Question

From the following artical, prepare the answer for question no. 1

Bookkeeping educational qualifications have undergone an overhaul, following a review of existing Certificate IV qualifications.

The Department of Education and Training has announced a new Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping, superseding the Certificate IV in Bookkeeping and Certificate IV in Accounting.

The changes follow an extensive review by PwC Skills for Australia on behalf of the Financial Services Industry Reference Committee, endorsed by the Australian Industry and Skills Committee.

The bookkeeping industry has also been vocal on the state of education standards in recent times.

The new Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping removes duplication in the previous qualifications and now has eight core units and five elective units.

According to the review, several units of competency in the previous qualifications were identified as out of date, with skills gaps in understanding GST and processing payroll for bookkeeping.

In addition to the new Certificate IV, a new Diploma of Payroll Services has also been introduced, after the review found that existing payroll training was not sufficient for industry requirements.

“Despite payroll’s importance, only limited nationally recognised training is currently available. In addition, no nationally recognised payroll qualifications exist to provide learners with the suite of skills required for a payroll administrator or payroll manager,” the review stated.

Registered training organisations (RTOs) will be given 12 months to develop new resources to align training outcomes in line with the new requirements.

Institute of Certified Bookkeepers chief development officer, Rick Van Dyk, said the changes were welcomed and reflected the modernisation of the profession.

“The Certificate IV in place at the moment simply needed to be modernised and some of the learning outcomes of the current Cert IV needed to be reviewed so it would be more applicable to today’s requirements for a professional bookkeeper,” said Mr Van Dyk.

Having been involved in the consultation process, the ICB believes the new competency units, such as 'FNSACC416 Set up and operate a computerised accounting system' and 'BSBSMB412 Introduce cloud computing into business operations', will provide more contemporary training for bookkeepers.

"There is a unit of competency called ‘set up and operate a computerised accounting system’ – that was a core unit in the Cert IV of Accounting but was not a core for Cert IV in Bookkeeping, but that is very much a core function for bookkeeping,” said Mr Van Dyk.

“Also, in the previous Cert IV there was typically a couple of units where they would get their hands dirty in the software and that would be the payroll unit and the cash and accrual unit.

“Ninety per cent of the training organisations would use MYOB desktop software so the student goes through the whole Cert IV learning process using desktop software and not being educated on what are the options for the cloud,” he added.

“One of the skill sets a bookkeeper really needs is if they are dealing with a client who is using a desktop system, they have to do a business case on why that client is beneficial to switch to the cloud and in that unit it actually has what are the benefits to the business, what are the various options and costing.

“That unit is great because it develops their skill on creating awareness on what cloud solutions are out there, and talking to the business owner and developing a business case, and how to implement that.”

‘The only way is up’

The new chief executive of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), Rochelle Park, was particularly pleased with the new Diploma of Payroll Services.

“If bookkeepers are wanting to expand, this certainly provides them with the confidence that they are recognised for their skills and knowledge,” Ms Park said.

“I think it’s also an indication of the continued maturity of our profession,” she added.

Ms Park noted the Fair Work Ombudsman has made it “very, very clear” that it won’t tolerate non-compliance with payroll obligations, and that inadequate education or ignorance is not a defence.

“Bookkeepers navigating the world of payroll services have never had this level of education available to them in a formalised format. It will very much help towards navigating a complex regulatory environment,” Ms Park said.

Question 1 - 9 marks (1,500 words)

The CEO has forwarded to you an interesting article and requires you to provide her with a deeper theoretical understanding of the issues discussed so that she can fully engage in the lively discourse at an upcoming conference.

You are required to find a newspaper article or web page report of an item of accounting news, i.e. it refers to a current event, consideration, comment or decision that has been published after the 1st of January 2018. Your article could also come from one of the professional journals. The article should not come from an academic journal. Academic journals generally do not contain news articles or articles of less than one page and are usually only published 2 or 4 times a year. If you are having a problem ensuring that your article is from an appropriate source contact your subject coordinator.

You then need to explain the article that you have found in your own words and clearly relate the concepts, ideas and facts within the article to one or more of the theories or topics that you have studied this session. Support your analysis of the assumptions and implications of the topic or theory as appropriate with reference to sources in APA 6 style. For example, this article from the Sydney Morning Herald in April 2016 could be linked to the topics of accounting regulation and measurement (and perhaps others). You must provide a copy of the article or web page, with details of the source, date and page number with your answer.

Answer 1

Regulator urges inquiry into breaking up big four accountancy firms.   The Guarian

Making KPMG, Deloitte, PwC and EY spin off auditing arms could end conflict of interest, says FRC

Angela Monaghan

Fri 16 Mar 2018 14.05 GMTLast modified on Fri 16 Mar 2018 15.16 GMT

[Deloitte]

A break-up of Britain’s big four accountancy firms could end their dominance in auditing the accounts of large companies and address a crisis of confidence facing the sector after a series of scandals, a UK regulator has suggested.

Stephen Haddrill, the chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council, which regulates the sector, called for an investigation into whether KPMG, Deloitte, PwC and EY should have to spin off their UK audit arms into separate businesses.

The aim would be to increase competition and eliminate conflicts of interest arising from the dominance of the four firms.

It follows a series of corporate accounting scandals, including UK construction firm Carillion, whose books were signed off by KPMG and which collapsed under a pile of debt in January. Deloitte is under review by regulators in South Africa after the firm flagged irregularities in the accounts of its client, the furniture group Steinhoff, which owns Poundland, Benson for Beds and Harveys in the UK.

“There is a loss of confidence in audit and I think that the industry needs to address that urgently,” Haddrill told the Financial Times. “In some circles, there is a crisis of confidence.”

Haddrill has held discussions with the Competition and Markets Authority about opening an investigation into the UK audit market, and is planning to hold future meetings on the issue.

The big four accountants audited all but nine of the companies listed on the FTSE 350 at the end of their financial years, according to Manifest, a research firm that provides investors with information on corporate governance.

A previous inquiry into the dominance of the big four by the UK Competition Commission – now replaced by the CMA – resulted in tougher rules for the accountancy sector being introduced in 2013. Measures included a requirement that FTSE 350 companies put their audit business out to tender at least every 10 years.

However, the market share of the four firms subsequently increased, rather than fell.

Haddrill said: “The Competition Commission introduced some remedies to try and encourage more competition. But there is no more competition. So it seems to me that we ought to have another look at [the audit market].”

The CMA told the FT: “We are actively monitoring the remedies put in place following the Competition Commission’s inquiry … This monitoring is ongoing and the [authority] remains open to looking further at this sector in the future.”

Critics of the big four’s dominance have pointed to potential conflicts of interest arising from the rapid growth of their consulting divisions. They argue that an accountancy firm might have a biased approach to a client’s audit if it also has a lucrative consultancy contract with the company, advising it in areas such as tax.

“If you’re in the senior leadership of the firm, I think you need to be focusing heavily on your public interest responsibility, which is the audit bit,” Haddrill said. “[But] so much of your attention is bound to be drawn to the most profitable and the fastest-growing part of your business, which is not the public interest part.”

Audits on Carillion were criticised last month as “a colossal waste of time” by Rachel Reeves, the Labour MP and chair of the business, energy and industrial strategy select committee.

Following a BEIS committee evidence session, Reeves suggested the auditors had a role to play in the collapse of the company.

She said: “We heard from auditors who don’t attend audit meetings, fail to visit projects which they themselves say are at risk, and who provide clarity only about what is not included in an audit rather than what is".

OUR VIEW

This article shows how big four have played a crucial role in collapsed of the big companies.This has caused not only financial loss but also loss of trust.This shows lack of professionalism in professional.Auditors are the backbone of an economy's financial strength.Such type of incidents make the regulatory authority to make strict laws which will rebuild the lost confidence of the people in auditors.Such type of incidents are eye openers and Govt should make the auditors accountable for such type of incidents.Guilty should be punished by cancelling their membership of professional bodies.