ACCT 124, 124H (Honors) - FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING Principles of Accounting I Mt. San Jacinto College - Menifee Valley Campus Sections 3426/4616, MW 9:30am-10:45am, Rm. 969 Section 3425, MW 11:00am-12:15pm, Rm. 969 Section 3428, M 7:00pm-9:50pm, Rm. 950 Section 3432 Spring Semester, 2015 Associate Professor: David Candelaria, CPA, MST OFFICE Location: Menifee Valley Campus, Room 962 Phone: 951-639-5522 Email: dcandelaria@msjc.edu Office Hours: M 7:30-8:00am, 12:30-1:30pm, 6:00-7:00pm; W 7:30-8:00am, 12:30-1:30pm; T 9:00-10:00am via Email; Or By Appointment The best mode to contact me is via email. Include your name, course, and section number in the subject line of your email (ie: John Doe, Acct, Section ). Also include your name in the body of your email message. During the email office hours described above, I should respond quickly. I usually respond to emails outside the email office hours time frame within the same day unless on weekends, which I usually check at least once. Regardless, I will respond to emails sent to me M-Th within 24 hours, with an extra 24 hours allowed for holidays. I will respond to emails sent to me F-Su within 72 hours, with an extra 24 hours allowed for weekday holidays. Emails are expected to include proper Subject line information, proper punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Emails received not following these expectations will be ignored. INTRODUCTION This course presents fundamental accounting concepts and principles as used in business. The "double entry system", "accrual" method of record keeping is the basic structure of accounting as taught in this class. The student is introduced to accounting techniques applicable to corporate entities such as merchandising enterprises and service business entities. The textbook has been organized to facilitate learning by presenting the concepts and principles in a logical, step-by-step process. Learning is reinforced by using resource materials on the Internet. Each chapter builds on the terminology, concepts and principles introduced in previous chapters. It is important to understand each chapter thoroughly since it becomes the building block for the next chapter. It is also important to keep up with the class. Homework is designed as a practical illustration of the principles presented in the chapters. Learning is best achieved by reading the material from the textbook and Internet resources, and by doing the homework. It is very difficult to understand the accounting concepts without the "hands-on" experience of doing the homework. Page 1 of 6
COURSE OBJECTIVES 1. Evaluate and apply the components of the conceptual framework for financial accounting and reporting, including the qualitative characteristics of accounting information, the assumptions underlying accounting, the basic principles of financial accounting, and the constraints and limitations on accounting information. 2. Analyze and explain what a system is and how an accounting system is designed to satisfy the needs of specific businesses and users including the purpose and use of accounting documents and reports such as journals and ledgers. 3. Compare, contrast and explain the nature and purpose of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). 4. Apply transaction analysis, input transactions into the accounting system, process this input, and prepare and interpret the four basic financial statements using appropriate accounting and business terminology. 5. Distinguish between cash basis and accrual basis accounting and their impact on the financial statements, including the revenue recognition and matching principles. 6. Analyze and illustrate how the principles of internal control are used to manage and control the firm s resources and minimize risk. 7. Examine and consider the content, form, and purpose of the basic financial statements (including footnotes) and the annual report, and how they satisfy the information needs of investors, creditors, and other users. 8. Relate operating activities to current assets, current liabilities and related issues, including the measurement and reporting of cash and cash equivalents, receivables and bad debts, inventory and cost of goods sold, estimated liabilities, and other contingencies. 9. Relate investing activities to long-term asset acquisition and related issues, including the use, cost allocation, and disposal of fixed assets and the difference between capital and revenue expenditures. 10. Relate financing activities to long-term liabilities, stockholders equity and related issues, including issuance, valuation, and retirement of debt (including the time value of money), and issuance and repurchase of capital stock, and dividends. 11. Measure and interpret company activity, profitability, liquidity and solvency through selection and application of appropriate financial analysis tools and accounting principles. 12. Consider the ethical implications inherent in financial reporting and be able to apply strategies for addressing them. This class provides a sound foundation in the preparation needed to enter the business world of today. Many students, who have applied themselves and mastered an understanding of the principles taught, have obtained bookkeeper or entry level accounting positions upon successful completion of this course. COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES Course Learning Outcomes are the results of what you have learned in a course. They represent essential knowledge and skills that you the student have attained as a result of your learning experiences while taking the class. 1. Given the amounts for two of the three elements of the accounting equation, students should demonstrate the ability to solve for the third. Page 2 of 6
2. Students should demonstrate the ability to record transactions using journal entries. 3. Students should demonstrate the ability to journalize entries for accounts requiring adjustment. HONORS ADDENDUM Students enrolled in the Honors section of the course will receive an addendum to this syllabus within the first few weeks of class. SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION (SI) Supplemental Instruction (SI) has been attached to Section 3426 of this course. SI provides weekly review sessions (free) for students enrolled in a historically difficult course. SI sessions are interactive review sessions that incorporate course content and study strategies. SI sessions are open to any student enrolled in a course section being supported with SI. Student attendance at SI sessions is voluntary. There will be 2 SI sessions each week, beginning the 2 nd week of classes. At each SI session, you will be guided through course material by your SI leader, a peer who has successfully completed this course and who has received SI training. The SI leader will not re-lecture nor provide you with class notes. The SI leader will not do your homework. Your SI leader will help you study by reviewing course material and by sharing study strategies. If you attend SI sessions regularly, you can earn better grades. Research has shown that students who attend SI sessions regularly average half to a full letter grade higher than their classmates who choose not to attend SI sessions. By attending SI sessions, you will gain a better understanding of the course material, learn more effective ways of studying, and get to know your fellow classmates. TEXT AND MATERIALS Financial and Managerial Accounting, Warren/Reeve/Duchac, Edition 12E, South-Western Cengage Learning, bundled with access to CengageNOW. A description of the technology supplements available with the text are listed and described in the beginning of the textbook. The textbooks may be purchased online through the College bookstore at http://eagleshop.msjc.edu/msjcme. You may also purchase the textbook bundle inside the campus bookstore. I highly recommend purchasing through our bookstore to ensure proper textbook materials. In the past, students have tried to save money by purchasing elsewhere only to find that they have purchased the wrong text and materials and have had to spend more time and money to get the proper materials. Recent history has shown that our bookstore package price has been very competitive. Students are required to supply their own calculators for exams. Cell phones will NOT be permitted for use during tests and the instructor will NOT provide calculators. HOMEWORK ON CENGAGENOW Most of the homework will be completed in CengageNOW (NOW), the Web-based supplement that, among other things, duplicates structures directly from the end-of-chapter material in your textbook. You will be given instructions to access NOW in a document I will post in Blackboard. You are required to access the website and register as a student using the access code bundled with your Page 3 of 6
textbook. It is imperative that each student complete this process before the end of the first week of class to avoid potential disasters that can occur from not completing homework in a timely manner. There are 3 Takes allowed for each assignment. You will able to print HW 1 and HW 2 before taking them. I highly recommend each student do this so that you may work on the assignments outside NOW and go back to enter and check your answers later. This has proven to be very helpful to past students. You will notice on the Assignment Schedule and in NOW that the due dates are staggered with no credit for late work. Also, you must complete HW 1 satisfactorily to get to HW 2 and HW 2 satisfactorily to get to HW 3 for each chapter. HW 1 and 2 will allow for 5 Check My Works per problem. Experience has shown that students not completing homework timely generally do not do well in this class. Accounting is learned with practice, not with simple memorization. There will be a Discussion Board forum set up in Blackboard to handle homework and course questions. This is where you can ask your questions and let me know about any issues you find on CengageNOW or in an assignment. This will make it possible for students and the instructor to help each other. Any personal questions should be asked via email. Remember that we have tutoring available at the Menifee campus too. Details are available in Blackboard. GRADING POLICIES You will be evaluated on homework exercises and problems assigned from the textbook and CengageNOW, Internet research, and discussion group projects. Your final grade for accounting will be determined by the number of points you earn on assignments, group projects, discussion groups, and examinations. Irregular attendance will cause you to fall behind. Once you fall behind it will be very difficult to catch up. After six hours of absence you may be dropped from the course. Late homework will not be accepted unless special arrangements are made with the instructor prior to the due date. Examinations will be given on the dates indicated unless otherwise announced. All of the material presented in the text, lectures, handouts, online, etc. is considered fair game for the tests. Tests may consist of true/false, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and problem-solving questions. No make-up tests will be given except for special circumstances, which must be individually arranged with the instructor prior to the test date. Class notes may be allowed for some tests. POINTS AND LETTER GRADES Total points available for the semester include: NOW HW 1 approx. 3 pts each chapter 42 NOW HW 2 approx. 9 pts each chapter 126 NOW HW 3 approx. 8 pts each chapter 112 Tests approx. 80 pts per chapter 1120 Approximate Total - Sections 3425, 3426, 3428, 3429, & 4616 1400 pts Discussion Boards 10 pts each chapter 140 Approximate Total Section 3432 1540 pts To earn a letter grade for three semester units, you must accumulate a percentage of the total points available according to the following: Page 4 of 6
90% to 100% = A 80% to 89.99% = B 70% to 79.99% = C 60% to 69.99% = D Each student has access to Blackboard via http://my.msjc.edu. Instructions for access are available at the site. Each student may access his/her own grade book that is available in the course s Blackboard site. Grades will generally be posted for homework and tests within seven working days following the due date. While the online grade book function in Blackboard provides the student quick access to assignment scores, etc., the official grade book is administered by the instructor. Should a student see a discrepancy in the Blackboard online grade book, he/she should contact the instructor immediately. ASSIGNMENTS The weekly assignment schedule outlines the textbook chapters to be studied and the assignments to be completed by the student that week. The student is expected to be prepared for each class, which includes, at the very least, reading the chapter ahead of time and completing HW 1. Chapter handouts will assist in following the lectures and will be available in Blackboard within a few days before coverage of the chapter material begins. It is recommended that each student print a copy and bring it to class. Periodic pop quizzes will be given and designed to check that students are prepared for class. The successful student will participate in class discussions, answer questions, complete all homework assignments and tests, and demonstrate mastery of chapter learning objectives with a minimum of 70% accuracy. LEARNING ENVIRONMENT All students are entitled to an environment that encourages learning. If a student behaves in a manner that negatively affects other class members, he or she is guilty of disruptive behavior. Such behavior will be dealt with in a manner consistent with school policy. When participating in discussion boards, chat rooms, or e-mailing your classmates, students are expected to behave with the same level of courtesy as in a face-to-face classroom. Obscene and other inappropriate messages will result in dismissal from the class. Chain letters, forwarding jokes or other items that do not pertain to the course are strictly prohibited. DISABLED STUDENTS POLICY STATEMENT Mt. San Jacinto College abides by the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that prohibits federal and state agencies or programs from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities. If you have a documented disability that limits a major life activity which may have some impact on your work in this class and for which you may require accommodations, please contact Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSP&S). DSP&S is in the following locations: San Jacinto Campus room #1112, Menifee Valley Campus - #1019 or visit the DSP&S webpage at http://www.msjc.edu/dsps. GENERAL POLICIES 1. All assignments and examinations must be completed when due. 2. Late assignments and examinations may not be made up unless special arrangements are made Page 5 of 6
with the instructor. 3. Announcements of assignments for extra credit, etc. may be given. It is the student's responsibility to attend classes and keep informed of such announcements and to check for announcements in Blackboard. 4. Final examination is mandatory and attendance is required at final class meeting. 5. If student finds it necessary to drop the course, it is his/her responsibility to submit a drop card to the Admissions Office. 6. Cheating/plagiarism is not allowed, discovery of which may result in student being dropped from the class. Refer to the Student Code of Conduct presented in the MSJC general catalog. 7. Pager and cell phone noise will not be tolerated. 8. Computers are available for student use in various locations on both the Menifee and San Jacinto campuses. Ask your instructor for details. Student use of school computers must meet the MSJC Acceptable Use Policy. 9. Each student is responsible for having his/her own calculator for exams. The calculator available on the computers and on cell phones will not be allowed. No PDAs or other electronic devices are allowed either. 10. Attendance Policy For face-to-face classes, after six hours of absence you may be dropped from the course. For online classes, after seven consecutive days of not accessing the course or if the instructor deems that you have not completed enough recent tests and/or assignments, you may be dropped. 11. Students are responsible for their own work. It is suggested that each student create a folder containing all work completed, both a physical and an electronic folder. 12. Any problems encountered with the course in the Blackboard course management system should be reported to the instructor immediately via email. If the problem is generic to Blackboard and not course specific, contact the Support Center. Details are posted in the Blackboard Help navigation area in your Blackboard course shell. 13. No audio or video recording devices are allowed in the classroom without prior instructor approval. 14. The instructor reserves the right to drop any student not obtaining the text and materials within the first week of class and/or not completing Assignment Zero and/or either of the first two chapters assignments by their respective due dates. Page 6 of 6