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Assignment task

Company Background – Central Asia Metals (CAML) plc.

Central Asia Metals (CAML) plc. is a base metals producer listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange with copper operations in Kazakhstan and a zinc and lead mine in North Macedonia. The company is incorporated in the United Kingdom (based in London) and raised approximately £48 million at IPO in September 2010. This capital was used to build the Kounrad recovery plant in central Kazakhstan. In November 2017, the company completed the acquisition of the Sasa zinc and lead mine in North Macedonia for a total consideration of approximately £315 million.

Assume that the company is now planning to expand further and build another extraction plant in Uzbekistan within the next five (5) years. The company estimates that they would need to raise approximately £120 million for this project.

Required

TASK 1 (1,000 WORDS)

Suppose you are part of the Accounting and Finance team at Central Asia Metals (CAML) plc. You are required to write a report to the senior management team of CAML plc., discussing the importance of accounting and finance functions, roles and duties within CAML plc with respect to both reporting and decision-making aspects. Your discussion should include some examples within the company where appropriate.

(30 marks)

TASK 2 (1,500 WORDS)

Using the financial statements of Central Asia Metals (CAML) plc. presented below, complete the following tasks:

a) Provide a brief explanation of the financial statements and their main elements supporting it by the figures and trends from the statements below.

b) Using the figures presented in these financial statements, calculate the following ratios in each year:

• Return on capital employed
• Net profit margin
• Current ratio
• Average Receivable days/ Debtors collection period
• Average Payable days/ Creditors collection period

You should clearly show all the formulas and calculations. The figures should be rounded to two decimal places. Formulas and calculations are not part of the word count.

c) Using the results from your calculations, comment on the company’s performance based on the results from and position between the two (2) years from (a), mentioning possible causes, reasons and effects for the changes in the ratios.

In this section, please incorporate the discussion on the company’s performance from an investor perspective, assuming that the company is planning to build another extraction plant in

Uzbekistan within the next five (5) years and would need to raise approximately £120 million for this project.

Demonstrate knowledge of the role of finance and accounting within the organisation with respect to both reporting and decision-making aspects.

(60 marks)

The summarised financial statements of Central Asia Metals (CAML) plc.

Please note that these are simplified statements and the figures used are not taken from the real accounts

Assume that all sales are credit sales

Marks will also be awarded for Structure and Presentation skills. The structure includes the orderly presentation of relevant material. In addition, the extent of the research is evidenced by the appropriateness and adequacy of in-text referencing. There must be a Cover Page and Contents Page, executive summary, sections with Introduction, Conclusion, List of References and pages must be numbered.

(10 marks)

Please note that the word count excludes the cover page, the contents page, executive summary, Formulas and calculations in Task 2 (b), list of references, and appendices (if there are any).

Total marks 100

Assessment Criteria

From your report, you will obtain marks for the following:

Level of discussion of the functions/roles/duties of accounting and finance team within the company with appropriate examples. (Task 1, LO1)

30%

Level of explanation of financial statements and their main elements supporting with example figures and trends from the company statements. (Task 2 (a), LO2)

15%

Accuracy and correctness of ratio calculation over the two-year period. (Task 2 (b), LO3)

15%

Level of analysis and discussion of the results from the calculation of the ratios in relation to company performance between the two years, including the discussion on the company’s performance from an investor perspective. (Task 2 (c), LO4)

30%

Structure and presentation of the work and referencing (report format, clarity of expression, referencing).

10%

This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcomes:

LO 1: Demonstrate knowledge of the role of finance and accounting within the organisation with respect to both reporting and decision-making aspects.

LO 2: Explain the structure of and terms used within the financial statements.

LO 3: Calculate the main accounting ratios and explain their significance to users of financial statement.

LO 4: Apply management accounting techniques for planning, control and decision making within the organisation.

Referencing and presentational requirements

Please reference your work according to the Harvard style as defined in Cite Them Right Online

(http://www.citethemrightonline.com). This information is also available in book form: Pears, R. and Shields,

G. (2019) Cite them right: the essential reference guide. 11^th edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Copies are available via the University library.

There are also documents on Harvard referencing on Blackboard which students can read.

Students must use acceptable academic sources including peer-reviewed journal articles, Books, Company websites etc.

• Use Arial font size 11 or 12 with 1.5 line spacing.
• Insert page numbers at the bottom of each page.
• You must have a cover sheet with your student ID and word count.

How your work will be assessed

Your work will be assessed against the assessment criteria which have been provided at the end of this brief.

These criteria have been designed specifically for this assignment and are intended to measure the extent to which you have demonstrated your achievement of its associated learning outcomes (see above). They have been aligned with the institutional grade descriptor appropriate for your level.

The assessment criteria provide a basis for fair and consistent marking and indicate what is expected of you in this assignment. It is strongly recommended that you engage with them while you are working on the assignment and use them in combination with any feedback you receive once your work has been marked to help you plan for future learning and development.

Submission details

• This assignment should be submitted electronically. Please use the relevant Turnitin submission point in the Upload My Assignment area on LSST Connect.
• Please ensure that your work has been saved in an appropriate file format. Turnitin will only accept the following file types: Microsoft Word and PDF. Your file must also contain at least 20 words of text, consist of fewer than 400 pages and be less than 40MB in size.
• You can submit your work as many times as you like before the submission date. If you do submit your work more than once, your earlier submission will be replaced by the most recent version.
• Suppose you are part of the Accounting and Finance team at Central Asia Metals (CAML) plc. You are required to write a report to the senior management team of CAML plc., discussing the importance of accounting and finance functions
• Once you have submitted your work, you will receive a digital receipt as proof of submission, which will be sent to your LSST e-mail address. Please keep this receipt for future reference, along with the original electronic copy of your assignment.
• You are reminded of the University’s regulations on academic misconduct, which can be viewed on the University website: https://bucks.ac.uk/    data/assets/pdf_file/0024/9546/Academic-Misconduct- Policy.pdf. In submitting your assignment, you are acknowledging that you have read and understood these regulations
• Please also note that work that is submitted up to 10 working days beyond the submission date will be considered a late submission. Late submissions will be marked, and the actual mark recorded but will be capped at the pass mark (typically 40%), provided that the work is of a passing standard. Work submitted after this period will not be marked and will be treated as a non- submission.

Before you submit

• Please use the provided checklist below to make sure you are ‘fit to submit’ your work
• We recommend you use this checklist as soon as you get this assignment brief to help you plan your work

Fit to Submit: Assignment Checklist

This brief assignment checklist is designed to help you avoid some of the most common mistakes students make in their coursework.

Have you read the assignment brief? If not, do so now!

In it you will find details of the assessment task, word count, the assessment criteria your work is marked against, and the learning outcomes – the basis for the assessment strategy in each module.

Students often lose marks by forgetting some of the more straightforward elements of their assignments. We recommend that you “tick off” each of the points below as you prepare your work for submission. If you need any help, ask your tutor and/or visit https://bucks.ac.uk/students/academicadvice/assessment-and-examination

Have you read and understood the assessment criteria?

Have you met the learning outcomes? You will lose marks and your work may even be failed if you have not.

Have you demonstrated you can think and write critically in the completed work? This means you have supported your arguments/explanations appropriately e.g. using relevant academic sources and you have offered discussion points which extends your own or others’ viewpoints to make reasoned conclusions/judgements.

Have you maintained an appropriate tone throughout your work? Is your work formal, focused, developed and clear?

Have you checked that the referencing in your assignment is in line with your programme requirements?

Have you proof-read your work and used spellcheck software to check your spelling and grammar?

Have you checked the presentation of your work is as specified by your tutor, for example, are font size, colour, style, line spacing and margins as the tutor specified?

Have you kept to the word count (or equivalent)? If you are not sure, check with your tutor.  Can you confirm that the work submitted is your own and maintains academic integrity? Demonstrate knowledge of the role of finance and accounting within the organisation with respect to both reporting and decision-making aspects.

Fail

Fail

Pass

Pass

Pass

Pass

Pass

Criteria

0-34 (F) –

Fail

35-39 E –

Marginal fail

40-49 (D)

50-59 (C)

60-69 (B)

70-79 (A)

80-100 (A+)

Not successful

Below required standard

Satisfactory

Good

Very Good

Excellent

Outstanding

Task 1 (LO1)

30%

This should include:

• Depth of knowledge and understanding of the role of Accounting and Finance within the organisation with respect to both reporting and decision-making aspects.
• Level of discussion of the functions, roles, duties of accounting and finance team within the company with appropriate examples.

The work demonstrates a limited and/or substantially inaccurate or no understanding of the role of Accounting and Finance functions,

roles, and duties within the organisation with respect to both reporting and decision- making aspects.

Poor or inadequate discussion of the functions, roles, duties of accounting and finance team within the company with limited or no appropriate examples.

The work demonstrates insufficient understanding of the role of Accounting and Finance functions, roles, and duties within the organisation with respect to both reporting and decision- making aspects.

Weak or very weak discussion of the functions, roles, duties of accounting and finance team within the company with limited or no appropriate examples.

The work demonstrates a basic yet systematic understanding of the role of Accounting and Finance functions, roles, and duties within the organisation with respect to both reporting and decision- making aspects.

Satisfactory discussion of the functions, roles, duties of accounting and finance team within the company with limited or no appropriate examples.

The work demonstrates a sound or good understanding of the role of Accounting and Finance functions, roles, and duties within the organisation with respect to both reporting and decision- making aspects.

Sound or good discussion of the functions, roles, duties of accounting and finance team within the company with limited or no appropriate examples.

The work demonstrates a sophisticated and critical systematic understanding of the role of Accounting and Finance functions, roles, and duties within the organisation with respect to both reporting and decision- making aspects.

Very good discussion of the functions, roles, duties of accounting and finance team within the company with limited or no appropriate examples.

The work demonstrates a highly accomplished systematic understanding of the role of Accounting and Finance functions, roles, and duties within the organisation with respect to both reporting and decision- making aspects.

Excellent discussion of the functions, roles, duties of accounting and finance team within the company with limited or no appropriate examples.

The work demonstrates an exceptional systematic understanding of the role of Accounting and Finance functions, roles, and duties within the organisation with respect to both reporting and decision- making aspects.

Outstanding discussion of the functions, roles, duties of accounting and finance team within the company with limited or no appropriate examples.

Task 2 (a) (LO2) 15%

• Level of explanation of financial statements and their main elements supporting with example figures and trends from the company statements.

Poor or inadequate explanation of financial statements and their main elements supporting with example figures and trends from the company statements.

Weak explanation of financial statements and their main elements supporting with example figures and trends from the company statements.

Satisfactory explanation of financial statements and their main elements supporting with example figures and trends from the company statements.

Good explanation of financial statements and their main elements supporting with example figures and trends from the company statements.

Very good explanation of financial statements and their main elements supporting with example figures and trends from the company statements.

Excellent explanation of financial statements and their main elements supporting with example figures and trends from the company statements.

Outstanding explanation of financial statements and their main elements supporting with example figures and trends from the company statements.

Task 2 (b) (LO3) 15%

• Accuracy and correctness of ratio calculation over the two-year period.

Inaccurate or incorrect or no calculation of the main ratios; significant mistakes are present in calculations throughout, or ratios may be missing from the calculation.

Inaccurate or incorrect calculation of the main ratios with significant mistakes in calculations; some ratios may be missing from the calculation.

Satisfactory calculation of the main ratios; some mistakes may be present in the calculations; some ratios may be missing from the calculation.

Sound or good calculation of the main ratios; some insignificant errors may be present in calculations; most of the ratios are calculated over the two-year period.

Very good calculation of the main ratios; no significant errors are present in calculations; mostly all ratios are calculated over the two- year period.

Excellent calculation and presentation of the main ratios; no significant errors are present in calculations; all ratios are calculated correctly over the two- year period.

Outstanding calculation and presentation of the main ratios; no errors are present in calculations; all ratios are calculated correctly over the two-year period.

Task 2 (c) (LO4) 30%

This should include:

• Level of analysis and discussion of the results from the calculation of the ratios in relation to company performance between the two years, including the possible causes, reasons and effects for the changes in the ratios.

• Level of discussion on the company’s performance from an investor perspective.

The work demonstrates poor or no analysis and discussion of the results from the calculation of the ratios in relation to company performance between the two years, including the possible causes, reasons and effects for the changes in the ratios; there could be significant gaps in the discussion.

There is poor or no discussion on the company’s performance from an investor perspective; there could be significant gaps in the discussion.

The work demonstrates weak or very weak analysis and discussion of the results from the calculation of the ratios in relation to company performance between the two years, including the possible causes, reasons and effects for the changes in the ratios; significant aspects may be missing from the discussion.

There is weak or very weak discussion on the company’s performance from an investor perspective; significant aspects may be missing from the discussion.

The work demonstrates satisfactory analysis and discussion of the results from the calculation of the ratios in relation to company performance between the two years, including the possible causes, reasons and effects for the changes in the ratios; however, some aspects may be missing from the discussion.

There is satisfactory discussion on the company’s performance from an investor perspective; however, some aspects may be missing from the discussion.

The work demonstrates sound/ good analysis and discussion of the results from the calculation of the ratios in relation to company performance between the two years, including the possible causes, reasons and effects for the changes in the ratios; some insignificant aspects may be missing from the discussion.

There is sound or good discussion on the company’s performance from an investor perspective; some insignificant aspects may be missing from the discussion.

The work demonstrates very good analysis and discussion of the results from the calculation of the ratios in relation to company performance between the two years, including the possible causes, reasons and effects for the changes in the ratios; no significant aspects are missing from the discussion.

There is very good discussion on the company’s performance from an investor perspective; no significant aspects are missing from the discussion.

The work demonstrates excellent analysis and discussion of the results from the calculation of the ratios in relation to company performance between the two years, including the possible causes, reasons and effects for the changes in the ratios.

There is excellent discussion on the company’s performance from an investor perspective.

The work demonstrates outstanding analysis and discussion of the results from the calculation of the ratios in relation to company performance between the two years, including the possible causes, reasons and effects for the changes in the ratios.

There is outstanding discussion on the company’s performance from an investor perspective.

Structure and Presentation 10%

This should include evidence of:

• Structure and presentation of the work, including introduction and conclusion
• Clarity of expression and written communication
• Quality and relevance of sources
• Referencing style

LOs are not met. The work is far too short. Very poor or unclear structure and presentation; not in a Report format; missing conclusion or introduction.

Poor expression and written communication

There is very limited range of relevant and appropriate scholarly sources or no recent research.

Poor referencing style; does not conform to Harvard style.

LOs are not fully met. The work is too short. Poor or unclear structure and presentation; possibly missing or poor conclusion or introduction.

Weak or very weak expression and written communication

There is very limited range of relevant and appropriate scholarly sources or very limited/ no recent research.

Poor referencing style; does not conform to Harvard style.

Satisfactory attempt overall. LOs are met. However, the work may be a little short; conclusion and introduction could do with some improvement.

Satisfactory structure and presentation; conclusion and introduction may need improvement.

Satisfactory expression and written communication, but there could be some issues with academic writing.

There is satisfactory range of relevant and appropriate scholarly sources and some recent research.

Referencing style conforms to Harvard style, but there could be some errors in Harvard referencing style.

Sound or good attempt overall. LOs are met; word count is generally met; conclusion and introduction are good.

Well-structured report and good presentation; conclusion and introduction.

Clear expression and written communication, but there could be some small issues with academic writing.

There is a sound or good range of relevant and appropriate scholarly sources and some recent research.

Referencing style conforms to Harvard style, but there could be some small errors in Harvard referencing style

Very good attempt overall. LOs are met; word count is appropriate; conclusion and introduction are very good.

Very well-structured report and very good presentation; conclusion and introduction are very good.

Clear expression and written communication, no major issues with academic writing.

There is a very good range of relevant and appropriate scholarly sources, and the work is informed by recent research.

Referencing style conforms to Harvard style.

Excellent attempt overall. LOs are met; word count is appropriate; conclusion and introduction are excellent.

Excellent report structure, presentation; conclusion and introduction.

Very clear expression and written communication, no issues with academic writing.

There is an excellent range of relevant and appropriate scholarly sources, and the work is informed by recent research.

Referencing style fully conforms to Harvard style.

Outstanding attempt overall. LOs are met; word count is appropriate; conclusion and introduction are outstanding.

Outstanding report structure, presentation; conclusion and introduction.

Very clear expression and written communication, no issues with academic writing.

There is an outstanding range of relevant and appropriate scholarly sources, and the work is informed by recent research.

Referencing style fully conforms to Harvard