Step 3:

Company: NEXTDC
 

Website: https://www.nextdc.com/
Annual Report: Report

My Blog: https://meganbittner95.wixsite.com/megan-s-accounting-l

 

Who is NEXT DC?

NEXTDC is an Australian wide independent data centre that provides colocation services to foreign and domestic organisations. It uses ASX 100-listed technology to facilitate business transformation through advanced data centre outsourcing solutions, connectivity services and infrastructure management software. NEXTDC is an eco-friendly company that strives to use be sustainable and use renewable energy. NEXTDC is leading in their field by producing the best efficiency ratings in the country whilst holding a NABERS 5- star certification. Our ICT community is one of the biggest partner ecosystems in Australia and is made up of 750+ networks, clouds, IT service providers, which also contains enough power to enable us to join multiple parties to deliver Hybrid Cloud deployments and IT services and infrastructure.  

 

Latest Annual Report:

KCQ’s

The latest annual report for NEXT DC was their FY23 Annual Report. This 124-page report is filled with a very colourful recap of the firm’s financial year featuring their greatest hits. I found the report to be quite adventurous and vibrant and it made me question whether between all the positive achievements that NEXT DC has had this year, do we take the time to look at and reflect on things that may have not gone to plan.

I did find the report quite astonishing that this report included more than just facts and figures. It consisted of key reflections from the leaders of the company including Douglas Flynn – Chairman and Craig Scroggie – Chief Executive Officer, highlights of their year which is something that I found to really hook me into the report. It was very visually pleasing. The report had a big focus on their environmental sustainability which makes sense as they have so much pride in that area. I found it quite pleasing that they went into such detail on what they were currently doing with managing digital carbon footprints in the business and prioritising renewable energy in the data centres which includes installing solar panels and using solar energy across all data sites.

People and culture are a big focus for me, so I always love to read about what’s other companies do in this area. I found that most successful companies, you go ask any of their employees what their companies’ values are, and they will immediately be able to tell you. NEXTDC talks about wanting to take that step further and have their people living these values which I thought was awesome. Understanding people’s choices, behaviours and their reasons why can be so important. You can use this skill to really figure out what makes someone drive and be their best selves within their job role and become a great employee within their own way. I would like to know what does NEXTDC does specifically to get the best our of there people and how do they get their people to comfortably speak out? I now work in an HR department, and I find it a struggle to get people to speak out as they feel like it will affect their job. Trying to implement change is hard which I know from experience, and I have managed to do within teams of a few hundred. How do you do it with a few thousand?

 

Areas I had difficulty understanding

It is hard to get a read as there is a lot of information in the report and trying to absorb it all and decipher is what I found very difficult. I had some difficulty understanding how all the reports come together and determine bottom line. I understand that different reports cover different areas of the business but how do we use them all together.

When I think of Risk Management, I think of safety, but it did interest me to see how Risk Management goes together into accounting. It makes sense as you always want to keep your money safe, but I am curious to learn more about how to money safe and what liabilities can harm a company.

I had a lot of difficulty understanding shares and how they work. I know that shares can impact a company, but I would like to gain a better knowledge on how it works on a daily basis.

 

Critical areas

Market Growth:

Market Growth is important and having a plan behind this can project which way your company is going in the future. NEXTDC focuses on market Growth by showing a clear picture in their report. Each financial year there is an increase in customers and cross connects. You can find that NEXTDC also shows how much this company has expanded and how much further capacity they have to be able to continue expansions. This is vital when you are wanting to continue growth and development within the company.

People and Culture:

Another significant area is People and Culture. This area is so critical as we need a general reminder sometimes that we are not able to succeed without great people. NEXTDC understands this and has been working on their diversity, equity and inclusion be apart of their core structure.

 

Key challenges

Some challenges that NEXTDC are facing during this time are that they are at the start of another industrial revolution. With innovation cycles shortening and unforeseen digital economic growth it becomes more difficult to keep up with AI Technology of the world such as robotics virtual reality 5G, and the internet, just to name a few.

Apparent strategy and success

Being such a present strong lead in this industry staying on top in this area requires us to dig deep and embrace technology change and invention for our data. Colocation services, cloud platforms and interconnection services are allowing companies to take control promptly by being fast and sustainable, but we are in a strong position to remain on top by remaining true to ourselves and providing groundbreaking results to our customers. With 12 years of success NEXTDC does not plan of stopping now.

 

Am I happy with NEXTDC?

In general, I am happy with the choice of company that I was given. I small part of me wishes I was given a company I could relate a bit more to, but this has been a good challenge for me. It has been a good experience reading the information and giving myself a challenge in figuring out how to process parts of the information and it makes me excited for the next assignment.

 

Studiosity Feedback

I found using Studiosity very easy, almost too easy that it didn’t seem real. The feedback was extremely helpful, and I felt supported. I will definitely be taking advantage of this platform again throughout ACCT11059 and future units.

 

My Top 3 Blogs

1. Jordan Edwards – https://jordanpedwards.wixsite.com/my-site-1
   Good colour themes, very clear and easy to read. You got straight to the point with all your information, which wasn’t too much or over the top. You had a very cute cat.

2. Emma Rach - https://emmarach0.wixsite.com/the-stressed-student

   Your title hooked me in, It is a very fun site to navigate through and I feel you had a very relatable post which made me feel a little bit at ease knowing someone else is in the same boat with working a full-time job and studying.

3. Sheryn Ruddell - https://sherynsaccountingblog.blogspot.com/
   Your blog was very catching, straight to the point, and fun. I liked how everything was in one spot and easy to find.

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Step 4: Click on Financial Statements 

 

Step 5: Chapters 2&3 in the Study Guide – KCQ’s

Chapter 2

The rules of the game stood out to me in Chapter 2. I found the history of financial statements to be very interesting how over the past 100 years financial statements, in the beginning they were known just as an internal document and not something that was really shared around, whereas now it is all very much public knowledge and easily accessible.

With all the changes over the years it really does make you think where did the rules come from? Who came up with the rules? Who monitors these rules? Can we change them? I always knew Australia had similar laws and rules to other countries, but I’ve never really looked past the financial statements and thought about who monitors these and what are the repercussions, let alone that our own country has several regulatory bodies that monitor and enforce these rules. When working with financial statements when I was with McDonald’s I often just thought if you follow all the rules this is how you make profit and meet all your other financial targets, rather than what would happen if we didn’t.

Quality of information is another topic which I found fascinating. After some self-reflection I now begin wondering whether I’ve had enough information rather than focusing on the quality of information that I have. Martin makes a valid point of saying that there are two qualities that statements should represent relevance and faithful representation. Not having these qualities could very well delude your financial statements and in turn become invalid.  

Chapter 3.1 and 3.2

When reading part in ‘A view of business at rest’ where Martin talks about annual reports always having ‘happy people’ and ‘sunny skies’ everywhere I had a good laugh as that is exactly what I thought when reading the annual report for my company NEXTDC. I had a lot of similar thoughts about the annual report, and I especially liked how you refer to the report as a marketing document. It is a very important document though; this is the way to communicate everything about your company and a way to ‘show off’ to future investors. I also like that we have an opportunity to show off all the goods that we have to offer, our values, and what will drive us in the future and have all that front of mind when we look at the numbers and decide what the business can do next.

‘Business on the move’ hooked me right in. The comparison that Martin told was spot on, ‘a firm is forever dancing’, it honestly is. I have had the opportunity to work for McDonald’s for 12 years and can honestly say that the business does move. Over 12 years I was a part of many different platforms and for example if we look at the transformation of ‘service’. From focusing on ‘one customer, one order’ concept vs now where we can look ‘what a customer’s experiences are from the moment they walk in the door’.

This part made me reflect on how much business has changed. Years ago, we used to look at a business as making money by selling a service or product and the focus on that balance sheet, and now business has evolved into we can make money on selling an experience along with it.

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PEER FEEDBACK SHEET: ASS#1

Feedback From: Megan Bittner

Feedback To: Ella Dreier

 

 

My Comments

Step 1

KCQs

Excellent work with structuring your paragraphs. A few grammar and punctuation errors. You did a really good job at summarising the points martin made and I enjoyed reading your personal reflection on it

Step 2

It was a limited description, but you met the criteria. Missing a photo. Your blog was very basic, and easy to navigate through. I enjoyed that when you click on a link it opens in a new tab and it was cool to learn what a SUNs student was. Your photos are very cool.   

Introductory words in Description box

Photo and description

Link to your blog/Set up blog

Step 3

Good job on the background information, very easy to understand who they are and what they do. Potentially could have gone into a bit more detail on the Comments and KCQ’s. Would like to read a bit more on critical areas of the business and how they worked through those tough times. I had a similar top 3.

Background information on company

Comments/KCQs

Top 3 blogs

Step 4

Good job on your financials. You can see the troubles with covid reflected.

 

Input company’s financial statements

Step 5

You do a really good job on referencing the points that you liked, I would like to see a little bit more personal reflection on your thoughts and questions that you had with each point. I felt you were a little brief on this part.

KCQs

Step 6

Individual feedback with others

Information is not available

Overall ASS#1

I think it is very awesome that you are in school and can complete university level courses. You did an amazing job on this assignment, don’t be afraid to express yourself a bit more within your work. This is an assignment that give you an opportunity to follow criteria and have your own personal twist on it. Which is a skill that will be heavily used in the workforce.  

 

 

PEER FEEDBACK SHEET: ASS#1

Feedback From: Megan Bittner

Feedback To: Jessica Hockey

 

 

My Comments

Step 1

KCQs

Could not find this part to review

Step 2

There was no description on your Moodle profile to read. Your profile photo is a burger not of you. You have met the criteria of putting a link to your blog which nice.

Your blog was very simple and easy to navigate through. You haven’t posted any of your assessment on the blog yet.

Introductory words in Description box

Photo and description

Link to your blog/Set up blog

Step 3

You gave a clear description of your company; I was able to identify who they are and what they do. I feel you could go into a lot more detail in this area talking about critical areas, mentioning what you found difficult, key challenges, etc. You did not mention your Top 3 Blogs.

Background information on company

Comments/KCQs

Top 3 blogs

Step 4

This was good, I can see your workings and figures.

 

Input company’s financial statements

Step 5

I felt that you could go into a bit more detail with your chapter 2 & 3, this just felt very light.  Was not much of a reflection. Didn’t really get to ready what you captured in this.

KCQs

Step 6

Individual feedback with others

Feedback was not very detailed.

Overall ASS#1

Overall you have touched on some subjects of the criteria sheet but I think you could go into more detail, especially with all the KCQ’s.

 

 

 

PEER FEEDBACK SHEET: ASS#1

Feedback From: Megan Bittner

Feedback To: Deni BakerDeni Baker

 

 

My Comments

Step 1

KCQs

This was very detailed, you reflected on a certain paragraph, had thoughts and questions which was good to read. I liked reading your personal reflections as well.

Step 2

You met the criteria on this, would be nice to see a professional photo yourself rather than your puppy, although it is a very cute puppy.

 

Introductory words in Description box

Photo and description

Link to your blog/Set up blog

Step 3

Very detailed, I can clearly see who your company is and what they do and stand for. You went into depth on your Comments/KCQ’s which was good. I connected very strongly with your difficult areas, this was a good read. Good Top 3 blogs.

Background information on company

Comments/KCQs

Top 3 blogs

Step 4

This was good, you can clearly see you’re your financials that you had to capture.

 

Input company’s financial statements

Step 5

You seem to have a great understanding in this part. I liked reading all your thoughts. I think you captured was required in this section.

KCQs

Step 6

Individual feedback with others

You gave some solid feedback to people which was great. You can see that you took this seriously.

Overall ASS#1

Overall, I think you have a very detailed assignment and have captured all elements that were expected. Nice Job!