SCHOOL OF ACCOUNTANCY

UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA

FIRST SEMESTER 2016/2017 (A161)
COURSE CODE
COURSE
PRE-REQUISITE

1.

: BKAL3063
: INTEGRATED CASE STUDY
: BKAF3073 FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
& REPORTING IV

SYNOPSIS
This is a capstone course for the accounting program, which integrates knowledge
from financial accounting, management accounting, taxation, audit, finance,
management, marketing, information technology and other social science courses.
Experiential exercises are embedded in this course to support students effort in
independent learning.

2.

OBJECTIVES
The objective of this course is to understand how to integrate knowledge from the
various related disciplines and to enhance their technical core competencies and
problem solving skills in the unstructured business environment.

3.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion of the course, students are able to:
i) Interpreting various accounting and business related issues in an
organisational context.
ii) Undertake independent research.
iii) Develop alternative solutions to issues, devise action plans, and resolve
implementation issues.
iv) Communicate ideas, views and recommendations effectively both verbally
and in writing.
v) Demonstrate awareness of ethical considerations as part of the decision
making process.
vi) Demonstrate leadership and teamwork in issues development and resolution.

4.

COURSE CONTENTS
Topics
Introduction to Learning using Case Study Methods
This introductory session explains why cases are used in
teaching especially for this course, learning by the case
method, what is a case, how to prepare for the case discussion
and skills developed by the case analysis.

Reference

INTRODUCTION CASE: Biovail Corporation: Revenue

Recognition and FOB Sales Accounting
Biovail announces that it will miss its quarterly earnings
target of the shortfall on a truck accident involving a shipment
that left its facility on the last day of the quarter. The case
provides a rich setting permitting exploration of ethics of
earnings management. This case was prosecuted by the US
SEC.

HBS

2&3

CASE 1: Danshui Plant No. 2

This case is about Danshui who has a one-year contract with
Apple Computer to assemble 2.4 million Apple i-Phone 4.
The manager is anxious to speed up production to fulfill the
contract while at the same time generating a profit for the
plant. However Danshui quarterly production performance
evaluation had shown some drawbacks for not meeting the
targeted 200,000 unit of i-Phone per month. They are left with
nine months to accomplish the target with semi-skilled
workers, and inferior and price increase Samsung memory
card.

HBS

CASE 2: Flat Cargo Berhad: An Auditors Conundrum

HBS

This case is about one of the largest air freight companies in

Malaysia. During the 2006 audit, FCBs auditors identified
several discrepancies. They incurred a number of auditing
difficulties, i.e. the inability to verify aircrafts, returned
debtors confirmation letters, unsupported sales transactions,
improper amounts of recorded loan, and unverified abnormal
items. The situation posed reconciliation problems to the
auditors with respect to the information presented to them.
The inconsistencies suggested that the auditors could have
failed to become aware of the accounting irregularities in
FCBs records. The situation raised doubts with the auditors
as to the possibility of fraud taking place during the course of
the audit.

Week
1

Topic
CASE 3: Choosing a Charitable Giving Vehicle
Elaine White is an accountant advising two couples, the
Carsons and the Bradleys, regarding their charitable giving
options and related tax strategies. The Carsons are an uppermiddle class family with $295,000 in income, a moderate
amount of deductions, and straightforward charitable giving
objectives. The Bradleys are a wealthy couple with substantial
assets, a more complex tax situation, and a desire to control
the timing and recipients of their charitable contributions.
White must consider the objectives of these families in the
context of several charitable giving vehicles, including Public
Charities, Private Foundations, Charitable Remainder Trusts,
Charitable Lead Trusts, Donor-Advised Funds, and Pooled
Income Funds.

Reference
HBS

Week
6&7

CASE 4: Living by Numbers Value Creation or Profit?

This case basically explained about MarineCorp Sdn Bhd, a
subsidiary of SURIA group of companies. MarineCorp is a
maritime solution provider for SURIA with two subsidiaries
Green Port Sdn Bhd and Sungai Emas Sdn Bhd. MarineCorp
managed both subsidiaries. Hafiz Hashim as the CFO of
MarineCorp reported to the companys board the financial
performance of the three companies for the twelve months
ending 31st December 2009 and the subsequent actions that
had been taken to address relevant issues. Hafiz is in dilemma
whether to use economics earnings as required by Suria
Group or profits as practised by MarineCorp to report
financial performance of the three companies.

HBS

CASE 5: SAP for ATLAM

The management of ATLAM, a wholly-owned organisation of
MICT Bhd, had been asked to upgrade its accounting system
with the PETRA group-wide SAP system. The move was
anticipated to be overwhelming. Zulkifli Osman, the Finance
Manager, had to critically assess the risks associated with the
decision. He remembered a conversation that he had had with
the Senior Finance Manager of PETRA where it had been
mentioned that the costs of implementing SAP in ATLAM
was not actually the main concern.

HBS

9&10

5.

Topic
8.0 CASE 6: The Shaking of a Giant Conglomerate
Sime Darby Berhad (SDB) appears to be in a downward
spiral as it faces huge losses again after a similar experience
about thirteen years ago, with top officials being moved out
from several units. On 14 May 2010, SDBs shares had
dropped by 40 cents or by almost five percent to RM8.25 on
Bursa Malaysia. SDB was also the top loser in the local
house. This was followed by the revelations of the delays and
cost overruns in several projects which had a significant
negative financial impact of RM964 million. Shareholders
are worried about their investment in SDB. Even though
investors asked probing questions about the companys
fundamentals, but several inquiries remain unanswered.

Reference
HBS

Week
11&12

DUMMY CASE : Accounting Fraud at WorldCom

The case reveals that no single factor led to the onset and
sustainability of the accounting fraud. WorldCom is a
remarkable and sobering story that so many safeguards
and controls failed simultaneously, leading to a multibillion dollar fraud that went undetected for years. The
case provides an opportunity to discuss the various
controls organizations should have in place to deter,
detect, and prevent illegal activity from occurring.

HBS

13&14

REFERENCES
MAIN:
The Case Study Handbook: How to Read, Discuss and Write Persuasively About
Cases. Ellet W. (2007), Harvard Business Press.
ADDITIONAL:
Learning with Cases. Mauffette-Leenders, L.A., Erskine, J.A., and Leenders,
M.R. (1999). Ontario, Canada: Ivey Publishing. (MEL).
Harvard Business School (HBS) Publishing.
Institute for Management and Business Research (IMBRe), Universiti
Utara Malaysia http://imbre.uum.edu.my/

6.

TEACHING METHODS
The course is designed based on student-centred learning method, facilitated by
case instructors. Each student will be assigned to groups, where each and every
group is expected to discuss key questions and exchange views among group
members (team meeting) before each case is discussed in class. Students are
required to read each case individually in advance and discuss each case among
group members before coming to class.
The class discussions will include presentations on key questions. The pertinent
presentation materials and case report are to be submitted to the case instructor
prior to the day of case discussion. Grades depend highly on class participation,
case report and presentation, and on the quality of team coordination.

7.

ASSESSMENT
Continuous assessment:

70%

There are seven cases including the introduction case to be

taken as the basis for continuous assessment. The introduction
case, case 1, 2, and 3 will be group assignment while case 4, 5
and 6 will be individual assignment.
The allocation of marks are as follows:
- Group assignments
30%
- Individual assignments 30%
- Presentation
10%
Final comprehensive examination
Total
8.

30%
100%

ATTENDANCE
Students are compulsory to attend all lectures/class discussions. Those who do not
fulfill the 80% attendance requirement will be barred from taking the final
examination papers as stated in the Graduation Rules. The 20% absence from
lectures/class discussions includes medical leaves.

9.

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT
Students are REMINDED that academic misconduct is a very serious offence.
Examples of academic misconduct include copying and plagiarizing assignments,
bringing notes during exams and sitting for exams on behalf of other student.
Penalty will be imposed if the students are caught for any of the above
misconducts.

ALL THE BEST!