Discuss ethical obligations of Barrett Mann in making this decision. Discussion should be supported by citing at least 3 to 4 publications/articles from academic/professional journal articles, as available from the library’s databases, etc.	25
Conclusion and recommendation	10
Written communication: structure, language	5
Professional report layout accurate referencing and evidence of research	5
Total Marks	100

Group Assignment Progress Report

Group members must complete a progress report in week 8 and email it to the unit lecturer. Report must explain contribution of each group member to the assignment.

Timeline

Week	Activities to be completed	Responsibility
Week 7	Formation of groups	Lecturer/tutor
Week 8	Complete first draft	Group members
Week 9	Review and revise and finalise the report	Group members
Week 10	Submission via Turnitin	One group member submits the report

Contribution in group work

Report any issues relating to group members immediately to your lecturer via email (e.g. unable to contact group member/s, not cooperating/contributing to group assignment etc.).