Question One
The financial statements of a company should be prepared in accordance with the accepted accounting principles and guidelines. It is the role of the auditors to make sure that the financial statements prepared reflects the true and the correct financial position of a company. There should be adequate disclosure of all the transactions in the financial statements. Disclosure is made by the use of notes provided after the financial statements have been shown. SEEK Limited is the leading provider of online employment services. It is located in Australia and New Zealand .
The disclosure of the financial statements of SEEK Limited is made from page 52 of the annual reports. The disclosures regarding the accounting policies used in the preparation of the annual reports are adequately explained. The financial statements of SEEK Limited have been prepared in accordance to the Australian Accounting Standards. Disclosures regarding critical accounting estimates and the principles of consolidation used have been extensively covered.
Adequate disclosure has been made regarding the total revenue of the company. The revenue from continuing operations and discontinued operations has been included in the notes of the financial statements of SEEK company limited. Additional information relating to the assets and liabilities has been sufficiently disclosed. The movement schedule of fixed assets has been provided. The schedule is vital in showing the acquisition, disposal and depreciation of the fixed assets during the financial period. Breakdown of the liabilities in the statement of financial position has been shown. Explanations regarding the amount of the liabilities on the balance sheet have been provided .
The changes in the ordinary share capital have been shown in the notes. A schedule of the movement for the past two financial periods has been provided. The issue of share capital and options during the financial period has been shown. A list of the Directors of SEEK limited during the current financial period has been disclosed. The amount of remuneration paid to the Directors is also included in the notes. The notes provided have given adequate disclosure of items which cannot be included in the annual financial statements .
Question two
On 20th February 2013, there was a press release by Noodls. The press release was about the financial statements of SEEK limited for the period which ended 30th June 2012. According to the press release, the total revenue of SEEK company limited increased by 32% from the previous period. The earnings before depreciation and tax had increased by 11%. The Chief Executive Officer of SEEK Limited, Andrew Bassat, said he was pleased with the company performance for the financial period which ended 31st June 2012. He said the achievement of the company was good despite the weak macro conditions.
According to the press release, the key growth of the company was the proposed investments in Zhaopin and Brazil online. The Zhaopin transaction was, however, not complete as at the end of the 2012 financial period. SEEK Limited was proposing to increase its shareholding in Zhaopin from 55.5% to 78.2%. The investment was valued at $132.8 million. SEEK Australia and New Zealand had increased their earnings before tax and gross profit margin. The Chief Executive Officer also noted that the market share of the company had increased significantly over the past financial period. This was attributed to the expansion strategies in Asia and Latin America. The performance during the year was also attributed to the strong growth of the company in the education businesses.
References
Gary A. Porter, C. L. (2010). Using Financial Accounting Information: The Alternative to Debits and Credits. South Melbourne: Cengage Learning.
Georgiades, G. (2008). GAAP Financial Statement Disclosures Manual 2008-2009. North Ryde: CCH.
Mark S Beasley, J. V. (2008). GAAS Guide 2009: A Comprehensive Restatement of Standards for Auditing, Attestation, Compilation, and Review. North Ryde: CCH.
