Bus 220B  Financial Accounting & Analysis 1

Intermediate Financial Accounting

MSA Program July, 2006

Instructor:  Helen Brubeck

Office:  BT 961

Office Hours:  Class Days 7-7:45 am

Telephone:  924-1341

Email:  financialaccounting@yahoo.com

REQUIRED TEXT:

Intermediate Accounting, 12^th Edition by Keiso, Weygandt & Warfield (Wiley)

The Study Guide is NOT required. You will also require this text for Financial Accounting & Analysis 2, which you will take in August.

Objective

This course continues on from your introductory class and begins to explore specific areas of the financial statements in more detail. We will be primarily covering issues related to revenues, assets and current liabilities. The focus of the course will be on understanding the nature of GAAP accounting in order to recognize the consistencies which appear in different topic areas. This will significantly aid your understanding of the role of accounting information in reflecting and evaluating company performance. It is important to understand why accounting rules are set, rather than just memorizing the process. In addition, you should gain an appreciation for the limitations of financial reporting and the impact of alternative accounting choices on the financial reports.

Class Attendance

I am a strong believer in classroom learning. Homework, quizzes and the final exam will be based entirely on the topics I discuss in class, and I strongly recommend that you attend all lectures. This is particularly important in a course which is designed to run for only 10 sessions. The text book is there as a safety net, and should only be read after we have discussed the topics in class. Much of the information in the text will not be tested on the midterms and final exam.

Homework

Homework will be assigned each day at the end of class and is due at the beginning of the following class. Homework assignments will be graded on a checkmark basis. This means that if you hand in the assignment and have made a reasonable attempt to answer all problems you will get two points. If a serious attempt has been made on at least half of the problems, you will get one point. Otherwise you will get no points.

Quizzes

There will be a quiz on the previous day’s material at the beginning of every class, starting Wednesday, July 5^th. Each quiz will consist of questions based on actual CPA exams. These quizzes will help reinforce the material you learned the previous day and show you what to expect when you come to take the real exam. Answers will be taken up in class immediately after each quiz.

Final Exam

There will be no midterms in this course, only a final exam, scheduled for in class on Tuesday, July 18^th. If you do not write this exam at the assigned time, you will receive a grade of zero. If you experience extreme circumstances such as a death in the family or severe illness, discuss these issues with me before the exam and we will try to reach an agreement. Excuses such as car trouble, traffic and parking problems, missing your alarm and caffeine addiction are not legitimate excuses for missing the exam.

Legitimate excuses such as those described above may result in eligibility to take the final exam on a ‘make-up’ date. Again, this needs to be discussed with me before the exam.

Grading Scheme

Homework                     16%               2 points for each of 8 assignments

Quizzes                          24%               3 points for each of 8 quizzes               

Final Exam                     60%              

Total                            100%

I will not give out letter grades until the course is completely over and I have every student’s final grade in front of me. Although I know that grades are always an issue for students, my biggest concern is that you actually learn the material and get a good foundation in accounting principles. Generally in the MSA program any student who works hard will receive an acceptable grade.