Reference no: EM132543704

FNSACC408 Work Effectively in Accounting & Bookkeeping Industry - Crown Institute of Business and Technology

PART A:

You have been asked by a neighbour, Rosa, to help with her bookkeeping for her new business, Rosa's Wares. She has opened a small crafts shop in a disused shopfront that had been empty for five years. She started out selling objects that she had at home, but it was soon popular, with local artisans leaving their work with her to sell.

Rosa doesn't need to have an income from the shop, as she has a passive income from other sources. She likes the shop as it brings her in contact with many interesting people. It doesn't seem like work to her, so she is happy to work there for free, to help the shop get established, and then she will see if she can start to draw a wage in a year or so. She would like to employ several friends to work in the shop three days a week.

Rosa has asked you to clarify the legal requirements for her business, and to help her establish some business documentation.

When these are ready, Rosa would like you to send them to her and then meet with her to discuss them.

Complete the following activities:

Part 1. Write a Bookkeeping Requirements Report:

As Rosa's bookkeeper you are required to comply with a number of legislative and industry requirements. Research and list legislative, statutory, regulatory and industry requirements that apply to the provision of bookkeeping services.

Give a short explanation of each and a website reference where this information can be accessed. As a guide, the report should be about half a page long. Create a new Word document for this report and save it as Bookkeeping Requirements Report.

Part 2. Develop Financial Procedures:
Rosa has asked you to develop some simple financial systems and procedures for her business to ensure that all legislative requirements are met.

Rosa has a Financial Systems Procedures document from a friend's business that she would like to have adapted to her business. She has received written permission to use the document in any way she wishes.

Use the internet to research financial systems and procedures for similar businesses and modify Financial Procedures to include these. This will be the first draft of the document. You will discuss this with your client at a meeting in activity 5, and then make a final draft.

Your document should address the following:
• Petty cash: Rosa thinks that a $200 float is enough. It should be kept locked in the office. Rosa's authorisation should be required for purchases over $50. Filling out petty cash vouchers is not necessary.
• Cash deposits and withdrawals: The method used to deposit cash should be altered at random intervals.
• Invoices are to be written on the day that the sale is made, using the using pages from the Invoices book, ensuring that a copy is retained of each.
• Credit: There is a credit limit of $200 for each customer.
• Review: the document should be reviewed every six months. The review will be conducted by Rosa and the bookkeeper/accountant. It should include at least one visit to the shop by the bookkeeper/accountant.

Otherwise the document should be retained as it is.

Save this document as Draft Rosa's Financial Procedures. Print out a copy of this document to take with you to the meeting with your client.

Part 3. Develop a New Employee Checklist:
Rosa is a bit nervous about employing staff, as she has never done this before. She has asked you to research payroll policies and procedures that have been developed for other small businesses then use that information to develop a checklist (about one page) for Rosa. Use the information sources you identified in activity 1 to help you ensure that Rosa will be fulfilling all legislative requirements.

Your checklist should include:
• Table to record all required employee details
• Details of the forms that need to be completed by employees
• Details of information that needs to be provided to employees

Save this file as New Employee Checklist. Print out a copy of this document to take with you to the meeting with your client.

Part 4. Calculate Wages:
Rosa would like to know how to find out how much she will have to pay her employees. Her friend, Barbara, is 45 years old, with no experience in retail and no dependants. How much would she have to pay Barbara for six hours' casual work on a Wednesday? Barbara is not eligible for a supported wage, and Rosa considers her to be a level 1 retail shop assistant.

Use the wage calculator at the Fair Work Ombudsman website to calculate the hourly rate and reference the web address where she can see the hourly rate given for Barbara.

Part 5. Meet with Client:
You are required to conduct a short (ten to fifteen minute) meeting with Rosa (Your Assessor). The objective of the meeting is to review the financial systems and procedures that you have been developing. Discuss your Draft Rosa's Financial Procedures document, taking notes so you will be able to adapt the document after the meeting. Discuss your new employee checklist with Rosa. Ensure that you conduct the meeting in a way that will ensure a continuing, effective relationship with Rosa.

During the meeting, demonstrate effective communication skills including:
• Speaking clearly and concisely
• Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding
• Asking questions to identify required information
• Responding to questions as required
• Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding

Part 6. Update Financial Procedures:
Review and update Rosa's Financial Procedures to reflect the feedback that you received at the meeting. Save this document as Final Rosa's Financial Procedures. Submit this document to your Trainer.

Part 7. Send an email to the New Employees (Your Assessor) [An Email Template to be used, you don't have to send an Actual Email]:
It is not necessary to send two emails for this activity. Just send one email to your assessor addressed to both Sarah and Chantal. The email text should also ask them to fill out the checklist and send it back to you. Attach your new employee checklist to the email.

You must also inform them that you encourage and value team efforts and contributions, and that they should get back in touch with you if they have any questions or issues about working at Rosa's Wares. The objective of this email is to give positive feedback to the two potential employees.

Tell the two potential employees that part of your job will be to help resolve any problems that might impede the team's performance, and that you will be making regular evaluations of how the business is running.

Part 8. Open up Rosa's Wares as a new Client using an Integrated Financial Software System (MYOB):

The following is the information that you will need to set the company up:
• Rosa's Wares (ABN No. 234 456 678) 9 Holden Street, Camperdown NSW 2482.
• The company has been set up to sell locally made products.
• Use the current financial year
• June will be the last month of the financial year
• Conversion month will be July
• There will be 12 accounting periods
• Select the accounts list recommended for a retail business

Enter the employee information for both Sarah and Chantal.
• Set up payroll with 36 hours as a full-time work week
• Employees will be paid electronically
• Both will be employed permanent part-time
When both have been entered, download a pdf of the Employee Details Report.

Required: Submit your Employee Details Report to your Assessor.

9. It is six months later, and Rosa's Wares is still in operation. You have been retained to perform some of the payroll functions, which is not a lot of work as there are only two sales assistants and Rosa. Rosa sends you scans of the checked timesheets, and you calculate the pays and transfer the funds. Rosa tells you that she works over the weekends herself. She claims that paying staff the weekend penalty rates mean that the shop can't run at a profit.

You drop into the shop one Sunday as part of your regular review of Rosa's financial Procedures, you are served by a woman you have never seen before. As you watch her perform the sale, it is clear that she has been working there for some time. Next week you receive the timesheets but find that no staff have been recorded as having worked on the Sunday. From the timesheets it looked as if Rosa had worked the Sunday, as she usual.

The following Sunday you visit the shop again and see the same shop assistant working there. You get into conversation with her and find that she has been working there on Sundays for several months, and that she sometimes works on Saturday, too. She says that the money is not very good, but it is in cash, so she can stay on Centrelink and she is doing okay.

You had a meeting with Rosa already planned on the Monday, so you confronted her about what you found out. She was apologetic about deceiving you, but by purchasing goods and paying some staff in cash, she can make a profit from the shop. Otherwise it will probably go out of business. Before you can speak, Rosa receives a call that she must answer, and you receive an urgent request from another client, and you must leave.
Review and Report on Financial Procedures:
Later that day, you have time to collect yourself and write a short (about one page) report for Rosa. The report should include the following:
• Objectively describe what you have witnessed.
• Point out which aspects you believe to be incorrect and/or illegal.
• Inform Rosa about the ethical implications of the situation.
• Give Rosa at least two options going forward that you would consider to be reasonable.
• Recommend changes that could be made to Rosa's financial systems procedures that
would deal with what you have witnessed.

Create a new Word document to write this report. Save it as Financial Procedures Review.

Required: At the end of the PART A You must submit the following to your Assessor:
• Bookkeeping Requirements Report
• Draft Rosa's Financial Procedures
• New Employee Checklist
• Final Rosa's Financial Procedures
• Email with New Employee Checklist and Encouraging Employees to work as a Team
• Employee Details Report
• Financial Procedures Review.

Attachment:- Work Effectively in Accounting.rar