Department of Finance

MAF306 International Finance and Investment

Trimester 2, 2017

Assignment Part 1 Report

DUE DATE AND TIME: Sept. 17th by 11.59pm

PERCENTAGE OF FINAL GRADE: 25% for Group Report

GROUP ASSIGNMENT: 3 members

GROUP REPORT: 2000-2700 words

Learning Outcome Details

Unit Learning Outcome (ULO) Graduate Learning Outcome

(GLO)
ULO 2: Critically analyze and evaluate exchange rate GLO 1: Discipline specific knowledge
determination and risk exposure management of appropriate to the l evel of study
business financing and investment activity. Consider related to a discipline or profession
these impacts on multi-national companies and
countries, in order to review and implement
appropriate risk management strategies GLO 4: Critical thinking - evaluating
information using critical and
analytical thinking and judgment

ULO 3: Demonstrate individual accountability in GLO 1: Discipline specific knowledge

collaboratively planning and implementing a research
based team-project GLO 7: Team Work working and
learning with others from different
disciplines and backgrounds

Hence, successful completion of this assignment will show that you can:
identify core issue(s) to research within a specific topic area
gather information from a range of credible sources
critically analyze and synthesize relevant information

Deakin Business School is accredited by AACSB.

 write a clear and coherent academic report presenting a well-
informed perspective on the issue(s) defined
use and reference information sources accurately in the Deakin Harvard
style.
work in a team and collaboratively plan and implement a research
based team-project. You will demonstrate accountability in this
process by writing and submitting an individual reflective statement
(Part 2 of the assignment).

Assignment requirement and objective

This assignment requires the following to be completed and submitted:

1. A team report (Part 1) consisting of approximately 2000-2700 words that has

been undertaken collaboratively and combined into one business report worth
25%.

2. An individual reflective statement (Part 2) of a maximum of 300 words that

evaluates and reflects on the team see Assignment Part 2 instructions (in a
separate document) worth 5%.

The aim of this assignment is to encourage students to apply their learning in

international finance to current issues within the global environment and write a formal
group report. This assignment gives you an opportunity to work within a team to
evaluate the BREXIT decision and its impact on both Britain and the EU.

Assignment Instructions

1. Style Your assignment must comply with the formal report style. This means
that you need to devise section headings appropriate to the material you will
cover. If you dont know what an Executive Summary and a Letter of
Transmittal is, please check online, so you know what format it should take.

2. The structural elements are not included in the word count, but are
required in your report and consist of:
- Executive Summary
- Letter of Transmittal
- Referencing and reference list

You will find a report format for this assignment on the CloudDeakin site. For
more information on report writing, go to:
http://www.deakin.edu.au/students/study-support/academic-
resources/report-writing.

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 3. Management of team tasks - There are a number of ways your team can
manage the required tasks. For example, your team can require each student
to research and write-up some sections of the report. Or you can determine
that you will work more co-operatively on all areas together.

4. Individual Assessment Statement - must be submitted and will document

how the team functioned and how roles and responsibilities were allocated. See
Part 2 instructions.

Submission Instructions

1. The report is to be uploaded/submitted ONLINE ONLY. A single report for the

group as a whole, must be submitted into the Dropbox available on the
MAF306 Cloud Deakin site, via Assignment Part 1 Dropbox. The assignment
drop box will not become visible to you until you have created a group and
group member has completed the plagiarism statement!

2. Instructions on how to upload your individual reflective statement for

assessment will be provided in the Assignment Part 2.

3. The Dropbox will be open from 9am on Monday 4th September 2017.

4. Team details (team number, members names and IDs) must be provided with
this assignment on the front page. This can be included in the message area of
the Assignment Dropbox.

Assignment Group formation and registration

This is a team assignment. Each team consists of 3 persons.

You need to form YOUR OWN team and REGISTER your team in the Cloud
Deakin site. Under the tab More you will find Groups, click on this and it takes
you to the Group folders were you will self-enrol in a numbered box with your
team members. There are private discussion and group lockers attached to
your CloudDeakin group (where you can share documents, resources and talk
privately with your team members).

Late submission

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In accordance with Universitys policy, the following marking penalties will apply if you
submit an assessment task after the due date without an approved extension: 5% will
be deducted from available marks for each day up to five days, and work that is
submitted more than five days after the due date will not be marked. You will receive
0% for the task. 'Day' means working day for paper submissions and calendar day for
electronic submissions. The Unit Chair may refuse to accept a late submission where
it is unreasonable or impracticable to assess the task after the due date.

Extensions can only be approved by the Unit Chair. Extensions can be granted for
documented serious illness (not just on the day the assignment is due!) or for
compassionate reasons under extenuating circumstances. The unit chair can ask to
see how much work has been completed before granting an extension. Work or
holiday reasons are NOT grounds for an extension you are expected to manage
these issues as part of your studies.

You are strongly encouraged to start early and to continually backup your
assignment as you progress. Computer crashes or corrupted files will NOT be
accepted as valid reasons for an extension of any length.

For further information about Special Consideration, visit

http://www.deakin.edu.au/students/assessments/special-consideration

Assessment Feedback

Students who submit their work by the due date will receive their marks and feedback
within 15 business days of the due date.

Referencing

You must correctly use the Harvard style of referencing in any written elements
of this assessment.

You can check what is required here by using student resources online at:
http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-
skills/handouts/authordate-harvard.php
OR
www.deakin.edu.au/students/study-support/ referencing/harvard.

Academic Integrity, Plagiarism and Collusion

Plagiarism and collusion constitute extremely serious breaches of academic integrity.

They are forms of cheating, and severe penalties are associated with them, including
cancellation of marks for a specific assignment, for a specific unit or even exclusion

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from the course. If you are ever in doubt about how to properly use and cite a source
of information, consult your lecturer or the Study Support website
http://www.deakin.edu.au/students/study-support/referencing

Plagiarism occurs when a student passes off as the students own work, or
copies without acknowledgement as to its authorship, the work of any other
person or resubmits their own work from a previous assessment task.
Collusion occurs when a student obtains the agreement of another person for
a fraudulent purpose, with the intent of obtaining an advantage in submitting
an assignment or other work.

Work submitted may be reproduced and/or communicated by the university for the
purpose of assuring academic integrity of submissions
(http://www.deakin.edu.au/students/study-support/referencing/academic-integrity

Report Requirements

Context:

The European Union essentially began its life with the Treaty of Rome in 1958 as
European leaders wanted to prevent a repeat of the two world wars by giving
European nations shared economic and political institutions. This gave way to the
European Economic Community in 1967 and ultimately the European Union after the
1991 Maastricht Treaty. Today the EU includes a political and economic bureaucracy,
based in Brussels that shapes and controls many aspects of European political life.
The EU has its own currency, the euro. It has travel arrangements called Schengen,
which allows free travel and migration within the EU.
However, the dream of a United States of Europe is still quite far from reality. The
EU cannot declare war and does not have independent power to levy taxes. Most
people in Europe feel greater loyalty towards their home countries than they do to
the European Union as a whole. This lack of continent-wide political solidarity has led
many EU citizens to be resentful of the degree of control Brussel wields over their
lives. This makes the current European equilibrium inherently unstable. If Europe
doesnt become more integrated there is a danger that nationalistic tensions could
cause the whole system to unravel.
Britain has since voted to exit from the EU, this will be disruptive but not disastrous
for other EU countries. The larger threat for the EU is that other countries may lose
confidence and consider exiting as well.

Background notes from: Timothy B. Lee and Zack Beauchamp Updated on June 25,
2016
http://www.vox.com/2016/6/17/11963668/brexit-uk-eu-explained

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GLO1 and GLO4: Discipline specific knowledge and critical thinking - BREXIT and
its impact on the UK, EU and global economy (30 marks)

i. You are required to investigate the background to the European Union how
and why it was formed - and the UKs position and its role in the EU prior to
the BREXIT vote to leave. Provide a detailed review of should we leave or
should we stay from the perspective of the UK and critically evaluate those
arguments. 10 marks

ii. What were the immediate effects of the BREXIT decision on currency values,
stock markets, confidence and investment in the UK and in global markets?
How was this managed by governments and central banks in the weeks after
the June 2016 vote; in the longer run, what are the likely effects on growth
and trade? Using the information that you have gathered come to a conclusion
about the future of the UK outside of the EU. (Provide evidence/data/graphs
to support your discussion). 10 marks

iii. Britain has now instigated their formal departure from the EU with the
invoking of Section 50. Investigate the process that is followed if a country
leaves the EU and consider the ramifications and the long run implications of
the BREXIT decision on the both the UK economy and the EU countries. How
likely is it that other nations would potentially follow BREXIT? Investigate and
review the likely outcomes predicted for the EU and Britain - with a soft Brexit
or a hard Brexit? 10 marks

References
- Current articles The Age, The Australian Financial Review, The Economist
- Websites like the RBA, IMF, Bank for International Settlements, European
Central Bank
- Eiteman, D., Daly, K., Rath, S., Stonehill, A., and Moffett, M., (2011)
Multinational Business Finance, Pearson Addison-Wesley, NSW. Ch 2.
- Shapiro, A., (2014) Multinational Financial Management, 10th edition, John
Wiley & sons, New Jersey. Ch 3.

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