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Environmental
Investments
Program
Area
This project
was designed for the general level Grade 10 Accounting Introduction
course. It fits best into Unit 1, immediately after Financial
Statements has been taught.
Learning
Outcomes
Teaching,
learning and evaluation will focus on the student's ability to:
- Demonstrate
accounting skills;
- Show
an awareness of business interests in the economy and the responsibility
of Canadian businesses as good corporate citizens to support
a sustainable environment;
- Recognize
the attitude of business towards the environment, and whether
or not it impinges on profit making goals.
Classroom
Development
Appropriate
strategies emphasize the procedures and attitudes that are practiced
in and expected by business and industry. Students need an opportunity
to practice accounting analysis. Practical applications such as
Practice Sets, group work, and case studies, give students an
opportunity to practice solving problems. Well in advance of the
project, the teacher should ensure that a minimum of ten Annual
Reports from companies such as the following are available: the
Suma Fund, Phillip Morris, McDonald's, Globe and Mail.
This topic is covered well in the Suma Fund Annual Report. Suma
is a mutual fund managed by Investors Syndicate. Stock market
and mutual fund listings in the Toronto Star and Globe and
Mail provide the market reports and tips on reading these
pages. Students should also be aware of the Most Active Listings
and Standard and Poor's Indexes.
Background
Information
The Accounting
Introduction course gives students an opportunity to examine the
Accounting Cycle and to prepare a variety of financial statements.
The Ministry Guideline defines the content for this course as
follows:
- Accounting
Cycle for a Service Business 50-65%
- Multipurpose
Columnar Journals 5-10%
- Cash
Control, Banking and Payroll 10-15%
- Practical
Applications 10-20%
- Accounting-Related
Careers 5%
Nature
of Project
This project
will give students an opportunity to examine investments that
are considered friendly to the environment, in particular, the
Suma Mutual Environmental Fund. Working in groups of four, students
will examine the financial statements of the fund, consider the
returns on such an investment and compare it with other stocks.
Evaluation
A suggestion
for student evaluation appears at the end of the student worksheet.
Timing
0.5 periods
Outline
the project:
- Stock
market pages
- Stock
groupings: industrials, mines, etc.
- Highs,
lows, close, change
- Most
active stocks
- Stock
market editorial
- Return
on investments
0.5 periods
Consider
the specific investments in Suma:
- What
is a mutual fund?
- Attributes
of an environmental mutual fund;
- Note
commonalities, missing stock groups.
0.5
periods
- Record
the high, low, close, and change Suma stocks;
- Select
a leading industrial stock where the impact on the environment
is questioned (for example, Phillip Morris, McDonald's, Exxon);
- Compare
the Suma findings with other stocks. 1 period
- Calculate
percentage increase/decrease using a calculator, the Works spreadsheet
on the MacIntosh or the Lotus 1-2-3 on a DOS/Windows computer.
0.5
periods
- Review
the Annual Reports of companies involved in your investigations;
- Locate
the Balance Sheet and Income Statement;
- Peruse
the Annual Report for any claims regarding the environment;
- Comment
on the returns of environmental investments and other leading
indicators;
- Consider
whether environmental mutuals make worthwhile investments.
0.5 periods
- Prepare
a summary sheet for each group of students.
Instructions
- For
each stock listed, indicate the environmental criteria which
place them in the Suma fund, or why they could not be placed
in the fund.
- Record
any mention of the environment found in each company's Annual
Report.
- Compare
returns on environmental investments with non-environmental
ones.
- Answer
the following question: In your opinion, are environmental mutual
funds worthwhile financial and moral investments?
- Attach
a copy of an article from a current newspaper or periodical
which highlights business and investor concern for the environment.
Explain why you agree or disagree with the position taken.
How
to fill out the Chart
- Locate
and record stock market information for each stock listed in
the Suma Investments' environmental fund.
- Record
similar information for two other leading industrial stocks
such as McDonald's and Phillip Morris.
- Indicate
the environmental focus of each listing.
- Include
your opinion of investing for the environment.
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