Instructor: Susan A. Lynn, DBA, CPA

Office: Business Center 451

Office Hours: Tuesday 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.; Thursday 2:00 - 3:00 p. m., 4:15 - 5:15 p. m.

Phone: 410 - 837-5099 (Office)

410 - 837-5722 (Fax) (Please call and let me know when you are faxing me materials.)

Email: slynn@ubalt.edu

Course Website: http://home.ubalt.edu/ntsblynn/

Text Website: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072466138/information_center_view0/

Homework Manager Website: http://edu2.brownstone.net:8080/classes/UBACCT301/

Library Course Reserve Page (password - Fall2004): http://webreserves.ubalt.edu/coursepage.asp?cid=4&page=01

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

A. To review in detail the major issues related to the following topics in financial accounting:

1. foundations of accounting theory

2. U. S. and international standard setting procedures

3. accounting cycle

4. financial statement presentation and disclosure

a. income statement

b. balance sheet

5. revenue realization and income determination

6. cash and receivables

7. inventories

8. current liabilities and contingencies

B. To develop the student's analytical, written, and problem solving abilities in accounting.

Detailed learning objectives are provided in the outlines accompanying each chapter covered in the text.

PREREQUISITES:

ACCT 203 and 204 (Principles of Accounting) are prerequisites for ACCT 301.  Students are expected to take the responsibility for reviewing material from these courses on their own.

TEXTS: Spiceland, Sepe, and Tomassini, Intermediate Accounting with Coach CD-ROM, PowerWeb: Financial Accounting, Alternate Exercises & Problems, and Net Tutor, and Homework Manager, Third Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2004. ISBN -007-3888583. If you have purchased a used text, you will have to purchase Homework Manager separately (ISBN - 007-2947012)

A Student Study Guide and Working Papers are available but are not required.

Gleim and Collins, Financial Accounting:  Exam Questions and Explanations, 11th edition,

Gleim Publications, 2003. ISBN:1-58194-282-6

Ziebart, Introduction to Applied Professional Research for Accountants, Prentice-Hall, 2002,

ISBN: 0-13-034171-1

Mastering the Accounting Cycle: A Bridge Tutorial, (CD- Rom), Houghton Mifflin, 2004.

ISBN: 0-618-31876-3

Financial Accounting Research System (FARS) on-line - purchase at

www.wiley.com/college/farsonline

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: This course is conducted in accordance with the Academic Integrity policy of the University of Baltimore: (http://www.ubalt.edu/studentaffairs/handbook/academic_integrity.html)

" Academic honesty is based on the principle that one's work is one's own. The University of Baltimore Academic Integrity Policy encourages all members of the University to accept responsibility for taking academic honesty seriously by being well-informed, by contributing to a climate in which honesty is valued, and by considering responsible ways to discourage dishonesty in the work of others. Students, faculty, administrators, and staff shall not condone or tolerate cheating, plagiarism, or falsification, since such activity negatively affects all members of the academic community." Academic Integrity Policy and Procedures. Student Handbook.

STUDY TIME REQUIREMENTS:

ACCT 301 requires a significant and regular time commitment from the student.  You should plan to spend a MINIMUM of 10-12 hours per non-exam week in studying for the course.

I believe teaching is a passive process while learning is an active process. I believe that my function is to help you learn not to "teach" you. I will make a substantial and sincere effort to help you be successful in the class. I expect you to make that same type of effort to help yourself.

In order to be successful in the class, I suggest you use the following approach:

1. There is no substitute for reading the chapters in your text thoroughly. (I suggest a minimum of three times over the course of your study of each topic).

2. There is also no substitute for working all the questions, cases, exercises, and problems assigned before the class in which they are discussed. ACCT 301 is a problems course. My experience convinces me that working the written assignments on your own is essential to understanding the logic and theory that underlies them. It is also essential for retaining the material and developing the ability to apply the theory and procedures studied to new situations. Merely reviewing solutions after they have been presented in class does not present a sufficiently intense learning experience to promote learning.

3. A helpful tool for reviewing the course material as well as for preparing for the multiple choice questions on the exam is Gleim and Collins, Exam Questions and Explanations, 11th edition and the multiple choice questions in your textbook.

4. Tutoring for this course is available from the Academic Resource Center, AC 111. All ARC tutoring is free. Depending upon the course, tutors may be available days, evenings, or even weekends. You may work individually with a tutor or request a small-group tutorial to share questions and insights with other students. Tutors can help you with reviewing course material as well as Excel. Some tutors may be able to provide assistance by e-mail, phone, fax, or web-based audio-conferencing. If you are interested, stop by AC 111, call 410-837-5383, or e-mail arc@ubalt.edu.

ORGANIZATION OF COURSE:

Classroom activities in the course will vary depending on the material covered and may consist of interactive lectures, problem solving activities, and small group activities.  Before we discuss a chapter in class, I expect you to have read and studied the reading assignments in the chapter.  I also expect you to work assigned case, exercise, and problem material before we review the material in class. I have found that students are not likely to be successful in Intermediate Accounting if they only review solutions as they are discussed in class.

The reading and written assignments are listed in the class calendar.  I will review some written assignments as part of my lecture on each chapter. Some written assignments will be collected and graded as homework. In addition, because ACCT 301 is a problem oriented course, I will provide you with solutions to additional problem material which you can review on your own and which we can discuss in class if you have additional questions about the material. I expect you to work through "basic" material on your own so that we can spend class time on more complex materials.

The class calendar is subject to revisions; these will be announced in class.  Students are responsible for being familiar with these revisions whether or not they have been absent from class. Although I will not take attendance, I encourage you to attend class regularly in order to be successful in the course.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Students will be given detailed learning objectives for each topic studied in the course. These are listed on the outlines provided for each chapter. Learning objectives will be divided into three categories: "A", "B," and "C". You should be thoroughly familiar with and extremely knowledgeable about each item in the "A" category. You should be moderately familiar with and moderately knowledgeable about each item in the "B" category. You should be lightly familiar with and lightly knowledgeable about each item in the "C" category. You should be able to thoroughly demonstrate all required skills and abilities for "A" category objectives. In contrast, you should learn only the key (main) points about each item listed in category "C" and be able to write two or three sentences about each of these topics. "B" category items require less knowledge than "A" but more than "C: category items. All items are important and likely to be tested.

QUIZZES/FINAL EXAM:

Quizzes and the final examination will consist of problems, short essays, and multiple choice questions.  The material covered on the quizzes and the final examination will be announced in class. The final exam is comprehensive. The dates of the quizzes will be announced in class. The final examination will be held on the date listed in the schedule of classes. 

No make-up quizzes will be given. You must contact me prior to an quiz which is missed or a grade of zero will be given.   Absences from exams because of illness require a doctor's written excuse.  All other absences must be approved by me and will require appropriate documentation. Absences from the final examination will not be excused except for illness on the day of the examination.  It is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor and provide requested documentation. If you miss a quiz (with an approved excuse), the comprehensive final will count as the score for the quiz that is missed.

HOMEWORK:

Homework will be collected during the course of the semester in class and through Homework Manager on the web. Students are responsible for meeting homework collection dates whether or not they have been absent from class. NO late homework will be accepted.

I will collect homework at the beginning of each class meeting announced as a homework collection date. Homework cases, exercises, and problems are to be completed in neat, legible fashion on 8 ½ x 11 sheets, analysis tablets or working papers. Xerox all homework assignments that will be collected so that you have them available as we review them in class. If a student must miss a class, he or she may turn in all problems assigned for the day prior to the class meeting.

Students will also submit homework through the class Homework Manager website. Homework must be submitted via the web prior the closing date for each assignment. Print out Homework Manager assignments that you have submitted so that you have them available as we review the assignments in class.

READING VERIFICATION FORMS:

I will collect reading verification forms (to help ensure that you are reading the text before we discuss it in class) at the beginning of the class for which they are due. Students are responsible for completing these forms whether or not they have been absent from class. NO late forms will be accepted. If a student must miss a class, he or she may turn in the reading verification form for the day prior to the class meeting.

LEARNING LOGS/FEEDBACK FORMS

During the semester, usually on a weekly basis, students will submit learning logs/feedback forms containing a self-evaluation of their understanding of topics covered in the class. These forms must be submitted on the dates due. Late forms will not be accepted.

COURSE GRADE:

The student's course grade will be determined as follows:

* If more than eight reading verification forms are collected, a maximum of your two lowest reading verification form scores will be dropped. If more than eight in-class homework assignments are collected, a maximum of your two lowest in-class homework assignment scores will be dropped. Some homework manager assignments may be eligible for bonus points.

** The requirements for the writing, computer, and FARS projects are detailed in separate handouts. All projects must be submitted in order to receive a passing grade for the course. 10% of the total points for the project will be deducted from your grade for each day a project is late.

The computer project requires you to have basic knowledge of a spreadsheet package such as Excel, Quattro Pro, or Lotus. You are required to familiarize yourself with the basic features of a spreadsheet package if you have not already done so. Learn how to reference cells in the spreadsheet, how to write simple equations using data contained in the cells, how to copy an equation in one cell to a series of other cells, how to save the spreadsheet to your data diskette, and how to print the spreadsheet. You will not need to use the database features of the software, graphing capabilities, or macros.

Letter grades for the course will be assigned based on the total number of points earned by the student using a scale which will be determined at the end of the course.  I do not generally "curve" grades. However, there are several ways in which you can "earn a curve" for the course. Each exam will have more points than those listed above. In addition, you may "earn a curve" through the homework and reading verification forms as explained in class. In addition, after computing all grades, I will take a final look to determine the fairness of the grades. A strong score on the comprehensive final exam is the best evidence you can give me that you deserve a higher grade.

During the course, students may judge their performance using the following scale:

SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS