1 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 for ...

1. 1
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.

2. 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

3. (http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2011/feb/2009242
7.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;

4. • It uses spark lines (within cell graphs) in the top right table to
show historical changes.
http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2011/feb/2009242
7.html
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

5. 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

6. 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 TrendsAllen
Pearson
28%
Janet
Sellers
30%
Mark
Stevens

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. • 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:
.xls or .xlsx spreadsheet file. Assume that your tutor only has
access to Microsoft Excel. You may develop

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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.

15. • 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

16. 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

17. 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.

18. • 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

19. 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

20. 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-

21. 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.

22. • 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.

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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.
Qty inventory on handNameTypeUnit cost (Jan-Jul 2017)Jan-

26. 17Feb-17Mar-17Apr-17May-17Jun-17Jul-17Square D WL 500
VACLimit switch385073712414712010210Square D WLM 115
VACLimit switch1575123333614252915Square D D4V 250
VACLimit switch2800821105135153655Square D D4A-2N 480
VACLimit switch210016128440681956188Square D HL-5000
250 VACLimit switch700649451744520351Square D D4A-4N
125VACLimit switch3150491148111872Omron WL 500
VACLimit switch3855350585676803706833963Omron WLM
115 VACLimit switch1581333285500595402463607Omron D4V
250 VACLimit switch2796196182333381399415513Omron
D4A-2N 480 VACLimit
switch2105180300447370343336350Omron HL-5000 250
VACLimit switch7098998912834113Omron D4A-4N
125VACLimit switch3148939682244320230/115 kV 1-3 Phase,
420 MVACircuit breaker100002911401349147144770kV 4-1
Phase (4X 60 MVA)Circuit
breaker1300012153816711144970kV 1-3 Phase (200
MVA)Circuit breaker90002341951912613115/60V 4-1 Phase
(4X 30)Circuit breaker1000087533633026115/60V 1-3 Phase
(200 MVA)Circuit breaker800035102152733564576586Double
Circuit, Strung on both sides, Lattice Tower 1kmTransmission
line23305101215453137127Double Circuit, Strung on one side,
Lattice Tower 1kmTransmission
line1830140412226435345Single Circuit, Lattice Tower
1kmTransmission line14505019644611338104Double Circuit,
Strung on both sides, Tubular Steel Pole 1kmTransmission
line2620188183471113Double Circuit, Strung on one side,
Tubular Steel Pole 1kmTransmission
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1kmTransmission
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Purchase qtyNameTypeUnit cost (Jan-Jul 2017)Jan-17Feb-

27. 17Mar-17Apr-17May-17Jun-17Jul-17Square D WL 500
VACLimit switch38507003720315282339Square D WLM 115
VACLimit switch1575120147313713810156Square D D4V 250
VACLimit switch280080186114198211120Square D D4A-2N
480 VACLimit switch21001603014879185212323Square D HL-
5000 250 VACLimit switch70060093315223000Square D D4A-
4N 125VACLimit switch31505092892532052580Omron WL
500 VACLimit switch3855300290280270280290300Omron
WLM 115 VACLimit
switch1581330310290270250230210Omron D4V 250 VACLimit
switch2796200180180170160150140Omron D4A-2N 480
VACLimit switch2105200190175180165150135Omron HL-5000
250 VACLimit switch7099021623410914383191Omron D4A-4N
125VACLimit switch31489010711733111452230/115 kV 1-3
Phase, 420 MVACircuit
breaker10000290169169202191170070kV 4-1 Phase (4X 60
MVA)Circuit breaker13000102268322271754070kV 1-3 Phase
(200 MVA)Circuit breaker90002017215528591748115/60V 4-1
Phase (4X 30)Circuit breaker100001014163206112162115/60V
1-3 Phase (200 MVA)Circuit
breaker800040170170710170170170Double Circuit, Strung on
both sides, Lattice Tower 1kmTransmission
line23301016772308204233142Double Circuit, Strung on one
side, Lattice Tower 1kmTransmission
line183014040840842419023191Single Circuit, Lattice Tower
1kmTransmission line1450501520213217016175Double Circuit,
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28. Sales valueNameTypeUnit cost (Jan-Jul 2017)Jan-17Feb-17Mar-
17Apr-17May-17Jun-17Jul-17Square D WL 500 VACLimit
switch38506334977681329913314771754750744526539282Squ
are D WLM 115 VACLimit
switch1575315955174164118285257623207065158782120577S
quare D D4V 250 VACLimit
switch2800196996472173623163205082578694285238175093S
quare D D4A-2N 480 VACLimit
switch2100360745375619653331111627539076389970433576S
quare D HL-5000 250 VACLimit
switch700619474164843271142041111564100628114650Square
D D4A-4N 125VACLimit
switch3150199144418828305091588809864375626643266079O
mron WL 500 VACLimit
switch38555089822232777421985966371446936661860651980
Omron WLM 115 VACLimit
switch1581339645583593118172275677763208293488113466O
mron D4V 250 VACLimit
switch279661060353825683710359253431284375614119954O
mron D4A-2N 480 VACLimit
switch210538307716160963793574399417536354115255175O
mron HL-5000 250 VACLimit
switch7091271682201561200231419111091104055287244Omro
n D4A-4N 125VACLimit
switch31482028306165381896172189509537231007606858230/
115 kV 1-3 Phase, 420 MVACircuit
breaker1000018242213368302310785116804619561221773520
145199970kV 4-1 Phase (4X 60 MVA)Circuit
breaker1300022429612145872143629328983243295718269391
38348170kV 1-3 Phase (200 MVA)Circuit
breaker9000557174139661392749395162965273511618866186
82115/60V 4-1 Phase (4X 30)Circuit
breaker1000017827561573941282864386400960949981588669
109115/60V 1-3 Phase (200 MVA)Circuit
breaker8000146299285246638053511076802892974135393013
93891Double Circuit, Strung on both sides, Lattice Tower

29. 1kmTransmission
line2330199817407853164699402845722770367679388268Dou
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line18302949731004174824802350083880483332772193272Sin
gle Circuit, Lattice Tower 1kmTransmission
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1kmTransmission
line262040522128936137642315896183833563750530178Doub
le Circuit, Strung on one side, Tubular Steel Pole
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om/domains.php?domain=brelk
Sales qty (amount shipped)NameTypeUnit cost (Jan-Jul
2017)Jan-17Feb-17Mar-17Apr-17May-17Jun-17Jul-17Square D
WL 500 VACLimit switch385015928480179192139Square D
WLM 115 VACLimit switch1575183104701591279770Square D
D4V 250 VACLimit switch2800651582196819310060Square D
D4A-2N 480 VACLimit
switch210016417829251234175191Square D HL-5000 250
VACLimit switch700895557186151142152Square D D4A-4N
125VACLimit switch3150621309617627518285Omron WL 500
VACLimit switch385512855189143377163170Omron WLM 115
VACLimit switch15811993587517544316966Omron D4V 250
VACLimit switch27961991942912214213442Omron D4A-2N
480 VACLimit switch21051717028257192157121Omron HL-
5000 250 VACLimit switch70916529615418614757112Omron
D4A-4N 125VACLimit switch3148591915869369176230/115
kV 1-3 Phase, 420 MVACircuit
breaker100001813202961669317313770kV 4-1 Phase (4X 60
MVA)Circuit breaker1300016851532417213210570kV 1-3

30. Phase (200 MVA)Circuit
breaker9000581541011046612566115/60V 4-1 Phase (4X
30)Circuit breaker100001751511737949466115/60V 1-3 Phase
(200 MVA)Circuit breaker8000180103120129339158160Double
Circuit, Strung on both sides, Lattice Tower 1kmTransmission
line23308116270166305149152Double Circuit, Strung on one
side, Lattice Tower 1kmTransmission
line183016150742718245118199Single Circuit, Lattice Tower
1kmTransmission line14501344615715010391109Double
Circuit, Strung on both sides, Tubular Steel Pole
1kmTransmission line2620149115012065211192Double Circuit,
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