Financial Accounting Issues

Financial Accounting Issues

Knowledge and Technological Skills (KS)

1.1 Demonstrate and apply integrated discipline (including technical) knowledge across the broad field of business with depth in one or more core business disciplines

Higher Order Thinking (HO)

2.2 Exercise independent judgment and initiative in adapting and applying knowledge and skills for effective planning, problem solving and decision making in diverse contexts.

Be professional communicators in an intercultural context (PC)

3.1 Use information literacy skills, and communicate effectively and professionally in written forms and using media appropriate for diverse purposes and contexts

We will not mark assessment submitted after the due date and time without a pre-approved extension i.e. will receive a mark of zero. If special circumstances prevent you from meeting the assessment submission deadline, you can apply for an extension. If you don’t have an approved extension you should submit the work you have completed by the submission deadline and it will be marked against the assessment criteria.

Submission process

Submit the Research Paper electronically via Turnitin on the AYB311 Blackboard site under:

Assessment/Assessment 2 Research Paper – 35%/Research report submission.

Students who encounter a technical problem when making their final submission through Turnitin should email their assignment before the submission deadline to  ayb311@qut.edu.au

Plagiarism

This unit uses the Turnitin text matching tool in Blackboard. You can submit a draft version of your assignment prior to submitting your final version to allow you to view your Turnitin Matching Report and make any corrections in relation to referencing and cited work. When you submit the final version of your assignment, Turnitin will generate a final text matching report for the Unit Coordinator.

Please note that Turnitin is a software tool and you should not rely on it to detect all plagiarism. You are responsible for knowing what does and does not constitute plagiarism. The Unit Coordinator may use methods in addition to Turnitin to identify plagiarism. You should be aware of the MOPP in relation to academic dishonesty and plagiarism specifically

Structure, format and other requirements

The Research Paper must follow this structure:

Title page

Table of contents

1. Introduction

1.1. Purpose of the report; issues to be discussed and their significance;

research method and limitations

2. Literature review

2.1. Corporate governance models

2.2. Islamic corporate governance and the role of the Sharia committee

3. Discussion and analysis

3.1. Islamic corporate governance in Australia

3.2. Islamic financial products in Australia

4. Conclusion and recommendation

5. Reference list

• Use Times New Roman font size 12 and double space your report.

• You must cite at least eight scholarly sources such as published research articles, academic books, conference papers, and textbooks (note that published research articles rank highest, as they are peer reviewed). Non-academic sources such as news articles and business reports etc. will help your report and your mark, particularly in the discussion and analysis section

of the report, but their use is in addition to the minimum scholarly sources. Lecture slides

are not acceptable as a source.

• Use APA referencing and citing. See: http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/cite/qutcite.jsp

• You may write less than the maximum 1750 words but you must not exceed the word limit.

• Your word count begins with the heading for your introduction and ends at the end of your conclusion. Headings and in-text references are therefore included in the word count.

• Include your word count on your title page.

Resources to assist with this assessment

• The lectures in weeks 1-3 may help you to understand what is required in the assignment.

• Readings (high quality scholarly sources) to help you get started with the assignment were posted in learning resources for weeks 1 and 2 on Blackboard.

• In the lecture in week 4, I will expand upon what is required in the assignment, and provide an opportunity for you to ask questions.

• A discussion forum will be set up in Blackboard in week 5. It will contain further information and links. It will also provide an opportunity for you to ask questions.

• Read the CRA carefully as it is an accurate reflection of how marks will be allocated and it will assist your understanding of what is required.

Question

Background Information

The global Islamic finance market is expected to reach USD 2.6 trillion by 2017 (PwC, 2013) and financial centres around the world want this business. Although Australia has a relatively small Muslim population (around 2%), we are seen as having high potential to expand into the area of Islamic finance (Maierbrugger, 2016). Islamic finance requires corporate governance that is grounded in the ethical and moral framework described by Sharia, and illegal or socially detrimental acts are prohibited (Abu-Tapanjeh, 2009).

Following graduation, you have obtained work as an analyst for an Australian bank. The directors of the bank are considering expanding into Islamic financial products, and listened with interest as the chief economist of Citigroup recently suggested Australian banks could utilise principles of Islamic finance for the benefit of all Australians (Shapiro, 2016). To support their  decision-making, the directors of the bank wish to understand the governance issues associated with issuing Islamic financial products, first at a theoretical level, and then in the Australian context. You have been asked to research and report as follows:

Required

In your report you will use academic literature, first to describe and explain the models and underlying theories of Corporate Governance; then to discuss and identify the place of Islamic corporate governance within these models, including the role of the Sharia committee.

You will then critically evaluate whether financial services companies (including banks) operating under an Islamic corporate governance framework fit within the existing Australian corporate governance framework; and consider more specifically, whether Islamic financial products are compatible with the Australian business environment.

Finally, based upon your analysis, you will advise the directors of the bank whether the principles of Islamic corporate governance and/or the issuance of Islamic financial products seem incompatible with the Australian business environment, or may be accommodated with minor

legislative changes.1