Assignment 1

About Echo Entertainment

Echo Entertainment Group is an Australian based company that provides entertainment services and has four vibrant businesses – dinning, nightlife, gaming and hospitality. From an entrepreneurial start up, it is considered one of Australia’s biggest publicly listed gambling companies. Echo has four hotel & casinos with also an addition of an exhibition and entertainment centre.

The Star is a 5 star hotel & entertainment destination located in Sydney, and has recently had a project called Future Star, which invested $860 million into refurbishment and expansion. The Star contains over 20 Sydney restaurants, bars and cafes as well as two of the best Sydney hotels. The Star also boasts  one of the hottest Sydney nightclubs, Marquee with world famous and national DJs and celebrities commonly making appearances. As a result of the redevelopment plan, The Star also features one of most luxurious 5-star hotels in Sydney offering harbour and skyline views via elegant suites. The Star now has a new event centre as part of the redevelopment plan which can cater for many different functions and events.

 

Jupiters is a 5-star international resort located at the heart of the Gold Coast, a short distance from Surfers Paradise. Jupiters contains 8 lively bars, amazing live stage shows and casino action with the addition of 7 award winning restaurants. During the period of the last four years, $70 million has been invested into Jupiters to provide the latest entertainment and accommodation experiences.

The Treasury is located in the CBD of Brisbane, and contains two of the most iconic heritage buildings. The casino and hotel within the Treasury has over 1300 gaming machines, 130 - 5 star hotel rooms, 80 gaming tables, 6 restaurants and 5 bars.

Jupiters is a unique Hotel & Casino with a stunning location situated on the Townsville breakwater, which offers amazing views of Townsville city and Magnetic Island. The property is a handy walking distance to many shops, restaurants and a museum in the area enhancing the variety of opportunities. Some features of Jupiters include: a tropical resort style pool, 5 bars, 3 restaurants, spa and health centre, 11 conference and events venues and 194 hotel rooms.

 

 

The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre is Queensland’s 3^rd convention centre and the first for the Gold Coast. The centre opened on the 29^th of June 2004 and has 3 great features including a main arena, exhibition halls and meeting rooms which can cater for up to 6000 people. This is currently Australia’s largest regional convention centre with the potential to host many different events and meetings as it contains total wireless technology.

 

 

The Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre is located on the waterfront of Townsville with great views of the marina and Magnetic Island. The centre is within very close distance of many restaurants and excellent hotels and can cater for many different events which can seat up to 4000 people.

 

 

Interesting information

v  Echo Entertainment has announced an agreement to sell Jupiters, Townsville for $70 million to Colonial Leisure Group. This decision was made due to the size of the local market and restricted expansion opportunities.

v  John Redmond announced his retirement after only one year as Chief Executive of Sydney’s casino, The Star due to large drops in profit.

v  Echo has a responsible gambling program already in place, including a 24 hour a day seven days a week free confidential help line.

v  Echo Entertainment demerged from Tabcorp Holdings Limited on 15 June 2011 allowing Echo to operate as a separate company.

Below are my top three blogs:

 

 

1.       http://annatowanacct11059.blogspot.com.au/

I like the way Anna has set out and written on her blog, and how she has referred  accounting to sky diving. This was a fun read and easy to understand and the seven most cost  saving ventures was a classic from the CEO Michael O’Leary.

2.       http://irisonvleeacct11059.blogspot.com.au/

There was great information on this blog and had some good articles. I also like the way the  blog has been set out as it has made the information easy to read and the history charts and milestones are great.

 

3.       http://erikaiguerrini.blogspot.com.au/

I found this blog to be a great read with good information and analysis. The views and points that were made were interesting and accurate and I could relate to them as my organisation is also in the gambling industry.

Link to Echo Entertainment’s annual reports: http://www.echoentertainment.com.au/OurInvestors/AnnualReports/Pages/default.aspx

Below are some articles involving opportunities and challenges for Echo:


View this article for the selling of Echo’s Townsville casino Jupiters.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/echo-sells-jupiters-townsville-to-colonial-leisure/story-e6frg8zx-1226809713292

Concerns for echo competition and customers not spending as much with drop in profits with the former chief executive resigning from Sydney’s The Star after one year.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/echo-entertainment-chief-john-redmond-quits-as-highend-punters-hurt-the-star-20140205-32049.html

 View this article for possible competition for Echo in Sydney and share rise.http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-21/echo-net-income-misses-estimates-as-consumer-spending-weakens.html

 

Question 1-2 Chapter 1

Questions 1-2

Echo Entertainment Group is a large public organisation that specialises in entertainment. Currently in Australia, it has established four hotel and casino complexes, a convention centre and a exhibition centre which are located in Townsville, Gold Coast, Sydney and Brisbane.

Below are three examples of each: assets, liabilities and equity from Echo Entertainment Group Statement of Financial Position 2013.

Assets

1.Cash. $265.5m – note 15

2.Inventories. $7.2m

3.Property, Plant and Equipment. $2,006.2m – note 18

Cash can be on hand/in the firm or in the organisations bank account. Inventories are simply the left over stock at the end of the financial year. Property, Plant and Equipment can be the buildings the organisation owns, and equipment within that business. These items are all assets because they are items of value that are owned by the business.

Liabilities

1.Provisions. $58.5m – note 22 (current)

2.Trade and other Payables. $184m – note 21

3.Interest bearing liabilities. $972.8m – note 23 ( non current )

Provisions is money set aside as emergency funds in case of damage or repair. Trade and other Payables are creditors that are paid within a time period eg (monthly). Interest bearing liabilities are generally interest that needs to be paid as a result of having a long term loan. These are classified as liabilities because they are amounts that the business owes to other organisations or people.

Equity

1.Share capital. $2,580.5m – note 26

2.Retained earnings. $310.5m

3.Reserves. 28.4m – note 26

Share capital is simply the money invested by the owners of the organisation. Retained earnings is the left over funds that is kept within the organisation. Reserves are funds that are put aside for future endeavours. Equity is simply defined as an investment the owners make within the business.

Welcome

Hi fellow students,

Welcome to my blog for Using Accounting for Decision Making. My name is Leeland Greinke, and I am currently a first year student studying bachelor of business.
The company that i will be analysing on this blog is Echo Entertainment Group.

Feel free to post and comment.