Seminar for Third Consultation on New Senior Secondary Curriculum and Assessment Framework

Business, Accounting and Financial Studies

Public Assessment
October 2006

Learning Outcomes
The public assessment of this subject is based on the NSS Curriculum and Assessment Guide (S4-6) Business, Accounting and Financial Studies (BAFS) jointly prepared by the CDC and HKEAA Candidates have to refer to the Guide for the knowledge, understanding and skills they are required to demonstrate in the assessment.

Assessment Objectives
1. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of different areas of business; 2. apply such knowledge and understanding to familiar and novel situations; 3. analyse, synthesise and evaluate information in the context of business decisions, taking into account the integrated and dynamic nature of business problems; and 4. communicate facts, opinions, and suggestions in an effective manner

Proposed Assessment Framework

Component Public Paper 1: Examination Compulsory Part Paper 2: Elective Part School-based Assessment Weighting Duration 32%
(80v40%)

1 hr 15 mins 2 hrs 30 mins S5 and S6

48%
(80v60%)

20%

Public Examination
Paper 1 Section A (60%) multiple choice questions Section B (40%) short questions All questions are compulsory. Paper 2
Paper 2A
(accounting module)

Paper 2B
(business management module)

Remarks

Section A (25%) short questions Section B (50%) application problems

short questions case studies

All questions are compulsory. Candidates will be required to answer one out of two questions.

Section C (25%) case/theory questions essay questions

Candidates are expected to integrate their knowledge and skills learnt in the compulsory part to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the module

Question Types
Paper 1 (Compulsory part) Multiple-choice questions 2005 CE Commerce 2 Q9

Which of the following descriptions about the World Trade Organisation is INCORRECT? A. B. C. D. It monitors national trade policies. It acts as a channel for settling international trade disputes. It provides technical assistance and support to the less developed member countries. It provides export credit insurance to exporters from the member countries.

Question Types
Paper 1 (Compulsory part) Multiple-choice questions Web-based Teacher Development Course on Personal Finance for TE Teachers Unit 1 Assessment

Question Types
Paper 2A (Accounting module) Short questions 2006 HKCE Principles of Accounts Q2(B)
Valor Company acquired a machine on 1 January 2002. The machine has an estimated useful life of 5 years. The depreciation charge for the first three years was calculated for this machine using two different depreciation methods as follows: Straight-line method Year (5 years) 2002 2003 2004 You are required to: (a) (b) (c) State three causes of depreciation. Calculate the cost of the machine and its estimated residual value. Prepare journal entries to record the disposal of the machine based on the straight-line method, assuming that the machine was sold on 30 September 2005 for $36 000 on credit. (Narrations are not required) $12 400 12 400 12 400 (50% per annum) $32 000 16 000 8 000 Reducing-balance method

Question Types
Paper 2A (Accounting module) application problems 2006 HKAL Principles of Accounts 2 Q5

Question Types
Paper 2A (Accounting module) Case/theory questions 2006 HKAL Principles of Accounts 2 Q3

Question Types
Paper 2A (Accounting module) Case/theory questions Sample HKAL Principles of Accounts 2 Q4
(A) The director of a limited company read the following in the newspaper: The Financial Secretary said in the 2001-02 Budget Speech that starting from the accounts for fiscal year 2002-03, two separate sets of Annual Accounts of the Government would be published, one under the existing cash accounting convention and the other prepared on an accrual basis. Explain to the director how the two bases differ and whether the company could switch between them.

(B) Every balance sheet of a company shall give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of its financial year, and every profit and loss account of a company shall give a true and fair view of the profit or loss of the company for the financial year. (Source: S123(1), Hong Kong Companies Ordinance) How can a true and fair view be achieved in the context of the Hong Kong financial reporting environment?

Question Types
Paper 2B (Business management module) Short questions 2005 HKAL Business Studies 1 Q4

Question Types
Paper 2B (Business management module) Case studies 2005 HKAL Business Studies 1 Q7
NuWear is a casual wear retail chain in Hong Kong targeting children and young people. It entered the Mainland market several years ago. Over the last three years, NuWear has set up more than 30 stores in the major cities in the Mainland. Despite massive advertising and promotion efforts, sales were far from satisfactory. In fact, NuWears Mainland operation has been in the red in the past two years. To deal with this situation, Mary and John, directors of the company, held a meeting to sort out the future strategy for the Mainland market. Mary suggested: Sales in the Mainland remain very low. Wed better find some ways to stop bleeding. I suggest setting a standard for the net profit margin so that all shops failing to meet this standard would be closed down. John disagreed: Relying on the net profit margin alone is too rigid and mechanical. Moreover, closing down branch shops would affect our image and arouse negative speculation. Our expansion in the last few years was just too fast and most salespersons did not receive enough training. Our customers are not happy with the services provided by them. Besides, the relationship between the management and the salespersons at the shops is not good. Most managers are from Hong Kong whereas the salespersons are recruited from the Mainland. The managers always complain about the difficulties in managing the Mainland salespersons whom they regard as typical Theory-X employees. However, I disagree with this. I believe there may be communication problems between them. Questions: (a) (b) Suggest two possible benefits to NuWear of entering the Mainland market. Besides being too rigid and mechanical, explain two limitations of using the net profit margin as the only criterion to decide on branch closures. With reference to the characteristics of service, give two reasons to explain why training of salespersons is an important factor affecting sales. (i) List three of the major characteristics of Theory X employees.

(c)

(d)

(ii) Explain three ways to effectively manage Theory X salespersons. (e) Describe two possible communication barriers that may exist between Hong Kong managers and Mainland staff.

Question Types
Paper 2B (Business management module) Essay questions 2006 HKAL Business Studies 2 Q7

(a) (b)

School-based Assessment (SBA)

Assessments administered in schools and marked by the students own teachers Enhance validity More reliable assessment Promote a positive washback effect

SBA Design
1. focus on skills that cannot be readily assessed through the public examination 2. focus on achievement or performance rather than on attitude or effort 3. as an integral part of ongoing classroom learning and teaching 4. practicable and can be implemented readily within schools and classrooms without undue cost to the school or to students

SBA Design
5. caters for the diversity of students 6. comprehensive set of guidelines and scoring rubrics to ensure that student performance is assessed consistently 7. final product or performance can readily be authenticated by the teacher as the work of the student concerned

SBA Design
8. in-class and out-of-school time commitment reasonable and consistent with the expected time commitment for the weighting given to SBA 9. consider the state of planning for SBA and the readiness of schools to implement SBA in this subject

School-based Assessment
Tests and examinations
Presentations on business cases/issues

Business exposure

Enterprise experience

Uniqueness of SBA in BAFS

Values & Attitudes

Integrated business knowledge and skills

Skills

Knowledge

Assessment Task
S5 a written artifact of not more than 3 word-processed A4 pages S6 written presentation and oral presentation of not more than 10 mins, followed by a Q&A session of about 10 mins

SBA Activities
SBA activities may be carried out on a group or individual basis, but assessment task must be done as individual work
Accounting Elective Business Management Elective

Evaluating the finance of a club/activity/business venture Analysing the annual report / financial statement of an organisation Reporting on a visit to a manufacturing firm Evaluating a personal budget for 6 or 12 months Writing a commentary on news related to accounting / accounting work / the accounting profession Reflecting on an actual work experience / the work of a treasurer / meeting with accounting professional Conducting financial budgeting for an SME Preparing a business plan for a specified business venture

Analysing the management issues of a club/activity/business venture Analysing the annual report / financial statement of an organisation Reporting on a company visit Evaluating a personal budget for 6 or 12 months Writing a commentary on news related to business management Reflecting on an actual work experience / a job shadowing program / meeting with entrepreneurs Conducting a SWOT analysis for an SME Preparing a business plan for a specified business venture

Assessment Criteria (Annex 2)

1. Business knowledge and understanding
   display of subject knowledge application of knowledge integration of knowledge prioritisation of issues information collection information evaluation organisation use of presentation aids time management speaking non-verbal communication engaging the audience responding to questions

2.

Analysis skills for business decision-making

  

3.

Business presentation skills

      

Mark Allocation
Task 1 Task 2
Worksheet on research process (Annex 1) Business knowledge and understanding Analysis skills for business decisionmaking Business presentation skills Organisation Oral presentation

15 25 25

15 25 25

10 75

10 50 125

Annex 1

Annex 3

SBA Marks
reflect the rank order of its students as well as the relative differences between students achievements will be moderated to provide comparability across schools students are required to keep good custody of their work for inspection and authentication purposes until the release of exam results

Estimated Time Commitment

Per student
in-class: ~6 hours (60 mins x 3 worksheets x 2 tasks) oral presentation: 10+10 mins outside-class: 12-25 hours Per class worksheets: ~6 hours presentation: ~15 hours [(10+10) mins x 40 students]

Implementation schedule
2nd consultation
Proposed modes of SBA Introduction of SBA in 2012 HKDSE examination
Strongly Agree / Agree Strongly Disagree / Disagree No Opinion / No Response

50.3% 51.4%

36.0% 26.4%

13.7% 22.3%

SBA new to business subject(s) variations in school readiness new curriculum: require more time for the better planning of suitable SBA activities

Phased Implementation
Year of Examination Implementation of SBA

2012 2013

Schools are not required to submit SBA marks. Public examination result contributes 100% of the final subject result. Each school must select one of the following options: Submit SBA marks for feedback from HKEAA on the outcomes of moderation. Do not submit SBA marks. In both options, public examination result contributes 100% of the final subject result. Each school must select one of the following options: Submit SBA marks to contribute 20% of the final subject result. Submit SBA marks for feedback from HKEAA on the outcomes of moderation. Public examination result to contribute 100% of the final subject result.

2014

Starting from 2015, all schools have to submit SBA marks to contribute 20% of the final subject result.

Development Work Ahead

Developing sample papers Conducting pilot tests Trying out SBA criteria Standard-setting and drafting level descriptors Compiling annotated exemplars Assessment training

School Survey
15 questions on 3 areas Alignment between assessment objectives and curriculum aims and objectives Public examination
Paper structure Weighting Duration

School-based assessment
Weighting Design Required teacher efforts Required student efforts Authentication Implementation schedule

Comments and suggestions welcome

Thank You!