ACCT 321
Financial Reporting & Analysis I
Fall 2008
Professor:
Course Description: Financial Reporting & Analysis I. This course emphasizes
financial accounting standards and reporting. The role of financial accounting
is to communicate information that supports business decision-making. Without
understanding how decision makers use accounting information, it is difficult
to fully understand financial accounting issues or, more importantly, to
critically evaluate accounting method alternatives. Keep this perspective in
mind as you study each topic. To assist you, each chapter has one or more
sections entitled “Decision Makers’ Perspective” which offer insights into how
the information discussed in the chapters affects decisions made by investors,
creditors, managers, and others. Also, avoid memorizing. A true understanding
of how a particular procedure is
applied demands a clear understanding of why
it is applied. As you learn procedures presented in the text, be sure to make
sure you understand why those
procedures applied.
Prerequisites: ACCT 201.
Required Textbook: Spiceland,
Sepe, and Tomassini, INTERMEDIATE ACCOUNTING, McGraw-Hill/Irwin,
4/e, 2007. ISBN# 978-0-07-299402-5.
Course Website: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072994029/information_center_view0/
Office Hours: Monday-Wednesday- Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 10:50
a.m. and 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. (Room 127).
Tuesday
and Thursday, 10:20 a.m. – noon (Room 127).
Email: ralph.hooper@vcsu.edu Phone: 845-7520
Grading: Your
grade this semester will be based on the total points you earn. Although not required, students may form
groups to work on the assignments. Each
group will turn in one assignment with the names of all group members that
contributed to completion of the assignment.
|
Attendance |
50 points |
|
Assignments
(16 @ 25) |
400
points |
|
Exam
1 (Chapters 1-2) |
100
points |
|
Exam
2 (Chapters 3-4) |
100
points |
|
Exam
3 (Chapters 5-6) |
100
points |
|
Exam
4 (Chapters 7-8) |
100
points |
|
Total Points |
850
points |
Attendance and Class Participation: Students
are expected to attend class and be prepared to actively participate in class.
Ability/Skill Level:
The relevant ability for this
class is Problem Solving and the skill and level are Problem
Recognition/Level 3.
Portfolio Project:
There is no project in this
class that qualifies for inclusion in the student portfolio required for
graduation.
Warning: Be sure to read each chapter before we
discuss it in class. The average
student workload is two hours of work per week outside of class for every hour
we meet in the classroom. Therefore,
expect to spend six (6) hours per week on this course outside of class.
Deadlines: You will encounter deadlines for the rest of
your working life. Therefore, there will
be established deadlines for submitting assignments and exams. Plan and organize your time and pay attention
to the deadlines. If you anticipate
missing class, communicate with your group members so you can contribute to
completion of the assignments even though you may not be physically present in
class on a particular day.