ASSIGNMENT

This assignment is to be completed in groups of three and comprises twenty per-cent of the marks for this course.

Assessment Criteria:

Student work will generally be assessed in terms of the following criteria:

1. Effectiveness of communication - ie readability, legibility, grammar, spelling, neatness, completeness and presentation will be a minimum threshold requirement for all written work submitted for assessment. Work that is illegible or incomprehensible and does not meet the minimum requirement will be awarded a fail grade.
2. Demonstrated understanding - This will be evidenced by the student's ability to be dialectical in the discussion of contentious issues.
3. Evidence of research - This will be evidenced by the references made to the statutes, auditing standards, books, journal articles and inclusion of a bibliography.

Note:
1. All written work must conform with the University of Ballarat General Guide for the Presentation of Academic Work.

2. For all written work students must ensure that they submit their own original work. Any act of plagiarism will be severely penalised.

Plagiarism is presenting someone else work as your own and is a serious offence with serious consequences. As set out in the University Regulation 6.1.1, students who are caught plagiarising will, for a first offence, be given a zero mark for that task. A second offence will result in a failing grade for the course(s) involved and any subsequent offence will be referred to the Student Discipline Committee. Student must be aware of the University Regulation 6.1.1 Student Plagiarism, available at http://www.ballarat.edu.au/legislation/6.1.1-plagiarism. The link to the library website for more information is:http://www.ballarat.edu.au/library/assignment-and-research-help/referencing
Students must:
• fully reference the source(s) of all material, even if you have re-expressed the ideas, facts or descriptions;
• acknowledge all direct quotations; and
• not submit work that has been researched and written by another person.
 
PART A

What are the significant and pervasive audit deficiencies within accounting firms? Discuss.
How can these deficiencies be rectified? Discuss.

PART B

A fierce battle is raging over coveted top rankings for accounting firms.
.
a) List the top 20 Australian accounting firms.
b) Where does their money come from? Discuss.
c) Most of the (Australia) nation's top 20 fastest growing firms share two traits. Discuss.

PART C

a) What are the duties to report information to ASIC by auditors?
b) What are the institutional arrangements and procedures for enforcing discipline against registered company auditors?
c) Should penalties for breaches of the financial reporting requirements of the Corporations Act be increased? Discuss or explain.