Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
CONTEMPORARY
BUSINESS ISSUES
SUBJECT OUTLINE
Version 15a
Published by Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 3217 on behalf of CPA Australia Ltd,
ABN 64 008 392 452
First published July 2010, updated January 2011, July 2011, revised January 2012,
reprinted with amendments July 2012, revised January 2013, reprinted with amendments July 2013,
revised January 2014, reprinted July 2014, second edition January 2015
20102015 CPA Australia Ltd (ABN 64 008 392 452). All rights reserved. This material is owned or
licensed by CPA Australia and is protected under Australian and international law. Exceptfor personal and
educational use in the CPA Program, this material may not be reproduced or used in any other manner
whatsoever without the express written permission of CPA Australia. Allreproduction requests should be
made in writing and addressed to: Legal, CPA Australia, Level 20, 28 Freshwater Place, Southbank, VIC 3006
or legal@cpaaustralia.com.au.
Edited and designed by DeakinPrime
Printed by Blue Star Print Group
ISBN 978 0 7300 0011 2
Authors
Terence Brooks
Courtney Clowes
Keith De La Rue
Betty Ferguson
Dr Jane Hamilton
Marina Kelman
Dr Hayat Khan
Dr Julie Margret
Tui McKeown
Dean Newlan
Roger Simnett
Dr Siri Terjesen
Advisory panel
Dr Mary Dunkley
Dianne Harvey
Gavan Ord
John Purcell
Stephen Zigomanis
CPA Australia Professional Programs & Pathways staff
Richard Brown
Sarah Chinnick
Alisa Stephens
Kristy Grady
Charlene DRosario
Belinda Zohrab-McConnell
Desley Ward
Amy Flint
Alexandra Wilson
Elise Literski
Educational designer
Jan Williams
DeakinPrime
These materials have been designed and prepared for the purpose of individual study and should not be used as a
substitute for professional advice. The materials are not, and are not intended to be, professional advice. The materials
may be updated and amended from time to time. Care has been taken in compiling these materials but may not
reflect the most recent developments and have been compiled to give a general overview only. CPA Australia Ltd and
DeakinUniversity and the author(s) of the material expressly exclude themselves from any contractual, tortious or any
other form of liability on whatever basis to any person, whether a participant in this subject or not, for any loss or damage
sustained or for any consequence which may be thought to arise either directly or indirectly from reliance on statements
made in these materials.
Any opinions expressed in the study materials for this subject are those of the author(s) and notnecessarily those of their
affiliated organisations, CPA Australia Ltd or its members.
Contents
Subject outline
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Subject outline
OUTLINE
Contents
Introduction 3
Before you begin
3
Important information
Subject description
Subject overview
Learning materials
Exam 10
General information
Exam structure
Authors 11
Introduction
The purpose of this subject outline is to:
provide important information to assist you in your studies;
define the aims, content and structure of the subject;
outline the learning materials and resources provided to support learning; and
provide information about the exam and its structure.
Subject description
Contemporary Business Issues: The CPA as an innovator
The Contemporary Business Issues (CBI) subject examines a number of contemporary and
emerging global issues in order to familiarise you with the business environment you are likely
to be operating in as an accountant. It also uses contemporary issues as a vehicle for advancing
thedevelopment of professional values, ethics and attitudes. In particular, attitudes that:
value learning combined with well-developed personal communication, networking and
information technology skills;
acknowledge the importance of professional curiosity as a means of avoiding imprudent
decision-making; and
welcome divergent opinions and creative approaches to problem-solving as a means of
gaining insights into an increasingly complex and dynamic business world.
This subject will offer you the challenges and opportunities presented by contemporary issues
such as operating in a carbon-constrained economy and in an environment of tight liquidity and
dwindling resources.
CBI is an elective subject in the CPA Program.
Subject aims
The aims of the subject are to:
promote the development of professional values, ethics and attitudes by using complex,
reallife scenarios that highlight how professional values, ethics and attitudes underpin all
facets of an accountants work; and
develop a broader awareness of the origins and effects of contemporary and emerging
global issues that are affecting the business environment.
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Subject overview
General objectives
On completion of this subject, you should be able to:
encourage an attitude of professional curiosity by challenging assumptions about
contemporary and emerging issues, and how they should be addressed;
critically evaluate current research and practice on the origins and effects of contemporary
and emerging global issues; and
judge the effects that disclosure requirements will have on financial and non-financial
reporting, and consider the overall impact that a shift towards non-financial, sustainability and
integrated reporting will have on organisations and accounting functions.
Module descriptions
The subject is divided into six modules. A brief outline of each is provided below.
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Part B explores sustainability issues and the increasing demand by stakeholders for more
detailed non-financial information from organisations. Developments in the innovative area of
integrated reporting are discussed, including an analysis of the integrated reporting framework.
Theframework is designed to support organisations in presenting higher quality reports
regarding their impacts on a number of capitals and also on aspects of value creation.
Part C moves on to non-financial reporting frameworks beginning with the G4 Guidelines issued
by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Other forms of sustainability reporting, including water
accounting, self-reporting of carbon and other data to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and
natural capital accounting are also considered. The module concludes with a discussion of the
opportunities for accountants to meet the needs of business for new services to help them satisfy
the demands for information on environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) reporting.
These services include assurance of sustainability reports.
The weighting column in the following table provides an indication of the emphasis placed
on each module in the exam, while the proportion of study time column is a guide for you to
allocate your study time for each module.
Weighting
(%)
15
15
Weeks 1, 2
17
17
Weeks 2, 3, 4
16
16
Weeks 4, 5, 6
19
19
Weeks 6, 7
18
18
Weeks 8, 9
15
15
Weeks 10, 11
100
100
Module
Study
schedule
Learning materials
Module structure
These study materials form your central reference in the Contemporary Business Issues subject.
Contents
Each module has a detailed contents list. This list indicates the sequence of the educational
content in the module.
Preview
Each module begins with a preview containing the following sections.
Introduction. The introduction outlines what will be covered in the module and how it relates to
other modules in the subject.
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Objectives. A set of objectives is included for each module in the study guide. These objectives
provide a framework for the learning materials and identify the main focus of the module.
Theobjectives also describe what candidates should be able to do after completing the module.
Teaching materials. This section alerts you to the additional teaching material (if any) to which
you should have ready access. It also includes a list of required readings which are to be used
inconjunction with the module study material.
Study material
The study material is divided into sections and subsections that will help you to conceptualise
the content and study it in manageable portions. It is also important to appreciate the cumulative
nature of the subject and to follow the given sequence as closely as possible.
Review
The review section places the module in context with the other modules studied and summarises
the main points of the module.
References
The reference list details all sources cited in the study guide. You are not expected to follow up
this source material.
Optional reading
Although not examinable, the resources in the Optional reading list are useful if you wish to
explore a particular topic in more detail.
Required readings
Readings are provided to assist in the clarification and application of concepts from the study
materials. The content of readings is not directly examinable. However, the concepts covered by
the readings are examinable.
Suggested answers
These provide important feedback on the numbered revision questions included in the module
learning materials. Consider them as model answers for your reference. To assess how well you
have understood and applied the material supplied in the text, it is important to write your
answer before you compare it with the suggested answer.
Internet references
At various points in the subject materials, you may be directed to references located on the
internet, and many of these are on external websites. All the URL addresses cited are tested
prior to the start of the semester to ensure their currency; however, this does not guarantee that
changes have not been made to the websites since the tests were performed. CPA Australia
provides links to external websites as a service to candidates in the CPA Program. CPA Australia
does not own, operate, sponsor or endorse these external websites and makes no warranties
or representations regarding the source, quality, accuracy, merchantability or fitness for purpose
ofthe content of these external websites; nor warrants that the content of these external
websites is free from any computer virus or other defects or errors.
My Online Learning
CPA Australia offers additional study material through My Online Learning to assist candidates
in their study. You can access My Online Learning from the CPA Australia websitedetails are
provided below.
How to access My Online Learning:
1. Go to: cpaaustralia.com.au/myonlinelearning
2. Click Access My Online Learning
3. Enter your member number in the username field and password and click Login
There is also a demonstration video to assist you in navigating the system.
To access the study groups function, click My Study Groups next to My Courses in the top
banner, then select the relevant subject using the dropdown box next to Course.
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Exam
General information
The CPA Program exams are of three hours and 15 minutes duration.
The exam for Contemporary Business Issues is open book. This means that candidates may bring
any reference material into the exam which they believe to be relevant and which may assist them
in undertaking the exam. This may include, for example, the study guide, additional materials
from My Online Learning, readings and prepared notes.
Note: Calculators are not required for the Contemporary Business Issues subject exam.
The exam is based on the whole subject, including the general objectives, module objectives and
all related content and required readings. Where advised, relevant sections of the CPA Australia
Members Handbook and legislation are also examinable.
As this exam forms part of a professional qualification, the required level of performance is high.
Candidates are required to achieve a passing scaled score of 540 in all CPA Program exams.
Furtherinformation about scaled scores and exam results is available at: cpaaustralia.com.au/
cpa-program/exam-results.
Exam structure
The Contemporary Business Issues exam comprises 100 per cent multiple-choice questions.
Multiple-choice questions include knowledge, application and problem solving questions which
are designed to assess the understanding of Contemporary Business Issues principles.
Table 1 provides an indication of the approximate proportion of your study time that should be
allocated to each of the modules.
Authors
Terence Brooks BA (Languages), GradDip (Economic and
Accounting Studies), FCPA
Terence is Manager of the Forensic Investigation Unit (FIU),
Professional Standards Command of Victoria Police.
Terry has practised forensic accounting in both the private and
the public sectors for 15 years. In 2004, Terry established the
FIUfor Victoria Police. This unit applies forensic accounting
andfinancial investigation techniques to the investigation of
corrupt and criminal behaviour.
Terry was the founding secretary of the CPA Australia Forensic
and Financial Investigations Discussion Group. He has
made submissions to the APESB on the forensic accounting
standard APES 215, provided guest lectures at a number of
universities and led a masterclass on forensic accounting at
theCPACongress.
Terry is currently a member of the Victorian CPA Divisional
Council and Executive Committee.
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Keith De La Rue
Keith is an independent consultant and speaker on knowledge
management, communication and learning. In this role, he has
worked with clients in a range of industries, assisting them in the
business use of social media and other communications tools.
He is also a regular blogger at: http://delarue.net/.
Keith previously spent eight years working in knowledge
management at Telstra, Australia, where he led a team engaged
in the transfer of product and service knowledge to Telstras
enterprise and business sales force. He is a member of the
International Association of Business Communicators, and is a
committee member of the Melbourne Knowledge Management
Leadership Forum.
He is also a regular speaker at conferences in Australia and
overseas and has delivered presentations and workshops for
CPA Australia on social media, communication and knowledge
management. He holds a degree in computer science from
RMIT, and has previously worked in the telecommunications
andITindustries for over 30 years.
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Russell Clowes
CPA Australia would like to acknowledge the contribution of Russell Clowes to Modules 2 and 5.
Catherine Pozzi
CPA Australia would also like to acknowledge the contribution of Catherine Pozzi to Module 4.