Task 1: Theory Assessment

Question 1 - Research Task

a) Explain the process of annual report dissemination and whom it is been shared.

The annual report is prepared by the accountant of the listed company, disseminated through online posting on the company website, and ASIC for the inspection of the report.

The annual report is prepared for highlighting the financial position of the company, which is given to the stakeholder for raising capital. The copy of the annual report is sent before annual general meeting prior to 21 days or at the end of the year within 4 months.

b) Explain with the reason the requirement of the annual report by the audience

The process of dissemination is fully depended on the audience for whom it is being prepared. The shareholders for providing information regarding the share price and available stock to be purchased from the company mainly share the annual report. The PRNGs could utilise the annual report for discussing the general financial issues of the company and share it with a solution (Lu & Liu, 2017). The investors can do investment and loopholes identification for the company from these accounts.

c) Define the information included in the annual report of the organisation

Commonly the annual reports contain the company description, its financial position and notes on the various items included in the annual report. The annual report of Woolworths contains the five sections. In the first section the performance, commitment of the chairperson, in the second section, the portfolio of its subsidiaries in different locations are discussed. Third section contains the reports of directors, the statutory report and the remuneration report of the company member. The auditor report is shown in the fourth section. The last section of the report highlighted the information of the company shareholder and the previous five-year summary in brief.

d)   What format does the report use?

The annual report uses the format of postcard, brochure, minisites, videos and info graphics. The annual report of Woolworths is in the printed format. The printed format of annual report is widely used by many companies. The format is understandable and traditional form of presenting the financial position to the stakeholder.

e) Give the evidence of conversion process or consolidation process being used in the report

The consolidated report of specific company contains the liabilities and assets of each subsidiary. As on 25th June 2017, all the subsidiaries are the entities, which were controlled by the group. Thus, the process used in the annual report is consolidated.

f) Show the valuation of assets and liabilities if included in the report

The valuation is seen by calculating the current assets and current liabilities section of the balance sheet. In the report the specific section is not highlighted thus, the valuation of assets and liabilities is not shown in the report.

g) Identify the report discrepancies

As per the auditor, self-declaration there is no discrepancies seen in the annual report.

h) Give the detail enclosure of total income and expenditure 

The total income and expenditure of the company could be aggregated from the balance sheet of the company. The total income of Woolworth is $ 23542 and the total expenditure is $13665.

i) Explain how the annual report is concise and clear

As Per Hinton & Salakhutdinov, (2014), the annual report of Woolworths is clear and concise because it provides the information for the stakeholders, investors and the audience and created robust communication between the company and investors. The report is according to the IFRS strategy with a narration of the financial status and corporate review. Thus, it is concise and understandable by the users.

j) What are the effects noted on the company by the taxation

The benefit of total income tax realised from the particular expenses was $193.1 million, which resulted to $765.5 million, that has an impact on the profit of the company.

k) What charts and/or diagrams are enclosed and what are they highlighting?

As per Kagitci & SPIRIDON, (2014), the bar graph is used in the report highlighting the remuneration of the previous financial year. The tabular chart is been used for defining the financial statement of the company. The pie chart in the report shows the percentage of customer satisfaction in the financial year.

l) Did the report meet statutory requirements?

Yes, the annual report of Woolworths is prepared and audited under the Generally Accepted Accounting Principle and presented accordingly under Corporation Act 2001 of the subsection. The company auditing is referred in the website of ASIC class order 98/100, 10th July 1998. The declaration of the company annual report of 2017 is done under the ASIC Instrument 2016/78(5)

 m)  What is the overall position of the organisation?

The position of the organisation could be seen differentiating the total value of assets and liabilities. The total current assets are $10287 and the current liabilities are $10591 where the liabilities of the company are higher than the current asset. Thus, the position of the company is under debt, which needs to be improved.

n) Does the annual report of the organisation used the accrual accounting or Double book keeping

 The company used the accrual accounting for double entry bookkeeping. As highlighted in the annual report the asset of the company is linked with the liabilities and entity of the balance sheet for equalising the financial position. This evidence states that the company follows accrual accounting.