Syllabus
INTERMEDIATE ACCOUNTING 2 - ACCT. 305
Fall 2006
Tuesday-Thursday 5:30-6:45PM
Holloway Hall 119
DR. KENNETH J. SMITH
TEXT: Intermediate Accounting, Fourth Edition Learning by Spiceland, Sepe, and Tomassini, which comes with the Business Activity Model CD, Coach CD, Essentials of Accounting CD, and Website and Online Learning Center
This course will commence the Business Activity Model Simulation designed to extend the depth and breadth of our understanding of financial theory and practice. We will examine in detail topics that are critical to the process of understanding, preparing, interpreting, and using financial statements that comply with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). We will study and apply GAAP for income measurement, asset and liability valuation, and financial statement presentation, and the requisite processes involved therein. Table 1 below outlines the new financial accounting topics covered in this semester of intermediate accounting.
Students will again be assigned to teams of four in which they will often work together both inside and outside of class to deal with the accounting issues under study and present their conclusions to the rest of the class. Specifically, student teams be work to correct financial statements of a fictitious company, and in doing so, learn about accounting for income taxes, accounting for leases and pensions, book and tax depreciation, debt amortization, segment reporting, and note disclosures. Upon completion of the course, students should be able to read, understand, prepare, explain, and critically evaluate information contained in the financial statements of a small to medium sized company. This approach should better prepare each student to take a leadership role in preparing, reading, understanding, explaining, and critically evaluating information contained in the financial statements of small to medium sized companies. These skills are critical to succeeding in a number of professions including financial consulting, public accounting, information systems, banking and investment banking, and any other profession that involves financial statement analysis.
The objective of this course is to prepare students for careers in public and private accounting, financial consulting, management, and management advisory services. Specifically, the goals are to: 1) promote technical competency; 2) advance critical thinking; 3) develop portable research skills; 4) develop oral and written communication skills; and, 5) motivate students for their chosen profession. See Table 2 below for a detailed listing of Business Activity Model Goals and Action Plan.
Electronic Mail and the Internet:This class will extensively use e-mail and the course home page to promote communication between the professor and the students and to facilitate the progression of the course. Students are encouraged to use e-mail to ask me questions that may arise concerning the subject matter of the course, particularly if they cannot meet with me during scheduled office hours ,and mutually convenience alternative hours cannot be scheduled.
In order to ensure timely response to pressing questions, please go to Computer Services and obtain an e-mail account at your earliest convenience. If you need to contact me regarding anything you may contact me by e-mail at profks@juno.com. I monitor my incoming messages seven days a week, so may feel free to send me a message any time, any day with any questions that you may have.
Participation and Attendance Policy:
Extensive class participation in case discussion and presentation of answers to classroom exercises is required for successful completion of the course. Class members must read all of the assigned exercises, problems, cases, and requirements and to prepare for class as requested.
At the instructor's discretion, students may be asked to present their material to the class for discussion. A grade will be assigned to the participation based on the quality of the presentation. Daily preparation is required as your participation grade will be significantly impacted by your performance during the discussions as either a presenter or as a member of the audience.
Insightful comments or questions that relate to class material will be rewarded with higher participation grades, lower grades will be assigned for simple clarification questions, and grade deductions will be charged to those who attempt to delay, confuse, or embarrass the professor. Those who consistently participate will be assigned higher grades than those who participate on an infrequent basis.
In the event that the professor notices that a significant number of students are coming to class unprepared to discuss assigned exercises or cases, he may, at his option, administer unannounced quizzes that will be factored into the calculation of the final course grade. Attendance will also be factored into the final course grade.
Regular class attendance is mandatory for successful assimilation of the subject matter presented in this course. Attendance will be checked daily. If you have fewer than three unexcused absences, you will be eligible for the curve that I put on each test. A written doctor's note is required to obtain an excused absence. Assignments will be regularly checked with no submission of late papers allowed. In addition, no make-up examinations will be administered without a written doctor's note. It is strongly suggested that you obtain the telephone number of a classmate to promptly receive any missed assignments. If you are so inclined not to attend class regularly, I say to you: "GO AHEAD...MAKE MY SEMESTER!!"
Also, in accordance with the SSU "Ghost Policy", if you miss the first two classes of the semester and fail to provide me with a legitimate reason for failing to attend class, you will be deregistered.
Qualifications and Conduct:
It is expected that students have a reasonable understanding of the material covered in principles of financial accounting. Conduct and courtesy requirements are those expected of professionals in the actual business world. Students will be required to sign a statement acknowledging their understanding of the requirements of this course and a willingness to abide by the university's academic integrity policy.
TABLE 1
BUSINESS
ACTIVITY MODEL GOALS
|
Goals |
Action
Plan |
|
Motivate students for the profession |
Present accounting and consulting issues to students in realistic business contexts. Simulate the decisions and tasks confronted by accounting and business professionals in daily practice. Require the use of technology to solve client problems. |
|
Promote technical competency |
Encourage students to master the fundamentals of financial accounting and reporting by continually focusing on three central themes: balance sheet valuation, income recognition, and disclosure adequacy. |
|
Develop life-long research skills |
Use carefully tailored, graded, take-home research exercises to introduce students to the accounting literature. Students must solve "real world" problems of varying difficulty using the accounting standards. Transfer the instruction of technical material outside the classroom to allow students to develop confidence in researching complex accounting issues. |
|
Advance critical thinking |
Encourage students to think like "experts" by requiring them to deal with subjectivity, ambiguity, and uncertainty in classroom simulations that mirror public accounting practice. |
|
Foster communication skills |
Require students to actively and frequently communicate in the language of business (accounting), both orally and in writing, in realistic classroom simulations. |
BAM
TOPICAL COVERAGE IN INTERMEDIATE TEXT CHAPTERS
TABLE 2
BAM ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING ISSUES
|
Aguamaint
Fiscal Year |
Requirement
Number(s)a |
Accounting and Reporting Issues |
|
Oneb |
1, 2 |
|
|
|
|
Accounting for start-up costs |
|
|
|
Capitalization vs. expense treatment |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounting for net operating losses |
|
|
|
Earnings per share |
|
|
|
Introduction to note disclosure (policies, format, structure) |
|
|
|
|
|
Twoc |
8, 9 |
Accounting for bad debts |
|
|
|
Property depreciation (fractional and tax depreciation methods) |
|
|
|
Introduction to deferred taxes |
|
|
|
Notes payable (amortization schedules and expense accruals) |
|
|
|
New disclosures (comparative financial statements and taxes) |
|
Threed |
10, 11 |
Capital lease accounting |
|
|
|
Investment securities accounting |
|
|
|
Pension accounting (defined benefit plans) |
|
|
|
Bookkeeping errors (missed accruals) |
|
|
|
New disclosures (leases, securities, and pensions) |
|
Year
Four: |
|
|
Repairs and
maintenance accounting |
11 |
|
Inventory
accounting |
8,
9 |
|
Equity method of
accounting |
12 |
|
Change in
accounting principle |
3 |
|
Inventory cutoff
errors (purchases) |
9 |
|
Introduction to
corporate tax reporting |
N/A |
|
New disclosures
(inventories and accounting changes) |
3,9 |
a Course materials consist of 24 requirements presented over two semesters (11 in the first and 12 in the second).
b Aguamaint, Inc. begins operations. The company attempts to secure an equipment loan, but the bank requires CPA reviewed financial statements.
c Company operations grow, requiring equipment purchases and additional bank financing.
d The company continues to mature and to generate significant cash flow. Idle cash balances are invested and the company adopts a retirement benefits plan to retain good employees.
Other Business Activity Model Websites