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FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
SCHOOL OF ACCOUNTING
Cost Accounting
ACG3341
Spring 2011
INSTRUCTOR: David Pritchard
OFFICE:
LA 429
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday
6:00 - 7:00 PM
Wednesday 6:00 - 7:00 PM
Thursday
6:00 - 7:00 PM
Other times by appointment
PHONE:
TBA
EMAIL:
dpritcha@fau.edu
CLASS:
Thursday 7:10 – 10:00 PM Room: LA 331
Credit:
3 Hours
PREREQUISITES:
Excel
ACG 2071,Junior standing, and working knowledge of Word and
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Designed to establish a working knowledge of three areas:
1) Cost accounting techniques, including job costing, process costing, cost analysis, cost
volume profit analysis, cost allocation, activity-based costing, budgeting, variance
analysis, and transfer pricing
2) Application of costing techniques to management decision making.
3) Decision making and the integration of decisions into the organization’s structure
strategies and objectives. Applications include issues in decentralized organizations, cost
behavior, budgeting, cost estimates, product costing, and performance motivations and
assessment.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Students will demonstrate knowledge of basic concepts in managerial accounting and
cost accounting (cost behavior and relationships, product costing, budget concepts).
Students will demonstrate their ability to think critically about accounting problems and
issues.
Students will demonstrate their ability to communicate effectively on accounting issues
and problems.
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Students will be assessed via quizzes, exams, essay questions, and problems utilizing
spreadsheet and word processing skills in conjunction with accumulated accounting
knowledge. A student who receives less than 72% for these objectives must retake the
course.
Understand and be able to work effectively with the following concepts, using excel
when appropriate; definitions of cost, cost behaviors, cost-volume-profit analysis, job
costing, activity based costing, and budgeting.
REQUIRED TEXT AND SUPPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS
Cost Accounting: Horngren, Datar, et. al., 13th Ed. ISBN-13: 978-0-13-813045-9
Effective Writing: A Handbook for Accountants: May and May, 8th Edition, Prentice Hall,
2009. (This text is not expected to be used specifically in this course but is a requirement
for all FAU accounting courses).
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES
Class format will consist of lecture, class discussion and problem solving. Videos and
assigned outside reading will also be utilized.
Student performance is assessed through homework assignments, exams and other
activities. End of chapter problems assigned will be discussed in class as time permits.
Assigned end of chapter materials should be attempted before coming to class the day
they will be discussed. Attendance is not specifically graded although it may affect scores
in other areas if exams and quizzes are missed. Attendance and effort may be considered
in grade determination for borderline cases.
Homework and Class Preparation
Even if you can work the assigned problems correctly without reference to the chapter,
you need to think about how each chapter’s material relates to prior material and
accounting. You should work additional problems to see a wider variety of circumstances
(which will make the tests less surprising). The grade you will receive will depend on
your effort, completeness, answer, and neatness.
Chapter Problems
Students working in teams of 3 or 4 will complete six Chapter Problems. All teammates
will receive the same score for each assignment. All Problems must be prepared using
Excel or Word as appropriate and submitted to the instructor no later than the night of the
class it is due (handwritten assignments will not be accepted). Students will be assessed
based upon presentation and correctness of solution.
Late assignments will be penalized 10% each day late (strictly enforced). Solutions will
be posted shortly after assignments are submitted. Once the solutions are posted,
assignments will no longer be accepted for any reason.
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Solutions that are directly copied from a solutions manual will be considered plagiarized
and will be assigned a grade of zero (0). Failure to attend class will not be considered an
excused reason for late submissions.
Chapter Problem Schedule
Problem # Due Date
Feb 17
4-41
Mar 3
5-31
Mar 24
6-35
Mar 31
7-43
Apr 7
15-35
Apr 14
16-27
Excel Assignments
Students will individually complete three assignments utilizing Excel. All Excel
assignments must be submitted to the assignment drop box no later than the night of the
class it is due (handwritten assignments will not be accepted). Students will be accessed
based upon their solution and use of Excel techniques.
Late assignments will be penalized 10% each day late (strictly enforced). Solutions will
be posted shortly after assignments are submitted. Once the solutions are posted,
assignments will no longer be accepted for any reason.
Solutions that are directly copied from a solutions manual will be considered plagiarized
and will be assigned a grade of zero (0). Failure to attend class will not be considered an
excused reason for late submissions.
Excel Schedule
Problem Due Date
Feb 3
3-38
Feb 24
17-27
Apr 21
11-23
Examinations
There will be four examinations during the term. These exams will consist of essay and
problems as appropriate. Make-up exams are offered only under extraordinary
circumstances that are beyond the student’s control. The instructor must be informed
before the exam and reserves the right to accept/reject the student’s explanation.
Verifiable documentation will be required. Preplanned activities such as vacation will not
be accepted as an extraordinary circumstance.
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Exam Schedule
Test
Date
Feb 3
1
Mar
3
2
Mar 31
3
Apr 28
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Web Site Visit
Students, individually, will visit the web site of the Institute of Management Accountants
and answer questions provided by the instructor. Reports will be submitted via
assignment drop box. Students will be assessed based upon the solution presented.
Case Study
Students working in groups of 3 or 4 will complete one Case Study. All teammates will
receive the same score for each assignment. The Case Study must be prepared using
Excel or Word as appropriate and submitted to the instructor no later than the night of the
class it is due (handwritten assignments will not be accepted). Students will be assessed
based on presentation and quality of solution.
Solutions will be discussed the night of the due date. Once the solution has been
discussed, assignments will no longer be accepted for any reason. Solutions that are
directly copied from a solutions manual will be considered plagiarized and will be
assigned a grade of zero (0)
Quizzes
There will be 10 online quizzes during the semester. Quizzes will be available from
Thursday through Wednesday of the week and will reflect material from the week’s
lecture and readings. Quizzes will be No make-up quizzes are offered.
Quiz Schedule
Week
Jan 20 – Jan 26
Jan 27 – Feb 2
Feb 10 – Feb 16
Feb 17 – Feb 23
Feb 24 – Mar 2
Mar 17 – Mar 23
Mar 24 – Mar 30
Apr 7 – Apr 13
Apr 14 – Apr 20
Apr 21 – Apr 27
Quiz Chapter(s) covered by quiz
1
2 & 10
2
3
3
4
4
17
5
5
6
6
7
7&8
8
15
9
16
10
11
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Peer Assessment
Students will be working in groups. Once in a group, a student will not be allowed to
move to another group or quit a group. At the end of the term, students will evaluate
members of their group. The score for this assessment will represent an average of scores
for each student.
CHANGES IN COURSE REQUIREMENTS
The instructor reserves the right to make changes to the class requirements as he
determines necessary.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Academic Honesty
A fundamental principle of academic, business and community life is honesty. Violation
of this ethical concept will result in penalties ranging from a grade of “F” in the course to
dismissal from the University. In all penalties, a letter of fact will be included in the
student’s file.
Academic Irregularities
Students are referred to CH.6C5.4.01 of the student handbook entitled Academic
Irregularities. It is the policy of the faculty of the School of Accounting at FAU to
adhere to the provisions of this section and to take action to secure the maximum penalty
in the event of a violation of CH.6C5.4.01 of the rules of the Department of Education of
the State of Florida. The Internet is a powerful tool providing access to a wealth of
information. Students are reminded that plagiarism guidelines that apply to printed
materials also apply to materials accessed via the Internet at
http://business.fau.edu/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=uniformpolicies&category=Accounti
ng&submenu=departments_Accounting.
Uniform School of Accounting Policies
The School of Accounting (SOA) has adopted a set of uniform policies for all courses
offered by the School. These policies are considered a part of this syllabus. For
example, SOA students are required to maintain an e-mail address and to subscribe to the
SOA discussion list. Instructions on how to get an e-mail address and how to subscribe
can be found, along with a full explanation of all policies at
http://business.fau.edu/index.php?submenu=departments_Accounting&submenu=depart
ments_accounting&src=gendocs&ref=studentinfo&category=Accounting.
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GRADING CRITERIA
The final course grade is dependent on the following requirements:
Requirement
Points
400
Tests (4 @ 100 points each)
10
Web Site Visit
90
Collaborative Learning Problems (6 @15 pts each)
150
Quizzes (10 @ 15 pts each)
25
Case Study
45
Excel Problems (3 @ 15 pts each)
20
Peer Assessment
Total
740
GRADING SCHEME
Percentage and Grade
92-100 A
72-76 C
90-91 A70-71 C-
87-89 B+
67 – 69 D+
84-86 B
64-66 D
80-83 B60-63 D-
77-79 C+
0 – 59 F
Grades will be computed on the basis of assigned work, quizzes and the exam scores. The
final course grade is based upon the percentage of points earned to total points possible. .
Grades are computed to the nearest 1/10th percentage point. Students must attain the next
higher percentage in order to receive the respective grade:
Example: 92.0 = A
91.9 = AStudents with an average score below 72% for the 4 exams must repeat the course.
Students who receive an average score of 72% for all work attempted must repeat the
course.
Grades, once assigned, cannot be changed except in case of administrative errors in
grading. Students have 48 hours from which they receive a grade (in person) to dispute it. After
48 hours, students forfeit their right to dispute any class grade received.
Extra credit work is not offered as a means to improve your grade.
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TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Week
1
Class Date
Jan 13
2
Jan 20
Class
Introductory/The Management
Accountant’s Role in the Organization
Cost Terms & Cost Behavior
3
4
5
6
7
Jan 27
Feb 3
Feb 10
Feb 17
Feb 24
CVP
Test 1
Job Costing
Process Costing
ABC
8
9
Mar 3
Mar 10
Test 2
Spring Break
10
11
Mar 17
Mar 24
Budgeting
Direct cost variances Overhead
variances
12
Mar 31
Test 3
13
14
15
Apr 7
Apr 14
Apr 21
Allocation of Support Department Costs
Joint costs
Relevant costing Spoilage, rework, scrap
16
Apr 28
Test 4; 7 – 9:30 PM
May 9
Grades Due
Assignment
Reading
Chapter 1
Quiz 1
Chapters 2,10
Quiz 2
3-38 (Excel)
Quiz 3
Quiz 4: CLP 4-41
Quiz 5;17-27
(Excel)
CLP 5-35
Chapter 3
1,2,10,3
Chapter 4
Chapter 17
Chapter 5
Quiz 6
Quiz 7;CLP 6-35
Chapter 6
Chapters 7& 8
CLP 7-43;
Web Site Visit
6,7,8
Quiz 8;CLP 15-35
Quiz 9;CLP 16-27
Quiz 10; 11-23
(Excel) ;
Case Study
4,17,5
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapters 11 & 18
Common questions,
15,16,11,18