ACCT 315, Fall 2009, A. Debessayp.1

ACCT 315, Fall 2009, A. DebessayP.1

UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE

LernerCollege of Business & Economics

Department of Accounting & MIS

COURSE SYLLABUS

ACCT 315-- INTERMEDIATE ACCOUNTING I—Fall 2009

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

INSTRUCTOR: Araya Debessay, Professor, PhD, CPA, CMA, CIA(inactive)

OFFICE:305 Purnell Hall

OFFICE HRS: Tuesdays and Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Other times by appointment If you have a question, email me with your phone number and I will respond to your message most of the time instantaneously. I check my email messages several times a day, seven days a week.

TELEPHONE: Office: 8316890

E-Mail: .

URL: Instructor’s home page for background information on your instructor:

Your textbooks home page: http:// WileyPlus home page: –.

WileyPlus Technical Support

For introduction to WileyPlus:

Class Time:Tuesday and Thursday, Section 012, 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Section 013, 12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.

Classroom:Lerner 230.

2. REQUIRED TEXT:

Kieso, Weygandt, and Warfield,INTERMEDIATE ACCOUNTING, 13th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2007. . Also available on-line through WileyPlus(the standard version).

The ISBN for Vol. 1 is 978-0-470-12875-6. For the two volumes combined: 978-0-470-37494-8

WileyPlus – Students are expected to read the handout on WileyPlus which is assigned for the first day of class in WileyPlus. This document will be emailed to students before the first day of class.

4. COURSE OBJECTIVES:

(a). Primary Objective:The objective of Accounting 315 is to give you an in-depth understanding of the financial accounting and accounting standards; the conceptual framework underlying financial accounting , the accounting information system and the contents of the general purpose financial statements, and the application of generally accepted accounting principles and standards in the preparation of financial statements. The goal is to enable students to develop a solid understanding of the conceptual basis of the accounting standards, principles, and procedures pertaining to valuation and reporting practices applied by practitioners and by public accountants. The emphasis is on helping students develop analytical and conceptual thinking, not on memorization.

(b). Secondary Objectives: The course also has the following secondary objectives.

1. Introducing International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Given that corporations in over 100 countries are using IFRS in preparing their financial statements and that US corporations may soon be required to follow IFRS in preparing their financial statement, this course will introduce students to IFRS. Students are expected to read the Convergence Corner pages in each chapter, and to answer end-of-chapter questions dealing with IFRS. I intend to have some questions dealing with international accounting topics on exams.
2. Integrating ethical behavior and professionalism. Accounting professionals are expected to have high ethical and professional standards of behavior. To help students learn to identify when ethical issues are involved in professional life and how to approach ethical decisions-making, cases that involve ethical issues are assigned.

5. INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS AND CLASSROOM PROCEDURES

Class format will be a combination of lectures, and discussion of the assigned homework. Active class participation by all students is expected.

6. HOMEWORK QUIZZES & CLASS PARTICIPATION

The keys to the success of this course are the assignments and class discussions. Students who regularly attend classes, make an earnest effort to completing their homework assignment and quizzes on time, and who actively participate in class discussions have much greater chance of succeeding in this course. Be sure to read the assigned chapter before coming to class. You may also want to print the PPT slides and bring your print out to class to write clarifying notes on the print outs during my lectures. It is also a good idea to start working on the assigned homework before I lecture on the chapter to enhance your understanding of the topics to be discussed on a given day.

Please refer to the Assignment Schedule which is also available on Sakai, and on WileyPlus. Students are encouraged to do the ungraded assignments on each chapter that are available on WileyPlus in preparing for exams. The exam questions are similar to the exercises, and problems that you will find in the ungraded assignments.

Students are expected to complete homework assignment before the due date. Homework assignment not completed before the due date will not be given credit. In determining your homework and quiz grades, I will drop the lowest two quizzes scores and the three lowest homework scores. This averaging scheme will help those students who might miss a quiz due to sickness, or due to computer related problems or other valid reasons, and when they do poorly on some of the quizzes and homework assignments.

Students will earn points for class participation. Class participation points are based on the quality and quantity of a student’s class participation. Participation is asking questions related to homework and quiz that students had difficulties with; answering questions posed by the instructor or other students; volunteering to answer assigned discussion questions, and remaining alert in class, etc. Your instructor will make every effort to engage you in class discussions by asking questions on the assignment. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. There is so much you can learn from your mistakes. As the following ancient Chinese proverb illustrates, class participation is an excellent vehicle towards effective learning.

Tell me, I’ll forget

Show me, I may remember

Involve me, I’ll understand.

In doing your homework and quizzes, your goal should be to learn the material well and not to score high scores by copying answers from other students. If you do your homework and quizzes seriously, you will learn a great deal that will help you to do better on the exams. To this end, if you have any questions on the homework or quizzes, be sure to ask your instructor in class. To the extent that you are learning from your mistakes and do well on the exam, I can assure you that your grade will not suffer if your homework and quiz grades are low. I will base your course grade solely on your exam performance, if that is to your advantage.

Here is a word of caution. Some may be tempted to earn homework and quiz points dishonestly by copying homework and quiz answers from classmates or other sources. Those who do so or cheat by any other means are not only hurting themselves by missing the opportunity to use the homework and quizzes as learning devices, but they are also violating the University’s code of academic honesty. Those who cheat will suffer in three ways. First, when they are discovered they will be penalized. Second, even if they are not discovered, they deprive themselves of the feedback value of learning from their mistakes. Third, they will end up performing poorly on exams, and exam results are the key determinants of grades. Hence, those who attempt to cheat on their homework or quizzes will end up losers and sacrificing their honor for nothing.

7. EXAMS There will be three3-hour exams during the semester and an optional final comprehensive exam. Students who did not do well on Exam 1 (Chapter 1 to 5) or Exam 2 (Ch. 7-10) may decide to take the final comprehensive exam. Their grade on the final comprehensive exam will replace the lower of their Exam 1 or Exam 2 grade, if the comprehensive exam grade is higher. Otherwise the comprehensive exam grade will have the same weight as Exam 3. For those students who choose not to take the final comprehensive exam, their grade will the average of their three exam grades. Exam 3 will be administered during the final exam week.

Exams will consist of a combination of the following types of questions:

(1) Multiple choice conceptual questions.

(2) Multiple choice problems.

(3) Problems (short and long).

(4) Short answer questions, similar to the end-of-chapter questions.

The date and time for the two exams are shown on the assignment schedule. The Scheduling Office will announce the date, time and place of the third and the optional comprehensive final exam.

All students are expected to take all scheduled exams. Students who have a conflict with other scheduled courses on the indicated times should see me for scheduling an early exam. You are not expected to cut regularly scheduled classes to take an exam. Early exams will be scheduled for those who have a conflict with a regularly scheduled class, or for those participating in University-sponsored activities at the request of authorized officials. Early exams will not be given because of heavy course loads, conflicts with work schedules, inadequate preparation, conflicts with an interview, etc.

To miss an exam without penalty, two conditions must be met:

A student must have an acceptable and verifiable reason. Acceptable reasons for missing an exam include serious illness (i.e. illness requiring medical attention), death in the immediate family, or other bona fide reasons.

Valid and acceptable documentation supporting the bona fide excuse should accompany the student's request for a makeup exam, preferably before the scheduled exam.

If both conditions are met, the student will be given a make-up exam.

If the two conditions are not met the student will receive a zero grade for the missed exam.

8. GRADING

The final course grade will be determined as follows:

Exam I Ch. 1-5 300 points

Exam II Ch. 7-10 300 points

Exam III Ch. 11-13……………………………………………….300 points

Homework………………………………………………………. 40 points.

Quizzes – best ten………………………………………………. 40 points

Class Participation……………………………………………… 20 points

Total Course Points .1,000 points

9. Grading Scale

A / 90%+ / C / 70%-75%
A- / 88% - 89% / C- / 68% - 69%
B+ / 86%-87% / D / 60%-67%
B / 80%-85% / D- / 59% - 50%
B- / 78% - 79% / F / Below 50%
C+ / 76% - 77%

Curved Grades

Individual exam grades are not curved. The decision to curve and the amount of the curve will be determined after evaluating the weighted average of all the grades in all the sections. If grades are curved, a uniform curve will be applied to the weighted average grade of all students in all sections.

10. OTHER IMPORTANT MATTERS

Academic Dishonesty

The cornerstone of the accounting profession is personal integrity. It is what the public is entitled to expect from accountants, from business executives responsible for the content of published financial statements, and from the board members responsible for corporate governance. Recent passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, changes in SEC regulations and stock exchange rules makes this abundantly clear. Newspaper headlines since the fall of Enron, Andersen, WorldCom, Tyco and others are full of stories of litigation, indictments, guilty pleas, and prison sentences of those who fail to live up to society’s expectations. Everyone suffers from the dishonesty of others, and thus we have a shared responsibility to confront it. Anyone who witnesses an act of academic dishonesty should bring it to my attention. I will take prompt and appropriate action.

You are expected to be familiar with the University’s Policy on Academic Dishonesty found in the Official Student Handbook. If you have not read it, you will find it using the following link: The content of the Handbook applies to this course. Additionally, the following specific behaviors will be deemed acts of academic dishonesty in this class:

• Getting answers for quizzes from others.
• Copying answers to homework assignments from other students or other sources.
• Possessing a copy of exams or exam solutions in any form. Exams are the property of the Department of Accounting & MIS.

Course Integrity

The grading process is not subject to negotiation. Your course grade will be determined by the policies and requirements listed in this syllabus. If any changes are made, they will be properly disclosed in class during the semester to all students.

Those who would like to review the grading of their exams or the calculation of their grade are encouraged to do so. Any errors in grading will be promptly addressed and corrected. But once your course grade has been sent to the registrar’s office and verified for accuracy, the course is officially over.

Questions concerning grades must be raised (1) within 1 week after the corrected exam is returned to the class, (2) for final grades, within 2 weeks after the semester ends.

There will be no extra credit projects offered after the course is concluded to allow someone to improve their grade. Such a practice violates the integrity of the course by changing the rules after the course is over.For a professor to do so would be both unfairand improper.

Dropping the Course

Students who are having difficulty with the course must recognize this early. A tutor can help but they can’t work miracles. The key to changing your performance is in changing your study habits. Your textbook authors and your professor are the most time-efficient and cost-effective tutors available.

Within the first few weeks of the course those scoring poorly on homework assignments and quizzes are encouraged to consult me, modify their study habits, focus on their professional objectives, and recommit themselves to the course and their future.

Students who have demonstrated poor understanding of the material (as evidenced by their performance on quizzes, graded homework and the first exam) must exercise good judgment about whether to drop the course or not. Responsibility for this decision is yours. Students who are doing poorly should schedule an appointment with me to assess their standing in the course and discuss their options well before the academic penalty deadline.

Those Auditing the Class (Attending The Class as Listeners)

Students auditing the course (changed their status in the course to listeners) may attend lectures but will not be allowed to take exams. They are not required to do anything more than come to class and listen. If they attend more than half the scheduled classes their transcript will reflect a grade of L (listener), if not the grade will be LW (listener withdrew). In either case it has no effect on their cumulative indexes.

Name Cards: Students are expected to have name cards during every class session.

Classroom Etiquette

The importance of maintaining a distraction-free learning environment in class cannot be over-estimated. For the good of all, please:

• Arrive early to class. Every effort will be made to start all classes on time to maximize student/professor interaction. Those who arrive late wastevaluable class time and distract everyone while they find a seat and get settled.
• Turn off cell phones and beepers in class. Cell phones and beepers going off in class are also distracting. Sending or receiving text messages is disturbing to your classmates and show a lack of respect for them and the subject matter of our profession.
• Don’t talk to others during lectures. When the professor signals the beginning of class, be silent and attentive unless called upon. Talking during lectures is another avoidable distraction.
• Don’t wear hats, caps or other headgear in class. Except for medical or religious reasons, it is considered bad manners to wear these things indoors. Also, they obscure the view of those sitting behind you.
• Don’t forget to display your name card in every class. Not having your name card displayed implies that you are not willing or prepared to participate in class discussions, something which will have a negative effect on your participation points.

Gadgets not allowed during exams.

Don’t bring any of thefollowing electronic devices into exams or quizzes:

• Beepers and pagers
• Cell phones, camera phones, iPods
• Digital cameras, video cameras, other recording devices
• PDAs (like Palm Pilots)
• Computers
• Programmable calculators (only calculators that perform simple calculation functions are permitted).

If you are in doubt regarding the requirements, please consult with me.

Some friendly advice: Keep in mind that your primary goal is long-run (to prepare yourself for a successful career). Do not approach the course material as if your only goal is short-run success (grades on exams).

Cutting class to prepare for an examination in another course is ill advised. If you fall into this habit you will find yourself in a perpetual state of disequilibrium - falling behind in all your courses. It is not worth it. The best thing to do is to plan ahead and budget your time properly.

The teaching approach that I am following is meant to encourage you to come well prepared for each class session. My goal is to create a learning environment that will encourage you to realize your fullest potential.

My expectations from my Students:

I expect each of my students to:

Read the syllabus and avoid asking me questions that can be answered by referring to the syllabus.

Attend class regularly, and come to class on time and prepared, and let me know if you have a reason to miss a class.

Participate in class discussions, and pay attention to class discussions.

Do the assignments, work hard, and have high expectations of yourself.