FAC4861/101/0/2022

NFA4861/101/0/2022
ZFA4861/101/0/2022

Tutorial Letter 101/0/2022

ADVANCED FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING I

FAC4861/ZFA4861/NFA4861

Year Module

Department of Financial Governance

This tutorial letter contains important information

about your module.

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CONTENTS

Page

1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 3
2 PURPOSE AND OUTCOMES ...................................................................................................... 3
2.1 Purpose ........................................................................................................................................ 3
2.2 Outcomes ..................................................................................................................................... 3
3 CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION ........................................................................................... 3
4 LECTURER(S) AND CONTACT DETAILS ................................................................................... 4
4.1 Lecturer(s) .................................................................................................................................... 4
4.2 Department of Financial Governance ............................................................................................ 4
4.3 University ...................................................................................................................................... 5
5 RESOURCES ............................................................................................................................... 5
5.1 Prescribed book(s) ........................................................................................................................ 5
5.2 Library services and resources ..................................................................................................... 5
5.3 Tutorial matter ............................................................................................................................. 5
6 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES ................................................................................................ 6
6.1 First-Year Experience Programme @ Unisa ................................................................................. 6
6.2 Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) .......................................................................................... 6
6.3 Live lectures.................................................................................................................................. 7
7 STUDY PLAN ............................................................................................................................... 7
8 ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................................. 7
8.1 Administration of the tests ............................................................................................................. 8
8.2 Remark of tests ............................................................................................................................. 8
8.3 Self-assessment ........................................................................................................................... 8
8.4 Summative assessment (the examination) .................................................................................... 9
9 IN CLOSING ................................................................................................................................. 9

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Dear Student

1 INTRODUCTION

We welcome you as a student to the Department of Financial Governance and trust that you will find the
academic year constructive and that you will be successful.

You will receive a number of tutorial letters during the year. A tutorial letter is our way of communicating
with you about teaching, learning and assessment. You must read all the tutorial letters you receive
during the year immediately and carefully, as they always contain important and, sometimes, urgent
information.

Tutorial letter 101 together with CASALL1 tutorial letter 301 contains important information about the
scheme of work, resources and tests for this module. We urge you to read it carefully and to keep it at hand
when working through the study material, preparing for the tests and the examination and addressing
questions to your lecturers.

2 PURPOSE AND OUTCOMES

2.1 Purpose

The purpose of this module is to equip you to:

• Identify the objectives of financial statements, the specific information needs of equity investors, the
general information needs of other users and know of, understand and explain the meaning of fair
presentation.
• Explain the need for and the application of a conceptual framework and standards for financial
reporting.
• Select, measure, understand, record and classify accounting data, as well as understand, select and
record non-financial information.
• Define and apply the qualitative characteristics of financial statements and apply them to fair
presentation and measurement issues to enhance the decision-usefulness of financial reporting.
• Explain and apply the underlying assumptions according to which financial statements are prepared.

2.2 Outcomes

Once you completed this module you will be able to:

• Identify and apply the reporting requirements as they relate to the statutory reporting requirements and
the reporting requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards.
• Identify the appropriate elements of financial statements and apply them to the presentation of financial
statements.
• Identify recognition criteria and apply them to the incorporation of items in primary financial statements.
• Identify measurement criteria and models and apply them to the incorporation of items in primary
financial statements.

3 CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION

Unisa has implemented a transformation charter based on five pillars and eight dimensions. In response to
this charter, we have placed curriculum transformation high on the teaching and learning agenda.
Curriculum transformation includes the following pillars: student-centred scholarship, the pedagogical
renewal of teaching and assessment practices, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and the infusion of
African epistemologies and philosophies. These pillars and their principles will be integrated at both
programme and module levels as a phased-in approach. You will notice a marked change in the teaching
and learning strategy implemented by Unisa, together with how the content is conceptualised in your
modules. We encourage you to embrace these changes during your studies at Unisa in a responsive way
within the framework of transformation.
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4 LECTURER(S) AND CONTACT DETAILS

4.1 Lecturer(s)

Telephone
numbers E-mail address
Lecturers
Ms K Mohajane (Module Coordinator) 012 429 4688 mohajk@unisa.ac.za
Ms Y Abed 012 429 4713 abedy@unisa.ac.za
Mr H Meyer 012 429 4722 meyerht@unisa.ac.za
Ms L Thindisa 012 429 8225 thindl@unisa.ac.za
Ms A Uys 012 429 4750 djonga@unisa.ac.za
Ms M Pholo 012 429 8767 pholommn@unisa.ac.za
Mr Y Madolo madoly@unisa.ac.za
Mr C Ngele engelec@unisa.ac.za

Availability of lecturers

Telephonically

You can contact your lecturers telephonically, by making use of the lecturer contact numbers. An available
lecturer will take your call and assist you as promptly as they can.

E-mail

You can also communicate with the lecturers via e-mail. Kindly use the module e-mail address below, as a
first point of contact for all technical and module specific administration related queries.

E-mail: fac1postgrad@unisa.ac.za

Please note that feedback will not necessarily be given via e-mail, thus it is important to give your student
number and telephone number.

Due to the high volumes of e-mails received by lecturers from students it is not always possible to reply to
these e-mails immediately. Please be patient as your e-mails will be attended to as soon as possible.

Consultation

To avoid any disappointment, make an online appointment with a lecturer via email.

Ensure that your student number, return address and telephone numbers are included with your
enquiries. Always have your student number at hand when contacting the University.

4.2 Department of Financial Governance

Telephone
numbers E-mail address
Mr T Nkwane Chair of Department 012 429 2866 nkwantp@unisa.ac.za
Ms P Seretloe Departmental Secretary 012 429 4571 seretmp@unisa.ac.za
Ms K Mohajane Module Coordinator 012 429 4688 mohajk@unisa.ac.za
Ms M Marais Module Secretary 012 429 4720 maraimjj@unisa.ac.za

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Postal address

University of South Africa, PO Box 392, Unisa, 0003.

Physical address

The department is located at Building 3, Unisa Sunnyside North Campus, Corner of Justice Mohammed
and Steve Biko Streets, Sunnyside, Pretoria.

4.3 University

If you need to contact the University about matters not related to the content of this module, please consult
the Study@Unisa brochure. The brochure is available on myUnisa at www.unisa.ac.za/brochures/studies.
This brochure contains information on how to contact the University (e.g. to whom you can write for
different queries, important telephone and fax numbers, addresses and details of the times certain facilities
are open). You can also refer to CASALL1 tutorial letter 301 for additional University contact information.

5 RESOURCES

5.1 Prescribed book(s)

Title Author Publisher Year/Edition

SAICA Handbook Volume 1:
The Annotated IFRS® Standards SAICA LexisNexis 2021/2022
Descriptive Accounting Koppeschaar ZR, et al. LexisNexis 21st edition

Prescribed books can be obtained from the University’s official booksellers. Please refer to the list of official
booksellers on myUnisa at https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/Books/Official-Booksellers.

5.2 Library services and resources

The Unisa Library offers a range of information services and resources:

• Detailed Library information is available at http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library.

• Research support (e.g. personal librarians and literature search services) is available at
http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-services/Research-support.
• Library guides is available at http://libguides.unisa.ac.za.

Students are expected to purchase their own copies of prescribed books listed above. A limited number of
copies are housed in the Unisa Libraries, subject to each branch library’s lending regulations.

5.3 Tutorial matter

You will receive tutorial letters during the year. Some of this tutorial matter may not be available when you
register. Tutorial matter that is not available when you register will be posted to you as soon as possible.
Please note that all tutorial matter will always be electronically available on myUnisa. You can view the
tutorial letters for the modules for which you are registered online on myUnisa at http://my.unisa.ac.za.

Non receipt of hard copy study material does not constitute a valid reason for not being able to
prepare for tests/examination, as the study material will always be available for download from
myUnisa.

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6 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

6.1 First-Year Experience Programme @ Unisa

For many students, the transition from school education to tertiary education is beset with anxiety. This is
also true for first-time students to Unisa. Unisa is a dedicated open distance and e-learning institution.
Unlike face-to-face/contact institutions, Unisa is somewhat different. It is a mega university and all our
programmes are offered through a blended learning mode or fully online learning mode. It is for this reason
that we thought it necessary to offer first-time students additional/extended support so that you can
seamlessly navigate the Unisa teaching and learning journey with little difficulty and few barriers. In this
regard we offer a specialised student support programme to students entering Unisa for the first time. We
refer to this programme as Unisa’s First-Year Experience (FYE) Programme. The FYE is designed to
provide you with prompt and helpful information about services that the institution offers and how you can
access information. The following FYE programmes are currently offered:

• FYE website: All the guides and resources you need to navigate through at the beginning of your first
year at Unisa can be accessed using the following link: www.unisa.ac.za/FYE
• FYE e-mails: You will receive regular e-mails to help you stay focused and motivated.
• FYE broadcasts: You will receive e-mails with links to broadcasts on various topics related to your
first-year studies (such as videos on how to submit assignments online).
• FYE mailbox: For assistance with queries related to your first year of study, send an e-mail to
fye@unisa.ac.za

6.2 Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)

Various TEL initiatives in the form of screencasts on key topics and recordings of live lectures will be made
available during the year. These initiatives are expected to enhance your learning experience and
overcome challenges in various areas of the content of the module. The current resources of the module
will be supplemented with these TEL initiatives. The roll out of these initiatives will be communicated during
the year via the Unisa online platform.
A lesson tool will be created on the Unisa online platform for each learning unit covered in the module, this
will include links to the work covered, screencasts relating to the topic and some activities. For certain
topics, activities will be posted on the discussion forum, you can then work through these activities with the
assistance of your fellow students. Lecturers will post guidance/solutions to these activities at a later stage,
after enough discussions among students have occurred.

Do take note of the following:

• Modules offered by Unisa are either blended (meaning that we use a combination of printed and
online material to engage with you) or online (all information is available via the internet). In all
cases of online engagement, we use the Unisa online platform as our virtual campus.
• From 2022, the the Unisa online platform virtual campus will be offered via a new learning
management system. This is an online system that is used to administer, document and deliver
educational material to you and support engagement with you.
• Look out for information from your lecturer as well as other Unisa platforms to determine how to
access the virtual module site.
• Information on the tools that will be available to engage with the lecturer and fellow students to
support your learning will also be communicated via various platforms.
• The University undertakes to communicate as clearly and as frequently as is necessary to ensure
optimum advantage in the use of the new learning management system.
• Additional information on the use of the the Unisa online platform site for the module, as well as
features to engage and communicate with your lecturer and other students will also be made
available via the online site for the module.
• Therefore, log on to the the Unisa online platform for your module to gain more information on
where to complete and/or upload your assignments and how to communicate with your lecturer.

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6.3 Live lectures

Live lectures will be held during the course of the year. These sessions are beneficial as they provide
relevant information regarding each module, explain key principles, and discuss prior year exam questions
and solutions including examination technique. These classes are free of charge and no registration is
necessary. The recordings of these lectures and slides used are made available online to accommodate
those students who cannot attend. These lectures will include a lecture on key topics per tutorial letter
(including exam technique), a Question and Answer (Q&A) session before each test and a debrief session
after every test. Additional lectures will also be scheduled before the exam.

Refer to CASALL1 tutorial letter 301 for information regarding the study schools.

7 STUDY PLAN

Date Description
7 January 2022 Tutorial letter 101
2 February 2022 – 15 February 2022 Tutorial letter 102
15 March 2022 Test 1
6 April 2022 – 13 April 2022 Tutorial letter 103
26 April 2022 Test 2
18 May 2022 – 24 May 2022 Tutorial letter 104
14 June 2022 Test 3
29 July 2022 – 5 July 2022 Tutorial letter 105
26 July 2022 Test 4
6 August 2022 – 11 August 2022 Tutorial letter 106
September 2022/October 2022 Revision/Examination

8 ASSESSMENT

In this section, the assessment plan of the module is explained. It is important to read the information
provided here as well as in CASALL1/301/2022.

In this module, four tests are written throughout the year. The average mark of the three best tests of each
subject will constitute the student’s year mark and you need 40% to obtain examination admission. If
only one or two tests are written, the total marks of the tests written will be divided by three to obtain the
year mark. If no test is written the year mark will be nil. Note there are no sick tests or other opportunities
for the tests and integrated tests. You are therefore encouraged to make every effort to submit all
assessments in order to enhance your chances of gaining examination entrance for this module. This also
implies that you should commence your studies immediately and work consistently throughout the year. In
addition, note:

• All information on when and where to submit your tests will be made available to you via the Unisa
online platform for your module.
• The test weighting for the module is 20% and the examination will count 80% towards the final
module mark.
The final examination for the module will be a take-home examination. Please refer to CASALL1 tutorial
letter 301 for further administrative information regarding the tests.

Topics to be covered in the tests

Test Date Topics Nature of test

1 15 March 2022 Tutorial letter 102 Limited open book
2 26 April 2022 Tutorial letter 102 -103 Limited open book
3 14 June 2022 Tutorial letter 102 -104 Limited open book
4 26 July 2022 Tutorial letter 102 -105 Limited open book

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8.1 Administration of the tests

Please also note that the assessments may be non-venue based (online) in 2022, but this will be
communicated to students in advance. Answer books will be provided. Each module must be answered in
a separate book. Please write your student number and full postal address on the cover of each
answer book.

Your answer book will be posted to the address written on the answer book after they have been marked.
As soon as the marks are available they will be accessible on myUnisa. You are requested not to phone
the lecturers or secretaries for your test marks because they do not keep record of the test marks.

8.2 Remark of tests

Should you be unhappy with your test marking, please follow the following steps:

• Forward your original script to mailbox: E-mail: fac1postgrad@unisa.ac.za

• You must include an explanation of why you would like your test to be remarked, as well as an
indication of instances where you were not awarded marks according to the suggested solution (the
suggested solution will be available on myUnisa).

• When you send your test for a remark, the test in total will be remarked and not only certain sections.
Should you receive a lower mark on the remark, your test mark will be adjusted accordingly.

• Please note that you have a limited period to query your tests results. No test marks will be
adjusted after the expiry of this period. The following dates are applicable:

Test Test date Test remark requested before

1 15 March 2022 06 May 2022
2 26 April 2022 17 June 2022
3 14 June 2022 05 August 2022
4 26 July 2022 02 September 2022

Unethical conduct

We have noted in the past that students have submitted tests for remarks after they have written in
additional information as part of the solution after receiving the tests back. This is included in the
definition of cheating as per the Unisa Students’ Disciplinary Code in Chapter 3, as it relates to the
commission of any other fraudulent or dishonest practice whereby a student, whilst being
examined by the University, seeks to mislead or deceive the examiner or the examination officer.
Students found guilty of writing additional information in tests after receiving it back will be
facing disciplinary steps as it is unethical conduct.

8.3 Self-assessment

It is important that you should be accustomed to working under pressure as the time aspect of the
examination paper poses a problem to many students. The tests are not the only method of gaining
experience in working under pressure. Included in the tutorial matter you will find self-assessment
questions. If you complete the questions under exam conditions during the year, you will become
accustomed to working against time. It is extremely important that you become aware of the tempo at which
you should work to be able to complete an examination paper within the time allowed. Consistent studying
throughout the year will increase your chances of success in the final examination.

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8.4 Summative assessment (the examination)

The final examination for this module will take place in October. The examination will consist of two 100
mark papers written on the same day. Each paper will include 30 minutes reading time and 150 minutes
writing time. The examination will cover the entire syllabus of the module. Detailed information regarding
the examination will be communicated later in the year in the CASALL1 300-series tutorial letters. Use your
Study@Unisa brochure for general examination guidelines and examination preparation guidelines.

Only students who comply with the following, will be allowed to sit for the examination:

• Registered students who paid their study fees in full; and

• have a minimum year mark of 40%.

Remember, the year mark contributes 20% and the examination mark 80% towards your final mark.
However, you also have to achieve a minimum examination mark of 40%, before the year mark is taken
into account.

9 IN CLOSING

We hope that you will enjoy this module and wish you all the best!

Kind regards,
Your Lecturers