Syllabus for ACC-201

INTERMEDIATE ACCOUNTING I

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Intermediate Accounting I is the first of a two course sequence (ACC-202: Intermediate Accounting II is the other), in financial accounting. Topics covered include accounting theory, a review of the accounting cycle, financial statements, time value of money, current assets and operational assets as they apply to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This course is essential for students who wish to pursue a major in accounting.

Student advisory: Working knowledge of Microsoft Excel is required.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing this course, you should be able to:

Prepare reports in compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Discuss the international movement towards one global set of financial statements.
Prepare and explain a balance sheet, its components and the classifications of assets, liabilities and stockholder equity.
Discuss and evaluate disclosure requirements for various balance sheet accounts.
Prepare and explain an income statement, its components and the classifications of revenue, expenses, gains, losses, extraordinary items, and other related items.
Evaluate a statement of cash flows using both the direct and indirect methods.
Explain the time value of money concept, and analyze and compute reported amounts used in the preparation of financial statements.
Prepare transactions for cash and receivables, explain and evaluate the internal controls systems used to protect cash and receivables, and prepare appropriate adjustments and/or account reconciliations when needed.
Explain and prepare transactions about a company’s inventory transactions using and evaluating a variety of inventory valuation methodologies and making adjustments to inventory accounts when needed.
Prepare and explain transactions about a company’s operational assets including computing depreciation, depletion, and amortization using a variety of methods and recording transactions of operational asset acquisition, disposal, and impairment in the accounting records of a company.

COURSE MATERIALS

You will need the following materials to complete your coursework. Some course materials may be free, open source, or available from other providers. You can access free or open-source materials by clicking the links provided below or in the module details documents. To purchase course materials, please visit the University's textbook supplier.

Required Textbook

Spiceland, J. David, Sepe, James F., Nelson, Mark, and Thomas, Wayne B. (2016). Intermediate Accounting, (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
ISBN-13: 978-1-259-54623-5

Financial Statements

Air France-KLM 2013 Annual Report

COURSE STRUCTURE

Intermediate Accounting I is a three-credit, online course, consisting of six modules. Modules include topics, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.

Module 1: Environmental and Theoretical Structure of Financial Accounting: Review of the Accounting Process
Module 2: Balance Sheet and Financial Disclosures
Module 3: Income Statement & Comprehensive Income; Income Measurement and Profitability Analysis, The Statement of Cash Flows
Module 4: Time Value of Money: Cash and Receivables
Module 5: Inventories
Module 6: Property, Plant & Equipment and Intangible Assets

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, and take two proctored examinations—a midterm and a final. See below for more details.

Consult the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.

Promoting Originality

One or more of your course activities may utilize a tool designed to promote original work and evaluate your submissions for plagiarism. More information about this tool is available in this document.

Discussion Forums

Intermediate Accounting I requires you to participate in six graded online discussion activities, in addition to an ungraded "Introductions" forum in module 1.

Communication with the mentor and among fellow students is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a discussion topic and subsequent comments on classmates' responses. Meaningful participation is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement. You will be evaluated on the quality and quantity of your participation. Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.

For posting guidelines and help with discussion forums, please see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course Web site.

Written Assignments

You are required to complete six written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules.

Written assignments consist mostly of exercises and problems taken from the end of each chapter in the textbook. You are to submit your answers to these exercises and problems to your mentor for correction and grading. When preparing the assignments, please identify each exercise and problem clearly by textbook chapter and exercise or problem number, with the exercises first followed by the problems. To receive full credit for your answers, you must show all work and include complete solutions.

It is recommended to use Microsoft Word or Excel to prepare your written assignments. Include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course name and code and the semester and year in which you are enrolled.

For help regarding preparing and submitting assignments, see the Student Handbook located under the General Information page of the course Web site.

Examinations

You are required to take two proctored online examinations: a midterm exam and a final exam. Both exams require that you use the University's Online Proctor Service (OPS). Please refer to the "Examinations and Proctors" section of the Online Student Handbook (see General Information area of the course Web site) for further information about scheduling and taking online exams and for all exam policies and procedures. You are strongly advised to schedule your exam within the first week of the semester.

Midterm Examination

You are required to take a proctored online midterm examination during Week 7 of the semester. The midterm exam covers all material assigned in modules 1-3 of the course. The exam is two and a half hours long and consists of multiple-choice questions, short essays, and problems similar to those on the written assignments. Scientific, graphing or financial calculator allowed (no phones or tablets); scratch paper allowed.

Final Examination

The final is a closed-book, proctored online exam. It is two and half hours long and covers all material assigned in modules 4-6 of the course. The final consists of multiple-choice questions, short essays, and problems similar to those on the written assignments. Scientific, graphing or financial calculator allowed (no phones or tablets); scratch paper allowed.

Statement about Cheating

You are on your honor not to cheat during an exam. Cheating means:

Looking up any answer or part of an answer in an unauthorized textbook or on the Internet, or using any other source to find an answer.
Copying and pasting or, in any way copying responses or parts of responses from any other source into your exams. This includes but is not limited to copying and pasting from other documents or spreadsheets, whether written by yourself or anyone else.
Plagiarizing answers.
Asking anyone else to assist you by whatever means available while you take an exam.
Copying any part of an exam to share with other students.
Telling your mentor that you need another attempt at an exam because your connection to the Internet was interrupted when that is not true.

If there is evidence that you have cheated or plagiarized in an exam, the exam will be declared invalid, and you will fail the course.

GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

Online discussions (6)—17 percent
Written assignments (6)—33 percent

Written assignments 1, 3, 4, 5, 6—30 percent
Written assignment 2—3 percent

Midterm Exam (proctored online, modules 1-3)—25 percent
Final Exam (proctored online, modules 4-6)—25 percent

All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:

A	=	93–100	C+	=	78–79
A–	=	90–92	C	=	73–77
B+	=	88–89	C–	=	70–72
B	=	83–87	D	=	60–69
B–	=	80–82	F	=	Below 60

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a non area of study course), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.).

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

Read carefully the entire Syllabus, making sure that all aspects of the course are clear to you and that you have all the materials required for the course.
Take the time to read the entire Online Student Handbook. The Handbook answers many questions about how to proceed through the course, how to schedule exams, and how to get the most from your educational experience at Thomas Edison State University.

Arrange to take your examination(s) by following the instructions in this Syllabus and the Online Student Handbook.

Familiarize yourself with the learning management systems environment—how to navigate it and what the various course areas contain. If you know what to expect as you navigate the course, you can better pace yourself and complete the work on time.
If you are not familiar with Web-based learning be sure to review the processes for posting responses online and submitting assignments before class begins.

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:

To stay on track throughout the course, begin each week by consulting the course Calendar. The Calendar provides an overview of the course and indicates due dates for submitting assignments, posting discussions, and scheduling and taking examinations.
Check Announcements regularly for new course information.

ACADEMIC POLICIES

To ensure success in all your academic endeavors and coursework at Thomas Edison State University, familiarize yourself with all administrative and academic policies including those related to academic integrity, course late submissions, course extensions, and grading policies.

For more, see: