Background

In 2021 Rio Tinto Group launched a new business strategy focused on low-carbon transition. At Rio Tinto’s annual general meeting held in April 2022, investment management firm Sarasin & Partners voted against the 2021 company’s financial statements 1  due to its lack of disclosures on actions to align with a 1.5°C temperature resilience target and the related financial implications (i.e., net zero accounting disclosures). Rio Tinto is a significant emitter of greenhouse gas emissions with large Scope 3 emissions.

Specific Requirements

Assume you are a business consultant, reporting to the Board of Directors of Rio Tinto, the world’s second- largest metals and mining corporation. Rio Tinto Group is a dual-listed company traded on the London Stock Exchange (trading as Rio Tinto Plc) and the Australian Securities Exchange (trading as Rio Tinto Ltd). You have been contracted to provide a business report to Rio Tinto’s Board of Directors which:

1.    discusses why Rio Tinto’s current poor net zero accounting disclosures disadvantage its shareholders taking an agency theory lens. In your response, ensure you explicitly define, explain and apply agency theory.  (Suggested words: 500)

2.    discusses  why  Rio  Tinto  should  provide  high  quality  net  zero  accounting  disclosures  taking  an institutional theory perspective.  In your response, ensure you explicitly define, explain, and apply stakeholder theory.  (Suggested words: 600)

3.    provides recommendations to Rio Tinto on how to address Sarasin & Partners’ criticisms on its net zero accounting disclosures. Hint: You may refer to the net zero accounting disclosures (particularly Scope 1, 2 and 3 emission disclosures) of Rio Tinto’s peer firms (e.g.,Anglo American, BHP Group, Fortescue Metals Group and Vale)(Suggested words: 500).

Other Requirements

•       You must complete the professional literacy module to unlock the drop box for this Assessment task.

•       Include headings and sub-headings.

•       An executive summary is required, in addition to the introduction and conclusion.

•       Your submission must comply with any recognised referencing style.

•       Your report is addressed to the Board of Directors, therefore it must be written in a professional tone.

Learning Outcomes

This task allows you to demonstrate achievement towards the unit learning outcomes. The ULOs are aligned with specific graduate learning outcomes – that is, the skills and knowledge graduates are expected to have upon completion of their studies – and this assessment task is an important tool in determining achievement of those outcomes.

If you do not demonstrate achievement of the unit learning outcomes, you will not be successful in this unit. It is good practice to familiarise yourself with the ULOs and GLOs as they provide guidance on the knowledge, understanding and skills you’re expected to demonstrate upon completion of the unit. In this way they can be used to guide your study.

Submission

You are to submit your assignment in the individual Assignment Dropbox in the MAA310 CloudDeakin unit site on or before the due date.

When uploading your assignment, name your document using the following syntax: <your surname_your first name_your       Deakin       student       ID       number_[unitcode].doc       (or       ‘ .docx’).       For       example, ‘Jones_Barry_123456789_ MAA310.doc’ .

Submitting a hard copy of this assignment is not required .

You must keep a backup copy of every assignment you submit, until the marked assignment has been returned to you.  In the unlikely event that one of your assignments is misplaced, you will need to submit your backup copy.

Any work you submit may be checked by electronic or other means for the purposes of detecting collusion and/or plagiarism.

When you submit an assignment through your CloudDeakin unit site, you will receive an email to your Deakin email address confirming that it has been submitted. You should check that you can see your assignment in

the Submissions view of the Assignment Dropbox folder after upload, and check for, and keep, the email receipt for the submission.

Marking and feedback

The marking rubric for this task is below and also available in the MAA310CloudDeakin unit site - in the Assessment folder (under Assessment Resources).

It is always a useful exercise to familiarise yourself with the criteria before completing any assessment task.  Criteria  act  as  a  boundary  around  the  task  and  help  identify  what  assessors  are  looking  for specifically in your submission. The criteria are drawn from the unit’s learning outcomes ensuring they align with appropriate graduate attribute/s.

Identifying the  standard you  aim to  achieve  is  also  a  useful  strategy for  success  and to that  end, familiarising yourself with the descriptor for that standard is highly recommended.

Students who submit their work by the due date will receive their marks and feedback on CloudDeakin 15 working days after the submission date.

Extensions

Extensions will only be granted for exceptional and/or unavoidable circumstances outside the student’s control.

Work commitment or holidays or other assignments 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.

Students  seeking  an  extension  for  an  assignment  prior  to  the  due  date  should  apply by  completing the Extension   Request  form  available   under  the  Assessment  tab  in  the  CloudDeakin  site.   Relevant documentation  supporting  the  extension  request  must  be  provided  with  the  application.  Requests  for extensions will not be considered after 12 noon, 5 August 2022. Applications forspecial considerationafter the submission due date/time must be submitted via StudentConnect.

Late submission

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 and 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.

Calculation of the late penalty is as follows: this is based on the assignment being due on a Thursday at 8:00pm •    1 day late: submitted after Thursday 11:59pm and before Friday 11:59pm– 5% penalty.

•    2 days late: submitted after Friday 11:59pm and before Saturday 11:59pm – 10% penalty.

•    3 days late: submitted after Saturday 11:59pm and before Sunday 11:59pm – 15% penalty.

•    4 days late: submitted after Sunday 11:59pm and before Monday 11:59pm – 20% penalty.

•    5 days late: submitted after Monday 11:59pm and before Tuesday 11:59pm – 25% penalty.

Dropbox closes the Tuesday after 11:59pm AEST time.

Support

The Division of Student Life provides a range ofStudy Supportresources and services, available  throughout the academic year, including Writing Mentor and Maths Mentor online drop ins and the SmartThinking 24

hour writing feedback service atthis link. If you would prefer some more in depth and tailored support,make an appointment online with a Language and Learning Adviser.

Referencing

Any material used in this assignment that is not your original work must be acknowledged as such and       appropriately referenced. You can find information about plagiarism and other study support resources at the following website:http://www.deakin.edu.au/students/study-support

Academic misconduct

For information about academic misconduct, special consideration, extensions, and assessment feedback,    please refer to the document Your rights and responsibilities as a student in this Unit in the first folder next to the Unit Guide in the Resources area of the CloudDeakin unit site.