Financial Accounting Assignment: Business Report on Transurban

Question

Task: The financial accounting assignmenthas two sections. Section A requires you write a business report. Section B requires you submit a short piece titled “Reflecting and Improving”.

SECTION A
“This reporting season may not provide much of a guide to future earnings numbers, but will provide some insight into how the companies are coping with, and responding to, the biggest challenge [COVID-19] the corporate sector – and the wider economy – has experienced in at least 30 years.” Stephen BartholomeuszSenior business columnist The most important, and meaningless, reporting season in history The Age August 10, 2020 “Climate change potentially poses an even greater threat to the global economy than COVID-19. Heavy investment in traditional fixed assets could derail efforts to restrict temperature rises to 2°C. Not meeting this goal could lead to infrastructure damage; diminishing harvests; more expensive assets; and greater operational risks in supply chains.”Danielle Welsh-Rose, ESG Investment Director Asia-Pacific at Aberdeen Standard Investments A once-in-a-generation opportunity Livewire Markets July 23, 2020

Assume you are a winter vacation intern at the Melbourne office of an international accounting firm and have been assigned by a partner of the firm to produce for them a business report about the ASX listed company Transurban.

Specifically, the partner asks you to write a report that:
• Identifies the approaches taken by Transurban to reporting on the effects of COVID-19 and climate change to its current and future operations; and
• provides three recommendations that could be implemented by independent standard setting organisations, regulators, lawmakers and/or intergovernmental organisations like the UN to improve the quality of reporting on these issues.
Prior to writing the report, you will:
• first, reflect on the comments of Bartholomeusz and Welsh-Rose;
• second, read three 30th June 2020 reports issued by Transurban, – the FY20 Corporate Report (the holistic performance of Transurban in FY20 including the Financial Statements); the FY20 Corporate Governance Statement (made in accordance with ASX Council’s Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations (4th Edition); and FY20 Sustainability Supplement (Supplement to the Corporate Report including information related to their assessment and management of climate related impacts as well as a report on their progress against the UN Sustainable Development Goals). All available at www.transurban.com/investor-centre;
• Third, undertake necessary research – including the Corporations Act 2001, financial and non-financial standards and guidelines, newspaper and other media reports and scholarly articles.
Your business report must include an evaluation of the quality of the reported information and whether you find the provided information strengthens or weakens the usefulness of the reports issued by Transurban. A discussion of appropriate theory (ies) is required.

The report will include some background material about Transurban, and as necessary refer the Corporations Act 2001 and financial and non-financial standards and guidance including section/paragraph numbers where appropriate.

The rubric for marking this assignment is attached. The report will reflect your view based on research evidence, theory and original consideration. For more information on the required structure of your business report read https://www.swinburne.edu.au/content/dam/media/docs/FBL-assignment-resource-Writing_at_University_2_the_Business_Report.pdf https://www.swinburne.edu.au/content/dam/media/docs/Assignment-writing-guide-Sample_Text_2_Business_Report_the_Stylish_Report.pdf The report should not exceed 3000 words (+/-10%) (excluding title page, table of contents, reference list and the executive summary, but including footnotes (and endnotes and appendices if used). A reference list is a MUST. Please provide a word count on the title page. To avoid plagiarism, you are required to provide a reference whenever you include information from other sources in your work. Further details regarding plagiarism are available in Part C of the unit outline. Referencing convention required for this unit is the Swinburne Harvard System. Helpful information on referencing using the Swinburne Harvard System can be found at: http://www.swinburne.edu.au/lib/studyhelp/harvard_style.html

Format to be used: Font size: 12 pt | Line spacing: 1.5 lines | Paragraph spacing: 6 pt | Alignment: Justified. Insert page numbers at the bottom of the page

SECTION B
Section B requires you to submit a short piece titled “Reflecting and Improving”.
Copy the table and questions below into your file and provide your response.

1. Rate your skills using the following rating scale:

2.
a. In completing my assignment, I am good at … (use no more than 20 words)
b. In completing my assignment, I encountered these problems … (use no more than 20 words)
c. Next time I will try to be better at … (use no more than 20 words)
d. Suggest one change you could make to improve your performance (use no more than 20 words)

Answer

Executive Summary
Transurban is one of the eminent road operating organisations in Australia has faced the problem in corporate performance as a result of COVID 19 and climate-changing issues. The financial accounting assignment has made a detailed analysis of Transurban with sustainability and governance report. The discussion of government policy is done based on ASX corporate governance principles. The climate-changing issue of the company has been managed based on a risk management approach. The management focuses on the maintenance of sustainability by maintaining the quality of performance according to Corporations Act 2001.

Section A
1. Introduction
Transurban is a Melbourne based road operator organisation that manages and develops urban toll road networks in Australia, Canada and the USA. The company is the full owner of the city link in Melbourne and connects major areas of Australia with the Melbourne city. The company is one of the leading organisations in the international Infrastructure and Development Industry. The organisation was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability index from the year 2006 to 2010 and DJSI (List of Asia-Pacific) from the year 2011 to 2015 (Annual and Corporate Governance Report of Transurban Group, 2020).

The climate-changing issue is one of the biggest challenges of different corporate organisations throughout the globe. In addition to that, the COVID 19 situation has created major problems for the performance of corporate organisations. The current study has analyzed approaches that have been adopted by Transurban to overcome climate change and COVID 19 issue. At the beginning of the study, the comment of Bartholomeusz and Welsh-Rose has been evaluated for identifying the performance of global economic changes. After that, the holistic performance of Transurbanduring the year 2020 has been discussed and the future performance for the year 2021 has been analysed. The corporate governance practices of the organisation for the ASX principles are discussed in the study. In addition to that, the sustainability performance of the company for the year 2020 has been discussed in detail. After that, the recommendations are provided to the UN council and other international organisations for implementing different climate action related policies successfully.

2. Analysis of Findings
Approaches Taken Transurban to report the effects of COVID 19 and Climate Change to its current and future operation
Reflection on the comment of Bartholomeusz and Welsh-Rose
Based on the comment of Bartholomeusz and Welsh-Rose, it is identified that the global economy is changing rapidly (Bartholomeusz, 2020). Under the pandemic situation, it is difficult for corporate organisations to cope with the changing economic position. The demand for service has been remarkably decreased and it is difficult for the corporate organisations to maintain equilibrium between supply and demand. According to the opinion of senior business columnist Bartholomeusz, not only for the current COVID 19 pandemic, the entire world is changing the globalised business relationship for ensuring nationalism. The COVID 19 situation has increased the application of the policy as the development of the own country's economy is the priority of each nation.

The pandemic situation is developing in the two largest countries in the world, the USA and China have deteriorated the economic position of both the countries in the world. The employment opportunity in the world market is destroyed as a result of the economic meltdown of the US economy. According to the view of Bartholomeusz and welsh, the corporate organisations throughout the globe are facing issues regarding their existence as the share price of various eminent organisations, Walmart, Fortescue has deteriorated. They have opined that corporate sectors are the backbone of the economy of different nations mainly in the underdeveloped countries. The economic recession has decreased demand for corporate organisations and the globalised relationship is hampered. Under COVID 19, health concerns have damaged the business communication process and the global supply chain is changed. Under the COVID 19 pandemic, each country has realised the necessity of economic development as the demand and supply in the world market is tremendously affected as a result of the pandemic. According to the opinion of Bartholomeusz and Welsh-Rose, it is found that climate change and COVID pandemic both have directly affected the world economy and globalisation (Bartholomeusz, 2020).

Holistic Performance of Transurban in FY 2020
In terms of holistic approaches of Transurban, it can be stated that the company has focused on the environmental sustainability issues under the economic recession due to the pandemic situation. Under the COVID 19 pandemic, the company has developed its roadwork in the Melbourne area. The positive employee motivation is created by the company under the economic recession and it has enhanced the quality of performance of the company. The most important matter that has been identified in the case of Transurban Company is ESG initiative. It reveals that environmental, social and governance practices are properly followed by the company. Hence, under the COVID 19 pandemic, the company has adopted an effective policy to maintain the stability of the performance. The company has made equilibrium between the demand and supply process and it has ensured the consistency in the market. Core holistic performance areas of the company are
Major Project Developments (Three big projects have been completed by Transurban during 2020)
ESG Initiative has been adopted by the company as the previous years
Developed the contribution to the stakeholders
The company has contributed to the community development
The customer support of the company has been expanded for maintaining consistency in the service
The management has focused on the investors’ return
The more focus has been made on balancing the requirements of stakeholders
To enhance employee performance, the leave related rules according to section 237 of the Corporations Act is strictly implemented
Based on section 327 of Corporations Act 2001, the auditors' independence has been followed by the company

In terms of the climate-changing process, it can be stated that the company has focused on the sustainability approach. According to the view of company management, it is identified that weather events are evaluated to invest in assets. The company has emphasized the use of automated vehicles, smart mobility, road-user charging and zero-emission vehicles for controlling the climate changing issue. The return on investment is a major area in the case of adopting decisions of asset investment. In this case, the holistic approach has been found in the case of Transurban. According to the view of Gilmore, (2017, p.195), climate change has a significant impact on business performance rather than current COVID 19 pandemic. The reason is the fluctuation in the temperature affects the performance of fixed assets and it hampers the quality of construction work.

Future policies F.Y 2021
Based on the existing COVID 19 situation and the climate changing situation, the company has focused on the development of policies in the future. For instance, the organisation has aimed to invest more in climate-changing policy development from the year 2021 to 2023. To overcome traffic and toll revenues, the company would focus on different policies during the F.Y 2021. Furthermore, the organisation has planned to launch a long term project in the post-pandemic period for compensating the loss under the COVID pandemic. The company has the target to enter into the power purchase agreement during the year 2021 for enhancing the use of renewable electricity. Furthermore, the highly skilled team development process has been considered by the company from the year 2021 and it would ensure the quality of organisational performance of Transurban. The rapidly changing nature of the transport and infrastructure industry has increased the importance of change in team performance. As the demand and supply have been highly decreased under the pandemic, the company aims to make long planning in F.Y 2021 for developing the company performance and ensuring sustainability.

Corporate Governance Statement FY 2020 (ASX Corporate Governance Principles)

Figure 1: Governance Framework of Transurban
(Source: Annual and Corporate Governance Report of Transurban Group, 2020)

The above governance framework depicts that independent assurance policy has been adopted by the management of the company. The external and internal audit process both have been strictly followed by the organisation. The board committees of the company can be classified into three categories including Audit and Risk Committee, Nomination Committee and remuneration of people & Culture committee. The delegation of authority and accountability both have been strictly followed by the entity. Based on the financial and governance report analysis, it is found that the AASB 16, AASB 3 and AASB 117 are strictly followed by the company Transurban and it has ensured transparency in the financial performance. On the other hand directors' duties are strictly evaluated according to section 180 of Corporations Act 2001 (Annual and Corporate Governance Report of Transurban Group, 2020). The overall corporate governance policy of Transurban for the ASX principles regarding corporate governance has been discussed below.

Principle 5 of ASX corporate governance deals with the timely and balanced disclosure process. The governance policy analysis of Transurban reveals that the company has focused on continuous disclosure policy. It depicts that the ASX prescribe principle 5 has been strictly followed by the company and it has ensured transparency of financial results of Transurban. The material effect on price and values of securities is needed to be mentioned clearly in the report. Based on this rule analysis, it is found that material effects are properly shown in the financial statements of the company. In this context, it is also clear that not only the continuous disclosure policy is followed; the timely disclosure is considered by the organisation.

The principle 6 is dealt with the rights of security holders and according to the principle; the listed company should provide information regarding this matter. The governance policy analysis of the organisation reveals that security policy dealing is properly done by the organisation. The price of sensitive security information has not been disclosed by the company. In this case directors, employees and contractors follow strict policies to maintain transparency in the security-related information of the company.

The principle 7 of ASX prescribed corporate governance policies depicts that risk management is an important matter in the case of ensuring transparency in the organisational practices. Based on the rules of ASX, the risk management framework has been used by the company Transurban and it has developed the organisational performance under the economic recession period (ASX Principles, 2019). In terms of environmental regulations, it is found that the company focuses on the regular monitoring of environmental exposure and compliance with environmental regulations.

Principle 3 of ASX principles reveals that ethical consideration is essential to a business entity for achieving organisational goals (ASX Principles, 2019). The standard from employees and third parties is ensured by the top-level management in the project implementation. Hence, the ethical policy of ASX is strictly followed by the company Transurban. The rules of ASX depicts that ethical codes for the duties of directors are needed to be followed and that has been considered by the higher management of Transurban.

Principle4 that has been prescribed in the ASX corporate governance rules is followed by the company Transurban. It implies that integrity and safeguarding stakeholders both have been strictly applied in the company. The effective stakeholder management has helped the company to enhance the organisational performance and it has helped to maintain transparency of the performance of the management. The holistic and practical approach of the company has helped the top management to manage stakeholders properly and sustainable development is ensured. Furthermore, the disclosure policy is properly followed by the organisation and it has developed the transparency in the financial performance of the entity.

Sustainability Supplement 2020
Assessment of the Climate Changing Process

Figure 2: Climate Changing Framework Priority areas of Transurban
(Source: Sustainability Report Supplement, 2020)

The above climate-changing framework priority areas reveal that the company has focused on the low carbon supply chain process, development of energy efficiency and climate risk integration. Furthermore, TFCD compliance and reporting policy has been followed by the company that includes governance and risk management procedures (Sustainability Report Supplement, 2020). The company has adopted a revised climate-changing framework currently after evaluating the existing climate-changing strategic procedures. In this context, it can be stated that the Australian Government has the commitment to meet the requirements of the UN Paris agreement and this is why the climate changing strategy has been developed by the company. The key focuses of the UN Paris agreement are

Reduction in carbon emissions by 49% within the year 2030 and the reduction in the emissions by 100% during the year 2050
Extreme Government penalties would be charged to protect the carbon emissions
The government of Australia would focus on the community concern related to the carbon emission
Development of low carbon technologies and solutions

Management of Climate Change Impacts
The management of climate-changing impacts of Transurban can be analysed in three aspects including stakeholder engagement, delivery and operations and effective investment. The climate-changing process has affected the business of Transurban as the company is directly related to the roadwork and it has hampered the stakeholder management process of the company. The company has managed the issue based on low carbon technological development and it has enhanced the stakeholder management process of Transurban. The global industry standard has been followed by the company and the regulations of global climate-changing protection policy have been properly applied by the organisation. The management of Transurban considers impact mapping for adopting appropriate steps against the climate changing procedures. The delivery and operation process of the organisation has been developed by applying the sustainable climate-changing policy. This includes the low carbon emission, environment-friendly asset investment and so on. According to the view of Lehtinenet al., (2019, p.61), the stakeholder management theory focuses on ensuring sustainable business development of a business entity by considering the priority of each stakeholder equally.

Progress of Climate changing performance
As per the policy of the UN Paris agreement, the entity has considered climate-related risks covering both threats and opportunities and that has been overseen by the board of directors of the organisation
The risk associated with the low carbon transition process and the physical impact of climate change are evaluated
The unexpected change in the expectations of stakeholders and government policies has created a problem in the case of developing the operating performance
To overcome the risk of new policies, internal risk management, short term and long term financial impacts are evaluated by the company.
The scenario analysis has been considered by the management of Transurban for overcoming the issue effectively
The management of Transurban has a target of focusing on the global emission reduction process and this is why the company has focused on the risk assessment process.

Goal 13 of United NationsSustainable development goals have been considered by the company in the development of climate-changing performance management. The goal is related to climate action and to achieve this goal, the requirements of UN-Paris agreement is followed by the organisation (Envision2030 Goal 13: Climate Action | United Nations Enable, 2020). The goal has stated that it is important to all countries to raise awareness and education related to the sustainable development process. The management of Transurban has the aim to connect the goal 13 with goal 11 i.e. maintenance of sustainable communities. The development of the climate-changing management process would help the company Transurban to ensure sustainable development.

Recommendations
Recommendation 1
The climate-changing process has a significant impact on the infrastructure damage and hence, it is essential to different organisations to focus on the estimation regarding asset investment. Climate change management has a significant impact on the performance management of Transurban. The climate-changing issue has been raised first time in Kyoto Protocol and subsequently, it has been discussed in detail in the Paris agreement. Besides, the United Nations have the target to achieve the climate action goal within 2030. Hence, under these circumstances, it is recommended to the United Nations to focus on the low carbon emission process and that should be followed by all countries of the world. In the 2019 climate action summit also, it is discussed that carbon emission reduction is the key policy of environment management at present. Hence, the UN council needs to strongly focus on the low carbon emission process.

Recommendation 2
Implementing the commitment that has been adopted by developed nations to protect the malefic effect of climate change is another essential duty of the UN council. In this context, it is also needed to be said that the World Meteorological Organisation has a significant role in the case of managing climate changing process (Geography and Climate Change Organizations | AAG, 2020). Hence, it is recommended to focus on the implementation of climate-changing management policies including environment-friendly transport system, low carbon emission and so on. The WMO is the part of the UN that focuses on the management of climate change throughout the globe including oceans. According to the report of WMO, it is found that the climate changing process in the Ocean area has a significant impact on human life. The oil exploration process in the ocean is responsible for the change in the climate. Hence, the policies of developed nations are needed to be implemented within 2025 for ensuring sustainable environmental development.

Recommendation 3
The climate-changing process has damaged the supply chain management of business organisations. The greater operational risk in supply chain management has damaged the business performance of Transurban. For instance, under the COVID 19 pandemic and climate-changing issue, the company has faced problemsregarding the Green Supply chain management process. Hence, the UN council needs to implement the environment-friendly policies for different business entities for ensuring sustainability. The concept of green supply chain management has become more effective currently and hence, it is essential to implement the same by the management of Transurban. Furthermore, the UN council and WMO needs to increase awareness regarding green supply chain management all over the world.

3. Conclusion
The above discussion states that the effective corporate governance policy and sustainability approach has helped the company to enhance the performance in the competitive market. The organisation has considered the risk management approach under the economic recession for maintaining equilibrium between supply and demand. The management has made an aim to overcome the problem of climate-changing issues. The organisation has a target to implement the policies of UN-Paris agreement and the company has obtained assistance from the government of Australia. In the case of the financial and non-financial performance of the company, the Corporations Act 2001 has been followed.

Section B

a. In the case of completing my assignment I have obtained adequate resources from Google Scholar and other relevant websites.
b. In the time management process, I have faced a problem as it was difficult to get reliable information easily
c. Next time I would try to complete the project within a specific time . The study can be improved in the future based on more information.

References
Annual and Corporate Governance Report of Transurban Group, 2020. Available at: https://www.transurban.com/investor-centre/reporting-suite (Accessed: 24 September 2020).
ASX Principles, 2019. Available at: https://www.asx.com.au/documents/regulation/cgc-principles-and-recommendations-fourth-edn.pdf (Accessed: 24 September 2020).
Bartholomeusz, S. 2020. New normal: The global economy will look nothing like it did before, The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/what-the-global-economy-will-look-like-after-the-pandemic-20200520-p54upp.html (Accessed: 24 September 2020).
Envision2030 Goal 13: Climate Action | United Nations Enable, 2020. Available at: https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/envision2030-goal13.html (Accessed: 25 September 2020).
Geography and Climate Change Organizations | AAG, 2020. Available at: http://www.aag.org/cs/programs/interdisciplinary/climatechange/clearinghouse/organizations (Accessed: 25 September 2020).
Gilmore, E.A., 2017. Introduction to Special Issue: disciplinary perspectives on climate change and conflict. Financial accounting assignmentCurrent Climate Change Reports, 3(4), pp.193-199.
Lehtinen, J., Aaltonen, K. and Rajala, R., 2019. Stakeholder management in complex product systems: Practices and rationales for engagement and disengagement. Industrial marketing management, 79, pp.58-70.

Sustainability Report Supplement, 2020. Available at: https://www.transurban.com/content/dam/transurban-pdfs/01/sustainability-reports/FY20-Sustainability-Supplement.pdf (Accessed: 24 September 2020).