Chapter 1 KCQ's

From the first paragraph of the chapter I quickly realized that it was going to have something to do with computers and their impact on accounting.

I find that the beginning of the study guide is very repetitive in getting the information across to me as a reader.

I found the point where it states ‘about half of the directors of listed companies in Australia and New Zealand have accounting backgrounds of some sort’ extremely interesting and it also shows the importance of accounting in business as a whole.

The information referring to the personal life of the author has interesting and valid points but I found it went off topic before finding these points. I would prefer the story to be shortened and the point (to not just look at the accounting numbers as being some sort of reality themselves but to see we use accounting information to seek to engage with what is really going on in a business.) to be said clearer.

I found that placing the subject of the chapter in Yeppoon was extremely helpful in the learning process because I could easily relate and picture the businesses being spoken about.

Every single one of them (the businesses) would keep accounts, although I had a feeling this would be the case knowing for sure points out how important accounting can be.

The section on ‘Types if businesses’ was very useful to me in the way that the information was interesting and relevant to understand business.

Throughout the entire chapter one the same question was asked in different ways; how can accounting make it easier or more difficult to engage with and understand what is really going on in a firm? This encouraged me to think about the answer and try to use the information to get closer to this.

The history into the keyboard is interesting and understanding the layout has made me look at the layout of the keyboard completely differently. It also made me appreciate computers and the facilities they offer so much more than I di prior to knowing this knowledge.

I found that the introduction for journals and ledgers was useful for me, as I know very limited about accounting and the books they use. Understanding these books and their purposes I feel was something that I needed to know to progress through not only this course but also my entire degree of business. Although the entire section on journals and ledgers does drag on and become very exhausting to read.

The way the author has written the section focused on the accounting equation makes it easy for me to follow, it stays on topic and explains in detail what the equation means.

One of the most important aspects of the study guide chapter 1 was knowing and understanding each of the 5 key elements: assets, liabilities, equity, revenue and expenses.

Overall the Study guide Chapter 1 was a helpful insight into a way to view business that gave information into a lot of the fundamental points in accounting. I found that the text was repetitive even to the point of repeating complete paragraphs, which made it difficult to stay focused, and on track with the topic. I particularly enjoyed the quotes that begin many of the different sections but in comparison I did not find the long historical tangents as enjoyable as they caused me to get bored and therefore found it harder to concentrate on the important information.

Thanks for reading my chapter 1 KCQ's

Georgia

Chapter 3 KCQ's

I find that the way financial reports are introduced in chapter 3 of the study guide is unnecessary and just caused me to be more confused with the concept. It would have been more helpful to just get straight into it and explain it in detail to begin with.

The 2^nd paragraph states ‘ we will see that there are four general-purpose financial statements some businesses are required to provide: the balance sheet, income statement statements of change in equity and cash flow statement.’ I found this a much more useful way to get the information across, by just plainly saying it so it wasn’t confusing and further explaining that there is much more to these statements then just their names.

The advice given on page three about the importance of footnotes was helpful to me because prior to this I was somewhat confused about the note numbers.

As interesting as the little pieces of information are about Ryman Healthcare’s names for their retirement villages and the important roles these men have had in society I find that it just puts me off topic and side tracks me from the point of the study guide, introducing financial statements.

Does it affect the Parent company if some of the subsidiaries are not 100% owned by them?

I found it important to know and easily set out in the study guide that together the balance sheet and the income statement provide all five elements of accounting: assets, liabilities, equity, revenue and expenses. Which is also the extended fundamental accounting equation: assets + expenses = equity + revenue + liabilities.

The section focusing on changes in equity statement seems to rush through and as a result I had some troubles understanding a changes in equity statement.

‘The moment we run out of cash, no matter how many other assets we might have or profits we might be making, we are in trouble; serious trouble.’ This specific sentence in the cash flow statement section stood out to me as an important piece of information involving cash flow statements.

I from the ‘Trust relationship in business’ section that everything a firm does has two effects and I feel that this was portrayed through the writing very well to show its importance.

Why does the firm keep changes to revenue and expenses separate for a period of time?

The introduction to ratio’s paragraph I found was difficult to follow and even more difficult to find the points that seemed relevant and useful to understand and know.

I felt that in section 3.3 of the chapter it went on and on explaining something that was covered in the last paragraph. I also found that this last paragraph (particularly the 2^nd last sentence) was very easy to understand for a non-accounting backgrounded person like me and it was because of this that I understood that particular section.

Whilst reading section 3.4 of the chapter I found the example of the $20 note very helpful the full effect of value.

‘The only way we know how to value any asset r business is to value it based on the cash flow we expect to gain from it in the future.’ was something that stood out to be important in the future.

I found the cash flow subsection of section 3.4 extremely long and confusing with all of the different terminologies and brackets explaining these.

The conclusion of this chapter was set out very well in the way it briefly summarised everything allowing me to ensure that I remembered covering the particular points and ensuring I took in the information throughout.

Overall Study Guide Chapter 3 was a helpful piece of text that gave all the relevant information when referring to ‘Introducing financial statements.’ I found the text went on in a tangent in places where it was not necessary causing me to become confused with what it was saying. Another element that that caused me to become confused once again was the lengthy pieces of historical backgrounds, I do believe that to a degree the history is important to understand the text but when they become long it becomes draining and useless information. I really enjoyed the quick quotes that were placed throughout and found them quite entertaining at times and I also really loved towards the end where examples were used more frequently as I learn easier with examples readily available. 

Thanks for checking out my KCQ's for Chapter 3 of the Study Guide

Georgia

Helpful resources for Baofeng Modern

Shows how the company has been going in the share market.

http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/1121:HK

Gives more detailed pictorials and graphs on the company’s share price activity.

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=1121:HK

Gives a overview on how the Chinese footwear market has been performing.

http://china-trade-research.hktdc.com/business-news/article/China-Consumer-Market/China-s-footwear-market/ccm/en/1/1X000000/1X002MPH.htm

This resource may be important when attempting to understand how Baofeng Moderns industry performance will turn out in the future 4-5 years.

http://www.marketresearch.com/Taiyou-Research-v3862/Footwear-China-Forecast-Opportunities-Trends-7717309/

You should check out these links they can give you an insight to my companies industry challenges and the company itself.

Georgia 

Top 3 Blogs

My FAVOURITE Blog-

Evelyn De Lange- http://evedelange.blogspot.com.au/

Evelyn’s blog was extremely useful and filled with information about her company Saunders International. Her blog has a very professional look and is easy to navigate as she has placed everything in certain pages. She also has helped me to understand one of my KQ’s just though the KCQ’s on her blog and the comments she has received.

My other Top Blogs-

Megan McCormick - http://meganelouise.blogspot.com.au/

Megan’s blog is full of useful and interesting information regarding her company. Her blog is profession and easy to navigate through to the specific information you may be looking for. The amount of effort she has put into her blog is tremendous and should be congratulated.

Aireen Doodson - http://doodsonaireen.blogspot.com.au/

Aireen’s blog is extremely easy to navigate around and includes information that proves very interesting about her company Schaffer Corporation Limited. I was able to ensure I had the correct elements included on my blog by referring to this one.

You should definitely check these blogs out. 

Georgia

Lets compare firms!

My company Baofeng Modern’s Annual Reports are really well presented, with a lot of vibrant colours and pictures included throughout. The report is not only professionally presented it also colour codes the sections of the report to make it easier to follow and understand.

- What is your companies report like?

  

The financial statements in Baofeng Modern’s Annual Report are named slightly differently to what is referred to in the assignment task. For example the Balance Sheet is named ‘ Consolidated Statement of Financial Position’.

- Does anyone else have slight differences like this?

To begin with I was not at all happy about being given Baofeng Modern as my company. I was nervous about having a Chinese company as I thought they would run completely different to a western organisation but I was pleasantly surprised that many of the business proceedings are similar to a majority of western organisations.

-Did anyone else have a concern like this with being given a company from a different country?

A major concern that I had with being given a Chinese company was the currency situation. I am still having a lot of trouble with this part of the financial statements.

- Is anyone having concerns with the currency difference of an overseas company?

Comment below and let me know if you are in the same situation or even if you're not and if you have any solutions to my concerns I'd love your input.

Georgia