ACTL 4002/5200

Group Assignments 2024 (Revised)

The assignments are intended to promote engagement with the problems and
opportunities available in the financial sector, and to develop your skills in research,
your ability to present your ideas concisely and coherently, and to work in groups.
They are also intended to stimulate you to ask Augustine’s question that is quoted in
Chapter 1 of WEF: “What do I want to be remembered for?”

You are expected to spend 10 to 15 hours on this assignment. The questions are set
out below.

You need to join one of the groups on Moodle that choose a group of 4 to 6.
Students who would like to work together must notify their tutor of their choice in
week 1.

Students will choose teams of 4 to 6 members to review the business of a listed

general, life or health insurance company. This will involve analysis of recent annual
reports and commentary on:

• the company's business plan

• the company's risk management framework
o The risks reported
o Management and mitigation
• the calculation of their liabilities
• measures of solvency and profitability
• whether the share price of the company represents its real value.

Teams will submit several items, the most significant of which are the report and a
video presentation

1. Video

The group will be presenting a review of the company’s finance to an APRA team,
which is about to make a standard oversight visit to the company. You may assume
that an earlier presentation has given the company’s target market and business
details, including an overview of their revenue and main asset holdings.

The video presentation should use PowerPoint slides and have a length of
approximately 3 minutes per student. For example, groups of 5 should produce a
video around 15 minutes long (give or take a minute), and during this presentation
each group member should speak for a roughly equal amount of time.

Group members are not required to speak in 3-minute blocks and speakers may
alternate if they so choose, so long as each student speaks for roughly 3 minutes
total.
2. Report

The report should be less than 1000 words. There will be ONE report submittable per
group. The report should summarise the group’s video presentation.

To aid the APRA team identify the speakers, groups should submit a simple table
detailing when each student speaks during their video. The table should have a row
for each minute of the video and column for each student, and a cross in the
appropriate boxes. (There may be more than one cross in each row and column.

3. Group Meetings

As part of the assignment, the group must hold a minimum number of meetings in
the style of a Board of Directors. In each meeting, there will be two special roles: the
chairperson and the secretary. The chairperson will lead the meeting and the
secretary will produce minutes for the meeting (these minutes will be submitted as
part of your assignment).If you have an internal group dispute over the minutes, the
dissenting party or parties can include a comment as to the reason for their dissent
attached to the offending item.

The minutes must be less than one page per meeting. They must record the names
of the chair and minute taker, and which members have been allocated which
tasks. Groups will allocate different functions to each member. Following the
completion of these functions, each member will be required report to the group, as
if it was the Board of Directors of the company. In the first two or three meetings,
each member must be given a task on which they must report to the group. During
the last two or three meetings, the Board should receive the reports, which can be
brief and will form part of the group report.

Any data collected or calculations made must be checked by a different member

of the group.

4. Invoice

Each student will also be required to keep a record of hours spent and submit a
notional invoice to the company. The invoice should list all hours spent on the
assignment as well as a dollar amount they would charge the Board (this amount will
not be paid out). Students are encouraged to be creative with their invoices while
maintaining a business-oriented mindset.

5. Reflection

Each student should also produce a reflection of no more than 300 words on their
experience. This could include an appreciation of their fellow directors (or
otherwise). It can also include an appendix that lists the threshold concepts that
they used in preparing their report and in the meeting discussions.
6. Submittables

Students will need to submit all the items they have produced by the Friday at the
end of week 10.

Submission to be uploaded onto Moodle. This assignment will be submitted through

Turnitin, and students can see Turnitin similarity reports.

Students will need to submit all the items they have produced by the end of week.

1. Their 1000 word report (ONE PER GROUP submitted by the student with the
lowest student number)
2. Their 12-18 minute video (also submitted by the student with the lowest
student number)
3. Their video speaker sheet
4. The minutes that they took as secretary (at least one set per student)
5. The invoice they provided (one per student)
6. Reflection on the experience (one per student)

Note: previous iterations of the assignment required students to submit one function
report per student. This is no longer required.

ALLOCATION TO COMPANIES

GROUPS
ASX:QBE QBE Insurance Group Limited 1 12
ASX:SUN Suncorp Group Limited 2 13
ASX:IAG Insurance Australia Group Limited 3 14
ASX:MPL Medibank Private Limited 4 15
ASX:CGF Challenger Limited 5 16
ASX:NHF NIB Holdings Limited 6 17
ASX:AMP AMP Limited 7 A
ASX:CVW Clearview Wealth Limited 8 B
ASX:TWR Tower Limited 9 C
ASX:NOL NobleOak Life Limited 10 D
ASX:AYU Australian Unity Limited 11 E

Rubrics for grading (and their weighting) are set out below. 1 to 3 depend on the
content of the report and presentation; 4 on the minutes and invoice, and 5 solely
on the presentation.
 Below Expectations Meets Expectations Exceeds Expectations
Criteria
<50% (Fail) 50% - 74% (Pass-Credit) ≥ 75% (Distinction-HD)
• Applies relevant knowledge to a
business situation, largely • Insightfully and accurately applies
• Does not apply relevant
accurately (only minor errors) and relevant knowledge innovatively,
knowledge sufficiently
sufficiently thoroughly to demonstrating a thorough
1. Apply current accurately to a business
demonstrate an adequate understanding of theory, technical
knowledge to a situation or practice.
understanding of relevant theory / skills and professional practice.
business or • Does not synthesize relevant
technical skills /professional • Appropriately integrates and
policy situation knowledge or skills or show
practice. synthesizes relevant knowledge,
(30%) their application to professional
• Provides some (incomplete) including identifying synergies
practice.
synthesis of relevant theory and between theory and practice.
skills, with application to • Referencing appropriate
professional practice.
• Adequate awareness of the team’s
• Presents a consistent, effective
role (e.g. startup, govt department
argument/model, and
...)
• Does not present a consistent insightful/strategic conclusions or
• Presents an argument/model and
2. Draw argument or draw an recommendations for business /
develops plausible, realistic
conclusions, appropriate conclusion or management practice, well-supported
conclusions or recommendations,
propose and propose a valid solution by analysis, evidence, theory or
although these may contain some
justify a justified by analysis, theory research.
weaknesses or over-simplification,
solution to a and/or research. • Considers and evaluates differing
and/or limited justification.
problem (30%) • Presentation poorly structured perspectives and alternative strategies
• Does not sufficiently consider or
and unclear (if appropriate) and acknowledges
evaluate differing perspectives or
limitations and constraints of own
alternative solutions (if appropriate)
conclusion/solution.
or acknowledge limitations and
 Below Expectations Meets Expectations Exceeds Expectations
Criteria
<50% (Fail) 50% - 74% (Pass-Credit) ≥ 75% (Distinction-HD)
constraints of own
conclusion/solution.
• Presentation clear and well
structured.
• Makes some evaluation of • Makes an insightful evaluation of
3. Shows • Does not evaluate business business decisions/practice in business decisions or practice in
awareness of
decisions or practice in light light of ethical considerations. light of ethical considerations.
ethical
of social or ethical • Provides some justification for • Provides a strong justification for
considerations
(10%) considerations. evaluation, based on analysis evaluation, based on analysis and
and relevant ethical frameworks. ethical frameworks.
Meeting minutes show that
Meeting minutes suggest that
member contributed effectively Contributes very effectively to
member does not contribute
to achieving a successful team achieving a successful team
effectively to achieving a
outcome, e.g.: outcome, e.g.:
successful team outcome
• attends meetings and is punctual • contributes constructively to
4. Contributes e.g., may NOT: meetings; shares ideas; builds on
effectively to and prepared
• attend many meetings, or be
achieving team • contributes positively others’ ideas; generates useful new
punctual and prepared ideas
• meets deadlines
outcomes (20%) • contribute positively to • contributes significantly to team’s
• produces required share and
meetings achievement
quality of work
• meet deadlines • demonstrates a high level of
• demonstrates (or seeks to
• produce required share and knowledge/skills for the task
develop) necessary knowledge /
quality of work
skills for the task
Delivery engages audience Pleasure to listen to:
Delivery does not engage
5. Communicates adequately: • Uses language fluently and
audience, e.g.:
effectively • Addresses camera. eloquently to reinforce message and
• Overly reading from
(10%) • Speech generally clear and to engage and interest the
notes/slides/board audience.
audible
 Below Expectations Meets Expectations Exceeds Expectations
Criteria
<50% (Fail) 50% - 74% (Pass-Credit) ≥ 75% (Distinction-HD)
• Does not structure material • Voice used to emphasise key
logically or make a points and add interest
coherent overall statement