BFA605 Semester 2, 2023

Assessment Task 1: Case study

• Type of assessment – Case study and individual assignment

• Weighting – 25%
• Due date- Sunday 6 August 11:59 PM
• Word count – 1500 words
A recently published research report SDG Measurement and Disclosure 3.0 (Subramaniam et al.2021)
reveals a rising trend in repor�ng on the Sustainable Development Goals htps://sdgs.un.org/goals
by Australia's top 150 companies. The purpose of this assignment is to cri�cally review SDG repor�ng
or no repor�ng of companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (htps://www2.asx.com.au/).
The assignment also requires you to reflect on how current developments in sustainability repor�ng
will contribute towards SDG repor�ng.

Background- current developments in sustainability repor�ng in Australia and globally

"… Exposure Draft Legislation seeks to amend parts of the Australian Securities and Investment
Commission Act 2001 that will empower the Australian Accounting Standards Board to deliver
sustainability standards to meet the Government's commitment" (The Australian Treasury, 2022, p.
1). htps://treasury.gov.au/consulta�on/c2022-340878

Policymakers are close to adop�ng mandatory and regulated sustainability repor�ng and the
repor�ng landscape is likely to experience major changes. Climate-related repor�ng is already
mandatory in New Zealand for certain large en��es. Sustainability repor�ng is an�cipated to be
mandatory in Australia by 2024 for large en��es.

Two key standards which are in development in rela�on to repor�ng on sustainability and climate
are:

Interna�onal Sustainability Standards Board: htps://www.ifrs.org/groups/interna�onal-

sustainability-standards-board/

General sustainability-related disclosures: htps://ifrs.org/projects/work-plan/general-sustainability-

related-disclosures/

Climate-related disclosures: htps://ifrs.org/projects/work-plan/climate-related-disclosures/

Required:

As an accountant, your task is to iden�fy a company in the ASX top 150 and analyse their repor�ng in
rela�on to SDGs to cri�cally reflect on that company’s repor�ng or no repor�ng u�lising a theory
introduced from week 1.

• You are to critically analyse using some of the theories introduced in this unit and, off course
conduct research on similar companies in the same industry and discuss why your company
reports, what they report and how they report on Sustainable Development Goals.
• In your chosen company's context, reflect on the two Accounting Standards likely to be

TASMANIAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

 BFA605 Semester 2, 2023

adopted soon and the Conceptual Framework using contemporary research published in
academic and practitioner research.
• In consideration of the above developments in relation to reporting on SDGs you are
encouraged to consider external media reports including social media pages of the company
in relation to your chosen company to obtain a fuller understanding of the company, its
operations, its social and environmental impacts and whether the company has been
involved in any positive media or controversies that have been reported externally and to
critically reflect on how their operations may align or misalign with their reporting on SDGs.

• Your discussion should be referenced appropriately. References should be provided both in-
text and as a post-script to your discussion using Harvard style of referencing. More
information on Harvard style of referencing can be found at
https://utas.libguides.com/utas_harvard

• You are required to paraphrase your arguments, do not directly copy the arguments from
research papers or online materials (which may lead to plagiarism and a breach of academic
integrity that will have serious consequence for you.
• Your discussion must not exceed 1,500 words (excluding references).

How to start-

Below are some research paper links have been provided that may be helpful. You may use these
references in your submission if you choose, but you are highly encouraged to research more broadly
and find your own references.

Diaz-Sarachaga, J. M., Jato-Espino, D., & Castro-Fresno, D. (2018). Is the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDG) index an adequate framework to measure the progress of the 2030 Agenda? Sustainable
Development, 26(6), 663–671. htps://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1735

Diouf, D. and O. Boiral (2017). "The quality of sustainability reports and impression management: A
stakeholder perspec�ve." Accoun�ng, Audi�ng & Accountability Journal.

Emma, G. M., & Jennifer, M. F. (2021). Is SDG repor�ng substan�al or symbolic? An examina�on of
controversial and environmentally sensi�ve industries. Journal of Cleaner Production, 298.
htps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126781

Erin, O. A., & Bamigboye, O. A. (2021). Evalua�on and analysis of SDG repor�ng: evidence from
Africa. Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change, (2016). htps://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-02-
2020-0025

KPMG Interna�onal, (2022). Big shi�s, small steps Survey of sustainability repor�ng 2022, KPMG
Interna�onal

TASMANIAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

 BFA605 Semester 2, 2023

Lodhia, Sumit, Kaur, Amanpreet, & Kuruppu, Sanjaya Chinthana. (2022). The disclosure of sustainable
development goals (SDGs) by the top 50 Australian companies: substan�ve or symbolic legi�ma�on?
Meditari Accountancy Research(ahead-of-print).

Pizzi, S., Rosa�, F., & Venturelli, A. (2021). The determinants of business contribu�on to the 2030
Agenda: Introducing the SDG Repor�ng Score. Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(1), 404–
421. htps://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2628

Subramaniam, N., Mori, R., Akbar, S., Ji, S. & Situ, H. (2021). SDG Measurement and Disclosure 3.0: A
study of ASX150 companies. RMIT University. Available at: htps://www.rmit.edu.au/news/sdg-
related-news/sdg-measurement-and-disclosure-3-asx150

Thinkstep ANZ, (2021). SDG Status Report for Australia and New Zealand, Thinkstep, Australia

Submi�ng instruc�ons for Assessment Task 1:

Submit this Assessment Task 1 to two different locations on MyLO

This Assessment Task 1: Case study needs to be submitted into two different links on MyLO
The first submission submit to the assessment dropbox under Assessments <- Assignments <-

For the second submission you will be required to remove all of your iden�fying details and submit
an anonymous version into the Peer Review Tab which can be found in the content area.

More informa�on will be provided closer to the submission date.

TASMANIAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

 BFA605 Semester 2, 2023

1. Assessment Task 2 Peer Review

• Type of assessment – Peer review and individual assignment

• Weighting – 15%
• Due date- Sunday 27 August 11:59 PM
• Word count- 200 words

In Assessment Task 2, you are required to provide feedback on Assessment Task 1 submitted by
three of your peers, based on the rubric provided. You will be assessed on the quality of your
feedback which will be evaluated by the teaching staff.
Required:
Each student is to provide 200 words of feedback to each of three of your classmates.

Submi�ng instruc�ons for Assessment Task 2 - Video Peer Review:

You need to submit to the assessment dropbox under Assessments <- Assignments <-

TASMANIAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

 BFA605 Semester 2, 2023

3) Assessment Task 3 – Individual presentation

• Type of assessment – Prerecorded video and individual assignment

• Weighting – 20%
• Due date- Sunday 24 September 11:59 PM
In Assessment Task 3, you are required to submit a pre-recorded five minutes (maximum) video, to
answer the following questions:

1. "In your opinion, and in relation to your chosen theory, what motivates your chosen company
to report on their Sustainable Development Goals? Did you find any external information
that supports or contradicts the companies reporting on SDGs?
2. "Has your perspective changed since the peer review? If so, how has the correspondence from
your peers influenced this change?"
3. "Based on the feedback you received from your peers, how would you improve your
Assessment Task 1 if you were given a second chance on the assignment?"
Required:
You are required to submit a video recording of yourself, addressing the above questions. The
recording must be submitted via MyLO and must be no longer than five minutes in duration. The
questions don't need to be repeated verbatim in the recording. For example, you might like to
present your responses as a monologue or use your video-editing skills to incorporate the questions
visually.
Please note that this is not a group assessment.
Further instructions and information:
The approach for this video is in an interview style, rather than a presentation. As such you should
not use PowerPoint slides or other similar presentation tools. The recording should be of sufficient
quality for the assessors to clearly hear your voice and see your facial expressions. This can be done
through most e-devices however if you feel that you lack access to the appropriate resources please
advise your unit coordinator (Steven Burch) so that he can assist you.
Here are a couple of additional resources that can help you with the preparation of your interview:

- This resource is specifically for job interviews, but most of the tips are relevant for this
assignment: https://www.performance.edu.au/videos choose the video with a title of "how to
prepare for a Video interview"

- This resource offers some helpful tips on how to ensure that the audio and visual of your video
are of good quality:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQwanxQmFnc

Submi�ng instruc�ons for Assessment 3 - Video presentation:

You need to submit to the assessment dropbox under Assessments <- Assignments <- Assignment 3:

TASMANIAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

 BFA605 Semester 2, 2023

Video presentation:

1) video presentation (ideally, in mp4 format)

TASMANIAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS