UNIT OUTLINE

TRIMESTER 2, 2021

BUS120: Introductory Accounting

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

ACADEMIC STAFF

Unit Coordinator: Angela BEVILACQUA

angela.bevilacqua@edithcowancollege.edu.au

Unit Lecturers: Angela BEVILACQUA

angela.bevilacqua@edithcowancollege.edu.au

Pre-Requisite Units: None

Additional Requirements: Basic calculator is required. Basic understanding of the

internet and its operational elements in particular, the use
and function of web-based systems.

Fees and Charges All fee information can be obtained through:

 the Edith Cowan College website
https://www.edithcowancollege.edu.au/fees, or
 Welcome Centre

Unit Website Moodle via the Student Portal is the unit’s website.
Students can access the Student Portal via the College’s
website: www.edithcowancollege.edu.au

Tuition Pattern Weekly 4-hour lecture and tutorial session

Study Hours At least 8 hours per week:

 4 hours class time
 4 hours personal study/assignment tasks

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Table of Contents
Content

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION...................................................................................................................... 1

DESCRIPTION:........................................................................................................................................ 3

LEARNING OUTCOMES:.......................................................................................................................... 3
EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS:................................................................................................................................4

UNIT CONTENT:..................................................................................................................................... 4

TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES & RESOURCES:............................................................................4

MOODLE.......................................................................................................................................................5
BRING-YOUR-OWN-DEVICE (BYOD).............................................................................................................5
TEXTBOOK:...................................................................................................................................................5
STUDENT HANDBOOK:.................................................................................................................................5

ASSESSMENTS:...................................................................................................................................... 6
PASS REQUIREMENTS:..................................................................................................................................6
GRADES........................................................................................................................................................7
LATE SUBMISSION:.......................................................................................................................................8
COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS:........................................................................................................................8
DISABILITY STANDARDS FOR EDUCATION (COMMONWEALTH 2005).........................................................8

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT:..................................................................................................................... 8

ATTENDANCE AND QUALITY OF PARTICIPATION....................................................................................9

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT:........................................................................................................................ 10

REFERENCING:..................................................................................................................................... 10
WEEKLY SCHEDULE.....................................................................................................................................11

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 EDITH COWAN COLLEGE
BUS120 INTRODUCTORY ACCOUNTING
UNIT OUTLINE – TRIMESTER 1, 2020

DESCRIPTION:
This unit provides a broad understanding of a range of key accounting concepts, principles and
theories to explain the need for an accounting framework.

In addition, it provides students with basic knowledge/skills to understand and explain the need
for an accounting system and to extract, record and report financial data. Students will be able to
explain the accounting equation, prepare financial statements (ledger accounts, journals, trial
balances, income statements, cash flow statements, balance sheets, petty cash records, etc.)
and evaluate business viability based on end-of-period reports. Students will apply critical
thinking to solve accounting problems in preparation for the next level of accounting studies.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:
LEARNING OUTCOMES
LO1 Identify, analyse, synthesise and explain a range of key accounting concepts,
principles and theory and explain the need for a conceptual framework of accounting.
LO2 Identify, analyse, synthesise and explain elements of the accounting equation and
prepare summary financial statements. Income Statement, Balance Sheet and
Statement of Owner’s Equity.
LO3 Analyse and communicate an understanding of the relationship between accounting
equation and ledger accounts, the nature of various ledger accounts, how they are
increased/decreased, and use technical skills to process and record economic
transactions in ledger accounts and prepare a trial balance.
LO4 Identify and analyse various business documents to transfer information from various
source documents intro the appropriate journals.
LO5 Transfer and apply theoretical concepts to prepare Journals: Sales, Purchases, Cash
Receipts, Cash Payments and General; posting information to both the General and
Subsidiary Ledgers, and preparing schedules and trial balance, including Goods and
Services Tax (GST).
LO6 Communicate and act on the need to periodically calculate profit and prepare end-of-
period closing entries in General Journal, posting them to General Leger, preparing
profit & loss account for a service business and both trading account (periodic method)
and profit & loss account for a trading entity.
LO7 Use specialist technical skills to prepare a fully classified Income Statement, indicating
Cost of Goods Sold using periodic method, fully classified Balance Sheet and
Statement of Owner’s Equity.
LO8 Use initiative and judgement to apply accrual concept of accounting in preparing end-
of-period adjustments for both deferrals and accruals via General Journal and posting
to relevant ledger accounts.
LO9 Use a Worksheet approach to plan, design and evaluate an unadjusted trial balance,
make necessary adjustments, prepare adjusted trial balance, and differentiate between
Income Statement and Balance Sheet items.
LO10 Demonstrate the application of technical and theoretical concepts to apply internal
controls and accounting controls for debtors and creditors, cash and assets.
LO11 Demonstrate specialist technical skills to prepare Petty Cash records, Imprest system,
including Petty Cash Book, Cash Journals and General Ledger, and periodically
reconcile business cash records with bank statements.
LO12 Use initiative, critical thinking and judgement to solve accounting problems and issues,
apply logic to identify and locate errors in accounting records, and apply algebraic
techniques to solve for one or more unknown random variables.

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EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS:
Learning is not just about acquiring a static set of knowledge and skills – it is also about
developing generic skills that can be used to further life-long learning and engagement with the
community. ECC has adopted the same Employability Skills and Graduate Attributes
incorporated by Edith Cowan University in their courses. The ECC Learning and Teaching Plan
aims to develop these Employability Skills through the delivery of our courses. Units within a
course will focus on different skill sets with varying degrees of overlap, however all Employability
Skills will be covered as part of that course.

Employability Skills Graduate Attributes

1. Self-management
a. Ability to manage self and learning
b. Working with roles, rights and rules

2. Interacting with others

a. Communicating GA1 – Ability to communicate
b. Connecting and working together GA2 – Ability to work in teams
c. Recognising cross-cultural GA5 – Cross-cultural & international outlook
viewpoints

3. Getting the work done

a. Planning and organizing GA3 – Critical appraisal skills
b. Making decisions GA4 – Ability to generate ideas
c. Identifying, evaluating and solving
problems
d. Creating and innovating
e. Ability to use technology

The Graduate Attributes incorporated into this unit are:

Cross-cultural &
Ability to Ability to work in Critical appraisal Ability to
international
Communicate teams skills generate ideas
outlook
   

UNIT CONTENT:

1. Key theory and the Conceptual Framework

2. Accounts, Transactions and the General Ledger
3. Income Statement, Statement of Owner’s Equity and the Balance Sheet
4. Business Forms and Documents
5. Special Journals, General Journal, Control Accounts, Subsidiary Ledgers, Trial Balance and
Schedules Debtors/Creditors
6. Goods and Services Tax
7. Closing entries and Final Accounts for both Trading and Service business entities
8. Fully classified Income Statement displaying Cost of Goods Sold and expense categories
9. Internal Controls, Cash Control, Imprest system for Petty Cash and Bank Reconciliation

TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES & RESOURCES:

Students are expected to spend a minimum of 8 hours per week studying this unit. This includes
class time, including lectures and laboratories, plus self-directed study and online activities.
Classes are used to introduce main concepts and to guide students through important points and
assist students in the practical application of concepts.

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Assignments provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate they have met the learning
outcomes of the unit.

Students are to arrive on time to avoid interrupting the class. Students arriving more than 15
minutes late will be recorded as missing a significant component of the class.

MOODLE
Unit information, including class notes, assessment information and other relevant information to
assist your learning is available on Moodle. To access Moodle log on to the Student Portal on the
ECC website: https://www.edithcowancollege.edu.au/

BRING-YOUR-OWN-DEVICE (BYOD)
In order to facilitate greater classroom engagement and self-directed learning, students will be
required to provide their own laptop or tablet (BYOD) for both classroom use and private study. A
copy of the latest BYOD Requirements Checklist can be found at:
https://www.edithcowancollege.edu.au/documents-and-forms

TEXTBOOK:

Essential Text:
 McGraw Hill Learning Management System

Recommended Text:
 Bazley, M., Hancock, P. (2013). Contemporary Accounting, 8 th Ed. Cengage Learning
 Clarke, E, A., Wilson, Y., Wilson, M. (2014). Accounting: An Introduction to Principles
and Practice, 8th Ed, Cengage Learning Australia.
 Clarke, E.A., Wilson Y., Wilson, M. (2014). Accounting: An Introduction to Principles and
Practice Workbook, 8th Ed, Cengage
 Hoggett, J., Edwards, L., Medlin, J., (2014). Accounting. 9th Edition. Brisbane: John Wiley
and Sons.
 Stanley, T., Ryan, C., Falt, J. & Kirkwood, L. (2007). Accounting: An Introductory
Framework, 3rd Edition, Pearson Education, Melbourne.
 Weygandt, J.J., Kimmel, P. D., Kiesso, D. (2013). Accounting Principles, 11th Ed., John
Wiley and Sons, Milton, Queensland.

STUDENT HANDBOOK:
For general information, refer to your ECC Student Handbook or the online version at
http://www.edithcowancollege.edu.au/documents-and-forms

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ASSESSMENTS:

Learning Employability Skills or Week

Assessment Weighting
Outcome Graduate Attributes Due
Participation
1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a,
1 a) class activities ongoing 10%
LO1 to LO12 3b, 3c, 3e
b) take-home revision 2 to 11 10%
2 Progress Test LO1, 2, 3 1a, 2a, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3e 4 10%
Mid-Term Tests
3
a) Mid-term Test 1 LO1 to LO6 7 20%
3 1a, 2a, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3e
b) Mid-term Test 2 LO7 to L10 11 20%
4 Final Assessment LO1 to L12 1a, 2a, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3e 13 30%

TOTAL 100%
**Please see Assessment Guideline Handouts and Marking Keys on the Portal for further instructions.

PASS REQUIREMENTS:
To pass this unit, students must:
 Make a genuine attempt and submit all assessment items as indicated in the assessment
matrix. For an attempt at an assessment item to be considered genuine, it must meet
assessment requirements including length and academic integrity.
 Achieve an overall unit grade of at least 50%

Assessment 1 – Participation 20%

This assessment is based on two elements, each measuring your participation effort in class-
based and homework activities.

PART A: class-based activities (10%)

The class participation mark will be based on student attendance, completed class activities
and active involvement in class-based discussions. Students are urged to complete in-class
exercises, raise questions, and actively assist others in the learning process. It is important to
attend all sessions and to arrive to class on time - students’ that are late or not present are not
awarded full marks as class involvement has not taken place. Any absences will incur a
penalty and tardiness (if continual) will also result in a penalty.

Over a 12-week period, students are awarded a weekly mark comprised of the following parts:
 Frequency of attendance; Punctuality (2 marks)
 Participation in class; Completed homework (3 marks)
 Quality of Research; Comments; Logical Argument; Listening skills (5 marks)

PART B: take-home revision (10%)

The homework revision assessment is based on a series of weekly exercises either available
online or provided as worksheet exercises. The exercises are specifically aimed to assist you
in learning the concepts, theories and practical elements of the unit, and to help you to
prepare for in-class tests and the final examination.

In total, you will be required to complete ten revision exercises that start from Week 1 and
finish in Week 10. These exercises will remain open throughout the trimester, therefore

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 providing you with the flexibility to complete each element at your own pace. However, it is
strongly recommended that you work through the material on a weekly basis, in order to
approach your learning in an ordered and managed way.

At the end of the trimester, marks for each of the three parts are totaled and an average mark
is awarded. The total sum of all average marks is recorded as the ‘final grade’ for this
assessment (out of 10).

Assessment 2 – Progress Test 10%

This assessment will be administered in-class during Week 4. You will be required to complete a
60-minute paper-based test covering accounting theories and concepts addressed during Weeks
1 to 3.

Assessment 3 – Mid Term Tests 40%

This assessment is comprised of two individual tests, each measuring your practical
understanding of accounting theories and concepts addressed between Weeks 1 and 10.

Mid-term Test 1 (20%)

This assessment will be administered in-class during Week 7. You are required to complete a
90-minute paper-based test covering accounting theories and concepts addressed in weeks 1
to 6. The test will include a number of short-answer theoretical questions and the recording of
transactions into various accounting formats (e.g. balance sheet; t-ledgers; etc).

Mid-term Test 2 (20%)

This assessment will be administered in-class during Week 11. You are required to complete
a 90-minute in-class paper-based test covering accounting theories and concepts addressed
in weeks 7 to 10. The test will include a number of short-answer theoretical questions and the
recording of transactions into various accounting formats (e.g. balance sheet; t-ledgers; etc).

Assessment 4 – Final Examination 30%

The final examination will take place in week 13 and will include content covering the entire
trimester. It is comprised of multiple-choice and transaction-based questions. The exam is 3
hours (writing time) and 10 minutes (reading time).

GRADES
In line with the ECC Moderation Policy, the ECC Unit Coordinator may scale student marks up or
down. Marks awarded are therefore provisional, and the student’s final grade will be subject to
approval by the Board of Examiners. See: Moderation Policy and the Assessment Policy at
www.edithcowancollege.edu.au/policies

Criteria for Final Grade

HD High Distinction 80%-100%
D Distinction 70%-79%
CR Credit Pass 60%-69%
C Pass 50% - 59%
N Fail 0% - 49%
I Incomplete – where unit requires you to pass exam or essential assessment

For further details see the ECC Student Handbook in the portal on online at:
http://www.edithcowancollege.edu.au/documents-and-forms

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Back up your material: It is the responsibility of the student to keep a back-up of all materials
submitted for assessment.

Assessment Feedback: Feedback will be provided within 2 weeks of the submission of the
assignment. After your assignment has been returned to you, review the comments and grade
given to you by your lecturer. If you have a question regarding any comments or marks you
should contact your lecturer immediately.

LATE SUBMISSION:
If a student is unable to submit a within-semester assessment task (i.e. assignment) on or by the
due date, the penalty will be 5% per working day. Assessments that are submitted more than 7
days after the due date will be accepted, but will receive a grade of zero (0).

An exception may be granted if the student provides an Explained Absence form together with…
 Medical certificate (signed by lecturer and given to the Welcome Centre by student), or
 Written explanation (signed by lecturer and given to the Welcome Centre by student), in the
case of personal circumstances which have the potential to significantly affect the
performance of the student.

Evidence must be submitted within 3 days (or at the next scheduled class if the lecturer is not
available – an email to the lecturer is also recommended).

COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS:

Students who believe they have valid reasons to appeal marks awarded for an assessment
should discuss the matter informally with the lecturer. If valid reasons for an appeal exists, you
must lodge the informal appeal within 5 working days as specified in the Complaints and Appeals
Policy (www.edithcowancollege.edu.au/policies)

DISABILITY STANDARDS FOR EDUCATION (COMMONWEALTH 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability
Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are
articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes, Graduate Attributes and Assessment
Requirements of this entry. ECC will provide support (within the limits of reasonable adjustment)
to those with special requirements. For further information regarding support for students with
disabilities or medical conditions please contact the Student Counsellor.

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT:

Honesty in study and research is highly valued at ECC and ECU, therefore academic misconduct
is regarded as a serious offence. Academic misconduct includes:
 Plagiarism;
 Unauthorised collaboration;
 Cheating in examinations;
 Fraudulently submitting the work of another person;
 Purchasing assignments or paying another person to write an assessment
 Theft of other students’ work;
 Any other fraudulent assessment practices

Staff are expected to be critical of student work, looking for any evidence of
plagiarism/cheating. Staff may use search software (e.g. Turnitin) to scan/record your work
against the electronic works of others on the Internet.

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"Plagiarism” means to knowingly or unknowingly present as one's own work the ideas or
writings of another without appropriate acknowledgment or referencing, including…
 Paraphrasing text without acknowledging source (includes any copying)
 Paraphrasing text inadequately
 Copying another student's assignment (from any source)
 Copying of visual representations (cartoons, line drawings, photos, paintings, computer
programs, images, tables, graphs)

Penalties for Academic Misconduct:

See Academic Misconduct – Student Guide at:
https://www.edithcowancollege.edu.au/documents-and-forms. The guide shows a step-by-step
explanation of processes and penalties applied.

In order to ensure students are submitting their own work, if the lecturer believes that there is a
disparity between the writing or knowledge presented in assessments (compared to in-class
activities or other examples of student work), the lecturer has the right to take steps to confirm
that the student actually did the work.   

The Unit Coordinator may extend the requirements for any written assessment [except those
completed under supervision (in class)] to include an oral exam to clarify and support the written
submission. 
 The oral exam will normally be held face-to-face with the Unit Coordinator and the Academic
Program Coordinator, but may be done by telephone or other means as chosen by the Unit
Coordinator. 
 The student may invite someone to act as a support person, however that person cannot
answer any of the questions
 The oral exam should occur as soon as possible after the assessment, but may be deferred if
the student is unable to attend and can provide supporting evidence.
 During the oral exam, the student may be asked to define terms, explain concepts or give
examples relating to the assessment
 The mark given for the oral exam will override the original written submission. 
 If a student fails to attend the oral exam, ECC may begin an investigation of Academic
Misconduct as per ECC’s Student Misconduct Policy.  Where Academic Misconduct is
determined, penalties will apply as per this policy

Also see Assessment Policy and the Student Misconduct Policy which can be downloaded at:
http://www.edithcowancollege.edu.au/policies

ATTENDANCE AND QUALITY OF PARTICIPATION

Attendance is an important element of your success and as such it is compulsory, not only for
visa regulations (for international students) but also a requirement for local students.

Students who miss more than 15 minutes of a class (by being late to class, leaving early or
otherwise not being present in the teaching space) will be given a ‘H’ mark in the attendance roll
and be noted as not having full attendance in the class.

Students who are sick or absent from classes for valid reasons must…
 Submit an Explained Absence form to Student Services. This should include a medical
certificate or proof of valid reason for the absence. This form must be submitted within 3
days (or at the next scheduled class if the lecturer is not available).
 Once completed, it is the student’s responsibility to submit the form and evidence to ECC
Welcome Centre as soon as possible.

In the event that attendance is considered unsatisfactory, formal written warnings will be sent to
students and they may be required to see the Student Counsellor.

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International students with a record of poor attendance and/or poor progress will be reported to
Immigration which may put your visa at risk. For further information see Attendance Policy at:
http://www.edithcowancollege.edu.au/policies

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT:

ECC students have access to the following free support:

 Your Lecturers and Unit Coordinators are available for content/assessment support relevant
to their unit of study. Please contact your lecturer for assistance.
 The Academic Program Coordinator is available for program support and study skills advice.
Please email the program coordinator on Amanda.Peterson@edithcowancollege.edu.au
 English language support is available by emailing
language.support@edithcowancollege.edu.au. For more comprehensive support the free
Academic Development Unit (ADU100) is available to all students. Please see your Academic
Program Coordinator for further information.
 A range of self-help materials is available to students via the Student E-cafe in Moodle. This
information covers topics including:
o Pre-Departure Survey
o Administration
o Academic Learning Support
o Referencing and Plagiarism
o English Language Support
o Exams
o Student Wellbeing
o Sponsored Students
o Living and Working in Australia

For further information: See Progress and Graduation Policy at:

http://www.edithcowancollege.edu.au/policies

REFERENCING:

ECC adopts the APA (American Psychological Association) Referencing system which also
complies with protocols used by ECU. More information can be found at:
 How to Reference APA Style – see ECU library
 Academic Misconduct Guidelines – See http://www.edithcowancollege.edu.au/policies
 American Psychological Association (APA) provides free tutorials at:
http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx

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WEEKLY SCHEDULE

WEEK
WEEK TOPIC ACTIVITIES PREPARATION ASSESSMENTS
BEGINNING
Introduction, key accounting
Class-led activities Homework
1 21 June theories, accounting equation &
Practice exercises exercises
financial statements
Recording account transactions, the
Class-led activities Homework
2 28 June General Ledger, Balance sheet &
Practice exercises exercises
Trial Balance
Class-led activities Homework
3 5 July Income & expenses
Practice exercises exercises

(from week 1 until week 10)

take-home revision (10%)
Income Statement, Equity Statement Class-led activities Homework Assignment 2:
4 12 July
& Balance Sheet Practice exercises exercises progress test (10%)

Assessment 1b:
Class-led activities Homework
5 19 July The General & Cash journals

(applies to all weeks)

Practice exercises exercises

participation (10%)
Assessment 1a:
Class-led activities Homework
6 26 July Credit Journals
Practice exercises exercises
Class-led activities Homework Assignment 3A:
7 2 August Internal accounting controls
Practice exercises exercises midterm test (20%)
Class-led activities Homework
8 9 August Goods & Services Tax (GST)
Practice exercises exercises
STUDY WEEK
(no classes between 16 – 20 August)
Class-led activities Homework
9 23 August Profit determination
Practice exercises exercises
Class-led activities Homework
10 30 August Petty cash and bank reconciliation
Practice exercises exercises
Class-led activities Homework Assignment 3B:
11 6 September Balance day adjustments
Practice exercises exercises midterm test (20%)
Class-led activities Homework
12 13 September Exam preparation & revision
Practice exercises exercises
FINAL ASSESSMENT WEEK
Assignment 4: examination (30%)
(week beginning 20 September)

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