110.209 Assignment 1 – Research Critical Essay

Due Date and Time

Final Version: Monday 30^th March, 2026 12.00pm, Midday, New Zealand Time.

Learning Outcome

Assignment 1 – 110.209 (Refer to pages 3 & 5 of Course Guide):

LO 1- Critically evaluate the New Zealand Financial Reporting Environment with an emphasis on corporate regulatory requirements. LO1 (Please note that this is the learning outcome, not the specific assignment topic.)

Assignment Objectives

Please read page 5 of the Course Guide and other details on the Assessment tab on Stream for objectives and further general information about Assignment 1.

Assignment Topic- Essay

Paragraph 1.2 of the 2018 NZ conceptual framework states that: “The objective of general purpose financial reporting (GPFR) is to provide financial information about the reporting entity that is useful to existing and potential investors, lenders and other creditors in making decisions relating to providing resources to the entity”. There is an ongoing debate regarding this ‘objective’, particularly as to the nature of information provided and the limited class of users of this information noted in this objective of GPFR.

Required

Critically evaluate whether GPFR’s objective, as it is currently required in the Conceptual Framework, is providing the quantity and quality of information that is needed by financial statement users. Your evaluation should also consider whether GPFR is sufficient for decision-making by users in light of the limited class of users identified in the GPFR’s objective and GPFR’s focus on financial information.

In answering this question, you will consult resources regarding the information that GPFR provides and does not provide, coupled with the nature of users that the GPFR is designed for. Your assignment will primarily be evaluated on how well you conduct a critical evaluation of the information focus and users of GPFR and whether this is sufficient for users to make informed decisions. Critical evaluation requires you to state your conclusion based on logical arguments for and against a particular idea. You should provide your opinion in a coherent manner. As part of your research for this essay, we expect students to consult and cite at least 5 relevant academic peer-reviewed journal articles.

Essay Word count

1200 words maximum excluding citations and the reference list. Markers reserve the right to not mark essays beyond 1200 words as part of critical thinking is to be able to express an evidence-based opinion within a required format.

Relevant text and other readings

• Chapter 1 of the textbook and Lecture Notes for Weeks 1 and 2, are a starting point for your essay but you are expected to read beyond the required readings. The library databases, the XRB and the CAANZ sites are examples of online sites

that provide useful resources.

• Another excellent resource is the Student Learning Support block on the Stream site, especially the OWLL section that deals with essay writing, APA citing and referencing and on plagiarism.
• Guidelines for academic writing provide general advice on how to write an excellent essay. This document has been placed in the Assignment 1 folder on stream.

Marking Guide

The Marking Schedule for your essay will be provided on Stream in the assignment 1 files folder.

You can use your own word document to write the essay.

The essay must be submitted as a single Word document (.docx format is preferred, but .doc is acceptable).

Essay Presentation Requirements

Presentation must be professional in appearance:

• Appropriate headings are permitted for 110.209 essays.
• Font should be Times New Roman, Arial or similar (not Comic Sans).
• Page size should be A4 portrait with margins of about 2.5 cm.
• Text spacing should be 1.5 or double-spaced.
• Typographic elements (such as variations in font size, bold, italics, and indentation) should be used appropriately to make the structure of the assignment clear.
• A page header on every page should give your name and student number; a page footer should give the page number.

Do not include any extraneous matter; do not restate the questions, etc.

References should be used for every fact or idea that you cite. There should be both in- line citations at the relevant point and a list of the references at the end of your assignment.

Consistent with normal academic practice in accounting, you are expected to use the APA citation system in this course.

WARNING: Evidence of plagiarism will lead to deduction of marks up to a maximum of 100% ****

Difficulties with Required Format

Massey University provides support for students with disabilities. If for reason of disability you are unable to submit your assignments in the required format, please contact Disability Services or the course coordinator to make other arrangements.

Assignment Submission Points

• Assignments must be submitted through the appropriate submission point on Stream. The submission point to electronically submit your essay’s final version is:

Assessment 1- Research Essay Submission- Final Version Dropbox.

• Please name your Assignment files for submission with your name and Student ID.

If you have any problem with submission, please contact the course coordinator through the Assignment Forum or the Personal Communication.

**** Memorandum on Plagiarism ****

 Please note that the Research essay of Assignment 1 will be submitted to a plagiarism detection programme as part of a University-wide effort to pre-empt problems that have been experienced regarding the use of unacknowledged material and copying the work of others. Please refer to the section on academic honesty and plagiarism in the Course Guide as well as the following information for a discussion of what constitutes plagiarism and the serious nature of this issue.

The programme used by the University is ‘Turnitin’, which is widely used by universities around the world. It is a real-time web-based programme that incorporates a very wide range of academic and non-academic sources and includes student assignments at all contributing universities. Turnitin assesses your assignment against materials from websites, electronic versions of journal articles and other literature, assignments submitted by others in the class and assignments assessed by Turnitin for other courses. Also you may use artificial intelligence (AI) for planning, idea development and research in relation to this essay, however AI cannot be used to write this particular essay. Please take note of the University’s Use of Artificial Intelligence in Assessment Policy ¹.

You must submit Assignment 1 in electronic format through Stream. The research essay is automatically submitted from Stream to Turnitin.

To enable you to benefit from the feedback Turnitin provides, you are given the opportunity to submit an earlier draft copy of your essay and then resubmit your final copy by the due date. The intention is to use Turnitin as both as a plagiarism preventative and a learning tool for your benefit.

Massey University takes plagiarism very seriously. There were some very serious instances https://stream.massey.ac.nz/mod/book/view.php?id=5430644&chapterid=1354036 of apparent plagiarism/cheating by some students in past assignments. In several cases, students received zero marks. If you have any concerns about this, please contact the course coordinator.

Plagiarism consists of copying or using the work of others (including ideas) without properly acknowledging it. Please see the electronic booklet Student Learning Resources, Support and Library. Plagiarism also includes sending in identical or very nearly identical assignments or assignments you have submitted in the past. Students are encouraged to work in groups but assessment, unless otherwise stated, is individual, and must be done by the individual who is to receive marks for the assignment. Copying each other’s work, or sending in essentially the same assignment, is a form of cheating that does not benefit anyone, least of all the students concerned. Unethical behaviour, whether as a student or in the outside world, may lead to a short-term gain, but certainly will not help in the long term.

Submitting essentially the same work for an individual assessment is regarded as a misdemeanour under the code of conduct for the university and is treated very seriously. Not only are students penalised, but their names and IDs and details of the misdemeanour are required to be kept on a confidential database at Massey University. If further instances occur, either in the same course or in any other course, the offence becomes serious misconduct with further repercussions.

We know by far most students do submit their own work. However, far too frequently there are also a multitude of unacknowledged sources in some assignments, which does also come under the misconduct rules, and can result in a similar penalty.

Please take care with your work. Dealing with this problem is very distressing for all concerned. If you are uncertain of any issue raised in this memorandum, please do not hesitate to contact me.

All the best!

Dimu Ehalaiye, Course Coordinator