7029EFA Governance, Accountability and Ethics CWK Assignment Brief | CU

7029EFA Assignment Task

This coursework comprises three parts.

In all cases, you need to support your answer with the relevant literature and public debate.

You are required to write a report to address the requirements in Parts A, B and C.

Part A

You need to demonstrate that you understand how Corporate Governance operates practically for  British American Tobacco PLC, in the context of the UK Corporate Governance Code 2018.

You are required to apply the principles of the UK Corporate Governance Code 2018 to the British American Tobacco PLC 2023 Annual Report and critically discuss which principles of the code have been applied using the annual financial report of the company, and evaluate the explanations regarding the principles not applied.
In your discussion, you are required to;

• Discuss the various principles and requirements of the UK governance code.
• Discuss how the code is applied in British American Tobacco PLC, and
• Critically evaluate the explanations provided by British American Tobacco PLC, where the code is not applied.  Use the following FRC guidance of comply or explain.

Part B

You need to demonstrate that you can write a critical discussion about the following Corporate Governance issue..

Read the following article Business school teaching case study: executive pay and shareholder democracy (ft.com)

Critically discuss why CEO remuneration is always a contentious issue. Support your answer by reviewing the remuneration of Smith and Nephew  PLC and using ratios to show how remuneration has negatively impacted or improved the overall company performance. You must use relevant academic literature to support your discussion.  (1,300 words)

Part C

You are required to critically discuss the CSR practices of Shell OIL PLC in terms of the following context. 

Greenwashing is a practice followed by organisations in which unsubstantiated or misleading claims are made of the environmental and social attributes of a product, service or the company as a brand. Greenwashing practice is adopted to make the company look more environmentally friendly than it is, by spending more money, time and effort on marketing its products as „green‟ rather than minimising its adverse impact on the environment

In your discussion, you need to explain the consequences of CSR and how it can enhance the performance of a company if it is genuine, and critique CSR practices used by Shell Oil and provide examples of how some CSR in public interest companies is greenwashed rather than providing a genuine environmental solution.  (1,200 Words)

7029EFA Submission Instructions:

How to Submit Your Assessment

The assessment must be submitted by 4 August 2025 at 18:00:00. No paper copies are required. You can access the submission link through the module website.

• Your coursework will be given a zero mark if you do not submit a copy through Turnitin. Please take care to ensure that you have fully submitted your work.
• Please ensure that you have submitted your work using the correct file format; unreadable files will receive a mark of zero. The Faculty accepts Microsoft Office and PDF documents, unless otherwise advised by the module leader.
• Students MUST keep a copy and/or an electronic file of their assignment.
• Checks will be made on your work using anti-plagiarism and AI (Artificial Intelligence) software and approved plagiarism checking websites.
• All work submitted after the submission deadline without a valid and approved reason (see below) will be given a mark of zero. 

Assessed Module Learning Outcomes of 7029EFA:

The Learning Outcomes for this module align with the marking criteria, which can be found at the end of this brief. Ensure you understand the marking criteria to ensure achievement of the assessment task. The following module learning outcomes are assessed in this task:

This assignment is designed to assess the following learning outcomes:

• Identify and critique the central problems and theoretical approaches involved in corporate governance.
• Critically evaluate the links between corporate governance and other issues in accounting and finance.
• Debate the ethical implications of organisational choices in the area of corporate governance.
• Explore the implications of cultural and social determinants on governance structures and practices.