FNSACC408 Work Effectively In The Accounting Assignment-Australia.

Subject Code & Title : FNSACC408 Work Effectively In The Accounting And Bookkeeping Industry
Assessment Type : Assignment
Type of Assessment : This summative assessment will enable your assessor to make a judgement of competency based on the submission of your completed assessments against the requirements of the unit/s of competency in this module.
Benchmark : The Assessment Benchmark developed for each unit of competency is the evidence criteria used to judge the quality of performance (i.e., the assessment decision-making rules). Assessors use these
benchmarks to make judgements on whether competency has been achieved and to determine if you
have performed to the standard expected to meet the unit requirements.
FNSACC408 Work Effectively In The Accounting Assignment-Australia.

Reasonable Adjustment :
Where appropriate Monarch Institute will allow flexibility in the way in which each unit is assessed based on the needs of an individual.

Assessment Coding :
Assessment of this course is established on competency-based principles:
S = Satisfactory NS = Not Satisfactory
If you fail to perform satisfactorily for the assessment in the prescribed way you may be assessed as Not Satisfactory. You are required to be assessed as ‘Satisfactory’ in all assessments for each unit of competency.

FNSACC408 Work Effectively In The Accounting And Bookkeeping Industry Assignment – Australia.

Re-assessment :
Your assessment can be submitted after you have reviewed the learning materials and practiced enough to feel confident in your re submission. You have two weeks from your last submission feedback to resubmit. You are re-assessed in only the areas where your assessor has indicated you were initially assessed as NS. It is at the assessor’s discretion to re-assess the entire assessment should an overall understanding not be demonstrated. When you are re-assessed as ‘satisfactory’ after re-submission you will achieve competency for this assessment.

Declaration of Understanding and Authenticity :
I acknowledge the assessment process has been explained and agree that I am ready to undertake assessment. I am aware of where to find the assessor’s feedback for the assessment. I am aware of the appeals process, should the need arise. I also understand I must be assessed as ‘satisfactory’ in all parts of the assessment/s to gain an overall competent result for the unit/s of competency. If I am found to be NS after a second attempt, it is at the assessor’s discretion whether I may be permitted one final attempt. I am aware that a ‘not competent’ final outcome means I may incur fees for re-enrollment in the unit/s.

I certify that the attached material is my original work. No other person’s work has been used without due
acknowledgement. I understand that the work submitted may be reproduced and/or communicated for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. I understand a person found responsible for academic misconduct will be subject to disciplinary action (refer to Student Information Handbook).

*I understand that by typing my name or inserting a digital signature into this box that I agree and am bound by the above student declaration.

Activity 1
Working effectively: background knowledge
1.Name and describe two (2) ways you could find other professionals in the accounting and bookkeeping
industry. HINT: this might involve the use of technology and/or in-person activities…

2.Review the APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. Name and briefly describe each of the five (5) fundamental principles identified in Part A of the Code.
HINT: look at page 61 of your text or Chapter 2.4 of the Digital edition and the APESB website:

FNSACC408 Work Effectively In The Accounting Assignment-Australia.

3.Review the Tax Practitioners Board Code of Professional Conduct. Name and briefly describe each of the five (5) principles outlined in the Code of Professional Conduct. When answering this question, you may choose any one of the three versions of the code (BAS agents, tax agents, or tax (financial) advisers).
HINT: look at page 62 of your textbook or Chapter 2.4 of the Digital edition and the TPB website:

4.Name six (6) pieces of legislation that affect the work of bookkeepers and accountants. For each piece of legislation, briefly describe the impact on your work as a bookkeeper or accountant.

5.Name five (5) job titles in the accounting and tax profession. For each one, describe their role in fulfilling a business’s needs.

Tip: Search the internet or other sources for help in answering this question. Consider searching job web sites or professional associations’ sites. Here’s one site you may like to consider

6.Name three (3) publications you can access to help keep you up to date on compliance requirements in your role as an accountant or bookkeeper. For each publication, enter the URL where it can be found OR describe the steps you would take to subscribe to a hard copy of the publication.

Activity 2
Develop professional working relationships: workplace scenario

Background
You have been hired as a bookkeeper at Little Pear Juice Co.
Using the “Little Pear Juice Co. Policy and Procedure Manual” (access this using the link is on the LMS) and your own research, complete the following tasks and questions.

1.Who are the internal stakeholders of the business?

2.Who are the general types external stakeholders of the business?

3.Based on the policies and procedures manual, what accounting and bookkeeping-related services do you think the business needs? Briefly describe the activities/services, and why the business needs it/them. Hint: Which important areas of Little Pear’s financial needs are missing from the manual?

4.Review your answer to question 3. Choose one (1) activity that is likely to fall outside your role and
responsibilities as a bookkeeper. Describe why that activity is outside the scope of your role, and which type of professional would be able to carry out that activity.

5.Video role play task
This is a video assessment activity.

This task is designed to assess your ability to:
• Student greets the managers appropriately and professionally
• Student actively attempts to build rapport
• Student clarifies their role and tasks
• Student identifies the difference between their role, and that of a management accountant
• Student refers managers to where they can find a management accountant
• Student clarifies their professional development needs/goals
• Student asks about feedback processes
• Student demonstrates active listening
• Student remembers to use first names for remainder of conversation

Prior to submitting the video, ensure all participants are visible and audible throughout the video

Scenario :
It’s time for your first day at Little Pear Juice Co. You’re going to have a meeting with some of the key stakeholders who you’ll work with regularly:
a.Sandy Pears, Managing Director
b.Mary Jones, Accounts Manager
c.James Taylor, Sales Manager

In your meeting, you’ll discuss:
What the business needs to achieve
What you can help them achieve
The specific tasks you’ll need to do
What activities/services might be outside your scope
Who you might refer them to for those services
HINT: Refer to your answers to questions 3 and 4.

Instructions:
Download the “Role Play Script” (access this using the link is on the LMS).

You will need at least one partner for this exercise, to read/play the parts of the other stakeholders. Give them the Role Play Script titled ‘Little Pear Juice Co.’. You only need one partner; they can read all the parts other than yours.

Record your meeting with the others at Little Pear Juice Co. Follow the video recording instructions at the start of this assignment document, and on the LMS.

Upload the meeting video when you upload this assignment document.

General instructions:
Students must perform with at least 1 other person. Using just 1 other person to play multiple roles is
completely OK. Alternatively, you can use as many other persons as there are roles.

The other person(s) can play multiple roles except for the role required to be played by the student.

There is no requirement for the other person(s) to be visible in the video, so if your partner(s) would
prefer not to be visible, that’s OK.

The student must be visible throughout the video.

All persons must be audible throughout the recording.

Using a camera phone is often a quick and easy way to record the video.

For the role play, we suggest the following:
• Have a quiet, private space where you can effectively record the video. This could be your spare room at home, an office at your workplace, or even a study room at your local library.
• Be appropriately dressed.

When you’re conducting the role play, don’t forget about:
• Using appropriate body language and gestures, including eye contact
• Speaking professionally, and at the appropriate pace
• Using plain English
• Listening without interrupting
• Respond appropriately to what is said.

Activity 3
Set up and maintain compliance systems: workplace scenario

Background :
You’ve just started your first week at Little Pear Juice Co. One of your first tasks is setting up a system that you (and others) can use to help meet your bookkeeping compliance requirements.

1.There is currently no designated accounting software used in the business. You think it’d be a good idea to introduce software, instead of working from random spreadsheets. Based on the available information about Little Pear Juice Co., research and select a program that you think would work well for the business.
-Name the program
-Describe why you think it would be a good fit for the company
-Copy and paste a URL link to the program’s main website

2.Select one feature of your chosen program, link it to an accounting and bookkeeping compliance requirement,and explain how that compliance requirement will now be met.

3.To successfully introduce your chosen program, name 2 parts of the policies and procedures manual that you will need to change.

4.Draft a procedure for using the program, as follows:
a. List the 10 design features of an accounting system.

b. Select one feature of your chosen program and draft a procedure for carrying it out. For eg, for the feature‘recording a sale to a customer’, the procedure would be ‘log in to the system, go to the sales function etc’.

5.Describe how store managers and admin staff would use the new program.

6.For one of the store managers used in Q5, write step by step instructions on how to use the program. For eg, ‘log on to the system, go to payments function etc’.

7. You’ve got the basics of your system sorted, including how it would work at Little Pear Juice Co. Now you just need to convince the managers.

Prepare an email to be sent to management, explaining why you think the company should introduce your chosen software program. Include:
• the benefits of using the program
• how you plan to change the policies and procedures
• how easy it is to use the program (think: your answer to question 4)
• what you need them to do

8.Your software suggestion has been approved and implemented. Management have asked you to
review and report on the system on a regular basis. How often do you think the system should be reviewed, and why?

9.You are conducting the 1st review of the system, and are looking for
• whether the system is doing what it is meant to do
• whether anyone has had any problems using the system
• if there’s anything you can do to improve the efficiency of the system

You have the following information:
• since the software was introduced, all interim reports have been produced on time (for the first time ever!)
• a note from the Accounts Department thanking you for freeing up their time
• three emails from different admin staff, asking where they’re supposed to submit invoices

Based on this information, summarise the success of the system. Please refer to all 6 bullet points above in
your answer.

10. You’ve noticed that the admin staff aren’t clear on their role in this system. For one of the admin staff used in Q5, write step by step instructions on how to use the program. For eg, ‘log on to the system, go to payments function etc’.

Activity 4
Independence and teamwork: workplace scenario
Background
It has been a couple of months since your software suggestion was implemented. You receive an email from James (the head of sales) with Sandy (the managing director) and Mary (the accounts manager) copied in. The email says:

“Well done on your work with this new software. I know Mary is thrilled with how much easier our compulsory reporting has been!

FNSACC408 Work Effectively In The Accounting Assignment-Australia.

I noticed that one feature of the software was the sales trend reporting.

As you’d know from induction and from the policies and procedures manual, Little Pear Juice Co. is currently selling store franchises. Our current information pack has some detail on sales trends, but it would really pop if we could get some of those impressive charts and details the software can generate.

To do this, we’ll need to enter about a year’s worth of past sales data. It’s a bit of a jumble, because as you
know, we didn’t have bookkeeping software before this. We’ve got Excel spreadsheets, Google Sheets, even some stuff on paper!

You’d be the best person to organise this, but you won’t be working alone. Sandy and Mary have allocated Karen Judd from admin and Charlie Jones from accounts to help you with this project. Can you take on this challenge?”

1.James and Sandy have given you a big job to do; entering a year of old sales data in to the new software. To start planning out your work, you’ll need to break it down in to smaller tasks.
Make a list of the individual tasks you need to do with Karen and Charlie.
HINT: the first task will have to do with finding out where all the data is right now…

2.Some of the tasks you’ve identified are individual tasks. Some are team jobs.
You want to make sure you (and your new teammates) are well set up to do get this job done.
List the conditions you’ll need to work by yourself. Then list what you’ll need to work together as a team.
Think things like a dedicated work space, no interruptions, access to digital/physical files…

FNSACC408 Work Effectively In The Accounting Assignment-Australia.

3.You’ll need to make a plan to manage your resources (human resources and equipment) and time as you go through this job.
You and Karen work full time, but Charlie only works five hours a day (while his kids are at school). Charlie is faster at data entry, and Karen is great at organising paperwork. You need to keep at least half of
your time free for your regular bookkeeping tasks. You and your team have access to the computer equipment and the files any time you need them.

With this in mind, it’s time to turn your task list (question 1) in to a rough plan. Start by putting your task list in priority order. Then, next to each task, write how long you think it’ll take. After that, write the name of the person who you’ll allocate the task to.

FNSACC408 Work Effectively In The Accounting Assignment-Australia.

EXAMPLE:
Move paper records in to work room – everyone – one hour
Put paper records in date order – Karen – two hours

4. You’ve put your plan in to place, and you’re half way through the old sales records. Because of the way you’ve organised your work, you’ve already been able to get some results and reports back to James and Sandy. They’re thrilled with the extra detail, and how quickly you’ve got some preliminary results back to them.You want to share the good news with Karen and Charlie, and give them feedback about their individual work.
Write down what you’d say to them.
HINT: Revise pages 139-142 of your textbook or Chapter 4.3 of the Digital edition.

5.Karen and Charlie are happy to get the feedback. But they’re also both keen to get back to their regular work.They want to get this job done even faster. Between the three of you, you decide to have a quick discussion about how you might be able to do this.
Describe your approach to conducting this discussion in a supportive and positive manner.
HINT: revise page 147 of your textbook or Chapter 4.4 of the Digital edition under the heading – “Tips for
Effective Discussions”.

6.During the discussion, the team raises the fact that over the last couple of days of working on this job, you haven’t all been in the room at the same time. That’s because Charlie works part-time, and you need to pause to take care of your other bookkeeping tasks every now and then. Although you’re working through the old records in order according to your plan, the work is slower than you expected (the hours in your plan).

You’ve identified the problem; now you need to identify the cause.
What do you think could be causing the slowness?

FNSACC408 Work Effectively In The Accounting Assignment-Australia.

7.Think about your answer to question 6. How would you solve this problem? Think creatively, and remember your team members’ strengths and needs.

8. You’ve updated James, Sandy and Mary on your progress, including your solution for working faster. Sandy comes to you and mentions a work scheduling app she’s been using (like the one on page 137 of your textbook or Chapter 4.2 of the Digital edition “Work Scheduling App”.). She thinks would work well for keeping the team organised and on track with your solution (question 7). You think it’s a good idea, but you’d need to adapt to the new workflow (and the technology!) ASAP to make it worthwhile.
Describe your attitude and approach to using the app, in your small team, for this job.
HINT: revise page 149 of your textbook or Chapter 4.5 of the Digital edition.

Activity 5
Professional development: workplace scenario
1.What were the professional development needs/requirements and goals you identified in your first meeting with the managers?

2. Since your first meeting, you’ve worked on your regular bookkeeping tasks, as well as two projects: introducing the book keeping software, and entering the old sales data. Based on those activities, is there anything else you might benefit from learning about?
Identify and describe at least one (1) skill you could learn that would help you work more effectively.

FNSACC408 Work Effectively In The Accounting Assignment-Australia.

3.Your first meeting was with Sandy, Mary and James. There was one important person who wasn’t present –Nicola Johnson, the HR manager. Nicola will be responsible for managing your official training and development needs, so you want to clarify your requirements (questions 1 and 2 of this activity).

Prepare the contents of an email to Nicola. Make sure you include questions to help you clarify or confirm:

• the facts about licensing/registration requirements
• the approach you should take to maintaining and enhancing your own skills
• how you can ask for funding/time to undertake the professional development opportunities

4.While you’re waiting for Nicola to respond to your email, you decide to investigate some professional
development opportunities that would meet your needs and goals.

Do your own research, and make a list of at least five (5) opportunities that would suit the needs and goals you’ve identified.

HINT: revise page 167 of your textbook or Chapter 5.3 of the Digital edition.

5.Nicola responds to your email. She confirms that the main professional development issue you’ve got to worry about is improving your skills so you can do your job more effectively. In her email, she mentions that:

“According to the Policy and Procedure manual, the HR assistant (Joe) is the person who organises training. Joe compiles the requests and suggestions, and presents them to us at our regular HR meeting
so we can decide how to allocate funding and resources. Just give Joe all the important details about the
PD you want to do, and you should be fine.”

Write Joe an email, explaining the costs and benefits of the five opportunities you’ve identified.

6.Joe writes back and tells you:
“Thanks for your email! HR generally only approve one PD activity per person, per month. I can put your
email on your file so there’s a record of your plans, but I can only put forward one request at the meeting. Which one do you want to go with?”

FNSACC408 Work Effectively In The Accounting Assignment-Australia.

To meet your goals, you want to get started on something ASAP. Based on your research, and the time frame you’ve got, which is the highest priority opportunity?

Write an email back to Joe, explaining which opportunity you want to apply for, and why you’ve chosen it.

7.Outside of formal learning and development opportunities, what else can you do on your own time, for free, to improve your professional knowledge?List and briefly describe three (3) activities you can do by yourself. Do not include any you have mentioned in previous answers.