Unit: ACCT11059 Accounting, Learning & Online Communication Student Name: Tiffany Treen Student ID: s0142483 Assignment # 1 – Step # 2 Moodle Profile & Blog Moodle Profile: Tiffany Treen Blog: Accounting: More Than Numbers Assignment # 1 – Step # 3 My Company – CentralNic Group plc My Firm: Initial Reactions & General Background Due to me completing freaking out over the requirement of ‘peer interaction’ to succeed in this unit, I really did not consider how I would feel about the company I would be assigned. Even after reading that my assigned company was CentralNic Group plc I still did not have any reaction – perhaps I was in shock! I went to their website to have a look at what they do, this is when it all went a bit pear-shaped. I was completely overwhelmed, my brain shut down and I refused to go any further. After a few days to process I was able to talk about my initial reactions . After some perspective, I began my research into CentralNic and discovered that they are one of the top registry service providers for new TLDs, ccTLDs and SLDs. That really did not help with me understand and I was left to ponder ‘what are TLDs, ccTLDs and SLDs?’ I clearly had to do more research. Thanks to the power of Google, I learnt TLDs are Top Level Domains, ccTLDs are Country Code Top Level Domains, and SLDs are Second Level Domains. Yes, at this stage I was still confused. Top Level Domains are the part that follows the ‘dot’ symbol - .com, .org, .net. Country Code Top Level Domains are reserved for countries such as .au, .uk, .us. Second Level Domains are the part preceding the ‘dot’ symbol – books.com, food.com, example.com. With this new-found knowledge, I started to grasp that my company distributes and sells internet domain names. With everything starting to come into focus, I provided further information on my 1 | Page
Moodle Profile: Tiffany TreenBlog: Accounting: More Than Numbers
Assignment # 1 – Step # 3My Company – CentralNic Group plc
My Firm: Initial Reactions & General Background
Due to me completing freaking out over the requirement of ‘peer interaction’ to succeed in this unit, I really did not consider how I would feel about the company I would be assigned. Even after reading that my assigned company was CentralNic Group plc I still did not have any reaction – perhaps I was in shock! I went to their website to have a look at what they do, this is when it all went a bit pear-shaped. I was completely overwhelmed, my brain shut down and I refused to go any further. After a few days to process I was able to talk about my initial reactions.
After some perspective, I began my research into CentralNic and discovered that they are one of the top registry service providers for new TLDs, ccTLDs and SLDs. That really did not help with me understand and I was left to ponder ‘what are TLDs, ccTLDs and SLDs?’ I clearly had to do more research. Thanks to the power of Google, I learnt TLDs are Top Level Domains, ccTLDs are Country Code Top Level Domains, and SLDs are Second Level Domains. Yes, at this stage I was still confused. Top Level Domains are the part that follows the ‘dot’ symbol - .com, .org, .net. Country Code Top Level Domains are reserved for countries such as .au, .uk, .us. Second Level Domains are the part preceding the ‘dot’ symbol – books.com, food.com, example.com.
With this new-found knowledge, I started to grasp that my company distributes and sells internet domain names. With everything starting to come into focus, I provided further information on my blog. CentralNic operates globally in over 200 countries from their London-based headquarters plus have offices located in New York, Dubai, and Los Angeles. There are also on-the-ground account executives in Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, and Melbourne.
They celebrated 20 years as a specialist domain industry registry in 2016, but they have only been listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market since September 2013. Since listing on the London Stock Exchange, CentralNic has had rapid growth. This is mostly due to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) voting to allow unlimited domain names starting from 2012. This introduced a new internet age. With this CentralNic could expand its revenue stream and currently has three divisions:
Wholesale Division: sells services and platforms for registry operators; Retail Division: sells domain names and associated products for individuals, businesses, and
domain professionals; and Enterprise Division: delivers domain portfolio management products and services for
corporations.
I found it interesting about CentralNic that they have developed a proprietary registry engine which they also operate. They ensure uninterrupted service to their customers by operating a network of domain name servers which have new nodes installed regularly. To meet ICANN requirements to act as a registry they have upgraded their technology over the recent years, which was developed inhouse. Over the last 15 years CentralNic has achieved a 100% track record of Domain Name System (DNS) availability for its delegated domains. They are clearly very committed to achieving success.
Annual Report
I was initially quite fearful of CentralNic’s annual reports. 80 pages of copious amounts of small font was quite intimidating. This was compounded by my lack of knowledge about the technology industry. I kept asking myself ‘how can I possibly make sense of the annual report if I do not fully understand what the company does?’ I slowly reviewed the 2016 Annual Report, skimming over sections before finally making my way to the financial statements. The layout was easy to follow and I was provided with a contents page – I appreciated that. I did find the size of the font used for the ‘guts’ of the report small and hard to read. Larger font was used in certain aspects, I assumed that this was done strategically to highlight the ‘best bits’ of the company. I was always immediately drawn to these areas. I could see that CentralNic did use their annual report as a marketing tool.
The illustration provided showing the office locations as well as their global business footprint was a fantastic tool to aid in my understanding of where CentralNic operates globally. I had a ‘WOW’ moment as it was sinking in that they are a huge global operation.
Although I have viewed CentralNic’s website, viewed interviews and other documentation I feel that I am still missing something about their operations. I am getting lost in all the ‘tech talk’. TLDs, ccTLDs and SLDs kept appearing in everything I read or watched, although I had researched what these terms meant I was having trouble connecting the dots. My eyes lit up at the sight of a list of domains CentralNic had to offer. Having a company essentially dealing in ones and zeros was not easy.
In most areas of the annual report I could see a common theme that CentralNic are in a growth phase with many changes being made. This is evident while looking at the Executive Board of Directors:
Mike Turner, Chairman: joined CentralNic September 2015 Ben Crawford, CEO: joined CentralNic in 2009 Glenn Hayward, CFO: joined CentralNic in February 2014 Desleigh Jameson, Executive Director – Retail Division: joined CentralNic in January 2016
I was a little shocked when I saw that most of the members were new, but it appears that these changes are having a positive effect. CentralNic has also seen a growth in the number of employees with an average of 87 in 2016 (2015: 30). This is a huge increase and again reinforces growth in the company. I am assuming if they were performing poorly they would not increase the number of staff needed. I found the below table that illustrated these changes very interesting:
As much as I was starting to gain some insight reading the annual report, it did feel a bit monotonous and repetitive. I moved onto the financial statements in the hopes they would help me gain further understanding – perhaps even allowing me to connect the dots back to the annual report!
I was intrigued by the layout of the income statement and even slightly confused – why was it showing me the operating profit twice? The layout was very different to what I have seen prior to completing this unit. I have only had exposure to all the items listed before EBITDA is shown – this report shows EBITDA first then reduces back to the profit by deducting the depreciation, amortisation etc.
I was also perplexed by ‘Adjusted EBITDA’ – I had never heard this term. EBIDA is calculated at my place of employment so it was not a completely foreign concept (as a not-for profit we are exempt from the tax part of the equation), it refers to ‘earnings before Interest, depreciation, and amortisation’. I searched ‘Adjusted EBITDA’ and found it ‘indicates ‘top line’ earnings. It normalises income, standardises cash flow and eliminated abnormalities. It is a useful way to compare companies across and within an industry to the purpose of valuation and potential acquisition.’ I was most surprised to learn that ‘business valuation using Adjusted EBITDA is not a Generally Accepted Accounting Principles standard’ (https://strategiccfo.com/adjusted-ebitda/). I am unsure of the reliability of my source used as no one could provide any insight other than what I had found when I asked on the forum.
Cash flow hedges was another term I had trouble understanding. I referred to the footnote for some assistance – it talked about foreign exchange options. On a very basic level I am assuming hedging is used to buy currency at a set rate. As CentralNic operates globally foreign currency is involved and they are trying to offset any losses due to unfavourable exchange rates. I am honesty still a little (probably a lot) lost with this concept.
The balance sheet was the easiest to read. Most of the items listed in the assets and liabilities sections I am familiar with – they just have different titles. I can that the footnotes were helpful in seeing a more detailed picture of each line. The accounts listed in the equity section was a different story. Apart from retained earnings (profits) and share capital (money invested) I had no idea what the other items were. I am left to ponder as the footnotes did not really clear this up. The layout was exactly like the accounting equation: assets = equity + liabilities. I can see the fundamental concept is definitely ingrained in my memory.
The statement of changes in equity is new to me. I had never seen this statement before. I found it interesting that out of all the statements that it had an unusual layout. I can see it would be valuable to an investor to see exactly how the equity has changed over the period. I made the incorrect assumption I had never seen this statement before because since joining the workforce I have only worked in the education industry for independent not for profit schools. I was surprised to learn that we present this statement in our financials also. I found comparing the two reports useful to understand them – even though the heading were different I could see the same calculations at work. Having realised that the headings of the columns match to the accounts listed on the equity section, I was a little excited. As I moved to the bottom I noted that there was a brief description of each heading. Now while I still do not fully comprehend these items, I found the explanations brilliant as to what item represents.
While reviewing each of these reports I could see that they all linked together in some way. The total equity in the balance sheet was the closing balance of the statement of changes in equity and the balance of the income statement appeared in the statement of changes in equity also. I found this most useful while completing step 4 as I could see if these figures matched in each report when I completed the data entry.
CentralNic Highlights
The 2016 Annual Report contained a highlights page. I found this easy to read and provided a brief view of how the company performed in 2016 compared to 2015. I concluded from these result that they had a very successful year in 2016 and they are hoping to expand further. I can see that they are ‘putting their best foot forward’ in marketing their company. The highlights include:
A year of growth, particularly following the Instra Group acquisition. Group revenue grew by 113% to £22.13m (2015: £10.39m) and Adjusted EBITDA grew by 68% to £5.48m (2015: £3.25m).
Profit before taxation of £1.16m (2015: £1.45m) after deduction of non-cash charges, acquisition costs and exceptional items.
Recurring/subscription revenues increased to 81% of overall revenues (2015: 67%). Acquisition of Instra Group completed on 14 January 2016 for consideration of £18.60m
(AU$38.04m); contributing Retail revenue of £10.28m and Adjusted EBITDA of £2.21m. Wholesale Division maintained ranking as the world’s number one new TLD registry services
provider by volume, increasing market shares to 32% (2015: 23%). Wholesale domains under management of £9.89m (2015: £3.39m) reflected volume-based promotions of new TLDs which present potential for future renewals.
Enterprise revenues included £3.74m (2015: £3.22m) of premium domain name revenues and a full year of dnsXperts revenue.
After reviewing these highlights, I went back through the financials to see if there were any other interesting points I could find that were not highlighted. I have listed them below:
Cash and bank balances of £9.9m (2015: £19.06m) – I found information in the annual report to conclude this reduction in cash was due to the acquisition of Instra Group at the beginning of 2016.
Borrowings of £1.03m current (2015: £0m) and £1.32m non-current (2015: £0m) – based on the information I concluded that a loan was drawn down to assist with the acquisition of Instra Group. I further discovered that the loan was taken over 3 years.
Operating Profit of £1,409 (2015: £1,459) – I found this information I concluded that this decrease was due to expenses related to the acquisition of Instra Group.
Basic earnings per share (EPS) of 1.00 Pence (2015: 1.40 pence) and diluted EPS of 0.97 pence (2015: 1.36 pence) – I can see that it have decreased and I am assuming that is not positive. I have found in the CFO report this was due to the improved EBITDA being off-set by the non-recurring acquisition costs. I understand that the costs would non-recurring for the Instra Group acquisition, but if they plan on acquiring other companies would this not have the same outcome? I really do not understand what EPS is, so perhaps my question is incorrect or even irrelevant.
Upon the review of the statements I also noticed that the CentralNic did not pay dividends. I found this a little odd. They seem to be performing well – why did they not pay dividend? The annual report stated ‘It remains the intention of the Group to generate income returns for investors in the future as part of a progressive and commercially prudent dividend policy. However, due to the continued expansion opportunities presented by the sector the Directors do not propose a final dividend in 2016’. I researched the earlier annual reports to see if dividends had been paid – 2013 was the last year they paid dividends. I have assumed that they want to retain as much cash to acquire further companies in the future to expand their operations. I am left to wonder, while they are turning a profit do they run the risk of turning potential investors away by not paying dividends? Does this then affect the share values?
Opportunities and Challenges
With a vision to ‘rapidly join the ranks of world leaders in the domain name and associated services industry’, CentralNic aims to achieve this by:
Developing and operating scalable software platforms for wholesale, retail, and enterprise divisions.
Identifying and exploiting relatively high growth areas of the domain industry, including taking a leading role in disruptive initiatives such as TLDs, servicing country code domains, and focusing on demand from growth markets such as China.
Winning and retaining well-resourced partners with complementary objectives. Sourcing and executing acquisition transactions that meet their strategic criteria including
earnings accretive with a strong recurring revenue base.
The challenges that they may face while trying to achieve the abovementioned opportunities are:
Regulatory: registries and registrars are subject to the legal and contractual environment. These are subject to change and these changes have the potential to influence business outcomes.
Market: the market for domains owned or which are provided registry and registrar services may not increase as quickly as expected.
IT security: potential risks of security breaches or susceptible to cyber-attacks. Supplier risk: key technical services are outsourced, thereby creating the potential for risk of
failure or loss of a supplier. Currency risk: fluctuations in exchange rates may adversely affect reported profits and make
overseas contracts less valuable. Key personnel: a loss of a key individual in a small management team or the inability to
appoint appropriate personnel can impact future performance. Other: any changes in economic, judicial, political, taxation or any other regulatory body
could adversely affect CentralNic’s operations. This includes the impact of UK exiting the European Union.
Clearly, any challenges CentralNic are facing are having little impact on their ability to expand the company. I would have to say they are doing an excellent job meeting the current demand for the market while considering other options for the future. The acquisition of Instra Group has aided in the expansion of their retail division and they have capitalised on that growth by employing key personnel to oversee that area. The expansion into the retail division will see a steady stream of income due to subscriptions being renewed on a yearly basis. Based on CentralNic’s current financial position, I would conclude they are able to explore all opportunities to further grow and diversify their services to additional countries.
Peer Discussions
While I found this aspect of the task a little tedious and time consuming, learning that other students were feeling as overwhelmed made me feel a little less stressed about this task. Looking at a few different companies that students received made me more grateful for the company I had been assigned (although I am still not enjoying ‘tech talk’). Learning that some annual reports were over 200 pages long and even some financial reports had errors was interesting. Even though all annual reports were different – contained little information other than the financials, more detailed overview of their company, pretty tables/graphs, or copious amounts of repetitive information – essentially, they all did tell a similar story, it was just presented differently. Below are examples of my peer discussions:
The resources I located about CentralNic aided to increase my understanding of what the company does – the interviews were most helpful. Simple terms were used – this was fantastic. Although, not all items discussed completely made sense. I continually referred back to video resources while reading the annual report as it helped me digest the words.
The resources I located are:
An interview discussing the interim results of 2014. This is where I learnt that CentralNic had only recently diversified divisions by introducing retail and enterprise. This was my first indication that they were trying to expand: https://youtu.be/AkjT1RaQjUs.
Two interviews discussing the growth experienced in 2016 as well as the results from the year. Clearly, the areas that were discussed in the 2014 interview had come to fruition: https://youtu.be/3qHGO8N-fx8 & https://youtu.be/ENCL4bpCI9Q.
From my view, I do not believe CentralNic would have experienced the growth without the changes made by ICANN. I found the news story about how ICANN was changing the face of the internet very insightful and an integral part of CentralNic’s business: https://youtu.be/ifMv7VmdG4c.
Interview discussing what CentralNic does and the impact of on the group from the recent acquisition of Instra Group: https://youtu.be/ZYwfRkU0aqA .
Interview discussing the impact of the growth in China with the expansion in the .xyz domain :https://youtu.be/9Ey2U30vuVI.
An overview of CentralNic on the London Stock Exchange: http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/prices-and-markets/stocks/summary/company-summary/GB00BCCW4X83GBGBXASQ1.html.
Response drafted to address the recent speculation about discussions with the registry service provider for the .sk country code top level domain for Slovakia: https://otp.tools.investis.com/clients/uk/CentralNic/rns/regulatory-story.aspx?cid=666&newsid=856657.
A statement released to show the highlights of 2016 based on the strategy CentralNic employed and what they are focusing on in 2017: https://otp.tools.investis.com/clients/uk/CentralNic/rns/regulatory-story.aspx?cid=666&newsid=850966.
I think it took me more time to select my top 3 blogs than writing most of step 3! I found it extremely hard to compare every blog as each is different to reflect the personality of the author. I am sure many of my peers will have the same issue. In choosing my blogs I have found it beneficial that I started this course early (thanks for the tip Martin). Below are my choices in no particular order:
Kelly: Kelly: Accountant In Training
I have followed Kelly’s blog from the beginning. Like me she is more comfortable being an ‘introvert’, experiencing this unit with her has helped me realise others face similar issues. I am genuinely excited to see a comment from Kelly on my blog providing feedback as she puts thought and effort into what she is writing. It instantly makes me feel more confident about what I have submitted. I love the title on her blog also – definitely captured what she is studying for!
You can check out her blog here: https://kellyaccountantintraining.wordpress.com/
Robyn: ACCT11059 – Getting into the Groove of Accounting, Learning and Online Communication!
Robbie’s blog was one the first (if not the first then definitely the second!) to be posted in the forums. As I too am a first-time blogger I felt very nervous about the whole thing. I appreciated her honesty in confessing that she searched the term to ensure not to make a goose of herself. This is exactly how I felt. I like that she has ‘themed’ her writing towards music as it is something she enjoys and is passionate about. I think it adds a nice insight into who Robbie is – her blog has a personal touch. Seeing someone jumping wholeheartedly into the task made me more willing to give it ago. I appreciate Robbie making an effort to help her peers and posting encouraging feedback.
You can check out her blog here: https://robbiesclubacct11059.wordpress.com/
Dannielle: Behind Every Good Business
Dannielle has not been as active on her blog and that is ok. We are all leading busy lives. I was fascinated that she ‘elected’ to take this subject rather than it being ‘compulsory’. I think that showed courage. I am not sure if Dannielle actually likes numbers (I love numbers), but we had the same thought when we read ‘accounting is just more than numbers’ – SH!T. I did have a little chuckle to myself. Recently she ‘vented’ on her post about her feeling towards assignment 1 (mostly about step 3 – did I mention I loathe step 3???), her picture capsulated exactly how I felt ‘I don’t know what I’m doing’. Her post also managed to improve my outlook on step 3 (if only slightly but it counts!! I really loathe step 3). Learning that her annual report was over 250 pages long, I was ever so grateful for only an 80 page report.
You can check out her blog here: https://behindeverygoodbusiness.wordpress.com/
Sorry Martin, the task of picking a favourite blog was just too difficult. I thought about choosing my own, but I see so many other blogs where I have said ‘WOW! I wish I had thought of that.’ Although
blogging is still something I am not comfortable with, I found that even though I am studying externally I have been able to connect with similarly minded students. This is not only in their thoughts but also personality and emotions. It is good to know I am not alone and there are plenty of self-proclaimed introverts.
Final Thoughts
Step 3 was a challenge for me with so many elements to cover. I appreciated that I was not alone in my struggles with this step. I believe no matter what company I was allocated I still would have had trouble completing this step – the roadblocks just may have been a little different. Reaching the end of this step I can see that it was a valuable experience, although I am not entirely sure I have fulfilled the requirements. As this is a learning experience I look forward to receiving feedback to improve my future efforts in similar tasks.
Here I am at step 5 – KCQ’s, but wishing I could return to step 4! Without any further calculations and numbers remaining for assignment 1, I am left a little sadden. This feeling is being compounded by the fact that chapter 2 is mostly about the various legislations, regulatory boards, and acts. Not very exciting stuff, but necessary to gain a deeper understanding about why we account and report in certain ways.
I am enjoying reading a study guide rather than a textbook for this unit. Martin provides history to how accounting has been shaped over the years. If not for these insightful facts such as it was not until the late 19th century that firms produced financials to outside parties, I would have continued to assume that firms had always done this. Finding out that so many changes have occurred throughout the years, it is interesting to think what changes are to come to in the field of accounting.
Like in most things, accounting practices are governed by regulatory boards, legislation and acts. I must admit I glazed over this section of the study guide. It is just not possible to make this part exciting, sorry Martin. But to be successful in this field it is important to know the rules, even if they are sometimes unwritten. The highlight I take from this section is if your firm is required to prepare financial statements for outside parties then the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) need to be adhered to.
As abovementioned there are many unwritten rules when it comes to accounting as it is not clear cut facts, there are several grey areas. It comes down to judgements (this is where some probably try and ‘colour outside the lines’). To aid making the right judgements the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) has developed a conceptual framework. The overall goal of this framework to ensure financial statements are prepared to help people understand the realities of a firm.
Accrual accounting plays a big part in accountants having to make judgements. I have never viewed this method of accounting as playing such a massive part in a firm’s ‘bottom line’. I believe this is due to the industry I work in. Very rarely are we required to recognise revenue in future years after the cash has been received – few parents would pay for multiple years of schooling upfront. Our biggest judgements about when to record expenses as incurred generally happen during term 3 and 4 as teachers are trying to spend their remaining budget allocations – are they using these resources this year or next year? I can see how in larger firms dealing in mutli-million-dollar contracts and deals this would have a massive affect. It is scary to think that accrual accounting could be manipulated easily to misrepresent a firm. I would imagine only small businesses (perhaps sole-traders) would tend to deal with cash accounting. This method would not give a true picture of larger firms. If all firms chose cash accounting rather than accrual accounting would they be unable to manipulate the data?
Prior to this unit, I have never read a company’s annual report. I knew they existed - my place of employment is required to complete one. Instantly, I could see that my assigned company uses the annual report as a marketing tool by the layout. The choice in graphics and larger font immediately drew your attention. I was intrigued to see how my employer’s annual report differed. I was surprised to see it had the same aspect of marketing, I honestly expected just to see cold hard numbers. My reasoning behind this, it is an independent school that is a not for profit – we do not have investors. This was a thought provoking exercise – who do we include so much more information than just the financials? I would not expect prospective parents to be interested in reading it. I know it is presented at parliament as we report straight to the Education Minister – this is who controls if we are to close if we are running at a loss.
I am ashamed to say I had never placed much thought in why a balance sheet’s heading contains ‘as at’ a certain date. I cannot recall this ever being explained in my previous studies (perhaps it was and I am showing the deficits in my former ‘rote-learning’). I know that a balance sheet refers to a point in time but did not connect the dots that it was ‘just one day’ until I read this. You could say it was an ‘aha’ moment for me – even if it is only a little one! I was excited to see in my assigned company’s financials that it represented the account equation I know all too well – ‘assets = equity – liabilities’.
Footnotes were not a new concept to me; they provide a more detailed look at the items listed in the balance sheet. The use of footnotes keeps the balance sheet uncluttered for easier reading, thus allowing users to refer to additional information if they so require. I never considered how useful footnotes are, having only read the financial statements of my employers knowing what had occurred through the year did not require further investigation. Being assigned a company I knew nothing about, the footnotes were very useful to gain further insight into its operations – although I did not necessarily understand everything I was reading.
I am very familiar with income statements and understand they represent changes to a firm over a period of time. Part of my end of month checklist I am required to produce an income statement to see how the business is tracking for the month as well as the year to date. This report shows the profit or loss for the period it is produced as it contains revenues and expenses. While reviewing my assigned company’s income statement I did get quite a shock – it looked completely different. It stated the operating profit twice providing the EBITDA amount first and then deducting the depreciation etc. I was surprised not to see many footnotes attached to the income statement, but after reading that there is no requirement to disclose most expenses this made sense. I had assumed that a footnote would be required.
Before reading this chapter (and being assigned my company) I was not aware of the statement of changes in equity. Learning that it showed the changes to equity and where those changes occurred I understood it had a very real purpose. Investors would be very interested in this report. From this I drew the conclusion that I had never seen this report due to having worked only for not for profit independent schools, there would be no need for this report due to no investors. However, I have since learnt that one is included in the financial statements.
One aspect of that really jumped out at me was ‘group’ and ‘parent’ statements. I understand that ‘group’ statements contain the financial information for the parent and all its subsidiary companies it owns (whether it be 100% or less) and parent statements contain the financial information for the ‘head’ company. If the ‘group’ statements are the only financials we should be interested in, what is the purpose for showing the ‘parent’
statements? Is it a legal requirement for them to appear? I am hoping as we move further through this unit I gain a deeper understanding.
I thought it was fantastic to be assigned a company while reviewing this chapter, it aided in my understanding by seeing a real-life example – it is always good to see theory being applied to a practical exercise. I could see that each statement had a purpose and story to tell as well as how each statement linked together. The profit or loss reported in the income statement is reported in the statement of changes in equity, the balance of the statement of equity is the balance of the equity account in the balance sheet and the cash flow statement balance is the balance of cash reported in the balance sheet. It has expanded my view that statements provide more than ‘the bottom line’. I have come to realise they help expand our view of the business realities.
Assignment # 1 – Step # 6Feedback
I found being able to give feedback to other students quite useful. It encouraged me to look at the different firms we were all assigned as well as the different approaches that were used in addressing the areas of the assignment. I honestly would have been ‘extra’ lost without this. Giving feedback helped me strengthen my assignment (I hope!) as I could see the aspects I was missing.
Receiving feedback was a nerve racking experience. I am someone who does not think too highly of my writing ability, I was really worried my end product was not of high quality. I found the feedback encouraging and I am glad to have others rate my work so highly. To be honest, I am not sure if I completely agree with their assessments but it takes time to build confidence.
During the feedback stage I was loading feedback sheets to my blog page. I have also listed them below for easier viewing.
Photo and description Link to your blog/Set up blog
You have completed the requirements of your Moodle profile – your introduction gives the reader a sneak peak about who you are and the juggling act to complete uni - job, family etc.
Your blog is easy to navigate and it easy to read. As much as the picture of food is included with the theme you chose, I always get hungry when looking at your blog!!
Step 3
Background information on company
Comments/KCQs
Comments on other’s blogs
Good introduction into your assigned company. I love how you can relate it back to something you are passionate about. I cannot see any information about the industry the company is in – perhaps that is something you can add.
You focus on of some fantastic points in the KCQs relating them back to your own experiences. You mention that there ‘have been a share of challenges in the first half of 2016’ – what are these challenges? Something to consider adding as it will show what you understand/don’t understand.
Your writing of Step 3 (mostly the part after ‘stop’) is like you are having a conversation with yourself and the reader – I found this intriguing and engaging, it was if you were walking the reader through your thought process step by step.
One thing I noticed is that you have stated ‘non-for-profit’, I thought it was either ‘not-for-profit’ or ‘non-profit’?
I am assuming that you are still to expand on KCQs comments section.
You have done well to engage with other students with your comments of their blogs.
Overall you have covered all the aspects required. Some minor formatting, spelling and grammar need to be corrected but this can be done when polishing up your assignment for submission.
Step 4
Input company’s financial statement
Great job with your spreadsheet and using calculations. Good use of formatting for totals. I would just check the blue/white alternating lines.
Step 5
KCQs
One again your writing style is engaging – following along with your train of thought. Although in some parts it did feel a little disjointed moving from one paragraph to the next in the different sections.
You have touched on many KCQ’s but felt that you need to put them into your own words to show that you understand them rather than saying you understand – 2.4 when you are talking about relevance and faithful representation is an example of this.
You did really well to explain accrual accounting in your own words and then relate it back to your own experience – perhaps follow this in the other areas of this step.
Step 6
Feedback to others
You feedback is encouraging and goes beyond ‘good job’. You look for anything that can be improved on – I appreciated the feedback you provided me.
Overall ASS#1
Overall your assignment is very well done and it very solid. You have touched on the requirements. A few minor areas to work on and a final read over to fix any grammar, spelling and formatting errors and it will be a polished piece of work. You should be very proud of this assignment – it was a tough one 😊. The last piece of advice – read the assignment aloud when proof reading, I have found that this picks you more mistakes then just reading it your head. If you have someone else to read it that is even better.
My CommentsStep 2Introductory words in the description box
Link to your blog/Set up blog
Your moodle profile has been setup – photo and all!! I like your photo description – made me giggle even though it is so true. Good introduction about yourself.
Your blog is easy to navigate and looks appealing – great job 😊 As a first time blogger I think it is outstanding!!
Step 3Background information on company
Comments/KCQs
Comments on other people’s blogs
How interesting to get a company we all know! You provided a well thought out company background – it kept me interested.
You have made a solid start to your KCQs – your annual report is huge, I can see how it would be difficult for you to understand – that is a lot of information and it is hard to know where to start.
I note that you mention the balance sheet and being able to see the profit – do you mean income statement?
Do you have any questions about the annual report? Was it easy to follow? Is it a marketing tool? Did anything jump out at you?
Great commentary about the increase in the expenses. Perhaps apply that to other areas. Did you find any of the items on the statements confusing? Have you heard of the terms before?
Have a look through the operational and financial review section – it lists some highlights – this would be good to comment on. Further in the section they talk about strategy and risk – I feel you are missing this part of your step 3. What are the opportunities/challenges? How are they meeting them?
Do not forget to discuss your KCQs with peers and provide how this has helped and also similarities and differences between
Your spreadsheet is well formatted and looks very professional. I can see lots of formulas! Good to see 😊
From watching the lecture in week 3 I check a few key things and noticed the comprehensive income total in the statement of changes to equity does not match the total in your income statement. Does your annual report list an income statement and a statement of comprehensive income? If so, you need to add the comprehensive income statement to the bottom of your income statement – watch the lecture if you are not sure how to do this.
I had a quick look at your annual report and note the numbers have a decimal place – you need to add a decimal place. I picked this up as I thought it was odd that the closing balance for 2015 & 2016 in the statement of changes in equity were the same – you may want to run your eye over the statements once you do this.
Step 5KCQs
Love your intro in Step 5 – you communicated your different views well.
Interesting take on keeping financial information confidential/internal – do you think that investors should not receive this information?
Great real life example provided to show your understanding and the questions you have rolling around 😊
You show an understanding of your KCQs by putting into your own words and in most cases relate is back to your own experiences – I can understand that sometimes it isn’t possible to do this as you do not have anything to relate it to. You also show well the items you are yet to fully grasp or understand.
Your writing flows well and I can follow your thoughts through. Like me you probably say 10 words when 5 will do – I keep getting grammar checks for ‘concise language’!! But this comes with time – you have a very good step 5 😊
Overall you have a very solid start to your assignment. A few areas to expand on and add. You should be proud of your assignment especially given the size of your company!! I know I struggled with this assignment- I found it quite tough. My final piece of advice – read your work aloud – this checks sentence structures and you may find you are able to remove a few words that are not need. I am not great with grammar but I have found doing this I can generally see where I need commas or even a full stop if a sentence is too long. I enjoyed reading your assignment 😊
PEER FEEDBACK SHEET: ASS#1
Feedback From: TIFFANY TREEN
Feedback To: JACQUELINE GOULD
My CommentsStep 2Introductory words in the description boxLink to your blog/Set up blog
You have met the requirements of step 2 – you have provided a basic introduction giving a little insight into your busy life . I cannot see your photo when I click on the link provided in your assignment – but I know there is one from the forums so this could just be my issue.
Your blog is easy to navigate and easy to read. As a first time blogger I think you have done very well!
Step 3Background information on companyComments/KCQsComments on other people’s blogs
Great approach to Step 3! I wish I has found your approach I really struggled. It is very well written – I felt it was very on point and everything was relevant.
You have done extensive research into your company and clearly outlined information to give your readers a good understanding. I did not see anything about the industry though – I found this part a little and have to go and add in some stuff myself!
Great job a identifying some KCQs in your annual report – you raised some interesting points and were able to find information to help answer some of your questions.
I like that you were taking the reading of the annual report with a ‘grain of salt’ as you realise it is a marketing tool.
Perhaps you could add how they plan on achieving their goals/strategy? What are the
risks involved? I note that you have mentioned that you are still to provide details on discussions with peers – don’t forgot to ad this.
Your comments about your top3 blog was encouraging and supportive highlighting their positive work.
Step 4Input company’s financial statements
The formatting on your statements is well done. Easy to read and follow – just check the alignment of the date in the heading – did you mean for it to be to the right?
I think your formulas in your statement of changes in equity are a little off: F21 is totalling from column G etc.
Step 5KCQs
Very well written – easy to follow your thoughts from paragraph to paragraph. Each KCQ was related back to your own experience and you show your understand in your own words. You also clearly show what you are still yet to understand – asking some interesting questions.
A few minor points: did you mean Chapter 2 rather than Chapter 3 in the middle of the first paragraph?, GAAP not GAPP, I don’t think there should be a ‘?’ after document in the 2nd paragraph when discussing Chapter 3, remove ‘;’ after financial in the last paragraph.
I just thought I would mention that the AASB is not a conceptual framework but have developed a conceptual framework – you could put ‘developed’ rather than ‘is’.
Step 6Individual feedback with others
From what I have seen your feedback is encouraging and is helpful
Overall ASS#1
Your assignment is very well put together. You should be proud! It was a tough one . Very minor changes/things to add and you should be ready for submission!! Your assignment was a delight to read
Photo and description Link to your blog/Set up blog
You have covered the requirements of the Moodle profile – picture and all.
I feel you have a step up on most people as you are not new to blogging! You blog is easy to navigate and is not cluttered – very clean presentation. More pics of your cat please!
Step 3
Background information on company
Comments/KCQs
Comments on other’s blogs
Your background provided on your company gives a good introduction to the reader to see what they do. It also provides some insight into the gambling industry – I had the same thought ‘isn’t it legal to gamble in every country.’ Great start to this section – it is very interesting. As a reader, you have engaged me to want to learn more.
The links provided to your annual reports did not work ☹ Not sure if this is just my issue
You have done a superb job at your KCQ’s of your annual report/financials. I can clearly see through your writing that you are applying ‘critical thinking’ by raising thought provoking questions regarding the material.
You have pointed out crucial aspects of the reports. One of those being about a loan increasing the liabilities – did the footnotes provide any details to what the loan was for? Maybe that is something to add.
Your media links were useful and relevant. Provided the reader with a good explanation of what they would be looking at.
Your comments provided on other blogs is thoughtful and you engage with other students.
Your step 3 is well written and flows nicely. You may want to review your sentence structure of the last sentence in your initial reaction.
Step 4
Solid effort with your spreadsheet – I am not sure if you have quite finished this step though.
formulas in your changes in equity. I also notice it is not formatted with total lines like the other statements. This is just formatting so not too much to do.
When reviewing your income statement, I assumed that your company provided a statement od comprehensive income as well – this needs to be added into the income statement section as well. If you are not sure there is a fantastic lecture in Week 3 that walks you through step by step. Highly recommend.
Step 5
KCQs
This section is written very well – it is easy to follow. You have explained your understanding of the KCQ’s in your own words while relating back to your own experiences – I especially like the scenario you provide while trying to understand accrual accounting! Continue this will the rest of this step and it will be very well done.
I have noticed you have referred to ‘GAAP’ as ‘GAP’.
Overall ASS#1
Overall your assignment is taking shape nicely. Very well written and the areas that are complete have been what is required. I would suggest reading aloud to pick up any minor grammar and sentence structure errors. Also, check that you are using capitals correctly – the key is to be consistent. You should be very proud of the work you have produced so far! This assignment has not been easy and I feel for you being assigned such a foreign company.
PEER FEEDBACK SHEET: ASS#1
Feedback From: TIFFANY TREEN
Feedback To: KELLY PATRICK
My CommentsStep 2Introductory words in the description boxLink to your blog/Set up blog
You have meet the requirements of your moodle page.
easy to navigate and I am keen on the colour scheme. You have done very well at setting it up – even if you feel like you get lost sometimes
Step 3Background information on companyComments/KCQsComments on other people’s blogs
Good overview of what your company is all about. Interesting to point out that the Board of Directors do not have accounting backgrounds.
You did well to note some interesting KCQs about your annual reports with the differences between other reports students had. Would you say that they do not use it as a marketing tool as much as other companies? Wonder why they choose to keep it simple.
With the lack of information provided to you great work in using earlier reports that had a poor performance – perhaps you could relate the changes they have made back to how they are travelling in the latest report – is it working or not working?
Once again, I know you are dealing with a lack of information – but do you have any thoughts on the highlights? Why has everything increased from 2015 to 2016? Do you have any questions about these highlights?
You have done great at explaining the issues in your spreadsheet and that it has helped you understand the accounting equation. I cannot believe that there was an error. It blows me away!
Your comments provided on blogs is always useful and uplifting – very encouraging! It is a great testament to you as a person
Step 4Input company’s financial statements
You did well dealing with the error – great explanation in the spreadsheet!
Point to note – did you realise the closing balance at 30 June 2014 differs to your opening balance 1 July 2014 in the annual reports statements of changes in equity? This is due to the amounts listed the accumulated losses column, however I have a feeling that the figure at 30.06.14 was correct as if you use the figure at 01.07.14 it does not balance to what is recorded at 30.06.15. Hope I am making sense
– just thought this may be something you want to note in the spreadsheet.
Even though I have noted the error above in the actual reports, your spreadsheet appears to be correct and balances.
Step 5KCQs
Your writing was clear and easy to follow. I liked that it was done from a different perspective with your headings. Great idea about relating it back to your step 3 experiences with the annual report and financial statements.
Was dividends covered in 3.1 or 3.2? I cannot recall! Perhaps you could add something about dividends to your Step 3 KCQs as well.
Step 6Individual feedback with others
As stated in Step 3 – your feedback is always excellent! You really have no idea how much your feedback grows my confidence! I sincerely believe that you are genuine in your remarks.
Overall ASS#1
Overall for Assignment 1 you have done solid work! You should be happy – it was a hard task! I have a basic understanding of accounting so a lot of terms I already know but I really struggled so hats off to you! You have a high standard of writing – it was like I was on the ‘bumpy’ road with you. I cannot fault your spelling or grammar – but just to be sure always read aloud before you hit submit . I think a few touches in some minor areas and you will be good to go.
FEEDBACK RECEIVED:
Feedback From: Kelly Patrick (https://kellyaccountantintraining.wordpress.com)
Feedback To: Tiffany Treen (tiffanytreenaccounting.wordpress.com)
My CommentsStep 1KCQs
Your step 1 wasn’t included in this assessment draft, but I have read it before. I’d have to read it again to remember my initial thoughts but
from memory the feedback listed below applies here too.
Step 2Introductory words in the description boxLink to your blog/Set up blog
I’m not sure that I would call you an introvert as you’ve been so open and giving of yourself throughout this unit. You regular blog posts go beyond what is required for the assessments. Your blog link and description were all easily to find and an interesting read
Step 3Background information on companyComments/KCQsComments on other people’s blogs
I think you have written a fantastic overview of what seems like a complex company. For the person who had never heard of CentralNic Group before, your description would give them an excellent understanding.
The comments you leave on other’s blogs are always well considered responses, insightful, reassuring and positive. Tiffany, it is a joy to ‘meet’ someone like you, when we are all so terrified of blogging and putting ourselves out there.
Step 4Input company’s financial statements
I checked your spreadsheet, all the calculations appear correct (as far as I can see anyway). It looks very polished and professional.
Step 5KCQs
I took note about how you approached writing your KCQs, had I have seen how you wrote your KCQs then I would have had a better idea of what was expected of me. I fully expect that the next time this class is offered your example of KCQs will be added as an exemplar
Step 6Individual feedback with others
I’m not sure what to write here. See Step 3 comments.
Overall ASS#1 Tiffany, I knew you would produce a quality piece of work. Your feedback to others throughout the unit has always been insightful, accurate and encouraging. You have been one of the people that I have followed from the outset and will continue for the remainder of this unit (Hey, if I see your name again throughout my degree I will look you up) Your writing is fantastic, the structure is easy to follow and understand. I think the detail and length of your assessment is ideal (no waffling). Your KCQs are exceptionally well written, and are worthy of consideration as an exemplar for future students.
Feedback To: Tiffany Treen (tiffanytreenaccounting.wordpress.com)
My Comments
Step 1
KCQs
When I started reading your first chapter you have made me feel nervous because if you are feeling nervous and your current role is a Finance Officer then what was I thinking I could do this ha-ha. I read that blogging is your least favourite task however I believe you are doing an outstanding job with your blog. I enjoyed reading through your step one as you have done well with discuss your KCQs and how they relate to your world. I am one to give constructive feedback and if I was to give you one thing to improve your step one I would number your pages. Yes, your step one I thought was really good and my suggestion to number your pages was all I could come up with.
Step 2
Introductory words in Description box
Photo and description Link to your blog/Set up blog
I have had a look through your moodle profile and blog and think you have addressed all criteria.
Step 3
Background information on company
Comments/KCQs
Comments on other’s blogs
You have done an outstanding job with step three and you should be proud of yourself. You have provided an abundance amount of information, news articles and resources that has all been well thought-out. When reading through your annual report sub chapter, I felt that the paragraph about the office locations around the world felt a little out of place for me and would I have thought it would be better place in the about my firm section. You have addressed all criteria and more in step three.
Step 4
Input company’s financial statement
My personal preference for financial data input is that all totals are in bold, a I like that it draws my eyes to the key areas first. Again, I could not fault this repot in anyway and you have used
I find it funny that a lot of us are feeling the same. I also skipped step three and went straight to step four and then once I finished I didn’t want to move onto step five.
Overall ASS#1
A friendly reminder to complete a spelling & grammar check as there is a whole of two typo’s I found while reading.
Overall, I enjoyed reading through your assignment one and think that you have done an outstanding job. I hope you find my feedback somewhat useful.
I look forward to seeing your assignment two once completed.
PEER FEEDBACK SHEET: ASS#1
Feedback From:
Feedback To: Tiffany Treen (tiffanytreenaccounting.wordpress.com)
My Comments
Step 1
KCQs
Great ability to put the ideas learnt into real life situations, which makes it easier to understand and accept
Step 3
Background information on company
Comments/KCQs
Comments on other’s blogs
The information on your company was most interesting. I really feel like you have a good understanding of your company and where it’s positives and negatives lie.
I also think you are great at asking relevant questions, but actually finding the answers.
Your comments are always helpful and well thought out.
Step 5
KCQs
You have really tried to understand and put yourself into the situation, which allows for deeper understanding
