Student Name: Codi HortonCourse Coordinator: Martin TurnerDue Date: Monday, 4th April 2016

Step 1: Personal Profile and BlogMoodle ProfileLink to my Moodle Profile.My name is Codi Horton and I am currently working full-time as a Receptionist whilst studying a Diploma of Business Studies part-time at CQUniversity, Rockhampton. I have created a blog as one of the key requirements for my course: Use Accounting for Decision Making (ACCT11059).

Blog Blog Link: https://codihorton.wordpress.com I have posted the above link to the blog links forums as seen here.

Link to post on my blog. Link to my about me section on my blog.Welcome and hello

Hello and welcome to my accounting journey!

My name is Codi Horton and I am currently working full-time whilst studying a Diploma of Business Studies part-time at the heart of CQUniversity, Rockhampton! I’m hoping a business degree can support my current position and help me progress further in the business world.

I have created this blog today as it is one of the key requirements for my course: Using Accounting for Decision Making (ACCT11059). I can’t wait to develop an understanding about what accounting actually is and seeing how it applies to a business environment.

I look forward to taking this accounting journey and networking with you all. Please feel free to take sometime to look around my blog, leave comments and ask any questions you may have!

Many thanksC

Assignment Stage 1 – Getting Started | Codi Horton P a g e

Assignment Stage 1: Getting Started

ACCT11059: Using Accounting for Decision MakingTerm 1, 2016

My interaction with others:The links below are a few examples of where I have interacted with others from this course through blog posts and comments: Mikiellie Newman, Martin Turner, Jane Martyr, Hayley Savage, Amy Plant, Demi Roberts, Germaine Landers and Megan Fenton

Step 2: Knowing my Company, Annual Reports KCQs and Top 3 BlogsMy Company: AJ Lucas - Website

Background Information: Link to post on my blog.The company reveal happened Friday afternoon and my assigned organisation is ‘AJ Lucas’ for my accounting assignment.

Lucas is a mining services organisation that provides specialist services to the energy, mining and infrastructure sectors. Such as professional drilling services to the coal and seam gas industries for the degasification of coal mines and the recovery and commercialization of coal seam gas. AJ Lucas also engineers and constructs complex civil infrastructure and commercial development projects including desalination plants, power stations, gas and water pipelines and office buildings.

The organisation was founded in the 1950’s and originally based in Sydney. However, it is safe to say Lucas more than 50 years later now has an extremely strong presence across eastern Australia with facilities located in Sydney, Brisbane, Port Macquarie and multiple regional facilities strategically located within major coal and coal seam gas basins of Queensland and New South Wales.

One interesting infrastructure project Lucas has undertaken was the construction work they completed on a Historical Building ‘Customs House’, in the City of Sydney, valued at AU$14 million dollars. The company was awarded the Masters Builders Association Excellence in Construction Award and Best Adaptive Reuse of a Historical Building for their work.

Lucas prides themselves on their main motto ‘We deliver intelligent and practical solutions to support a sustainable Australia.’

So there’s a bit of initial information about my organisation. Keep tuned in as I delve into the unknown world of AJ Lucas mining services.

Many thanks

Assignment Stage 1 – Getting Started | Codi Horton P a g e

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AJ Lucas’ Annual Reports:2015 Annual Report 2014 Annual Report 2013 Annual Report

Know your firm:Link to my post on my blog providing links to articles about AJ Lucas in the past two years.

AJ Lucas’ Annual Report & Financial Statements KCQs:Link to my post on my blog.At my first glance of AJ Lucas’ annual reports I became rather overwhelmed with the amount of information provided. In particular, with the financial statements as I have never read one before which made it a little hard for me to understand at first. In spite of all this I have decided to mainly focus on the annual report for 2015 as it is the most recent.

As the current major downfall in the Australian mining services industry occurs, AJ Lucas’ management team have undertaken a complete review of the operational, commercial, financial and systemic risks facing the business. Against each of these they have identified either tactical or strategic actions required to mitigate these to the highest degree possible by the business. They are anticipating the continuous review and restructuring of the business is vital as they strive to maintain and improve their safety and financial performance. As a result of this hard work, AJ Lucas have stated they are currently in a better position should a market recovery occur.

Another key concept I have noted is that AJ Lucas has three business divisions: drilling, engineering and constructions and oil and gas. As I read the annual and financial reports for 2015, despite the prevailing tough market conditions, drilling is clearly the firm’s bread and butter. This is evident in the firm’s divisional performance report as drilling roped in $22,000 more in revenue than each other division this year.

As I have moved my focus onto the financial report for 2015, I am having issues trying to understand some concepts. I had plenty of questions when I initially read my report (which I’m sure we all did), some I have answered myself for example, what does EBITDA mean and is it better to be at a higher or lower share price. However, others remain unanswered which I will narrow down to a few below:

What does it mean when a figure is in brackets? What are basic and diluted earnings per share mean, why are they the same amount

for both 2014/15 and do these relate to the share price at balance date? What is the notes column in the financial reports? What does amortisation mean? What does 'Carry profit on Exploration Assets' mean?

Many Thanks

Assignment Stage 1 – Getting Started | Codi Horton P a g e

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Link - Interaction with fellow student Kym Chisholm (Everyday Moola) answering my remaining questions from my financial reports.

Assignment Stage 1 – Getting Started | Codi Horton P a g e

Top 3 Favourite Blogs and Why:Link to my post on my blog.So I have found myself spending the first day of my Easter long weekend exploring all the interesting blogs of my peers and getting to know their companies. I must admit I have found it very challenging to choose only three blogs as my favourites. Yet after looking through multiple blogs (whilst consuming a lot of chocolate) I have finally managed to do and here are they are:

1. Megan Fenton : The overall layout of Megan’s blog is very simplistic, easy on the eye and very easy to navigate. She has included all necessary information regarding her organisation. The information she has provided shows she has a great understanding of her company and their financial statements.

2. Germaine Landers : I have enjoyed going along Germaine’s accounting journey with her, she is very honest in her writing and she has included all required information about her company and assignment one. Her blog is intriguing and isn’t too complicated to navigate.

3. Jane Martyr : The presentation of Jane’s blog is what does it for me, it is eye-catching and is very appealing (not biased at all, as we may or may not have a very similar theme)! I enjoy reading about Jane’s company, Leaf Resources Limited, the way she writes about her company is very in depth and interesting. I look forward to reading more from her!

You will see in Task one I have commented on my three favourites peer’s blogs and provided links as evidence.

Step 3: Company SpreadsheetThe required excel document of my company spreadsheet has been uploaded to Moodle as requested. Below you will find three screenshots of the financial statements from AJ Lucas. I have entered in the last four financial years figures for three different financial documents being; statements of movements in equity, balance sheets and income statements.

Assignment Stage 1 – Getting Started | Codi Horton P a g e

Assignment Stage 1 – Getting Started | Codi Horton P a g e

Step 4: Chapter 1 and Chapter 3 KCQsChapter 1:Link to post on my blog.Initially, coming into this subject I was under the misconception that accounting was entirely math related with a bunch of numbers that only accountants and ‘smart people’ could understand. I have always considered accounting being far too complicated and complex for me to comprehend yet it still may be. To be perfectly honest when I found out accounting was one of my core subjects I was dreading it as math and numbers have never been my forte.

Nevertheless, I soldier on pass this theory and I was proved completely wrong. After reading Chapter 1 of the Study Guide, I gained a better understanding into what was the unknown world of accounting. I haven’t wrapped my head around all concepts of accounting but I think I have the main ones covered. The first two sub-headings of the chapter clearly introduces what accounting is and how it applies to a business as whole. I found it really easy to understand and connect with this section as the information was explained through real-life situations. I quite enjoyed reading this section as it made me instantly view accounting as a whole differently to how I previously did, I soon and quickly realised that accounting isn’t just a bunch of numbers.

As I moved onto the section 1.2 I couldn’t really relate, I didn’t particularly enjoy/connect with the paragraphs about musical instruments, typewriters and the QWERTY keyboard so I simply glimpsed over this section. But one question I still can’t get my around - what is the point behind double-entry accounting?

Section 1.3 and 1.4 were of a lot more interest to me. I understood the ideas of journals and ledgers in a business and the whole ‘debts and credits’ as I have previously completed an Accounts Payable and Receivable course that required me to use MYOB as if I was an accounts clerk. I have memorised and now know the five elements of accounting, I was already aware of assets, revenue and expenses. Yet I still find liabilities and equity a little unclear as they are completely new to me. Despite some concepts I may still be unsure of from Chapter 1, overall, the chapter was quite attention-grabbing. I enjoyed reading this chapter as it was relatable because it had many real-life examples. I believe this chapter has helped me develop a clearer understanding of accounting. I’m confident in saying that I have walked away with a whole new outlook to accounting after reading this chapter than I did coming into it.

Assignment Stage 1 – Getting Started | Codi Horton P a g e

Chapter 3:Link to post on my blog.Similar to my initial thoughts about accounting as a whole I too believed financial statements were just a bunch of numbers. I have seen and read financial statements before but to me all I saw was numbers and words that made no sense to me. Upon opening my financial reports for my company and trying to make sense of everything I was feeling very overwhelmed and I wasn’t sure and in all honestly still am a bit unsure if I am ever going to be able to understand a financial statement completely.

The introduction to Chapter 3 was attention-grabbing and quite intriguing. I really understood the idea of understanding something, knowing what it means and actually wanting to understand a concept helps to remember it. I don’t know how many things from school I was taught that I don’t remember today because I wasn’t actually interested in wanting to understand it therefore I was unable to reproduce this information later in life.

Balance sheets are one of the key concepts with financial statements that I completely understand. As I read the section on balance sheets I referred to my company’s balance sheet and I began to understand it on a deeper level than before. It isn’t just numbers to me now because I have a basic knowledge of why these words and number are there and what they are telling us about the business on a certain date (and I now know what the notes column refers to in my financial statements). I also believe that I have a basic knowledge of the three remaining statements enough to actually understand and read my company’s financial reports without thinking it’s a foreign language to me.

In all honestly, as I read on, I couldn’t relate to the concepts of ratios and the use of structure and how they are linked to a firm’s financial statements. I re-read this section multiple times to try and grasp the real meaning but I was unable to entirely understand this information. One more concept I can’t really put my finger on is dividends, I have read the chapter and made sense of the meaning but I can’t really relate or refer it to a real-life example as stated in my company AJ Lucas’ annual report during both 2015/14 no dividends have been declared by the company.

In light of the above, I now have built onto my prior knowledge from Chapter 1 and I have a deeper understanding of accounting. Chapter 3 has taught me about important aspects in a business and many key concepts I never knew or understood. I believe without the explanations provided through Ryman Healthcare, King Enterprises and Marks Inc. I may have found myself just as confused as I was about financial statements before starting this Chapter. I look forward to acquiring further information to deepen my understanding of accounting and how it is used in a business.

All in all, Chapter 1 and Chapter 3 were both very interesting reads and have given me a better insight into the accounting world!

Assignment Stage 1 – Getting Started | Codi Horton P a g e

Step 5: Giving and Receiving Peer FeedbackFeedback I provided:

Feedback to: Germaine LandersFeedback from: Codi Horton

Comments

Step 1 Introductory words in Description BoxPhoto uploadedLink to your blog/Set up blog

All requirements have been completed successfully for step one, as follows:

Introductory words have been included in your description box

You have included a link to your blog at the bottom of your description box

You have also included a link to your blog in the Blog Links forum

A photo has been uploaded for your Moodle profile A welcome message has been posted onto your blog You have interacted with other students through their

blogs and provided evidence.Step 2 Background information on companyComments/KCQsComments on other’s blogs

All requirements have thoroughly been completed for step two and posted on your blog. An overview of your company Aristocrat Leisure has been completed. You have downloaded your firm’s financial statements for the past three years and provided an in depth overview of your KCQs. You have been busy researching and finding news articles and even a blog for your company! Lastly, you have rated your top three blogs and posted this information on the Blog Links forum.

Step 3Input company’s financial statements

A link to your company’s financial statements spreadsheet has been provided on your blog. The spreadsheet has all required information for ASS#1 entered. You have also provided evidence where you have been a helping out fellow class mates with their questions for task three.

Step 4KCQs – chapter 1 and 3

Similar to your KCQs for your financial statements, you have also provided very in depth KCQs for chapter one and three. You have shown areas you understand and areas that you don’t understand, you have been very honest and haven’t just summarised the readings.

Overall ASS#1 You have provided all required information in your word document and also been actively engaging and posting on your blog. Furthermore, the layout of your blog is very appealing and attention grabbing. Your KCQs are very detailed and informative. Your blog has been helpful to me in ensuring I am completing my assignment as required. Overall, I can’t fault your assignment or blog - great work Germaine!

Assignment Stage 1 – Getting Started | Codi Horton P a g e

Feedback to: Mikiellie NewmanFeedback from: Codi Horton

Comments

Step 1 Introductory words in Description BoxPhoto and uploadedLink to your blog/Set up blog

Requirements have been completed successfully for step one, as follows:

Introductory words have been included in your description box

You have included a link to your blog at the bottom of your description box

You have also included a link to your blog in the Blog Links forum

A photo has been uploaded for your Moodle profile A welcome message has been posted onto your blog You have interacted with other students through their

blogs and provided evidence.Step 2 Background information on companyComments/KCQsComments on other’s blogs

You have provided background information on your company and a link to a YouTube video that helps people get to know your company better. You have downloaded SRG’s past three years Annual Reports and shared your KCQs in relation them on your blog. You have shown your top three blogs on your word document and through the Blog Links forum.My recommendations: My two recommendations are firstly to post/include your top three blogs on your own blog. I’m not sure if this is a specific requirement but I have seen other student’s do this! Secondly, to also post/include your KCQs on your blog to help engage with other students in our subject.

Step 3Input company’s financial statements

A link to your company’s financial statements spreadsheet has been provided on your blog. The spreadsheet has all required data for ASS#1 entered.

Step 4KCQs – chapter 1 and 3

You have shown that you have read chapter 1 and 3. You have not simply summarised the readings, you have revealed what key concepts you have taken from the chapters and expressed this in your KCQs. My recommendation: My only recommendation is the same as the KCQs for your Annual Report - to post/include your KCQs on your blog to help engage with other students in our subject.

Overall ASS#1 You have provided all required information in your word document, it is clearly and precisely set out and informative. Your blog layout if very simple and easy to navigate. I can’t fault your assignment, however I do have one suggestion that would make your blog even better – to post more information from your assignment on your blog, and this would make it more interesting and would help other students to actively engage with you. Other than that, you have done an excellent job and I have enjoyed providing feedback on your assignment!

Feedback to: Britt Smail Comments

Assignment Stage 1 – Getting Started | Codi Horton P a g e

Feedback from: Codi HortonStep 1 Introductory words in Description BoxPhoto uploadedLink to your blog/Set up blog

Requirements have been completed successfully for step one, as follows:

Introductory words have been included in your description box

You have included a link to your blog at the bottom of your description box

You have also included a link to your blog in the Blog Links forum

A photo has been uploaded for your Moodle profile A welcome message has been posted onto your blog You have interacted with other students through their

blogs and provided evidence.Step 2 Background information on companyComments/KCQsComments on other’s blogs

You have provided background information on your company and have posted it on your blog. You have shown an in depth knowledge on your company through your KCQs on their Annual Report. You have provided evidence that you have researched your company and shown this through links to article about CleanTeQ. Lastly, you have posted your top three blogs on your word document and your blog.Two recommendations;

1. Split your blog entries into paragraphs or shorter sections, this makes it easier to read and is more attention-grabbing.

2. Post your top three blogs on the Blog Links forum along with a link to your blog entry. (You may have already done this but I can’t seem to find it!)

Step 3Input company’s financial statements

A link to your company’s financial statements spreadsheet has been provided on your blog. The spreadsheet has all required information for ASS#1 entered.

Step 4KCQs – chapter 1 and 3

You have been very honest, concise and thorough in writing your KCQs for chapter 1 and 3. You haven’t summarised the readings, you have shown your personal thoughts and feelings and this is exactly what Martin was asking for. Well done! My recommendation: My only recommendation is to post/include your KCQs on your blog to help further engage with other students in our subject and to add some more information to your blog!

Overall ASS#1 I enjoyed providing feedback on your assignment. I liked learning more about your company as I went along. You have provided all required information, I just have a one tip that will make your ASS#1 word document even more appealing: Enter your blog entries into your word document along with the links to your blog that are already provided. This provides Martin (or whoever is marking the assignment) quick and easy information without having to search for it on your blog. Even though it is absolutely great that you are actively engaging on WordPress. You have done a great job with your assignment!

Assignment Stage 1 – Getting Started | Codi Horton P a g e

Feedback I received:Feedback to: Codi HortonFeedback from: Kym Chisholm

Comments

Step 1 Introductory words in Description BoxPhoto and uploadedLink to your blog/Set up blog

I couldn’t use your Moodle link in the word document but I note you have a description, link to your blog and pic on there. I’m on your blog now so I know that is up and running :)I note your blog interactions with others but didn’t test out any of the links to their sites.

Step 2 Background information on companyComments/KCQsComments on other’s blogs

Very clearly written intro to your business and it shows me straight away what industry they are in, a bit of their history and a project example. It may be worthwhile throwing in another paragraph just to give a summary or examples of what ‘mining services’ they provide? The articles I could get to and read were really interesting and quite recent. You’ve managed to pick out a couple of really good concepts in the KCQ’s and I see you’ve added the link that shows you managed to work on your questions after reading other blogs and chapter 3. This section is well written and flows well. You say AJ Lucas have identified actions they need to take to mitigate risks and I would encourage you, if you have the time, to expand your KCQ’s to mention some of these strategies. The expansion into the UK seems like an interesting topic and a big challenge for the company so I would be interested to hear more about that. There is one typo in this area – ‘bread and better’ instead of butter I think? I note you have your top blog list with good reasons provided.

Step 3Input company’s financial statements

Spreadsheet looks good! Neat and well laid out. Maria’s online lecture did say she expects us to use formulas in the cells that are ‘Totals’ of the other numbers instead of just typing in the total amount but I’m not sure what other people have been told in their real life lectures.

Step 4KCQs – chapter 1 and 3

Really enjoyed your reflections on chapter 1 and chapter 3. It was so easy to read and flowed well just like your company intro. It was honest and focused on your thoughts and feelings which is exactly what Martin has asked for. I liked being able to see your early perception of accounting as just numbers and math as this helped me put in to context how you started this accounting journey. I can really see the learning process you have gone through unfolding on the page!

Feedback to: Codi Horton Comments

Assignment Stage 1 – Getting Started | Codi Horton P a g e

Feedback from: Rayleen GaldalStep 1. Introduction words in description box.

Photo and description.

Link to your blog/setup blog

Good introduction on Moodle. Well Done

Photo, description and link there and all worked well. Good work.

Link to your blog worked well. Fantastic Blog.It’s clean and easy to navigate. I really like the assignment countdown section. – Great idea!!!

Step 2.Background information on company

Comments/KCQ’s

Comments on other’s blogs

Great summary on the background of your company AJ Lucas. I had never heard of this company and was interesting to read about it.

Interesting to read about the risks and challenges your company is facing as it’s in the mining industry. Hence the reason for why the financial statements are showing lots of figures in brackets - meaning losses.

Nice summary of your favourite three blogs. I agree with your choices. I also want to mention that I found your blog interesting to read and the design is clean and easy to understand.

Step 3.Input company’s financial statements

Your financial statements look good – and yes there are a few brackets/losses in the income statement. Over all the equity was decreased from by $28,160 – so they wouldn’t like to do that for too many more years otherwise they could be in real trouble.

Step 4.

KCQ’s

Great summary on your review on Chapters 1 and 3.Yes accounting can be overwhelming with lots of fancy reports and words, but once you get the basic concepts I’m sure it will make sense.

Overall ASS #1. Great work – well organised, comprehensive and very informative about your thoughts on this new subject to you.Good luck for the rest of term

Assignment Stage 1 – Getting Started | Codi Horton P a g e

Reflection on giving and receiving feedback:Reminder – insert information

Assignment Stage 1 – Getting Started | Codi Horton P a g e