ASSESSMENT TASK: DESCRIPTION

Essay topic:

Critically evaluate the use of triple bottom line reporting in multi-national organisations, citing real life examples to back up your arguments.

Clearly support and justify your position by reference to relevant literature.

There is a word limit of 1,200 words plus bibliography and appendices where appropriate and is to be completed in groups of 3 students. The essay should be typed and APA referencing is to be used

(see http://libguides.jcu.edu.au/content.php?pid=82408&sid=611404).

To successfully complete the assignment students should read and review literature from various sources, including:

1. Relevant chapters from Langfield-Smith et al. (to familiarise yourself with the topic)

2. Accounting journals (see a basic list below). These can be accessed as e-journals via the library web page.

3. On-line databases (click the ‘Databases' link on the library webpage). A good data base to search is ABI/INFORM global.

A basic list of journals to search may include (this list is not exclusive and other journals should also be searched).

1. Management Accounting Research

2. European Accounting Review

3. Journal of Management Accounting Research

4. British Accounting Review

5. Critical Perspectives on Accounting

6. Australian Accounting Review

7. International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation

8. Cost Management

9. Journal of Applied Management Accounting Research

10. Strategic Finance

11. In The Black (CPA Australia)

The Essay

For the essay itself, you should consider the following guidelines:

Write about the use of triple bottom line reporting by organisations. Do not report on the advantages and disadvantages of triple bottom line reporting. Do not tell the reader what triple bottom line reporting is. Assume that the reader knows what triple bottom line reporting is. Tell the reader about how triple bottom line reporting is being used by actual multi-national organisations in the world and/or what impact it is having on users of the reports.

To get this information, you will need to find academic journal articles (as indicated above) and see what they are reporting about sustainability. Your essay will be driven by the articles that you find. Do not use any text books as your references. Text books are there to teach you what sustainability reporting is. That is not what this essay is about so do not refer to them in your essay. Also do not use any of the following as a reference for your paper: Wikipedia, Investopedia, Accountingtools.com, Accountingcoach.com, blogs, Business Dictionary, Accounting4Management.com, Business Writing Services or any similar website. Do not use my lecture notes as a reference.

Check the APA Referencing Guide for recording your references. Each article in your Reference List needs to show all of the author(s) name(s). You show their last name and their first name or initial. In the Reference List, put all of the other information required by the APA Reference Guide. You do NOT just put the journal (eg. ‘The Economist') or the web address. If you cannot find the author for an article, it is not a valid reference. In the body of the essay, for every new idea that you present, you need to show the source of that idea. You put the last name of the author(s) and the year of the article. If you have a direct quote from an article, you must also put the page number of the quote in your reference. Every reference in the body of your report also needs to be listed in your reference list.

In your essay, be sure that you explain things thoroughly. Do not just introduce something and then abandon it. For this reason, avoid using bullet points or lists. If you use figures, diagrams or exhibits in your essay, be sure that you refer to them specifically in your essay and make sure that they are properly referenced. Do not raise new issues in your Conclusion. The Conclusion should just summarise what you have presented in your essay.

In your writing, avoid the following: ‘etc.', ‘and so on', ‘in a nutshell' or ‘nowadays'. Do not start a sentence with ‘And' or ‘But'. Avoid using a semicolon (;). If you are tempted to use a semicolon, use a period instead and start a new sentence.

The appearance of your paper should be double spaced, using one consistent font throughout (such as Arial), font size 12, printed on one side of the paper and with a single staple in the upper left corner. In addition to the JCU cover sheet signed by all 3 group members, you should attach a self-generated cover sheet showing the name of the paper and the names and student numbers of all group members.
Finally, do NOT use a thesaurus program or ‘Synonyms' in Microsoft Word to try to ‘enhance' your paper. The result is usually a meaningless collection of random words. We had a few groups try this in the past and they failed this assessment miserably. Do not make their mistake.