ACC ACF 2400 Building a Business Dashboard assignment代写
ACC ACF 2400 – Semester 2, 2017
Individual Assignment 1:
Building a Business Dashboard
Overview
A business dashboard is ‘a style of reporting that depicts KPIs, operational or strategic information with
intuitive and interactive displays’ (Turban et al., 2015 p. 380). It is a single screen snapshot of how a
business, department, or process is performing. The design varies considerably from one application
to another, and even between businesses, but a common feature of a dashboard is that it uses graphs,
coloured text, and symbols to show the viewer, at a glance, the current status. A dashboard should
only contain information that actually influences performance. Many dashboards are interactive
because it can be difficult to show every important detail at once.
You are an employee at Australian Electronics Pty Ltd. You have been assigned the task of designing
a report that will be used by managers involved in purchasing, sales, and inventory management.
Your boss, Mary Smith, suggest including at least four (4) ratios. Regarding the ratios, Mary thinks
that Inventory Turnover and Sales Growth are a must.
This is an individual assignment. There is no fixed answer, so be creative!! The spreadsheet must
perform ratio analysis to show the current status of the inventory holdings and sales. Marks are
awarded according to how well the dashboard meets the requirements specified in the rubric.
A data set is supplied with this guide in Moodle (ACC ACF 2400_s2 2017_Inventory Statistics.xlsx). The
Inventory Statistics data set contains four sheets: sales value, sales quantity, the quantity of inventory
on hand, and the quantity purchased. You should use all sheets in your calculations, but may need to
restructure some data on a separate calculation sheet to ensure data is in the format you need.
Instructions on how to build a complex interactive scorecard have been published in different journals
such as the Journal of Accountancy
(http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2011/feb/20092427.html), but you do not have to
build such a complex system if your spreadsheeting skills are not well developed.
The table below contrasts two different approaches. The example on the left shows 7 ratios in a non-
interactive dashboard, with three graphs and one table of numbers. It is clearly not an inventory
management dashboard, but if the design features included were tailored to the inventory
management context, it would likely earn a pass (providing instructions, the input sheet, and the
calculations sheet are acceptable).
The example on the right, however, is from the Dashboard your Scorecard article. It is also not an
inventory management dashboard and does not show ratios, and so is not acceptable, but illustrates
elements that will earn higher marks:
• It is interactive (note the drop-down box in the bottom right graph to select the person shown);
• It uses conditional formatting icons (arrows) in the top right table to indicate the direction of
change and so makes the data easier to digest at a glance;
• It uses spark lines (within cell graphs) in the top right table to show historical changes.
2
Pass
High distinction
Learning objectives assessed:
The purpose of this assignment is to give you practice in designing and developing a reporting system
using good spreadsheet design practice. Some independent research will be required to find out how
to construct the elements of the report, particularly if you are attempting the high distinction
requirements.
In terms of the learning outcomes shown in the unit guide, this assessment task tests your achievement
of objective 4, synthesise design principles to develop financial models that assist in decision making,
and objective 5, apply critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills to analyse, evaluate
and interpret business processes and the accounting data that is generated.
In terms of the unit content, this assignment is based on a set of practice guidelines that are used
widely, usually referred to as the COSO ERM framework, and shown below. This assignment focuses
on the bottom two elements:
Information and communication: What
information is needed, and how should it be
communicated?
Monitoring: How will you monitor what is
happening?
Representative
Prior
Year
Units
Current
Year Units
Percent
Change
Year-to-Date Dollar
Sales
Allen Pearson 924 942 2%
Janet Sellers 1,053 1,015 -4%
Mark Stevens 481 522 8%
Mary Daniel 521 464 -12%
Scott Edwards 452 466 3%
Analysis of Sales Trends
Allen
Pearson
28%
Janet
Sellers
30%
Mark
Stevens
15%
Mary
Daniel
13%
Scott
Edwards
14%
- 500 1,000 1,500
Allen Pearson
Janet Sellers
Mark Stevens
Mary Daniel
Scott Edwards
Unit Sales (000s)
Commercial Government Residential
New
England
Red
Classic
River
Magic
Southern
Charm
Waverly White
Pine
-
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Brick Styles
Unit
Sales
(000s)
3
Marks
Criteria for marking: This assignment is worth 15% of your total marks. You will be assessed for the
quality of your instructions on how to use the spreadsheet, the amount of analysis performed, and the
usefulness and attractiveness of the output.
Mark breakdown per task
Task Marks
A (instruction sheets) 3
B (data input sheet) 3
C (calculations) 2
D (report) 7
Total 15
Required
a) Prepare an instruction sheet that explains how to use your spreadsheet. Instructions should be
brief. Aim for no more than 500 words.
The instruction sheet should include this information:
• Your name
• Purpose of spreadsheet
• Description of layout
• Where to enter data
• Which ratios are shown and how they are calculated
• A description of the information shown on the report
b) Assume that the data input sheets are imported from an Enterprise System database, and so no
manual data entry is required. Sometimes, however, the import process fails, and incorrect data
is assigned to each cell (e.g. numbers where product codes should be). To obtain a credit or above
for this part of the task, format the data input sheets (the ACC ACF 2400_s2 2017_Inventory
Statistics.xlsx file available on Moodle) to highlight invalid values.
c) Construct the data processing (calculation) sheet or sheets (see marking rubric for more details).
d) Construct an attractive report sheet (see marking rubric for more details)
Submission:
Submission is via Moodle on Sunday 10 September 11.59pm
Submission format:
ACC ACF 2400 Building a Business Dashboard assignment代写
.xls or .xlsx spreadsheet file. Assume that your tutor only has access to Microsoft Excel. You may develop
your solution using another program, such as Open Office Calc, Google Sheets, Numbers, and so on,
but must save and submit your work as an Excel sheet.
Word limit:
Instruction sheet: No more than 500 words.
4
Resources:
The assignment is designed to be completed using Microsoft Excel, which is available in the computer
laboratories. It can potentially also be completed using other spreadsheet platforms, such as Google
Sheets or Open Office Calc; however, most of the teaching staff are only familiar with Excel and so may
not be able to provide any meaningful assistance if you choose to attempt the assignment using a
competing product.
A considerable amount of information about each command you are asked to use is available on the
unit Moodle site and the Internet. For example, a simple Google search generated these results:
• Conditional formatting: 514,000 results for Excel, 64,900 results for Google sheets
• Conditional formatting icons: 50,800 results for Excel, feature not supported in Google Sheets
and so has to be implemented via nested IFs or category-based lookup functions (e.g. LOOKUP,
VLOOKUP, MATCH)
• Conditional formatting colour scales: 127,000 results for Excel, 2,210 results for Google Sheets
• Slicer: 408,000 results for Excel, feature not available in Google Sheets
• Excel Form controls/Active X controls: 160,000,000 results (a very popular topic)
Note: Excel’s form controls are available on the Developer tab, which is hidden until you right
click on the top menu, select Customize the Ribbon, and the check the Developer option.
• Google sheets form controls/drop down lists: 79,000 results (limited functionality, but can be
implemented with some effort)
• Spark lines: 307,000 results for Excel, 13,400 results for Google Sheets
This is a major assignment in which you are expected to put in a substantial amount of work to obtain
higher grades. However, you could ask your tutor or one of the lecturers for some guidance about
these commands. Although we recognise that some commands can be a little bit difficult to implement,
you have access to plenty of resources such as learning materials and other web sources (as indicated
above). Conditional formatting icons, in particular, are not easy to customise. Do not expect teaching
staff to give you the answer directly, but we will try to help you to work out why your model is not
working properly. Teaching staff will not be impressed if you ask a basic question, such as “What is
conditional formatting?” or “Where can I find form controls in the menu?”. That type of question
suggests a lazy intellectual approach that is not consistent with university-level study.
5
Marking Rubric for Spreadsheet
High Distinction
Distinction
Credit
Pass Unsatisfactory (Fail)
Instructions Basic requirements:
Shows
• Author
• Purpose of spreadsheet
• Description of layout
• Where/how to enter data
• Formula for each ratio
used
• Examples of special
features in report (e.g.
conditional formatting)
High Distinction
• Professional quality.
• Concise, but well-
explained.
• Error free (e.g.
grammatical mistakes).
• Structure of the
spreadsheet is very clear.
• Clear examples of special
features, such as slicers,
provided.
All basic requirements,
but few errors.
Instructions mostly clear,
and suitable for
distribution to a
professional audience.
Examples provided for all
features, but few
problems to understand.
All basic requirements but
some errors.
Instructions could be
clearer, but the
instructions are usable.
Examples provided for
some, but not all, special
features (e.g. conditional
formatting)
Meets basic requirements,
but some elements were
not explained well.
Should not be distributed
without editing. E.g. some
poor grammar, structure of
workbook or some variable
definitions not explained
well.
Does not meet basic
requirements.
Instructions missing or hard
to understand.
Document contains many
errors.
Cannot be distributed to a
professional audience.
6
High Distinction
Distinction
Credit
Pass Unsatisfactory (Fail)
Input • 3 different rules to
highlight invalid data on
all four input sheets.
• Each rule must apply to
multiple cells, and overall,
all data cells must be
tested (e.g. you could test
whether cells contain the
correct data type or that
numbers are not too high
or low.
• In Excel, this can be done
via the Data Validation
command with the circle
invalid data option
enabled, or via
conditional formatting.
• Google Sheets does not
have a circle invalid data
option, so you have to
use conditional
formatting.
• Note that this is a
challenging task that may
require a formula-based
rule to highlight cells that
contain numbers instead
of text.
• 2 different rules to
highlight invalid data
on all four input
sheets, OR
• 3 rules but not all input
sheets or not all data
cells are covered.
• One rule to highlight
invalid data, OR
• 2 rules, but not all input
sheets or not all data
cells are covered.
• This is an advanced task
for students attempting
to obtain an overall
grade of more than
pass.
• Input sheets are
essentially the same as
sheets downloaded.
7
High Distinction
Distinction
Credit
Pass Unsatisfactory (Fail)
Calculations • Separate calculation
sheet(s)
• Values are from formulas
or pivot tables, not hard-
coded including full use of
absolute and relative
references (whenever
necessary).
• Compulsory ratios (2) are
calculated correctly.
• Separate calculation
sheet(s)
• Values are from
formulas or pivot
tables, not hard-coded
including full use of
absolute and relative
references (whenever
necessary).
• One of the compulsory
ratios is calculated
correctly.
• Separate calculation
sheet(s)
• Values are from
formulas or pivot tables,
not hard-coded
including some use of
absolute and relative
references (whenever
necessary).
• Some data on
calculations sheet is
hard-coded (not from
formulas or pivot
tables).
• No calculation sheets
added.
8
High Distinction
Distinction
Credit
Pass Unsatisfactory (Fail)
Report • Meets Pass requirements
• Creative and attractive
dashboard design that is
also functional (e.g. don’t
use exotic and hard-to-
interpret designs, such as
3D charts unless you have
a reason).
Plus the following 3
requirements:
• One graph or table is
interactive. Use a slicer,
a form control, an
Active-X control, or
similar. A pivot table on
its own is not sufficiently
interactive.
• Spark lines in a table
• Icons or a colour scale
from conditional
formatting used in a
table. The icons or
colours must be
explained within the
dashboard.
• Meets Pass
requirements
• Creative and attractive
dashboard design
• Plus 2 of the 3 High
Distinction
requirements
(interactive, spark
lines, conditional
formatting).
• Meets Pass
requirements.
• Creative and attractive
dashboard design.
• Plus 1 of the 3 High
Distinction
requirements
(interactive pivot table,
spark lines, conditional
formatting)
• Dashboard fits within a
widescreen display
with a 1440 x 900
resolution
• Four (4) or more ratios
including sales growth
ratio and inventory
turnover ratio (these
two ratios are
compulsory). You have
to choose the other 2
(or more) additional
ratios
• 1-3 graphs and 1-2
tables, but no more
than 4 graphs/tables
• Reports based on
calculations, not hard
coded numbers.
• Your name and date
that updates
automatically appear in
the footer section of
the page when printed
• Does not meet basic
(Pass) requirements
(e.g. less than 3 ratios
shown, too large, not
enough graphs/tables,
or report based on hard
coded numbers.
