Student 1: Example of good reflective thinking in an e-journal
The assessment task requirements have tested my capacity to locate and interpret information. Based on the assessment work I have done; it has changed my opinion of accounting. Initially I assumed accounting was only relevant to payment issues, however from what I have observed so far it appears accounting is not only relevant to the obvious payments in and out of a business. It also helps deliver a somewhat accurate view of the company in relation to its financial performance, its profitability from an investing point of view and accounting financial statements can help portray what activities the company is both investing in but also its potential future plans. In regards to making a decision such as to invest money into the company, it appears that with enough accurate information one can make an educated assumption of the company’s future performance, provided the company has given true and fair information in its financial statements. An auditor’s role as a third party observer of the company is vital to potential investors. Based on how I would feel if I were a potential investor, I would consider it very important to know that an independent party has deemed the information I am reading to be a true and fair view of the company. In respect to corporate governance, I believe that Fosters policy meets all 8 principles of the ASX principle areas. Based on this and the information provided in Fosters’ corporate governance statement, my opinion is that the company fully intends to protect its shareholders’ investments. I have found the use of financial statements to analyse and review a companies’ performance in relation to investment decisions quite alien. However after completing the assessment task requirements it has started to become clearer in how the information in the statements can actually portray if a company is worth investing in or not. One of the biggest problems I have had with identifying or locating the information I’m looking for is the terminology of the accounting system. Even though English is my first language some of the time it seemed foreign to me the words used in certain parts of financial statements. Throughout the last five weeks and having flicked through financial statements more times than I care to remember the terminology is starting to sink in. The skills I am acquiring will be useful to me as a manager as I will understand more how the company is performing. In previous jobs I have often been sat in 6 monthly reviews listening to the managing director talk about EBITDA’s and other terminologies that as an order fulfilment clerk I felt that it wasn’t relevant to me. Now I would have a much better understanding of the business, and be able to understand the company’s strategies and policies better and how it relates to my job and future at the company.