Course Coordinator:Kayleen Wood (kwood6@usc.edu.au) School:School of Business and Creative Industries
UniSC Sunshine CoastUniSC Moreton Bay |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Online |
Online | You can do this course without coming onto campus, unless your program has specified a mandatory onsite requirement. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
This course is a key introductory course for students who wish to complete an accounting degree and pursue a career in the accounting profession. It is also beneficial for students from other disciplines as it stresses the importance of accounting knowledge in the modern business environment. It is structured so that you will learn how to apply the concepts and processes of financial accounting and develop an introductory understanding of how accounting information is used for management decision making. In this course you will apply critical thinking skills to analyse business transactions, complete the accounting cycle, prepare and analyse financial statements, and evaluate internal controls, and you will develop skills in digital literacy using business software applications.
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Learning materials – Pre-recorded concept videos and associated activities | 1hr | Week 1 | 11 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – In-class workshop | 2hrs | Week 1 | 11 times |
| Online | |||
| Learning materials – Pre-recorded concept videos and associated activities | 1hr | Week 1 | 11 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Interactive zoom tutorial | 2hrs | Week 1 | 11 times |
Introduction to accounting and business decision making
Business structures
Business transactions
Statement of financial position
Statement of profit or loss
Statement of cashflows and cash controls
Analysis and interpretation of financial statements
Budgeting
Cost-volume-profit analysis
Financing the business
Performance measurement
Accounting software
100 Level (Introductory)
12 units
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Mapping Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | Professional Standard Mapping * Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business | |
| 1 | Understand and interpret accounting-related knowledge and information and apply such knowledge and information in a business context for decision making. | Knowledgeable |
PC3, PC3.1, PC6, PC6.2 |
| 2 | Use critical thinking to identify, analyse and solve problems in diverse areas of accounting. | Creative and critical thinker |
PC3, PC3.1 |
| 3 | Apply technical and software skills to the field of accounting. | Empowered |
PC1.1, PC1.2, PC1.3 |
| CODE | COMPETENCY |
| Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business | |
| PC1.1 | Written Communication |
| PC1.2 | Oral Communication |
| PC1.3 | Digital Literacy |
| PC3 | Creative and Critical Thinking |
| PC3.1 | Problem Solving |
| PC6 | Career-ready |
| PC6.2 | Discipline Knowledge |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Students will have online access to formative/practice quizzes throughout the trimester. Feedback on incorrect responses will be automatically generated. Students will receive regular feedback on their progress during weekly tutorials and guidance on assignment preparation.
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Artefact - Technical and Scientific | Individual | 30% | N/A |
Week 7 | Online Submission |
| All | 2 | Artefact - Technical and Scientific, and Written Piece | Individual | 20% | N/A |
Week 10 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 3 | Case Study | Individual | 50% | 1200 words |
Exam Period | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Accounting cycle simulation | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | To apply introductory accounting concepts to practical scenarios and demonstrate completing the accounting cycle. |
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| Product: | Artefact - Technical and Scientific | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| Format: | Completion of steps in the financial accounting process using an Excel spreadsheet template. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 2:Practical accounting software application | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | To demonstrate effective use of accounting software in relation to financial accounting transactions of a fictional business. To follow basic steps and to produce the required output. |
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| Product: | Artefact - Technical and Scientific, and Written Piece | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| Format: | Completion of steps in the financial accounting process using accounting software submitted with a small written summary. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Report | ||||||||||
| Goal: | The aim is to assess the accounting knowledge and theory learnt in this course. |
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| Product: | Case Study | |||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||
| Format: | This is a 1200-word case study report |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Problem solving, Organisation, Information literacy |
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| Programme Delivery Mode | Assessment Type | Title | Competency | Teaching Methods |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 UniSC Business School Standards Undergraduate | ||||
| All delivery modes | Artefact - Technical and Scientific | Accounting cycle simulation | PC1.3 | Assessed |
| PC3.1 | Assessed | |||
| PC6.2 | Assessed | |||
| Artefact - Technical and Scientific, and Written Piece | Practical accounting software application | PC1.3 | Assessed | |
| PC3.1 | Assessed | |||
| PC6.2 | Assessed | |||
| Case Study | Report | PC3.1 | Assessed | |
| PC6.2 | Assessed | |||
A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Required | Jacqueline Birt,Keryn Chalmers,Suzanne Maloney,Albie Brooks,David Bond,Judy Oliver | 2025 | Accounting: Business Reporting for Decision Making, 9th Edition | 9 | John Wiley & Sons |
It is your responsibility to have a calculator and access to a personal computer.
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
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For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.
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