Step 1: KCQ’s
Accounting. What is it? I have been pondering this exact same question for about 2 months now, ever since I chose to change my study plans, from a Bachelor of Sonography to a Bachelor of Accounting. I made this sudden change because of 1. I want to be around for my three children while they are still young, 2. I would have to move myself and my family away from our entire support network and 3. Accounting would allow me to earn a decent wage with the opportunity of career advancement. However, what I didn’t know is how accounting plays a crucial role in all businesses. I assumed I would spend my professional career crunching numbers at a small desk, in an office and be completely miserable. But at least I would get to enjoy my kids, right? Seemed like a worthy sacrifice to me. It seems I was wrong. Martin Turner has piqued my curiosity with his depiction of what else accounting has to offer. The fact that accounting is a foundation in all businesses, some of Australia’s top CEO’s have backgrounds in accounting and that accounting could cultivate the kind of passion Martin has in teaching it.
I have been feeling overwhelmed with the number of steps in each assessment for this unit. Having to start PeerWise, a Moodle bio, a blog and begin writing Key Concepts and Questions all within the first week is a little daunting, especially on top of other units. The help available within the Introduction of the Study Guide is comforting and has stifled some of these feelings. Without them, I may well have left some of the starting steps to a later date, but Martin’s reasoning as to why they are essential has changed my mind. Since completing the Introduction and Chapter 1 in the 2 weeks before term started, I have done all the steps and even begin asking and answering questions on PeerWise.
The in-depth overview of learning has been really thrilling to read, it is shocking considering I thoroughly believed all the reading material in accounting would be dry and unstimulating. I am genuinely excited to learn by doing, I have always loved learning particularly new people, ideas and how things work, everyone has such different views of the world, and it is intriguing to learn about someone else’s. The six categories of learning are a delightful way of defining what it is fundamentally, considering it is such a personal experience for everyone.
Simultaneously, I am nervous about having to interact with others so much, in this unit, I haven’t had a lot of experience connecting with other students online at university. Although, I have spent most of my life around computers using social media, connecting through university will be an entirely new experience. As a parent and a mature student, the part of online communication that I love the most is the ability to sign on and connect at a time that suits me. My time is minimal, and the ability to attend to my study, social and work obligations at a time that suits me is exceptionally beneficial.
The beginning of chapter 1 finds me questioning. Previously I had assumed accounting was simply playing with numbers and tax logistics, now I am becoming more interested in what else may be achievable. The few chapters I have read have been exceptionally well written and engaging. The sections have covered many unexpected aspects; from ‘What is Learning’ to ‘Accounting is a foundation of a business’. It is refreshing to read the chapters as they flow neatly from someone who is clearly passionate about the art of teaching, learning and the inner workings of a business. It is clear from the readings that Martin has been studying and teaching various aspects of accounting and business foundations for quite some time now, making him a true master of his craft. My assumptions were later confirmed as I read about his Ph D thesis on ‘How to support students studying accounting at university to not just look at numbers as being some sort of ‘answer’ or reality themselves but to see why we use accounting information to seek to engage with what is really going on in a business’.
The frequent questions throughout both first chapters have left me pondering and questioning my own thoughts and ideas surrounding accounting, business and even learning. Never would I have thought that introductory accounting would be so philosophical and reflective. One of the critical pieces of information I have taken from this second chapter is that accounting plays a crucial role in business and, it can either add significant value or hinder a company.
While I believe that many companies are created to add or create value in both personal lives and the lives of others. I also think it can be fuelled by monetary gains, even though this would add value to one’s own life, it would be at the expense of others. For example, the current rise in drop-shipping. The creators of these online businesses are selling products that sellers may not know the quality of. Furthermore, the buyer of these products has made a conscious decision to purchase the products, there is an air of inequality to this business model. Primarily when the products are sourced from third world countries, they seldom know where the products originate from, if the resources are reliable and if the manufacturers of the goods are treating workers fairly.
The concept of double-entry accounting is new for me, and the idea of debit and credit is new and confusing. I believe this is because it is something I have not studied before, coupled with the fact that credit is calculated using negative numbers while debit uses positive numbers is quite hard to grasp this early on, even with Martin’s clear explanations and concept mapping. Reading about the history of double-entry accounting is fascinating, and it has helped me to understand how even in its primitive form used centuries ago, it was still a fundamental aspect of a business. The in-depth history of double-entry accounting has allowed me to understand the basics, by understanding how it was first applied, how it has developed over the years and what aspects have remained unchanged even after all this time.
In conclusion, the first to chapters of the study guide have been a journey of learning and discovery. The frequent questions and personal references throughout have helped me to connect with both myself and the author on a personal level. Helping me to memorise and process all the complex concepts and ideas, in the somewhat confusing time that is the start of term. The explanations as to how we learn, what accounting and business are and how as accountants we must understand the concepts involved so that we can help add value to any businesses we may become a part of in the future have been of great benefit to me overall. Lastly, I am looking forward to the rest of the term and beginning to really understand the inner workings of accounting.
Assessment 1: Steps 2-5
Step 2: Links
Moodle account link: https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/user/profile.php?id=75898
Personal blog link: https://daniellas.school.blog/
Step 3: KCQ’s and My Company
Melbourne IT
An Australian company focused on providing excellent outcomes for small to medium businesses. Melbourne IT appears to have a long history, strong foundations and a demonstrated track record in delivering top tier cloud and data services to large government and corporate firms. I am interested in this company because I have not had much to do with website building and marketing in my personal or professional life.
Link to Melbourne IT website: https://www.melbourneit.com.au/
Melbourne IT helps businesses to build an online presence by creating, promoting and hosting websites, domains and social designs. Melbourne IT also provides website security, trademarks and do-it-for your website construction. I think Melbourne IT is such an innovative and futuristic company dedicated to helping busy business owners reach their marketing and online goals and, stay relevant in what is a technology-driven future. A lot of business owners might not be as tech-savvy and may struggle even to begin a website, let alone create a domain and market themselves through Google, Yahoo and Amazon.
2018 was a year of significant growth and change for Melbourne IT. In May 2018, the firm merged and re branded under the ARQ Group, now a group dedicated to providing a one-stop-shop for all online customer relations, design and marketing needs. ARQ Group help with data analysis and cloud storage. Under the new re brand, ARQ Group will now be able to offer digital services to all businesses, from small all the way through to large corporate and government organisations. Brands and services currently provided under ARQ Group include Outware, InfoReady, WebCentral and Domainz plus many more. Since the merge, revenue has increased by 8%, cash flow is up by 36%, and the company has just entered a three-year $142 million finance facility with both ANZ and NAB. When I realised that my company had merged under another company I freaked out and thought that it would change my financial reports a LOT, however, there were no changes to the financial statements at all. After my freak out, I went to the ARQ Group website to find out what they were about. It turns out that Melbourne IT and ARQ Group are very similar in the industry, where Melbourne IT provided online services for small businesses, that may be getting left behind in the technology ridden future, ARQ Group appears to have offered similar services for large and corporate companies. This do-over seems very fruitful for the future prosperity of the group, in the fact that all businesses can access these services under the one company allowing for more consumer diversity.
Link to ARQ Group: https://arq.group/
Further research outside of the Melbourne IT and ARQ Group website showed that at the end of 2017 Melbourne IT reported a net profit of $14 million after tax on revenue of $197.8 million. To me this seems like a massive ‘win’ and would suggest the company is doing very well. Although, at the same time it still held $54 mil worth of debt it does appear to be covered by their assets.
Before merging under the ARQ Group share prices were increasing steadily and dividends were being paid out at around 7 cents a share. ARQ Group’s share price has taken quite a drop since Aug 2018 from around $3.30 to 0.38 cents. This is a staggering drop in price considering that they have signed the three-year agreement with ANZ and NAB, had some notable projects in recent years and hold parentage over Melbourne IT and some other notable companies. Perhaps prices will rise in the future.
Notable projects this year include the development and launch of Linkt Go application for smartphones and tablets. Using GPS technology to accurately track when and where users enter and exit toll roads. In the first six months since the release of Linkt Go, the application has been downloaded more than 50,000 times and has won multiple awards. Personally, I have never used Linkt Go because I rarely travel through toll roads, but the few times that I have, it has always been a hassle having to set up your travel information and registration number to avoid getting late toll fees. I think this is a wonderful step into the future and it is exciting to see an Australian company behind it.
When I came to my companies’ financial statement, I was little overwhelmed by the sheer number of pages and detail contained within it. I had assumed it would just include the finances of the company and not future goals and leading staff roles within the company. Over the past five years, the company has grown each year significantly. According to the financial reports, there haven’t been any ‘bad’ years, and with the recent merger into the ARQ Group, it would seem nothing can slow them down. It looks like they have some big plans and goals to conquer in the coming years and the director, who has helped his position for over five years, seems very driven to achieving them. They have the right amount of equity and a diverse range of assets to cover the liabilities and more. Melbourne It had specific industry only expenses within their financial statements, for example ‘registry of domain names’ where the company both holds assets and liabilities.
Link to financial statements: https://arq.group/investor-centre/annual-reports
Overall, I have really enjoyed learning about Melbourne It and subsequently the ARQ Group. It is impressive to see the inner workings, goals and finances on just one company within Australia. I am looking forward to Assessment 2 where I get to discover their financial statements in a little more detail
Other student’s blogs:
The student blog that I have enjoyed the most is, Amy McClelland’s. Amy’s blog is a pleasure to read and she puts her own twist and sense of humour into her blog posts, which is refreshing. It is also nice to see another mother such as myself, heading back into study again after a long time out of school. I believe Amy is thorough in her analyse of the study guide and honest in her opinions and experiences. Her blog is a journey of discovery, her own personal touches of family photos and quirky quotes make it my number one.
Link to Amy’s blog: https://thedailyamy.home.blog/
The second student blog that I have found interesting is, Jewel’s. Jewel’s blog is neat and professionally laid out, the links to blog posts are easy to find. Her reflective writing is exceptional, and she is great at linking her personal experiences to her study guide chapters in her KCQ’s. Although Jewel was a little disheartened with her feedback from assessment one, she has taken it in her stride and isn’t letting it slow her down.
Link to Jewel’s blog: https://accountingisaccrualworld.news.blog/
Lastly, is Rebecca’s: I love her Indigenous art style background. I also appreciate that she is open and honest in her about me, she explains why she is coming back to university again to study. Rebecca is proud of her ancestry and involvement within the indigenous community, her little snippets of Indigenous language ‘kaya’ (hello) and yawore (goodbye) give the blog a more personal touch and open the way for cultural appreciation.
Link to Rebecca’s blog: https://becxsstudy.school.blog/
Studiosity review
I thought studiosity was an enjoyable experience over-all, I will use it again in the future. It was quick, having sent my draft in at around 9am and receiving feedback by around midday the same day is exceptional. I have 2 economics essays and a law case study coming up, and I intend to submit my assessments through Studiosity before final submission. My feedback was constructive; however, my draft was treated as an essay, so the comments I received were to do with structure and not having a thesis statement to begin all my paragraphs. Although I believe this to be important for academic essays, I have not used this style for my KCQ’s. Instead, I have used a more reflective and free-flowing thought style for my writing. In Conclusion, any future essays I have I will be sending them off to Studiosity, I don’t think you can ever have enough feedback on assignments and a new perspective could make all the difference in final marks.
Step 5 KCQ’s Chapter 2-3
I will be honest I have not been enjoying this unit much, I am finding that there is a lot involved and the sheer number of folders and requirements for the assessments is genuinely overwhelming. I am beginning to stress out that I am falling behind, and it is only the first assessment. Upon starting chapter 2 of the study guide, I was interested in discovering what kind of game accounting might be and the rules involved I never would have thought of accounting as a game of business, more a game of number manipulation. It seems to me that accounting, as with most companies, is about trust and the trust is maintained and upheld by specific laws and regulations. These laws and regulations are enforced by boards and authorities such as the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
I am intrigued by how much my other units this term, Foundations of Business Law and Principles of Economics all are linked to this unit and presumably future units. For instance, through business law, I am learning how the law works, where to find it and how to interpret it and for economics, I am learning about the trends of supply and demand and how firms make financial decisions based on the data they have. Integrating my current learning into the different units is fun and is making it a lot easier to understand the key concepts involved. An example from this unit would be the ‘rules’ around the Corporations Act. Because I am studying business law, I know where to find the Corporations Act and interpret what it entails. What I have also found interesting is the supposed unwritten rules surrounding accounting practices. I believe this will be something I grasp later in my degree.
It seems to me that the game of accounting it all about making connections, either through financial statements, professionally or networking. My husband is currently in the process of a career change, studying to become a mortgage broker. Something he has learnt recently is that ‘an accountant is a mortgage brokers best friend’ mainly due to the unending networking and personal interactions involved in accounting. Due to this, an accountant can often refer to multiple clients, from all walks of life to a mortgage broker. How exciting.
The notion that firms are restricted by rules set out by authorities in their own countries is a strange concept to me. I can fully understand the fundamental need for local governing bodies. However, it leaves a lot of room for unethical practices for international firms or even local firms that keep offshore accounts and records. I remember seeing quite a lot of this in the media over the years, and it is fascinating that it is still common practice. Perhaps there should be an entirely separate international authority that decides and enforced a set of universal rules and regulations to ensure all big corporations act within a certain standard. This is just my thoughts anyway.
The idea that reading the financial statements of a company is like getting to know someone new is a creative way of thinking about it. So much so that it has made the whole process less daunting than reading 50+ page booklet of numbers and future goals. The concept of Chris and Sarah gives the topic of financial statements a fun edge in what could be an unriveting topic. Before reading the third chapter, I was feeling very overwhelmed at the prospect of having to shift through all the pages in the financial statements to find the information I needed to complete my assessment. I was especially taken aback by the endless number of footnotes that all link to items within the financial statements I would be using. Would I have to read all the notes? Would I have to put these into the end of the spreadsheet? Martin’s explanations of what all the four financial statements entail and what they are used for has given me a better understanding of what the game of accounting is about. It is clear to me why the financial statements are essential to investors, who are looking to make the best investment for the future, with their money. Unlike Martin’s company Ryman Healthcare, my company was a singular entity until 2018, when it merged under a parent group called ARQ Group. The idea that companies can oversee or be the parent to such staggering amounts of other smaller companies is quite bewildering. For me, having an objective view while reading through my firm’s financial reports has helped me to gain a realistic perspective of the personal characteristics of my firm, and it has given me an interesting vantage point of how different firms have diverse expenses, unique to their industry. A little like job skills.
I personally have never been interested in starting my own business, in fact, accounting is the closest I have come to try to understand the inner workings of companies., a concept that was quite a shock to me. Although I have worked for both small and international companies alike, I have not thought about what it must be like to juggle and oversee so many aspects all at once, to keep the business running smoothly. The numerous assets held by each company is fascinating to me. And, the diversity of some of these assets is equally impressive, anything from cash to property to shares. Overall, to me, the assets are like leverage for the firm, a back-up if you will, to ensure future security if it should fall on hard times.
daniellas.school.blog 