Analysis The Literature Relating Corporate Internal Control Weaknesses

Purpose:
The Referencing Exercise examines students’ ability to appropriately reference
scholarly research, and to identify and organise sources relevant to the completion of
the Research Essay. This task supports studentsin preparing for writing a research essay
through developing referencing skills and using academic resources to prepare an essay
plan.
This assessment task is to be completed individually.
Required:
It is critical that you carefully and correctly use the Harvard referencing system for this
assessment. If you are unfamiliar with the Harvard referencing system, the ANU
Academic Skills and Learning Centre (ASLC) provides detailed information on
referencing on its website. It is strongly advised that you familiarise yourselves with
this approach prior to completing this task.
Part1—Referencing (3 marks)
Using the ANU Library SuperSearch, Google Scholar, or a scholarly internet search
engine of your choice, find and download the article ‘Accruals Quality and Internal
Control Over Financial Reporting’ authored by Doyle, Ge, and McVay. This article
was published in 2007.
Using this article, write a short summary of no more than 200 words that contains
the following:
(i) A summary of the article by Doyle, Ge, and McVay;
(ii) A direct quotation from the article by Doyle, Ge, and McVay; that is
correctly referenced;
(iii) A sentence paraphrasing a specific argument made by Doyle, Ge, and
McVay that is correctly referenced (i.e. you must re-write a specific
argument in your own words and correctly reference this);
You must use the Harvard referencing system for this referencing exercise. The ANU
Academic Skills Office has a guide to Harvard Referencing available on their website.
Part 2 – Reference search (7 marks)
Using the ANU Library SuperSearch, Google Scholar, or a scholarly internet search
engine of your choice, identify at least 10 additional online scholarly journal articles
that are relevant to the preparation of your Part B Research Essay (5 marks). Identify
2 relevant media articles or survey evidence published from credible professional
sources
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(i.e. Harvard Business Review, U.S. Security Exchange Commission (SEC), The Wall
Street Journal, etc) (2 marks).
Using these 10 journal articles and 2 media report/evidence, provide the following:
(i) A list of properly-formatted reference list entries for each of the articles
you have found; and
(ii) A short statement of the key argument/s of each article/evidence and how
you plan to use each of them in your Research Essay.
We suggest you present this information in the form of a table (i.e. with each reference
list entry as a new row, and your short statement about the key argument/use of the
article included in the second/third column). Ensure that this part of your submission is
no longer than 2 pages.
You must use the Harvard referencing system. The ANU Academic Skills Office has
a guide to Harvard Referencing available on their website.
Late submissions of this task are not accepted. Ensure you have allowed
sufficient time to upload and submit your assignment prior to the deadline.
General Information
Submission: Students must submit through the Turnitin system on Wattle. For
additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU website.
Presentation: Your submissions must be word-processed and presented professionally,
using 12pt font and at least 1.5 line spacing. You may use 1.0 line spacing in your table.
Ensure your grammar, expression and spelling are carefully checked before submission.
Long direct quotes should be single spaced and indented from the left margin.
Essay Writing: The Academic Skills and Learning Centre (ASLC) provides a lot of
support for students in writing essays through its website and also in-person through
booked appointments and drop-in clinics. The online booklet ‘Essay Writing’ is useful
in explaining the basics of essay writing strategies. The ASLC website also provides
useful information on referencing and academic honesty.
Extensions and Penalties: Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are
covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions
will only be considered when evidence of medical illness (e.g. medical certificate or
hospital admission documentation) or other serious misadventure can be provided.
Work or other personal commitments are not acceptable reasons for extensions for
coursework assessment. If you need an extension, you must request it in writing on or
before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that
demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you
may be able to request it after the due date.
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BUSN3001 – Part B Research Essay – S2 2022
Weighting: 25%
Due Date: 6 p.m. 13/10/2022
Purpose: The Research Essay examines students’ ability to identify appropriate
scholarly research and media articles, critically analyse this literature and develop
written arguments. This task helps students further develop their knowledge of
accounting theory and their written communication skills.
This assessment task is to be completed individually.
Required:
Critically analyse the literature relating corporate internal control weaknesses.
Your research essay (at a minimum) should discuss the following: (1) What are the
determinants of a firm’s internal control quality; and (2) what are the
impacts/consequences of ineffective internal control.
It is expected that your essay will be broadly researched and your arguments should
be well reasoned and evidenced with reference to the existing literature. You are
required to use the Harvard referencing system.
The word limit for this research essay is a strict 1,500 words (i.e. there is no 10%
margin). This excludes the references at the end of the essay (but includes the in-text
references). Marks may be deducted for essays that exceed this word limit.
Assessment Criteria:
The Research Essay will be assessed based upon the following criteria (also see Grade
Related Descriptors below):
 Evidence of scholarly research: extent of literature review, relevance of articles,
substantiation of arguments with references to literature.
 Depth and relevance of discussion: coverage and depth in the focus areas of the
essay, demonstration of knowledge and understanding of theory.
 Critical analysis: level of critical analysis, argumentation, originality of ideas and
insight.
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 Written expression: effective language and writing (including attention to
grammar and sentence construction), structure and coherence of the essay as a
whole
 Consistency with academic conventions: correct and consistent referencing,
formatting and abiding by word count
Note: The criteria listed above are not mutually exclusive but are complementary in
the overall assessment of the assignment. A well-written and organised essay
will receive a zero mark if it is not relevant to the given topic.
The marking rubric used to assess this Research Essay is provided below.
Further notes:
 You do not have to use the same references identified in the Part A Referencing
Exercise. We are not looking for you to use a certain number of references for
this assessment, but consider the 10 journal articles identified for the
Referencing Exercise as a minimum or starting point for your research.
However, we are looking for quality over quantity in terms of the references
used: it is more important to show that you understand and critically analyse the
resources you have found than listing many that you only superficially discuss.
 Plagiarism and insufficient referencing are not tolerated. We expect a high
standard in terms of referencing in this assessment, as the Referencing
Exercise/Essay Plan provided students the opportunity to develop these skills.
Students are encouraged to use the Turnitin Originality Report function to check
the work they plan to submit in the lead-up to the submission date, and ensure
their research essay is entirely their own work. Ensure you allow sufficient time
for Turnitin to complete this report when planning your essay submission.
Instances of Academic Misconduct will be reported and dealt with according to
ANU Academic Misconduct Policy and Processes.
 It is critical that you carefully and correctly use the Harvard referencing system
for this assessment. If you are unfamiliar with the Harvard referencing system,
the ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre (ASLC) provides detailed
information on referencing on its website.
General Information
Submission: Students must submit through the Turnitin system on Wattle. For
additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU website.
Presentation: Your submissions must be word-processed and presented professionally,
using 12pt font and at least 1.5 line spacing. Ensure your grammar, expression and
spelling are carefully checked before submission. Long direct quotes should be single
spaced and indented from the left margin.
Essay Writing: The Academic Skills and Learning Centre (ASLC) provides a lot of
support for students in writing essays through its website and also in-person through
booked appointments and drop-in clinics. The online booklet ‘Essay Writing’ is useful
in explaining the basics of essay writing strategies. The ASLC website also provides
useful information on referencing and academic honesty.
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Extensions and Penalties: Extensions and Penalties: Extensions and late submission
of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and
Procedure. Extensions will only be considered when evidence of medical illness (e.g.
medical certificate or hospital admission documentation) or other serious misadventure
can be provided. Work or other personal commitments are not acceptable reasons for
extensions for coursework assessment. If you need an extension, you must request it in
writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical
evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the
due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.
Late submissions of this task are not accepted. Ensure you have allowed sufficient
time to upload and submit your assignment prior to the deadline.
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Assessment Rubric – Research Essay
Please note that the following criteria are not evenly weighted
Criteria HIGH
DISTINCTIO
N 80% – 100%
DISTINCTIO
N 70% – 79%
CREDIT
PASS 60% –
69%
PASS 50% –
59%
FAIL <50% Evidence of scholarly research The essay effectively draws upon a wide variety of relevant scholarly resources and provides evidence to support all assertions. The essay effectively draws upon a good amount of relevant scholarly resources and provides evidence to support most assertions. The essay effectively references scholarly resources and provides evidence to support some assertions. The essay draws upon a few scholarly references, and/or provides incomplete evidence to support assertions. The essay draws upon a limited number of scholarly references. Depth of argument All aspects of the given topic are discussed in a thorough manner. Most aspects of the given topic are addressed in depth. Most aspects of the given topic are considered. Key aspects of the given topic are considered. Essay is superficial and/or inadequate in scope. Critical analysis The essay demonstrates excellent critical analysis, development of logical arguments and insight into the topic. The essay shows strong evidence of analysis, supported by logical arguments and insight into the topic. The essay shows evidence of elementary analysis and the development of discussion. The essay is mainly descriptive, showing basic understanding of the topic. The essay demonstrates very limited understanding of the topic. Structure and expression The essay is exceptionally clear, cohesive, and structured. Grammar and expression are impeccable. The essay is clear, cohesive, and structured. Grammar and expression are excellent. The essay is mostly clear in terms of structure, with some weaknesses in cohesiveness. Grammar and expression are good, with some issues. The essay is clear in some areas, and unclear in others. Some structural issues and lack of cohesion. Grammar and expression are acceptable. The essay is unclear, disjointed or confusing for the reader. Grammar and expression poor. Consistency with conventions All aspects of the essay conform to a high academic standard. Word count is within limits. Most aspects of the essay conform to a high academic standard. Word count is within limits. Most aspects of the essay conform to academic standards. Word count is within limits. The essay displays basic academic standard, with some issues or weaknesses. Word count is within limits. The essay is not of an acceptable academic standard. Word count is NOT within limits.