Midland College
Syllabus
Spring 2010
ACCT 2401
PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTING
4 semester credit hours (3 hours lecture and 1 hour lab)
Course
Description:
This course is designed to present a general knowledge of accounting principles and procedures for the
sole proprietorship and partnership forms of business organization. Topics and problems include the
complete accounting cycle; accounting systems and special purpose journals; internal controls and
merchandising transactions; and the preparation of general external financial statements in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles. The students will study short-term liquid assets
including uncollectible accounts and notes receivable; several methods of inventory valuation and their
affect upon operations; current liabilities and payroll accounting including employer payroll taxes; and
the acquisition, depreciation (several methods), and the disposal of plant, property, and equipment;
intangible assets; and natural resources. Also studied is the owner’s equity section of a Balance Sheet
for a corporation–Paid in Capital and Retained Earnings.. This course will transfer to upper level
institutions. (Prerequisites: None.)
Text,
References,
and Supplies:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Horngren, Harrison, & Oliver; ACCOUNTING 8th edition, Prentice Hall (required).
Working papers which accompany MY ACCOUNTING LAB (with access code)
Scantrons for major exams.
A calculator is strongly recommended – NO cell phones may be used as a calculator.
A capstone project is required to pass this class–furnished after chapter 5
Course Goals/
Objectives:
1.
Students will explore the theory and practice of recording, measuring, and interpreting
financial data for sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations.
Students will apply basic concepts, principles, and procedures of accounting (GAAP) while
analyzing the operating cycle, adjusting entries, financial statements, internal controls,
receivables, inventory, long-term assets, and current and long-term liabilities.
2.
Student
Contributions
and
Class Policies:
Each student will spend at least 8 hours per week preparing for class. Attendance is critical in this class.
Students are expected to read and study each chapter in the text.
POLICY FOR QUIZZES & EXAMS MISSED BY STUDENTS:
Seven progress quizzes are scheduled during the semester, and only five progress quizzes will be counted
in arriving at the final grade. Because two quizzes will dropped the GENERAL RULE to be followed is
that there will be NO MAKE-UPS on progress quizzes that are missed! Students who miss progress
quizzes may obtain blank copies of the quiz for study purposes after the progress quiz has been returned to
the class. In the event that a student misses a scheduled major exam, the GENERAL RULE to be
followed is that NO MAKE-UP exam will be allowed; however, the grade made on the comprehensive
final examination will be substituted for the missed exam.
Students will be expected to participate in classroom activities and discussions.
Students will be expected to exhibit professional behavior during scheduled class times and while in the
lab. Professional behavior includes, but is not limited to, the following:
1.
2.
Complies with the rules of Midland College
Is punctual
Evaluation of
Students:
3.
4.
5.
Exhibits cooperative behavior in class
Earphones, cell phones, and beepers are disruptive to the class and should be avoided.
Please do not work homework for this class or another other class during class time.
1.
Performance will be measured according to established grading standards by student testing,
including exams consisting of true-false; multiple-choice, matching; fill-in-the-blanks; shortanswer; essays; and problems; or any combination.
Grading for this course will be as follows:
2.
Best 5 Progress Quizzes (20 points each)
All 4 Major Exams (100 points each)
Homework (My Accounting Lab-exercises & problems)
Comprehensive Problem (required to pass course)
Final Examination (comprehensive)
Maximum Points
Grade
A
B
C
D
F
100 points
400 points
100 points
100 points
100 points
800points
Points
720+
640-719
560-639
480-559
less than 480
A grade of W will only be given at the request of the student. Please review the withdrawal policy in
the Midland College Catalog.
Course
Schedule:
The class meets for 3 lecture hours per week. A tentative course schedule will be provided to the student
during the first class meeting.
SCANS
Information:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Identifies, organizes, and allocates resources. Student will: develop time
management skills completing assignments by established deadlines and taking
quizzes and tests within time frames.
Information: Acquires and uses information. Students will: select appropriate data from
assignment material to measure business activities, process information into
reports, and communicate findings to decision makers in the form of written
reports.
Locates, understands, and interprets written information in prose and documents.
Reading:
Accounting has a highly technical vocabulary. Students must read and
assimilate data from the text and narrative assignment material in order to
understand and to communicate information to managers and decision makers.
Arithmetic/
Mathematics: Performs basic computations. Students will: perform basic operations of
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; use light algebra for solving
various equations; calculate percentages, discounts, payroll, and many other
everyday business and consumer applications problems.
Thinks creatively, makes decisions, solves problems, knows how to learn and
Thinking:
reason. Students will: develop critical thinking skills (analysis, interpretations,
and determining a course of action) and challenge ethical issues of the profession
through participating in problem solving exercises.
Resources:
Instructor
Information:
Dale Westfall
Office Phone:
Office:
Office Hours:
Note:
685-4658
Room 158 TC
See below
Students are encouraged to contact the instructor at any time; however, making
an appointment will guarantee the instructor’s availability at a specific time.
Division Dean:
Division Secretary:
Division Office:
Division Telephone:
Business Studies Division Information
Gavin Frantz
Lisa Hain
Room 142 TC
685-6447
Dale Westfall
685-4658 office
689-9929 home
158 TC
picnic@midland.edu
SPRING 2010 OFFICE HOURS
10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Monday & Wednesday
4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Monday & Wednesday
8:30 a.m.- 10:30 a.m. Friday
8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Tuesday & Thursday
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Tuesday & Thursday
Afternoons by appointment.
SPRING TEACHING SCHEDULE
ACCT 2401.220 (11:00 a.m. - 12:20 p.m.) MW room 146 TC
ACCT 2401.610 (9:30 a.m. - 10:50 p.m.) TR room 146 TC
ACCT 2401.670 (7:00 p.m. - 8:20 p.m.) MW room 146 TC
ACCT 2402.205 (9:00 a.m. - 10:20 p.m.) MW room 146 TC
ACCT 2402.620 (11:00 a.m. - 12:20 p.m.) TR room 146 TC
ACCT 2402.518 (5:30 p.m. - 6:50 p.m.) MW room 146 TC
ACNT 2382.760 (TBA)
ACCOUNTING LAB
The accounting lab is located in room 170 TC (432-686-4212) and will be open approximately 12 hours a day, Monday
through Thursday, and 3 hours on Friday mornings. More definite hours will be posted in the lab after the first week of
class.
ACCT 2401 - Principles of Accounting I
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS - (ACCOUNTING, eighth edition, Horngren, Harrison, and Oliver).
At the end of each chapter in your textbook, you will find a glossary of terms, Quick Check test, Short
Exercises, Exercises, and Problems.
SHORT EXERCISES generally review concepts and terminology. You may be assured that a
significant number of questions concerning concepts and terminology will appear on both progress quizzes and
major exams. Therefore, students are advised to study and be able to answer these short exercises.
EXERCISES represent short applications of the concepts contained in the chapter (usually covering
one or two chapter objectives). Often a student can work an exercise in his head or on scratch paper —
although some exercises are more detailed and require more thought and concentration.
PROBLEMS are a bit longer and more complex than exercises, often involving several chapter
objectives. This semester students will complete selected exercises and problems for a homework grade.
CHAPTER
HOMEWORK --EXERCISES and PROBLEMS
ONE
E1-14; E1-16; E1-19; P1-30 A; P1-34A
TWO
E2-16; E2-17; E2-22; P2-31A
THREE
E3-14; E3-18; P3-29A; P3-32A
FOUR
P4-23A; P4-25A
FIVE
E5-17; E5-21; P5-29A; P5-30A
SIX
E6-15; E6-16; E6-17; E6-22 E6-26
SEVEN
E7-14; E7-15; E7-17; P7-25A; P7-27A; P7-30A
EIGHT
E8-15; E8-16; P8-25A; P8-27A, P8-30A
NINE
E9-13; E9-14; E9-17; E9-21; E9-24
TEN
E10-26; E10-27; E10-28; P10-34A
ELEVEN
P11-28A; P11-29A; P11-33A
TWELVE
P12-26A; P12-27A
Competencies
Purpose and/or Sample of Real
Life Applications
Assignments
Used Through-out
the Course
Build a vocabulary of accounting
terminology
To understand the importance of
accounting and how the
profession affects internal and
external users of accounting
information
Write answers to select
questions and short exercises
Yes
Construct the accounting equation
To reflect the fact that both
insiders and outsiders have
claim to the assets of a business
Input data into the equation
format
Yes
Use T-accounts to analyze the affects
of transactions in debit and credit
format
To visualize double-entry
accounting and reinforce the
rules of debits and credits
Enter transactions into Taccounts
Foot and balance accounts
Prepare a trial balance proving
equality
Yes
Record information in a general
journal and special journal format
To provide a day-to-day record
of transactions using exact
account titles
Journalize transactions in
general journal format
Yes
Post to general and subsidiary
ledgers
To determine the correct balance
of a specific account
Post entries into 4-column
ledger or T- accounts.
Yes
Prepare financial statements for
service and merchandising
businesses from a worksheet
To communicate financial
information in acceptable format
recognized by the accounting
and business community
To report net income
To show changes in owner’s
equity
To verify balance of the
equation
Prepare several financial
statements
Yes
Identify effective internal control
procedures
To illustrate the importance of
internal control
To identify those who are
responsible
To develop internal control
procedures
To make ethical business
decisions
Evaluate strengths and
weaknesses in internal control
by reviewing several scenarios
To illustrate how businesses
handle minimum expenditures
even though they make most
payments by check
Make journal entries to establish
and replenish a petty cash fund
To illustrate how critical this
internal control feature is to
small businesses and to
individuals
Prepare a bank reconciliation
Identify where common
reconciliation items appear on
the bank reconciliation
Create and use the petty cash fund
Reconcile a bank statement
Record related journal entries
Competencies
Purpose and/or Sample of Real
Life Applications
Yes
Assignments
No
No
Used Through-out
the Course
Estimate uncollectible accounts by
the allowance method using the
percent of sales and the aging of
accounts methods.
To learn how businesses
estimate for bad debts using
two acceptable GAAP preferred
methods.
To apply generally accepted
accounting principles (GAAP)
To match revenues with
expenses in a given time period
To more accurately reflect the
collectible amount of accounts
receivable
Calculate the estimate using the
percent of sales and the aging
methods
Make journal entries to estimate
for potential losses
Reinstate previously written off
customers
Calculate simple interest
Determine maturity value of Notes
Receivable
To identify the maturity date of
a note receivable
To compute interest on shortterm Notes Receivable
Determine maturity date and
maturity value on several Notes
Receivable
Make journal entries for accrued
interest revenue
Yes
Determine inventory values using
FIFO, LIFO, weighted average and
specific unit cost methods
To demonstrate the effects of
various inventory valuation
methods on the income
statement and balance sheet
using the four different costing
methods
Compute ending inventory and
cost of goods sold using all four
acceptable methods
Compute gross profit under each
method
No
Record purchasing, cost recovery,
depreciation, and sale of plant assets
Calculate depreciation by various
methods
Calculate book value
To calculate the original cost of
plant assets
To determine how plant assets
are expensed over time
Calculate the book value to
determine the value of a plant
asset at a given time
To record sales and exchanges
of plant assets
To select the best depreciation
method for tax purposes
Calculate original cost of a plant
asset
Calculate depreciation expense
using the straight line, units of
production, and doubledeclining methods of
depreciation
Calculate the book value of a
plant asset
Record journal entries to dispose
of plant assets by selling or
trading the asset
No
Classify current liabilities into two
categories – known and estimated
amounts
To distinguish liabilities that are
known and that must be
estimated.
To show how these liabilities
affect the balance sheet and the
income statement
Determine the estimated amount
of the liability
Record journal entries to
account for estimated current
liabilities
No
Calculate basic payroll information
Prepare a payroll register
Record journal entries for the
employer’s records
To identify the components of a
payroll system
To explain the importance of
accuracy and timeliness of
payroll accounting
Calculate weekly gross and net
pay for seven employees
Prepare a payroll register
Record journal entries for
weekly payrolls and for the
employer’s payroll taxes
No
Competencies
Purpose and/or Sample of Real
Life Applications
Assignments
No
Used Through-out
the Course
Record the creation, operation and
liquidation of partnership business
entity
To illustrate some characteristics
and complexities of business
form that proprietorships avoid.
To show how disolution and
liquidation of a partnership are
different
Make journal entries for the
initial investment in a
partnership
Calculate the sharing of income
Make journal entries for the
admission of a new partner
Make journal entries for the
withdrawal of an existing
partner
Show how to account for the
liquidation of a partnership
No
Build a vocabulary of accounting
terms as it relates to corporations.
To understand the difference in
accounting for sole
proprietorships and
corporations.
Write answers to select
questions and sort exercises..
No
Recognize two ways to internally
finance a corporation–selling stock
or profitable operations and how to
display these sections on a Balance
Sheet for corporations.
To distinguish the owner’s
equity section of a Balance
Sheet of a sole proprietorship
from that of a corporation.
Record transactions to sell
common stock, declare and
pay/distribute cash and stock
dividends and prepare the
Stockholder’s Equity Section of
a Balance Sheet for
Corporations.
No