Reference no: EM131290008

This Assignment is designed to give you an opportunity:

- demonstrate applied knowledge of the accounting regulatory environment (Objective 1)
- apply financial statement analysis (Objective 2)
- apply and use financial statement analysis...and provide solutions to real world problems (Objective 4)
- appreciate ethical frameworks and codes of practice and their application to accounting and finance outcomes to help comprehend and address complex ethical dilemmas (Objective 5)

Part One

Read the following article which discusses various ethical issues associated with the Volkswagen emissions scandal.

https://theconversation.com/how-vw-took-the-corporate-ethics-industry-to-the-brink-49351

This assignment requires you to apply elements of ethical decision making models to a contemporary corporate issue. This section of the assignment will be marked based on the quality of your discussion and research.

Instructions

You are required to research the Volkswagen case and use relevant sources to answer the following questions. You should use a mixture of academic articles and newspaper articles.

1. Determine the facts of the case.

2. Identify and discuss the main ethical issues that arise from the Volkswagen case?

3. Determine the norms, principles and values relevant to the case.

4. Who are the stakeholders whom have been affected by the Volkswagens actions? Describe each stakeholder, their probable concerns and how they are likely to be affected.

5. Outline what you believe motivated the management of Volkswagens to act in the way they did. Identify the accounting issues that arise from these actions.

6. Consider the Volkswagen case in relation to corporate sustainability reporting and construct an opinion as to whether sustainability reporting should be regulated in future.

Part Two

Refer to the 30 June 2016 financial reports of Virgin Australia Group on their web site:

https://www.virginaustralia.com/cs/groups/internetcontent/@wc/documents/webcontent/~edisp/2016-asx-financial-report.pdf

1. Answer the following questions using the consolidated financial report and the notes to the consolidated financial report for the year ending 30 June 2016:

a) Compare the director's report and director's declaration. What are the key features of each of these? Why are both reports required?

b) State the accounting equation at the beginning and end of the year.

c) Which accounting firm audited the financial statements and what opinion was issued?

d) Did the auditor provide any other services to Virgin Australia during the year? If so, provide specific details of what these services were?

e) What is the largest asset the company owns and state its opening and closing net book value? What valuation method is used for this asset?

f) What depreciation method is used for the company's property, plant and equipment?

g) According to the financial statements what is Virgin's largest source of revenue? What does the "other ancillary revenue" category consist of?

h) How much did Virgin Australia recognise as an expense for finance costs during 2016. Has this increased or decreased since 2015? What is this change due to?

i) How many ordinary shares did Virgin Australia issue during 2016?

j) Compare the net profit/loss with the net cash flows from operating activities. Which amount is larger? Provide an explanation for this.

k) Have the directors identified any contingent liabilities for the group? If so what are they and how have these been disclosed?

l) Virgin Australia has reported several elements of Unearned Revenue as a liability. What are these? Would these be expected for a company in this industry?

2. Calculate the following ratios for the Virgin Australia Group for the year ending 30 June 2016:

a) return on equity

b) return on assets

c) profit margin ratio

d) asset turnover ratio

e) current ratio

f) debt to equity ratio

g) interest coverage ratio

h) debt coverage ratio

i) price earnings

j) dividends per share

General Requirements:

1. Answer each question using a heading indicating the question number. Part one and part two of the assignment should be answered within the same word document.

2. Full referencing is required in accordance with the USQ preferred Harvard Referencing style.

3. There is no specified word length for this assignment. However, be as concise and efficient in your writing as possible. You should not require more than a maximum of eight 1.5 spaced A4 pages (12 point font).

4. Assignment extensions will only be granted if there are extenuating circumstances. University policy provides that the maximum extension is 5 business days.

5. The assignment is to be submitted electronically. Submit the assignment using the link on the study desk. File types allowed include doc and docx. Only one file will be accepted. If more than one file is uploaded, only the first file listed will be marked. Do not submit a cover sheet.