Outline

Overview

This unit introduces students to the concepts, challenges and approaches associated with the evaluation, design, introduction, operation and improvement of accounting systems and reflects the differences in the needs of family-owned businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises and multi-national business firms. Elements of those systems include methods of documenting transactions and events; internal control procedures designed to safeguard human physical and financial resources; manual, semi-automated or fully automated source data entry, transaction processing methods and financial and non-financial reports on operational activities. These issues are also considered with regard to the capabilities of contemporary industry-standard accounting and business application software such as spreadsheets, MYOB and SAP in a cost-effective and secure manner. Topics include the design of charts of accounts; in solutions context; internal controls and maintaining audit trails, records management; the identification of requirements and the use of selection criteria for the evaluation, introduction, configuration and operation of packaged accounting software solutions. It provides students with the hands-on skills in the design and implementation of an accounting system to a real-world medium-sized organisation using an industry standard accounting software solution by integrating concepts, approaches, commercial realities and capabilities of contemporary enterprise resource planning systems. At the commencement, students are provided with a review of business frameworks including cycles, systems, source documents and recording transactions which act as a common starting point on which the unit builds.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Accounting
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	ACCT5001
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Ravi Seethamraju, ravi.seethamraju@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Final exam (Live+ supervised)	Final exam Case studies, essay type questions and MCQs	40%	Formal exam period	2 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Group Assignment Group project/assignment	20%	Please select a valid week from the list below Due date: 02 May 2022 at 17:00 Closing date: 09 May 2022	3500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Design skills assignment Demonstration of skills using software	20%	Week 13 Due date: 27 May 2022 at 21:00 Closing date: 27 May 2022	2 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Small continuous assessment	In-class assessments Practical assessment and class participation	20%	Weekly	n/a
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ? = group assignment ? = Type A final exam ?

Assessment summary

In-class assessment: Students must complete workshop exercises using accounting software in workshops/labs and actively participate in both workshops and lectures.
Group assignment: Students as a group of four are required to design/redesign an accounting system for a small and medium-sized organisation and submit a report demonstrating the application of concepts and effective adoption of an accounting software to a firm.
Design skills assignment: Students' are required to demonstrate their specialist software skills in the mapping, designing & execution of accounting system parameters for a given business scenario in supervised environment.
Final exam: This assessment covers all the topics covered in lecture-workshops as well as in lab-workshops throughout the semester and all the associated readings and unit materials. The final exam is listed as a HURDLE TASK, which means you must undertake the assessment and achieve a mark above a minimum standard. Students who fail to achieve this minimum standard in this assessment, even when their aggregate mark for the entire unit is above 50%, will be given a Fail grade for the unit. As a result the student's academic transcript will show a fail grade and the actual mark achieved if between 0-49 and a fail grade and a capped moderated mark of 49 for all other marks. The hurdle mark for this assessment is 45%

Replacement exams: Replacement exams will be offered as per the University Assessment Procedures.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Distinction	75 - 84	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a very high standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Credit	65 - 74	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Pass	50 - 64	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

For all the late submissions after the due date not covered by an approved special consideration) or submitted after the extension granted under a special consideration, a penalty of 5% of the maximum awardable marks will be applied for every calendar day up to and including ten calendar days after the due date. The penalty will be calculated by first marking the work, and then subtracting 5% of the maximum awardable mark for each calendar day after the due date. For work submitted more than ten calendar days after the due date a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction to the unit; Key elements of Accounting System Design	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 02	Concepts and process of design/redesign and considerations in the design of accounting system for SMEs	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 02	MYOB exercises on purchases, sales and reports	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 03	Design of an accounting system for large enterprises using enterprise-wide accounting software solution (SAP)	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 03	MYOB exercises on purchases, sales and reports and design for an SME	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 04	Designing inputs including source documents & Chart of Accounts for SMEs & Large enterprises	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 04	SAP - foundations, logging-in, navigation of SAP screens	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 05	Concepts of business processes and internal controls and their design/redesign	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 05	SAP exercises on master data & transactions	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 06	Designing processes & controls in accounting systems (for SMEs)	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 07	Designing processes & controls in accounting systems (for large enterprises)	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 08	Designing reports including data visualisation, and performance dashboards	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 09	Auditing and evaluation of an automated accounting system	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 09	SAP exercises on accounts payable, accounts receivable, cost allocations and reports	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 10	Group project work	Independent study (2 hr)
Week 11	Presentation of Group project reports	Presentation (2 hr)
Week 11	SAP exercises on reporting	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 12	Accounting systems and emerging technologies (analytics, blockchain and artificial intelligence)	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 12	Mapping business scenarios for redesigning an accounting system (in SAP and MYOB)	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 13	Summary and review of the unit	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 13	Accounting system design/redesign using appropriate software tools (MYOB and/or SAP)	Workshop (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: Each student must attend one two-hour lecture-workshop per week for 13 weeks and one two-hour lab-workshop per week for 8 weeks as per individual timetable. Each student is automatically allocated to a lecture and a workshop by the University timetabling system. Once confirmed, no further changes are permitted.
Lecture recordings: All lectures and seminars are recorded and will be available on Canvas for student use. Please note the Business School does not own the system and cannot guarantee that the system will operate or that every class will be recorded. Students should ensure they attend and participate in all classes.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Seethamraju, R. (2018) (compiled) "Designing Accounting Systems - Readings", Custom book edition, Melbourne: Pearson Australia.

In addition, several readings are listed in the Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. explain the concepts, principles and processes in the design and improvement of accounting systems
LO2. identify, develop and apply the selection criteria relevant to the evaluation, re-design and adoption of a packaged accounting system with focus on changes to business processes, inputs, controls and reporting and benefits realisation
LO3. construct a recommendation for the design of a suitable accounting system to a real-world business organisation integrating concepts, best practice processes, internal controls and specialist software skills
LO4. examine basic requirements for reports and reporting that will assist managers in decision making.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Some changes to the sequence of the topics and materials have been made in response to student feedback since the unit was last offered.

Additional information

Consultation and discussion forum: Consultation times will be posted in Canvas. Students are encouraged to use Canvas discussion forums for clarifications about the unit including the content, lectures, workshops, assessments and others.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

ACCT6014: Designing Accounting Systems

Semester 1, 2022 [Normal day] - Remote

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect