Accounting analytics develops new insights and understanding of financial and non-financial performance by continuous iterative examination of large data sets pertaining to past financial and non-financial information and events. This course aims to equip students with skills to analyse accounting data to address advanced accounting-related problems. Students are expected to obtain an understanding of different types of data analytics methods and apply these methods to analyse accounting-related problems. 

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Identify and synthesise useful sources of financial and non-financial data that help accountants’ decision-making.
2. Demonstrate the cognitive skills to master the major concepts and use current applications of typical accounting analytics methods.
3. Critically analyse accounting case studies to gain an understanding of the opportunities and challenges brought by large financial and non-financial datasets.
4. Use and evaluate analytics techniques to interpret accounting data, analyse business environments, and develop solutions for authentic accounting problems.
5. Interpret and effectively communicate the findings of accounting analytics to both specialists and non-specialists.
6. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of contemporary accounting analytics relevant to accountants’ work in professional contexts.

Research-Led Teaching

This course focuses on advanced knowledge and skills in accounting data analytics that can be applied to real world accounting issues, but also addresses the research findings related to the central concepts where relevant. Students are encouraged to discuss the underlying research with the course convener and they are expected to perform basic research tasks throughout the course.

Examination Material or equipment

Details regarding materials and equipment that is permitted in an examination can be found on the ANU website:

http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/assessments-exams/examination-conduct

Information regarding permitted examination materials for the course will be available on the examination timetable website when the examination timetable is released:

https://exams.anu.edu.au/timetable/

Required Resources

The main textbook for this course is: Advanced Accounting Analytics - Supplementary readings, 1st edition, McGraw Hill. It is a custom text based on Resutek, R. and V. Richardson, 2024. Financial Statement Analysis: A Data Analytics Approach ISE - Chapters 3, 8-10 (https://www.mheducation.com.au/financial-statement-analysis-a-data-analytics-approach-2024-release-ise-9781266133077-aus-group) and Christ, M., D. Kip Holderness Jr. and V. Richardson, 2024. Cost Accounting: A Data Analytics Approach ISE - Chapters 3, 9-10 and 13-14 (https://www.mheducation.com.au/cost-accounting-a-data-analytics-approach-2024-release-ise-9781264697939-aus).

Two other textbooks that will be used in this course, also used in the pre-requisite course BUSN8066, are:

Richardson, V., R. Teeter and K. Terrell, 2024. Introduction to Data Analytics for Accounting ISE, 2nd edition, McGraw Hill. The focus will be on Chapters 1-2. It is available to purchase at https://www.mheducation.com.au/introduction-to-data-analytics-for-accounting-ise-9781266189401-aus-group.

Richardson, V., K. Terrell and R. Teeter, 2023. Data Analytics for Accounting ISE, 3rd edition, McGraw Hill. The focus will be on Chapters 5-6 and 9. It is available to purchase at https://www.mheducation.com.au/data-analytics-for-accounting-ise-9781265094454-aus-group.

You are expected to have access to a copy of the above prescribed books for the duration of the semester. The books are also available to access for free through the ANU library, but please note that access is restricted to 3 concurrent users at a time. The links to the textbooks available via the library will be provided on Wattle.

Recommended Resources

It is recommended that you have a personal computer to be able to complete the assessment tasks for this course, including the Proctorio exam. You are expected to have Tableau Prep Builder and Tableau Desktop installed on your personal computer prior to the first class. You should apply for a free one-year academic license to use Tableau Prep and Tableau Desktop from https://www.tableau.com/academic/students. Limited suitable computers are available in the computer laboratories on campus.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, and individuals

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Other Information

ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS

Any student identified, either during the current semester or in retrospect, as having used ghost writing services will be investigated under the University’s Academic Integrity Rule.

COMMUNICATION

Email and the Wattle Course Website

Email and the Wattle course website are the preferred ways of communication.

If necessary, the lecturer and tutors for this course will contact students on their official ANU student email address. Students should use this email address when contacting staff as spam filters used by ANU may not allow other email addresses to be received. Information about your enrolment and fees from the Registrar and Student Services' office will also be sent to this email address.

Announcements

Students are expected to check the Wattle site for announcements about this course, e.g. changes to timetables or notifications of cancellations.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Tools and techniques for accounting analytics
2	Data sources for accounting analytics 1	Assignment 01 group formation
3	Data sources for accounting analytics 2	Computer laboratory quiz 01
4	Predictive analytics for financial accounting	Computer laboratory quiz 02
5	Prescriptive analytics for financial accounting	Computer laboratory quiz 03
6	Diagnostic and predictive analytics for management accounting	Computer laboratory quiz 04
7	Prescriptive analytics for management accounting 1	Assignment 01 presentations
8	Prescriptive analytics for management accounting 2	Assignment 01 presentations
9	The modern accounting environment	Computer laboratory quiz 05
10	Audit data analytics 1	Computer laboratory quiz 06
11	Audit data analytics 2	Assignment 02 due
12	Tax analytics	Computer laboratory with practice exam

Tutorial Registration

Computer laboratories will be held weekly on campus (starting from Week 02). Computer laboratories times will be made available via MyTimetable. Two weeks before the commencement of semester, please check the MyTimetable website for details of computer laboratories availability and release time.

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities/tutorials/computer laboratories so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage. Please see Wattle for tutors’ information.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Computer laboratory quizzes	10 %	03/03/2025	17/03/2025	1,2,3,4,6
Assignment 01	20 %	14/04/2025	09/05/2025	1,2,3,4,6
Assignment 02	30 %	12/05/2025	23/05/2025	1,2,3,4,5,6
Final exam	40 %	29/05/2025	26/06/2025	1,2,3,4,5,6

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Extenuating Circumstances Application
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Course delivery: Weekly lecture delivered on campus (recording on Echo360); and weekly on-campus computer laboratory. Computer laboratories will start in Week 02. Students are strongly encouraged to attend both the weekly lecture and the weekly laboratory. Please check Wattle for details closer to the start of semester.

Attendance at all teaching events, while not compulsory, is expected in line with “Code of Practice for Teaching and Learning”, clause 2 paragraph (b).

Examination(s)

Information regarding permitted examination materials for the course will be available on the examination timetable website when the examination timetable is released at https://exams.anu.edu.au/timetable/.

Assessment Task 1

Computer laboratory quizzes

Due date: The due date listed in the Assessment Summary above indicates the earliest possible due date. During the last 10 minutes of the computer laboratory in Weeks 03 to 06, 09 and 10, you will be asked to complete a short quiz based on the material covered in the computer laboratory.

Return of assessment date: The return date listed in the Assessment Summary above indicates the earliest possible return date. Marks will be posted on the course Wattle website no later than two weeks after each laboratory quiz, together with feedback on the quiz. More detailed feedback can be obtained from the teaching staff during the weekly consultation times.

Information about the tasks you need to complete as part of the laboratory work will be available on the course Wattle website on Wednesday the week prior to each laboratory. You are expected to read the relevant textbook chapters and prepare answers to the laboratory tasks before each laboratory. These will help you prepare for the quizzes.

You will be required to attend your assigned computer laboratory session and complete the quizzes in person. The best five quiz marks will be used to calculate your overall score for this assessment task.

Assessment Task 2

Assignment 01

Assignment 01 will need to be completed in groups of 3-4 students, depending on the enrolment numbers. Students will be free to join/create assignment groups with students enrolled in the same computer lab only. The deadline for joining groups will be the end of Week 02.

There are two components to the assignment: (1) written submission (10% towards the overall course mark), and (2) presentation (10% towards the overall course mark).

(1) Written Submission - There is a strict page limit for the written submission that will be provided in the actual assessment task requirements. Material in excess of the page limit will not be marked. The assignment will need to be submitted via Turnitin, with the Assignment Cover Sheet submitted via a separate link provided on the course Wattle website. The deadline for those submissions is by 9am on Monday of the week of presentation. Marks for the written submission will be posted on the course Wattle website no later than two weeks after submission, together with feedback on the work submitted.

(2) Presentation - You will be required to make a 15-minute presentation during Week 07 or 08 during the computer laboratory. During the presentation, you will be given 10 minutes to discuss your findings and 5 minutes to answer questions on your findings. Guidance on the content and format of the presentation will be provided in Week 03. Presentations may be video recorded, which will enable later validation and verification of assessment if required (in accordance with point 7 in the ANU Student Assessment (Coursework) policy. Marks for the presentation will be posted on the course Wattle website no later than two weeks after presentation, together with feedback on the presentation.

The assignment task requirements will be distributed through the course Wattle website in Week 03 and 04. As there will be 3 presentation slots available in Week 07 and Week 08, up to 3 groups will be selected at random in Week 03 to present in either of those two weeks. The topic that will need to be addressed by each of the groups assigned to present in Week 07 will be made available in Week 03, while the topic that will need to be addressed by each of the groups assigned to present in Week 08 will be made available in Week 04. As the topics will be different across the groups (but similar in difficulty), each group will be randomly assigned a topic.

Group members are expected to share the group work equally and contribute to the assignment. In the event that face-to-face meetings are not be possible, students should have online meetings via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype or other online platforms to discuss their work. Students can also use Microsoft SharePoint or Google Docs when working on the assignment, so that all group members are aware of each other's progress and make suggestions on each other's work. 

Each assignment group is required to submit a Group Assignment Contract, outlining how the group plans to participate effectively in the collaborative team process and contribute to achieving team outcomes. The terms of this contract are linked to a peer evaluation to be completed by each student at the end of the assignment, to which each student will be held accountable by their group. The peer evaluation may be used to adjust the written submission mark of the group before allocating it to each individual student. Feel free to reach out to your course convener for any questions regarding the assignment or if you need assistance in handling issues related to group dynamics. 

Assessment Task 3

Assignment 02

Assignment 02 will need to be completed in groups of 3-4 students, depending on the enrolment numbers. Students will be free to join/create assignment groups with students enrolled in any of the computer labs. Students will just need to ensure that they register in their group using the link on the course Wattle website before the deadline for joining assignment groups.

The assignment requirements for Assignment 02 will be distributed through the course Wattle website in Week 06. There is a strict page limit for the written submission that will be provided in the actual assessment task requirements. Material in excess of the page limit will not be marked. The assignment will need to be submitted via Turnitin, with the Assignment Cover Sheet submitted via a separate link provided on the course Wattle website. Marks will be posted on the course Wattle website no later than two weeks after submission, together with feedback on the work submitted.

Group members are expected to share the group work equally and contribute to the assignment. In the event that face-to-face meetings are not be possible, students should have online meetings via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype or other online platforms to discuss their work. Students can also use Microsoft SharePoint or Google Docs when working on the assignment, so that all group members are aware of each other's progress and make suggestions on each other's work. 

Each assignment group is required to submit a Group Assignment Contract, outlining how the group plans to participate effectively in the collaborative team process and contribute to achieving team outcomes. The terms of this contract are linked to a peer evaluation to be completed by each student at the end of the assignment, to which each student will be held accountable by their group. The peer evaluation may be used to adjust the written submission mark of the group before allocating it to each individual student. Feel free to reach out to your lecturer for any questions regarding the assignment or if you need assistance in handling issues related to group dynamics. 

Assessment Task 4

Final exam

The closed-book final exam may assess all topics covered in the course. The final exam will have to be attempted online on the course Wattle website. It may need to be completed on campus with in-person invigilation or remotely with Proctorio. It may include a combination of multiple choice questions, discussion questions and case studies, similar to the computer laboratory tasks and the assignments. The final exam duration will include 120 minutes writing time. While this is a closed-book exam, information about permitted materials will be posted on the course Wattle website by the end of Week 10. A practice exam using Proctorio and containing questions similar to the final exam will be available on the course Wattle website by the end of Week 10. Students will be required to attempt this practice exam during the computer laboratory in Week 12. Centrally administered examinations through Examinations, Graduations & Prizes will be timetabled prior to the examination period. The due date listed in the assessment summary is the earliest possible date. Please check ANU Timetabling for further information. Information regarding exam viewing will be provided in due course.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material. Any use of artificial intelligence must be properly referenced. Failure to properly cite use of Generative AI will be considered a breach of academic integrity.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Accessibility for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents all ANU students