Acg24 Unit Information Sp3 2008

AC G 24 (2008)

MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING

UNIT INFORMATION

JOHN MANIFOLD

CONTENTS WELCOME UNIT OVERVIEW LEARNING RESOURCES INFORMATION ABOUT ASSESSMENT SUBMISSION AND RETURN OF ASSIGNMENTS EXTENSIONS TO ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES ONLINE AT UNISA INFORMATION ABOUT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES CAMPUS CENTRAL, CENTRE FOR REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT (WHYALLA) OTHER SERVICES FOR STUDENTS ASSIGNMENT FEEDBACK FORM STUDY SCHEDULE

WELCOME Welcome to your studies in Introduction to Management Accounting. I trust you will not find the unit too daunting and that by the end of the study period you will have found it interesting, enjoyable and useful! Several audiences should find this unit interesting and valuable. First, obviously, are students who expect to become management accountants. Traditionally, professional accounting firms were the glamour field for accounting students. However, the challenging new environment for manufacturing, service, not-for-profit and government organisations has created exciting opportunities for accounting graduates in management accounting. Management accountants now find themselves as part of the management team, participating in formulating and implementing strategy, translating an organisation’s strategies into operational and managerial measures. Rather than just being caretakers of data and producers of historical reports. Management accountants can play a key role in improving an organisation’s performance towards achieving its strategic objectives. Many students who study this unit, however, may not expect to become management accountants. Nevertheless, their time spent studying this unit will be fruitful. In order for management accountants to perform their role, they require accurate, reliable and relevant information at their fingertips. This cannot occur without well-designed management information systems, which management accountants possess the necessary expertise to design. Within an organisation, it is the information systems staff that are responsible for designing and maintaining the management information systems. Hence, when designing such systems, it is important for students who intend to become management information system specialists, to have an appreciation of what information management accountants require. Engineers also benefit from this unit as many of their newly developed product and process designs are evaluated by management accounting information. Hence, it is vital that they

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understand how such systems are developed and used to evaluate any engineering project, including whether such systems are helping or hindering an organisation’s pursuit of technological excellence and innovation. Secondly, because of their managerial and analytical skills, many engineering students eventually find themselves in management positions. This unit is extremely useful for managers, as discussed below. Finally, this unit will be of use to students who intend to become, or who already are, managers. Competitive challenges today require that management accounting systems have a customer focus that provides valuable information to company managers rather than simply serving the needs of the accounting staff. Managers should learn that management accounting systems can provide timely, accurate, and relevant information to aid them in their decisionmaking. After completing this unit, managers should feel empowered to force the redesign of any system that does not meet these criteria. All the best in your studies! John Manifold Unit Coordinator Location: City West Campus Email: [email protected] Telephone: (08) 8207 2847 Fax: (08) 8302 0992 Unit Coordinator home page: http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/Staff/homepage.asp?Name=John.Manifold Information regarding this unit is available through my myUniSA: http://www.unisa.edu.au/myUniSA

School contact details University of South Australia School of Commerce City West Campus GPO Box 2471 Adelaide SA 5001 Telephone: (08) 8302 7231 Email: [email protected] Fax: (08) 8302 0992

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UNIT OVERVIEW Value of unit:

1

8

of a full-time load

Offered in study periods 3, 2008

Unit statement This unit will help you to gain an overview of the critical role of management accounting in organisational planning, controlling, decision-making and learning. This unit is designed for students from all disciplines who are interested in management accounting information as users or preparers. Topics include: Cost terminology - concepts and behaviour; Costing systems general principles, indirect costs and activity based systems; Strategic planning and budgeting; Organisational control - financial tools and Decision Making - costs, benefits, and one-off decisions. The OUA website is www.open.edu.au

Learning objectives On completion of this unit, students should be able to: •

appreciate how management accounting information can assist management in planning, monitoring performance of, controlling and making decisions in, their area of responsibility

•

understand and apply the traditional (that is, volume-based) and contemporary (that is, ABC) approaches to product costing in a job costing environment

•

understand the purpose of an organisation’s performance measurement system, its link to the organisation’s strategic planning process, and be able to apply traditional approaches to performance measurement

•

identify the information needs and produce financial analyses for a range of decisions— break-even, product-mix, pricing, outsourcing, special orders.

Students will also: •

develop excellent business communication skills

•

develop excellent problem-solving skills.

Prerequisites/Assumed knowledge Before undertaking this unit, students are expected to have successfully completed the following unit(s) (or equivalent). ACG 11 - Accounting Decisions and Accountability.

Teaching and learning arrangements This unit is taught through external mode with online support

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Special requirements None

Supervised assessment/exam This unit involves a supervised exam. Please be sure to read the section entitled ‘Exams’ under ‘Information about policies and procedures’ later in this Unit information. Alternatively, you can also access information about exam processes online at http://www.unisa.edu.au/oua/.

Study schedule A table outlining the unit structure and study schedule is printed at the back of this guide. Please refer to it for important information regarding due dates for assignments.

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LEARNING RESOURCES Materials dispatched for this unit Unit information Study guide Solutions booklet

Online learning resources Unit home page http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/courses/course.asp?Course=ACG24

Resources specific to this unit •

Unit Information SP3 08

•

Discussion Forum

•

Online learning resources

•

Writing reports (read for Assignment 1)

•

Analysing a case study in business courses

•

AssignIT

For this unit, some of the learning resources are available online only. You can access these online learning resources either through myUniSA http://www.unisa.edu.au/myunisa or from a link on the unit home page which has been established on the UniSAnet system (UniSAnet is the online study environment at UniSA). Please note: For further details on how to access and log-on to your online materials, please read the instructions provided later in this Unit information in the section entitled ‘Online at UniSA’.

Set text(s) You will need continual access to the following text in order to complete this unit. The library may hold only one copy of the nominated text books and therefore you will need to acquire the book. Langfield-Smith, K, Thorne, H and Hilton, R (2006). Management accounting information for managing and creating value. 4th edition. Sydney: McGrawHill/Irwin.

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Text supplier (Unibooks) OUA has established a textbook supply service through Unibooks. Further information is available from the Open Universities Australia 2008 Handbook, and OUA website at www.open.edu.au You can order textbooks by contacting Unibooks: Phone:

(08) 8223 4366 1800 447 313 (price of a local call; mobiles may pay more) 61 8 8223 4366 (international callers)

Fax:

(08) 08 8223 4876

Email: [email protected] WWW: www.unibooks.com.au Postal address: Unibooks University of Adelaide Gate 10 Victoria Drive Adelaide SA 5005

Online learning resources For this unit, some of the learning resources are available online only. These resources include: •

explanations of the text

•

tutorial help

•

past exam papers

•

discussion forum.

Students who utilise these resources have a much better chance of success in the unit. You can access these online learning resources either through myUniSA http://www.unisa.edu.au/myunisa or from a link on the unit home page which has been established on the UniSAnet system (UniSAnet is the online study environment at UniSA). Please note: For further details on how to access and log-on to your online materials, please read the instructions provided later in this Unit information in the section entitled ‘Online at UniSA’.

Discussion forum As part of the online learning resources for this unit, you will be provided with access to a discussion forum. You can use the discussion forum to discuss academic issues in relation to this unit with the Unit Coordinator and with other students. The Unit Coordinator or one of the tutors will be checking the postings to the discussion forum on a regular basis and will reply to queries which have been posted. Please note: If you are posting a query to the Unit Coordinator on the discussion forum, please check the earlier messages to make sure that your query has not been responded to previously. Also, please note that administrative or personal queries should not be posted to the Discussion forum. Rather they should be sent to Campus Central by emailing [email protected].

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Learning Connection resources You can access a wide range of study skills resources from the UniSA Learning Connection website. In particular, the following specific sections of this website are recommended:

Studying at UniSA http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/student/studying/default.asp This section provides links to a wide range of online resources which have been designed to help you develop and enhance the general learning skills you require for successful study.

Referencing (and avoiding plagiarism) http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/student/studying/ referencing.asp Adopting a correct approach to referencing (and avoiding plagiarism) are key issues which need to be addressed by students undertaking assignments at university level. Therefore, we recommend that you spend some time working through the various guides incorporated in this section of the Learning Connection website.

Referencing using the Harvard author-date system http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/student/learningAdvisors/documents/ha rvard-referencing.pdf This downloadable file is located in the Referencing section of the Learning Connection website. It provides detailed information about how to reference correctly using the Harvard author-date system. Please note: A number of the pages and downloadable files on the UniSA Learning Connection website refer students to contact staff from the Learning Connection if they need further assistance with their studies. Unfortunately, this option is not available to students enrolled through Open Universities Australia. However, you are encouraged to make use of those resources which are available online as part of the Learning Connection website, and which are relevant to your studies.

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INFORMATION ABOUT ASSESSMENT ASSESSMENT SUMMARY Mid-study period test Graduate Quality being assessed 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Supervised Closed book Graded Weighting: 15% (Marks awarded according to correctness of answers) Length: 1 hour and 30 minutes which includes reading time Due date: Friday of week 5 (Study period 3—3 October) Assignment—Case study Graduate Quality being assessed 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 Unsupervised Graded Weighting: 30% Length: 1500 words (maximum) Due date: Friday of week 9 (Study period 3—31 October)

Exam Graduate Quality being assessed 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Supervised Closed book Graded Weighting: 55% Duration: 3 hours plus 10 minutes reading time Date: The exam will be held during week 14. Please note: In order to be eligible to pass this unit, students must achieve a minimum of 40% in the final examination, submit the unsupervised assignment, and achieve an overall percentage greater than or equal to 50% from all assessment tasks.

Penalties Students should post their assignments by the due date. Late assignments that do not have approved extensions will incur the following penalties: 1 day late – 5%; 2 to 3 days late –10%; 4 to 7 days late – 20%; 8 to 13 days late –30%; more than 13 days late –100%.

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Occasionally assignments go missing during submission and return. It is expected that students will make copies of all assignments and be able to provide these if required.

DETAILS OF ASSESSMENT Details of assignment submission and return are listed under each assessment task. Assignments will be returned to you within three weeks of submission. All assignments must use the Assignment cover sheet (available from your unit home page)— whether submitted electronically or in hard copy. Please note: •

no supplementary examinations are available

•

as this unit is an OUA unit conceded and terminating passes are not available.

Assessment 1— Mid-study period test Format/expectations The test may consist of a combination of a small number of multiple-choice questions, discussion questions and calculation-based questions. The main emphasis is on calculations and showing an understanding of the concepts. The test will be based upon material covered in topics 1 to 5 inclusive. Aims of the mid-study test assignments are to test each student’s understanding of the concepts covered in topics 1 to 5, and to provide students with feedback on the effectiveness of their approach to studying this unit. As the main aim of the test is to provide students with feedback on how they are progressing in this unit, it only carries the weighting of 15%. Two copies of past mid-study test papers and suggested answers will be posted on the ‘Learning resources’ section of the Online learning resources website, and I suggest you download these to aid in your revision for the test. Feedback on this test will be provided by a general summary of important elements of the test and will be returned within 10 working days with the marked assessment.

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Assignment 2-Assignment-Case study: Mary White Dialysis Clinic

MARY WHITE DIALYSIS CLINIC

Mary White Dialysis Clinic is an independent, non-profit full-service renal dialysis clinic. The clinic provides two types of treatments. Hemodialysis (HD) requires patients to visit a dialysis clinic three times a week, where they are connected to special, expensive equipment to perform the dialysis. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) allows patients to administer their own treatment daily at home. The clinic monitors PD patients and assists them in ordering supplies consumed during the home treatment. The total and product-line income statement for the clinic is shown below:

This case has been adapted from Cooper & Kaplan (1999).

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CLINIC INCOME STATEMENT

TOTAL

HD

PD

Number of treatments

164

102

62

Number of treatments

34,967

14,343

20,264

$3,006,775

$1,860,287

$1,146,488

Standard supplies (drugs, syringes)

664,900

512,619

152,281

Episodic supplies (for special conditions)

310,695

98,680

212,015

Total supply costs

975,595

611,299

364,296

Revenues

TOTAL REVENUE Supply costs (all variable)

Service costs General overhead (occupancy, administration)

785,825

Durable equipment (maintenance, depreciation)

137,046

Nursing services (RNs, LPNs, nursing administrators, equipment technicians)

883,280

Total service costs

1,806,151

1,117,463

688,688

Total operating expenses

$2,781,746

$1,728,762

$1,052,984

$225,029

$131,525

$93,504

$129.70

$55.59

Average cost per treatment

?

?

Profit per treatment

?

?

Net income Treatment Level Profit Average charge per treatment

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The existing cost system assigned the traceable supply costs directly to the two types of treatments. The service costs, however, were not analysed by type of treatment. The total service costs of $1,800,000 were allocated to the treatments using the traditional ratio-ofcost-to-charges (RCC) method developed for government cost-based reimbursement programs. With this procedure, since HD treatments represented about 61% of total revenues, HD received an allocation of 61% of the $1,800,000 service expenses (approximately $1,100,000). For many years, the clinics such as Mary White received much of their reimbursement on the basis of report costs. Starting in the 1980s, however, payment mechanisms shifted (i.e. introduction of case-mix funding) and Mary White now received most of its reimbursement on the basis of a fixed fee, not the cost of service provided. In particular, because HD and PD procedures were categorised by the government as a single category – dialysis treatment – the weekly reimbursement for each patient was the same: $389.10. As a consequence, the three HD treatments per week led to a reported revenue per HD treatment of $129.70, and the seven PD treatments per week led to a reported revenue per PD treatment of $55.59. Both procedures appeared to be profitable, according to the clinic’s existing cost and revenue recognition system. David Thomas, the controller of Mary White Dialysis was concerned, however, that the procedures currently being used to assign common expenses may not be representative of the underlying use of the common resources by the two different procedures. He wanted to understand their costs better so that Mary White’s managers could make more-informed decisions about extending or contracting products and services and about where to look for process improvements. Thomas had recently attended a CPA Australia seminar titled ‘Activity-based costing – fad v fab costing system’. In the seminar, Adam Barr-Coward (the ABC expert) argued that every organisation should focus on the activities performed by the organisation and try to link the cost of performing these activities directly to the products for which they were performed. The ABC principles outlined by Adam Barr-Coward appeared to address many of the problems Thomas had encountered at Mary White dialysis clinic. Thomas decided to explore whether activity based costing principles could provide a better idea of the underlying cost and profitability of HD and PD treatments.

Information for the ABC system Thomas decomposed the General Overhead service cost category into four activities. Then, for each activity, he will choose a cost driver that represents how that activity was used by the two treatments. Thomas met with the Administration Manager who told Thomas that the administration costs are related to how many patients the clinic services each week but medical records handle the records for the treatments performed and send to the Health Commission the invoices for Case Mix funding. GENERAL OVERHEAD RESOURCE COST POOL

SIZE OF POOL

Facility costs (rent, depreciation)

$233,226

Administration and support staff

354,682

Communications systems and medical records

157,219

Utilities Total

40,698 $785,825

Thomas was unsure of how to handle the durable equipment service costs. Rather than continue to use the RCC method for allocating these costs, he asked the clinic staff for their judgments about how these costs should be allocated. On the basis of the staff’s experience and judgment, they felt that HD treatments used about 75% of these resources and PD about 25%. With regard to the nursing services service costs, he knew that this category contained a mixture of different types of personnel: registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), nursing administrators and machine operators. He thought it was unlikely that each of these categories would be used in the same proportion by the two different treatments. In the next phase of analysis, Thomas disaggregated the nursing service category into four activity pools. He interviewed various staff and found that, as expected, registered nurses and licensed practical nurses were not evenly distributed between the two types of treatments. The nursing administration and support staff are responsible for organising the delivery of both treatments, while the dialysis operators were solely involved in administering treatments at the clinic only. NURSING SERVICES RESOURCE POOL

SIZE OF POOL

Registered nurses

$239,120

Licensed practical nurses

404,064

Nursing administration and support staff

115,168

Dialysis machine operators

124,928

Thomas then went to medical records and other sources to identify some probable cost drivers and the quantities of each cost driver for the two treatment types: COST DRIVERS

HD

Registered Nurses, Full Time Equivalent

PD

TOTAL

5

2

7

15

4

19

Total number of dialysis treatments

14,343

20,624

34,967

Number of clinic dialysis treatments

14,343

0

14,343

Area occupied (in square metres)

22,000

8,000

30,000

Estimated electricity (Kw) usage

563,295

99,405

662,700

Licensed Practical Nurses, Full Time Equivalent

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Required: You are David Thomas. After attending Adam Barr-Coward’s seminar on ‘Activity-based costing – fad v fab costing system’ and conducting a preliminary analysis of the Mary White Dialysis Clinic’s existing costing system; you are convinced that the organisation would benefit from implementing an ABC system. You decide to prepare a report for submission to the Board of Directors for the Clinic and include the following five areas in your report. 1) Determine the product costs and surplus per dialysis treatment using the current costing system. Show the breakdown of treatment costs into their components. Comment on the business plan (i.e. what treatment would be promoted) the clinic would adopt with these treatment costs. 2) Determine the product costs and profits per treatment using an activity-based costing system. Show all the immediate steps including cost driver rates and components of treatment costs. 3) Explain why the current costing system may be distorting its treatment costs and profitability. Support your analysis with examples. 4) Provide for management options they should consider in the light of the treatment costs revealed by the Activity Based Costing. These options should be in addition to adopting a new costing system and should refer to and provide suggestions to amend the business plan you commented on in 1) above. You believe that to make an appropriate decision the Board of Directors of the clinic require at least three options to consider. 5) If you believe the clinic should use Activity Based Costing should be used to cost future treatments you should outline the limitations and difficulties of the new costing system.

Length Maximum of 1500 words (+/- 10%). Penalties apply for violating the word limit (10% deduction per 200 words over limit). Please note that the executive summary and the appendix of your report are not included in the word count. Format/expectations Marks will be awarded according to correctness of calculations and soundness of arguments. To assist you with the methodology to undertake case studies read the material contained at the following link; http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/student/learningAdvisors/ca sestudy.asp Students are expected to present the report in a report format (10% of assignment mark is based upon presentation of report). For guidance on report writing, refer to the reading ‘Writing readable reports’ which can be accessed via the following link; 14

http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/student/learningAdvisors/re ports.asp It should be noted that the report for this assignment is an academic report which requires an Executive Summary and Bibliography as well as the other elements. Referencing is required in the assignment and the Harvard referencing style is preferred. Information of this system is available at: http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/student/studying/referencing.asp All assignment must be submitted by AssignIT and the assignment will be marked and a feedback mark sheet and the marker’s guide and the suggested answers will be returned via AssignIT. A sample of the mark sheet is as follows:

ASSIGNMENT FEEDBACK FORM Mary White Dialysis Clinic Student Feedback Sheet - major Assignment ACG 24 SP3 2008 Presentation (business report format) / 5 marks Expression, spelling, readability / 4 marks Comparisons of costing systems Correctly calculating the costs per treatment using current method (3 marks) Comments on the current business plan (2 marks) Correctly calculating the costs per treatment using ABC method (6 marks) / 20 marks Analysis of results Explanation of why current costing system is distorting costs (5 marks) Analysis of options to board other than to adopt Activity Based Costing (8 marks) Likely consequences of implementing available options (4 marks) / 17 marks Limitations of the ABC approach 1 mark per well described limitation to a maximum of 3 limitations / 3 marks / 40 marks

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Exam/Test Format/expectations The aim of the examination is to test students’ understanding of and ability to apply various management accounting concepts under examination conditions. The weighting of the examination is >50% as required by the professional accounting bodies (CPAA and ICAA). Two copies of past exam papers including last study period’s exam, and answers will be posted on the website and I suggest that you download these to aid in your revision for the exam. The actual exam will include questions from all topics but will concentrate on topics 4 to 10 and have a similar structure.

Special requirements In order to be eligible to pass this unit, students must achieve a minimum of 40% in the final examination, submit the unsupervised assessment (case study) and achieve an overall percentage greater than or equal to 50% from all assessment tasks. Additional information relating to the final exam will be provided to you towards the end of the study period.

Exam arrangements If this unit includes an exam as part of the assessment you will be allocated to an approved University exam centre. The examination centre allocation will be made according to your home address recorded on the student record system five weeks before the scheduled examination period. Confirmation of the centre that you need to attend will be provided approximately three weeks prior to the exam. Individual alternative arrangements will be made for a small number of students who are in remote locations and not within reasonable distance of an approved centre.

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SUBMISSION AND RETURN OF ASSIGNMENTS ONLINE SUBMISSION (ASSIGNIT) For this unit all assignments must be submitted online using AssignIT only (for exceptions see under ‘Postal submission’ below). AssignIT is a UniSA service that facilitates the online submission of assignments via a web-based interface. Please note: Assignments submitted by email will not be accepted. An essential guide which explains how to use AssignIT can be found at http://www.unisa.edu.au/helpstudents/assignit/default.asp. However, please note the following key points: •

Access. AssignIT can be accessed either from a link on your unit home page or online at: http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/assignit/

•

Log-on details. Your log-on details are the same as for your online learning resources. (See the section ‘Online at UniSA’ in this Unit information.)

•

Assignment cover sheet. When you submit your assignment using AssignIT, you must include an Assignment cover sheet and type your name where the form asks for your signature. An electronic copy of this form is available from a link on the unit home page. You can copy and paste this document into the front of your assignment. If the assignment is a group assignment, then you should use the group Assignment cover sheet. Assignments cannot be accepted if the cover sheet is not included.

•

Email notification of receipt. When using AssignIT to submit assignments, you will receive an email notification to confirm that your assignment has been submitted.

Return of assignments submitted by AssignIT If the marked assignment is returned by AssignIT you will receive an email notification and you will be able to view your mark on myUniSA.

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POSTAL SUBMISSION Assignments can only be submitted by post if: •

The assignment is required in a format that cannot be submitted electronically (eg a folio of non-text items). Please refer to the section in this Unit information on ‘Assessment details’.

•

The student is in an isolated environment where Internet access is not available.

•

AssignIT has a function failure on the date when the assignment is due.

In the cases specified above, the mailing address for assignments is the School Office (see address details in the ‘Welcome’ section of this Unit information)

Important points to note about postal submission When sending in your assignments by post, it is important to: •

Retain a copy for your records.

•

Number the pages and staple them together. Do not use pins or paper clips as these catch on other assignments in the sorting and mailing process, and your assignment could be lost.

•

Do not send assignments in folders, binding, or plastic sleeves. Simply submit assignments by stapling the top left hand corner.

•

Attach an Assignment cover sheet, completed in full, to the front of each of your assignments. Make sure you include your UniSA ID number. These sheets can be downloaded from your unit home page. Please note: Assignments cannot be accepted if a signed Assignment cover sheet is not included.

FACSIMILE SUBMISSION Assignments can only be submitted by fax if: •

The assignment is required in a format that cannot be submitted electronically (eg a folio of non-test items)

•

The student is in an isolated environment where Internet access isn’t available.

•

AssignIT has a function failure on the date when the assignment is due.

Assignments cannot be faxed by students residing within Australia. Only students residing overseas may fax assignments. This submission facility for students residing overseas is provided to avoid delays in assignment receipt which can occur with postal delivery. The fax number is: Fax: (61 8) 8302 0992

DUE DATE The due date refers to the date for submission of your assignments. Please note the following in relation to the specific time deadlines for various submission methods: •

Online submission. Submission of assignments via AssignIT may be made at any time until no later than 11.55 pm Australian Central Standard Time on the due date.

•

Postal submission. Assignments/ materials submitted in hard copy must be postmarked or officially franked (as having been sent) before or by 5:00 pm on that date. When posting an assignment, please get the Post Office to ensure that the envelope is postmarked, as some methods don’t automatically provide a postmark.

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•

Fax submission. Submission of assignments via fax may be made at any time until no later than 11.55 pm Australian Central Standard Time on the due date.

ASSIGNMENT TURNAROUND TIME Our goal is that your assignments will normally be returned to you within 3 weeks of the date received.

FINAL GRADES Final grades are published approximately 4 to 6 weeks after the end of the study period and can be accessed at myUniSA.

EARLY RESULTS Students sometimes require their results by an earlier date for a specific purpose; for example, an application for a postgraduate program. To apply for an early result you need to send a written application to the Unit Coordinator with the relevant documentation; for example, your letter from VTAC indicating the deadline for applications. In these cases the university will try to meet the request—although it can't be guaranteed due to the logistics of exam papers being returned, availability of academic staff etc. Please note that requests for early release of final grades need to be submitted by Friday of week 12. Results cannot be supplied less than 3 weeks after the end of the study period.

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EXTENSIONS TO ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES HOW TO REQUEST A 7 DAY EXTENSION •

A 7 day extension request form is now available via your online course pages.

•

To submit this form you must use the relevant unit link via AssignIT labelled: ‘7 Day Extension Request form submission – assignment (Assignment Number) only’

•

For example: the unit AssignIT open link should look something like: 7 Day Extension Request form submission – assignment two only

•

If you require a 7 day extension for an assignment please fill out the 7 Day Extension Request Form and submit via the relevant AssignIT link.

•

You will receive an AssignIT successful submission confirmation email.

•

Retain this email as it is your extension confirmation. This is the only confirmation you will receive.

•

7 day extensions requested via email fax or phone will not be accepted!

•

The AssignIt link will close just before midnight 2 days before the due date. No extensions will be accepted once this link has closed.

•

Please Note: NO date changes to your assignment due date will occur on your MyUniSA pages once you have submitted the request form – you must remember the extension due date and time and submit prior to this.

•

**If you require an extension of more than 7 days you will need to check your unit information to make sure the unit you are studying allows more than 7 day extensions and use the form found at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/oua/admin/forms.asp and email to: [email protected] with relevant documentation to support your request.

•

Requests for more than 7 day extensions need to be approved by the unit coordinator.

EXTENSION REQUESTS OF MORE THAN 7DAYS •

In requesting an extension of more than 7 days, you are required to include a written statement which explains the reason why this extension is needed and any other supporting documentation. For example, if your reason is health-related, you should attach a medical certificate.

•

Requests for an extension of more than 7 days must also be made at least two days before the due date of the assignment.

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The request form for more than 7 days extension, can be found at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/oua/admin/forms.asp

•

Request for an extension of more than 7 days should be sent to: [email protected]

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IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT EXTENSIONS It is in your interests to think through the consequences of late submission of assignments. A first assignment submitted late may not be able to be returned to you before the second assignment is due. You may then find yourself in the position of having to submit a second assignment before receiving feedback on the first. Second assignments submitted late may not be returned before the exam. Extra time spent on an assignment may reduce the time you have available to do the next assignment or to study for the exam. A 13-week study period can pass very quickly!

ONLINE AT UNISA How do I find the online learning resources for my unit? One means of accessing your online learning resources is by going to myUniSA http://www.unisa.edu.au/myunisa, which is the UniSA web-based portal for study-related information and resources. For further details on myUniSA, please refer to the subsection below entitled ‘Student information via the Web: myUniSA’. Alternatively, you can access your online materials by going to the unit home page, which has been established on the UniSAnet system (UniSAnet is the online study environment at UniSA). To go to the unit home page, enter the unit code CHI11 in the search field entitled ‘Area and Catalogue No’ on the following web page, and then click on the related search button: http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/courses/ Once you reach the unit home page, if you check underneath the heading ‘Learning resources for this unit’, you will see a link to the Online learning resources. If you click on this link, you will be asked to enter your log-on details. If these details are correct, you will then be able to access the online learning resources.

Your UniSA username and password If you are a new student you will receive a letter the week before the study period starts with your username and password.

Help—I can’t log-on! 1. Are you entering the correct username and password? 2. Are you a student currently enrolled in an OUA unit offered by the University of South Australia? If you are not sure of your enrolment status, contact Campus Central, Centre for Regional Engagement (Whyalla). 3. If you are enrolled and still can’t log-on please contact the IT Help Desk (details below

STUDENT INFORMATION VIA THE WEB: MYUNISA What is myUniSA? All students who are currently enrolled with UniSA have access to myUniSA, a webbased portal for study-related information and resources.

What information can I access? The information available through myUniSA includes the following:

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•

Links to online resources provided for your unit—unit home page, online learning resources, discussion forums, AssignIT etc.

•

Unit enrolments—unit code, unit value, study period, teaching school, etc.

•

Personal details—full name, date of birth, postal address and contact details.

•

Materials dispatch—dates products have been sent to you.

•

Assignment details—dates assignments have been submitted by AssignIT. Marks of assignments returned by AssignIT.

•

Exam timetables—for units in which you are currently enrolled.

•

Final grade—your overall final grade can be accessed online approximately 4-6 weeks after the end of the study period.

•

Access to your UniSA email account and library records.

Is myUniSA secure? Yes. You are the only person who can access your information in myUniSA as long as you: •

don’t share your username and password with anyone else; and also

•

close all Web browsers completely when you have finished using myUniSA.

myUniSA also provides you with the option to change your password (see the link available on the initial log-on page). This is another way of keeping your account secure.

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How do I log-on to myUniSA? 1. Go to the UniSA home page: http://www.unisa.edu.au 2. Click on the word 'myUniSA' on the menu bar at the top of the page. 3. You will then be taken to a 'Welcome to myUniSA' page. Click on the link on this page which says 'Log on to myUniSA'. 4. You will then be prompted with a ‘Username and Password’ pop-up window as below:

5. At the log-on screen enter your username and password. Enter all information in lower case. 6. Select ‘OK’.

What if the personal details information I find in myUniSA is incorrect? Change it straight away! It is very important that the information the University has about you and your study is correct. Having an incorrect address can mean you do not receive vital information from the University; being incorrectly enrolled can mean you will be charged an incorrect fee. If you need to change your contact details (address, phone number, etc), please refer to ‘Change of address’ in the ‘Campus Central, Centre for Regional Engagement (Whyalla)’ section of this Unit information. To change other information, contact the IT Help Desk (details below).

Help—I don’t understand some of the information I can see! Each screen in myUniSA has online help which explains the information displayed on the screen. Select the ‘Help’ button at the top of the screen to open the online help. (Select the X in the top right corner to close.) If you need further assistance, contact the IT Help Desk (details below).

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EMAIL As part of the enrolment process, all students are issued with a University email account. Your email address is made up like this: (your username)@students.unisa.edu.au. Email is the designated form of contact for a number of UniSA administrative processes. These processes include: •

AssignIT. When using AssignIT to submit assignments, you will receive email notifications when assignments are submitted and/or returned.

•

Library. If you borrow books from the UniSA Library you will receive email notices about overdue items. Fees can apply to overdue items. For details, please refer to the Flexible Information Service website: http://www.library.unisa.edu.au/fds/

•

Other UniSA notices. From time to time, other sections of the University send out emails to all students (including OUA students). Some of these messages may be relevant to OUA students, but it is possible that some of these emails will not be directly relevant.

To obtain this information, it is recommended that you log-on to your University of South Australia email account on at least a weekly basis. Note: If you are unable to access your email, you should contact the IT Help Desk at the beginning of the study period.

Redirection of your UniSA email Your UniSA email account is the email address that we will use to contact you. We will not contact you using an alternative email address. If you would like to use a different or secondary email address to receive email, you can redirect your UniSA email to your home or work email address by using the Email Redirection application on myUniSA. Redirecting your UniSA email enables you to receive your UniSA email in your home or work inbox. For further information, please visit the ‘Email redirection’ webpage on the UniSA Information Strategy and Technology Services website: http://www.unisa.edu.au/ists/email/email_redirect.asp

How do I access my UniSA email account? You can access your email account through logging onto myUniSA. Alternatively, you can access your email by doing the following: 1. Go to the UniSA home page: http://www.unisa.edu.au/ 2. Click on the word ‘Email’ on the menu at the top of the page. 3. You will then be prompted with a ‘Username and Password’ pop-up window. •

Enter your username

•

Enter your password

•

Press your ‘Enter/Return’ key or select ‘OK’.

You should now have access to your UniSA email account. Assistance for accessing your email can be obtained at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/ists/Email/default.asp

IT HELP DESK Contact the IT Help Desk (http://www.unisa.edu.au/ists/ITHelpDesk/default.asp) if you are having difficulty accessing UniSAnet, myUniSA or your email account. IT Help Desk phones are monitored Monday through Friday 8.30 am to 9.00 pm Adelaide time. 24

Phone:

(08) 8302 5000 1300 558 654 (price of a local call; mobiles may pay more) 61 8 8302 5000 (international callers)

INFORMATION ABOUT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ASSESSMENT GRADES Universities offering OUA units have agreed to use a common set of assessment grades for work submitted by students. Grade High distinction Distinction Credit Pass Fail Withdrawal

Notation

Notational %

HD D C P N W

85+% 75–84% 65–74% 50–64% <50%

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY UniSA aims to foster and preserve the scholarly values of curiosity, experimentation, critical appraisal and integrity and to foster these values in students. Throughout the learning experience, you are expected to adhere to high standards of academic integrity and honesty. Failure to do so may constitute academic misconduct (see section 9 of the Assessment policies and procedures manual at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/). Academic misconduct includes the following: •

Plagiarism (see below).

•

Breaches of the examination procedures in Section 6: Examination Procedures of the Assessment policies and procedures manual, presentation of data with respect to laboratory work, field trips or other work that has been copied, falsified or in other ways improperly obtained.

•

Inclusion of material in individual work that has involved significant assistance from another person, where such assistance is not expressly permitted in this booklet.

•

Falsification or misrepresentation of academic records.

•

Other actions that contravene the principles of academic integrity.

Plagiarism is a specific form of academic misconduct. Deliberate plagiarism is regarded as a serious act of academic misconduct. Plagiarism includes the following: a. direct copying of the work or data of other persons, from one or more sources, without clearly indicating the origin. This includes both paper-based and electronic sources of material from websites, books, articles, unpublished work such as theses, working papers, seminar and conference papers, internal reports, lecture notes or tapes, and visual materials such as photographs, drawings and designs

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b. using very close paraphrasing of sentences or whole clauses without due acknowledgement in the form of reference to the original work c. submitting another student's work in whole or in part, where such assistance is not expressly permitted in the Unit information d. use of another person's ideas, work or research data without acknowledgement e. submitting work that has been written by someone else on the student's behalf f.

copying computer files, algorithms or computer code without clearly indicating their origin

g. submitting work that has been derived, in whole or in part, from another student's work by a process of mechanical transformation (eg changing variable names in computer programs) h. in any way appropriating or imitating another's ideas and manner of expressing them where such assistance is not expressly permitted in the Unit information. Students' work may be checked for plagiarism using a variety of means, including text comparison software. Assignments checked electronically will be held in a database for future matching processes. More information about Academic integrity can be found in the Assessment policies and procedures manual at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual or on the Learning Connection website at: http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/student/studying/integrity.asp

UNIT COUNSELLING For this unit, there are a number of definite processes which need to be followed in order to obtain advice about administrative and academic matters. For all administrative queries, please contact Campus Central, Centre for Regional Engagement (Whyalla). This should be done by emailing your query to [email protected]. (Additional contact details are provided in this Unit information in the section entitled ‘Campus Central, Centre for Regional Engagement (Whyalla)’. Alternatively, if you have a query about the academic content of the unit, you should post your query to the Discussion forum on the unit home page. The Unit Coordinator or one of the tutors for the unit will be checking this Discussion forum on a regular basis and will reply to your query. Further information about the Discussion forum facility is provided in this Unit information in the section entitled ‘Learning Resources’.

VARIATION TO ASSESSMENT TASKS Students may request a variance to assessment methods, tasks and timelines based on medical, compassionate or religious observance grounds, or community services. Such variations must be requested before or during the second teaching week or within 5 working days of the distribution of this Unit information. Variations requested after this date will need to be negotiated with the Unit Coordinator and may not be able to be accommodated.

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RESUBMISSION There is no provision for resubmission of assignments, unless invited to do so by the Unit Coordinator.

DEFERRED EXAMS A student may apply for a deferred examination on medical or compassionate grounds if the student believes that illness, disability through accident and/or other special circumstances prevented their attendance at the final examination or submission of the final assessment item. A student can only apply for a deferred examination if they meet all the criteria below: •

The student did not attend the final examination and/or did not submit the final assessment for the unit

•

The student was unable to attend the final examination for medical or other circumstances

•

The circumstances happened in a period of time directly relating to attendance at the examination

•

The student is able to provide documentary evidence to support their application

•

The student has submitted all unsupervised assessment items

Applications must be lodged at Campus Central, Whyalla no later than FIVE working days after the examination date. The ‘OUA Application to defer final examination’ form is available at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/oua/admin/forms.asp NB: If you live in a remote location, you can submit you form by fax or email, however, you will still need to submit the original documents, and your application will not be processed until the original documents are received. The original documents must be received at Campus Central Whyalla within 15 days of the date of the exam. You will be notified in writing by the University of the outcome of your application. More information on deferred assessment can be found in the Assessment policies and procedures manual in section 7 (clause 7.4) at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/ or on the Student & Academic Services OUA website at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/oua/Ask_OUA/faq/

SPECIAL CONSIDERATION If you attend the exam and believe that your performance was affected by illness, disability through an accident and/or other special circumstances, you can apply for special consideration. A student can only apply for special consideration if they meet all the criteria below: •

The student did attend the final examination for the unit

•

The student’s academic performance was significantly impacted for medical or other circumstances

•

The circumstances happened in a period of time directly relating to attendance at the examination or submission of the final assignment

•

The student is able to provide documentary evidence to support their application

Applications must be lodged at Campus Central Whyalla no later than FIVE working days after the examination date (only the Director: Student & Academic Services can

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waive this timeframe). The ‘OUA Application to for special consideration’ form is available at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/oua/admin/forms.asp All applications for Special Consideration will be referred to the Unit Coordinator for decision. NB: If you live in a remote location, you can submit you form by fax or email, however, you will still need to submit the original documents, and your application will not be processed until the original documents are received. The original documents must be received at Campus Central Whyalla within 15 days of the date of the exam. You will be advised by the Unit Coordinator or delegate of the outcome of your application. More information on special consideration can be found in the Assessment policies and procedures manual in section 7 (clause 7.5) at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/or on the Student & Academic Services OUA website at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/oua/Ask_OUA/faq/

EXAMS Most undergraduate OUA units have exams in the week after the end of a study period. It is important that you read this information carefully. •

The University makes arrangements for students to sit their exams at approved exam centres. This includes all domestic and international students.

•

All exams are held during business hours.

•

Students are sent a letter with the details of the centre to attend in week 10.

•

The university pays the cost of the invigilation. However, students need to cover any transport costs. In nearly all cases the centre will be within reasonable proximity to your address.

•

Exams must be sat at the scheduled time and date. Only where a student has an exam scheduled at the same time with another institution are alternative arrangements negotiated. Students in this situation need to contact the Examination Officer by week 8.

•

You need to ensure that your registered address with the university is current and correct. The address used will be the one designated on myUniSA 5 weeks prior to you being contacted. The centre designation cannot be changed after week 8.

•

There will be a small number of students located in remote areas in which we do not have access to professional examination centres. In these situations, we will contact the students individually to discuss options for the supervision of their examinations.

•

Students who have a Disability Access Plan indicating special arrangements for their examinations should contact the Examinations Officer by the end of week 8 to ensure that the correct arrangements for their examination are in place.

•

If you wish to apply for Variations to standard requirements you should access the information in regard to criteria and the form that needs to be submitted from the OUA @ UniSA website at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/oua/

•

Please note: It is a complex task to arrange centres for large numbers of students in a diverse range of locations. It is not possible therefore to accommodate individual requests for preferred exam centres.

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If you have any queries relating to exams, please contact the Examinations Office using the following contact details: Examinations Officer Phone: 1300 361 450 (price of a local call; mobiles may cost more) Email: [email protected]

WITHDRAWAL OF STUDY Withdrawal The exact process for withdrawing from a unit depends on when you decide to withdraw.

Withdrawals before the OUA Census Date If you decide to withdraw from a unit before the OUA Census Date (end of week 3), you need to contact Open Universities Australia. Please note that withdrawals from an OUA unit prior to the Census Date are eligible for a partial refund. However, refunds are not possible after the Census Date, except when an application for special circumstances is approved by Open Universities Australia. For further information about withdrawing from a unit before the Census Date, please refer to the Open Universities Australia 2008 Handbook or contact Open Universities Australia.

Withdrawals after the OUA Census Date If you decide to withdraw from a unit after the OUA Census Date, please complete a ‘Withdrawal form’, and send it to Campus Central, Centre for Regional Engagement (Whyalla). A copy of this form can be downloaded from the unit home page or the OUA @ UniSA website at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/oua/. Withdrawals under this process can only be accepted when lodged by Friday of week 10 of the study period. To confirm a withdrawal using this process, you can check your myUniSA record for confirmation.

Grades for withdrawal A ‘W’ withdraw will be recorded on your academic record where notice of withdrawal has been received.

Assessments not completed If a withdrawal request has not been submitted by the Friday of week 10 and the required assessments have not been submitted or completed by the due or negotiated date an ‘N’ Fail grade will be recorded.

Deferrals From 2008 onwards, deferrals will no longer be available for units offered by UniSA through OUA.

CAMPUS CENTRAL, CENTRE FOR REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT (WHYALLA) There are four main sources for accessing information in regard to administrative matters for study with OUA units offered by UniSA. These are as follows: 1. This Unit information booklet 2. The student portal myUniSA

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3. OUA @ UniSA website at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/oua/ 4. Contact Campus Central, Centre for Regional Engagement (Whyalla)

Campus Central, Centre for Regional Engagement (Whyalla) contact details Phone: (08) 86476111 1300 361 450 (price of a local call; mobiles may cost more) 61 8 86476111 (international callers) Fax: (08) 86476082 Email: [email protected] Phones are attended during normal South Australian business hours. You may leave a voicemail message or fax or email at all other times.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS The University of South Australia (UniSA) does not update personal and contact details for Open Universities Australia (OUA) students. To update or correct your personal and contact details, please go to the Personal Details section of My Area on the OUA website, or contact the OUA office in Melbourne. OUA will then advise UniSA of your updated personal and contact details.

OTHER SERVICES FOR STUDENTS UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA LIBRARY SERVICE As you are enrolled in a unit offered by the University of South Australia, you are entitled to access a range of services offered by the University Library. Offered through the Flexible Information Service, the aim of this service is to provide you with prompt and user-friendly access to databases, loans, photocopying and an information service. They can search for material on a specific topic if you do not have access to the Internet. Information about the full range of services available to you through the Library is available at http://www.library.unisa.edu.au/fds/

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Address Flexible Information Service University of South Australia Library University of South Australia Mawson Lakes Boulevard Mawson Lakes South Australia 5095 Phone: 1300 137 659 (price of a local call; mobiles may pay more) 61 8 8302 6231 (international callers) Fax: (08) 8302 6699 61 8 8302 6699 (international callers) Email: [email protected]

DISABILITY SERVICES The University of South Australia has a formal commitment to encourage people to seek access to tertiary study. We take all reasonable steps to ensure that any benefits provided by the University are accessible to students with a disability. This commitment extends to students studying OUA units. There may also be entitlement to a variation or modification to standard assessment arrangements. Services are provided on an individual basis according to access requirements. Further information about disability services is available at: http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/student/defaultdisability.asp Phone:

(08) 8302 4423 or 1300 657 144 (cost of a local call from anywhere in Australia)

Email:

[email protected]

Students with disabilities are entitled to be assessed in ways which ensure a fair opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge. Alternative assessment arrangements may be required to provide this opportunity. Policy for students with disabilities is available at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/policies/

CONTACTING OPEN UNIVERSITIES AUSTRALIA Contact OUA if you intend to withdraw, have a study problem, need some advice or just want to talk to someone. OUA has a team of trained student advisers if you need: •

help choosing which units and modules you wish to study

•

help processing your enrolment

•

information about pathways which are available for a range of qualifications

•

help with enrolling

•

advice about eligibility for the FEE-HELP student loan scheme, credit transfer, or obtaining funds

•

to change your name

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Phone:

(03) 8628 2555 1300 363 652 (price of a local call; mobiles may pay more) 61 3 8268 2555 (international callers)

Fax: (03) 8268 2955 Email: [email protected] Website: www.open.edu.au Postal Open Universities Australia GPO Box 5387 Melbourne Vic 3001

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Study schedule—Study period 3, 2008 Week

Dates

Content/Work due

1

1–5 September

Topic 1: Management accounting: information that creates value

2

8–12 September

Topic 2: Cost terms & concepts

3

15–19 September

Topic 3: Cost estimation & cost-volume profit analysis

4

22–26 September

Topic 4: Product costing systems

5

29 Sept–3 October

Topic 5 Overhead costs

6

6–10 October

Mid-study period test (Friday 3 October)

7

13–17 October

Topic 6: Activity-based costing

8

20–24 October

Topic 7: Budgeting

9

27–31 October

Topic 8: Standard costing: Material and Labour

10

3–7 November

Topic 9: Standard costing: Overhead Case study assignment (due Friday 31 October)

11

10–14 November

Topic 10: Tactical decision making Last week to withdraw

12

17–21 November

Topic 11: Pricing and product-mix decisions

13

24–28 November

Revision

14

1–5 December

Exam week

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ACG24/UI/02/2008

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