University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Bryan School of Business and Economics
Department of Accounting and Finance
ACC 630: Seminar in Contemporary Accounting Issues
Fall 2013 M/W 3:30-4:45
Instructor: Professor Hughen, PhD, CPA
Office: 336 Bryan
Phone: 334-5603
E-mail: lmkolbas@uncg.edu
Office hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 12:30 – 1:30pm and by appointment. I am generally in my
office Monday through Friday other than when I am teaching or in a meeting. I welcome you to come by
anytime I am in my office.
Course Description
This seminar is designed to allow students to critically examine and discuss contemporary issues in
accounting. Students are expected to read and analyze the assigned materials and develop ideas and
opinions which will provide the basis for class discussions.
Course Objectives
• Critically analyze, discuss and debate current issues affecting accounting practice.
• Propose solutions and formulate opinions to the issues being discussed.
• Effectively communicate ideas and opinions based on a thorough analysis.
• Conduct independent research in assigned areas in order to lead class discussions.
Course Resources
No textbook is required; all readings will be from publicly available websites or can be obtained from
the UNCG library at http://library.uncg.edu/. If a specific article is assigned, the document or a link to
the document will be posted in Blackboard.
Final course grades
• Participation 50%
• Quizzes (7 total) 20%
• Written assignments 20%
• End of semester presentation and paper 10%
Attendance and Participation
• You are expected to attend every class. You will not be able to earn participation if you do not attend
class for any reason.
• If you cannot attend class, you are expected to send me an email before class meets to let me know.
• You are still expected to submit a written assignment before it is due even if you do not attend class.
Failure to submit the written assignment will result in a grade of zero.
• Participation will be graded weekly according to the grading rubric posted in Blackboard. I will post
a completed rubric along with your participation grade for the week to Blackboard every Thursday
or Friday.
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Attendance and Participation (continued)
• Participation grades depend on how well-prepared you are, the quality and quantity of your class
participation, and the professionalism shown towards others (this includes listening when others are
talking, not attacking anyone else’s opinion or comments, not talking over people or monopolizing
the conversation and refraining from using your phone or computer for non-class related activities
during class).
• Your participation grade may be adversely affected by a lack of professionalism shown towards me
or other students in or outside of the class if the context relates to this course.
Written assignments
• All written assignments must be in your own words. I have detailed exactly what it means to write in
your own words and provided examples of what constitutes plagiarism in the document titled
“Instructions for Written Assignments”. You are responsible for reading this document and knowing
what constitutes plagiarism.
• If there is evidence of plagiarism I will file a violation of UNCG’s Academic Integrity (AI) policy. If
a student admits to the violation or if an independent hearing determines that the student is guilty of
plagiarism, the student will receive a grade of zero on the assignment and the AI violation will be
filed with the University.
• All written assignments must be uploaded through SafeAssign in Blackboard by the date and time
noted on the assignment. Please do not email your assignment unless asked to do so.
• Documents must be uploaded in Word (not Adobe/pdf format) so I can use Track Changes to give
you feedback. If you do not have Word on your computer, please borrow someone else’s laptop or
use a UNCG computer lab to convert your file to Word and then upload it to Blackboard so that I
can easily access and review your file.
• Late assignments will be penalized as described in the ““Instructions for Written Assignments”
posted in Blackboard.
• A grading rubric for written assignments is posted in Blackboard. I will complete the rubric and post
it and a marked-up copy of your assignment (if I have comments to add) to your Blackboard account
within 5 days after the assignment is due.
• Please see detailed instructions in the document titled “Instructions for Written Assignments”.
Quizzes
• There will be one quiz for each of the seven topics we cover through Nov. 20. Quizzes are
announced ahead of time and will generally be given during the last 20 minutes of class on the day
that we finish a topic.
• If you have a valid reason for missing class on the day a quiz is given and approval from me before
class begins, you can evenly allocate the points from one missed quiz to the remaining quizzes. If
you miss any additional quizzes, the grade(s) will be zero. If you do not have approval before the
first missed quiz, your grade will be a zero on that quiz.
• Quizzes will consist of a few short answer questions based on assignments or class discussions
related to that topic. You will only be graded on the content of your answers to the questions asked,
not on the quality of your writing.
• Using notes or communicating with classmates during a quiz is not allowed. Any evidence of
cheating constitutes a violation of UNCG’s AI policy and will be documented as such.
• Quizzes will be returned within one week after being collected.
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End of semester presentation and paper
You will choose a topic to present to the class during the last three meetings of the semester. You will
also need to submit a written paper before your scheduled presentation. More information will be given
in class.
Email policy:
I welcome you to email me about attendance, scheduling a meeting, questions you may have about an
assignment, or anything else. I will try to respond within 24 hours. Please note that I teach ACC 201
immediately before our class meets and cannot check or respond to emails after 1:30pm on Mondays
and Wednesdays. I will probably not be able to respond to an email sent after 1:30pm on M/W until late
that night or the next day.
When you email me, please use a formal, professional tone. Please read the Blackboard section labeled
“Effective Email Communication”.
Disputing a grade and/or addressing concerns about class
If you want to challenge a grade, please see me during office hours or schedule an appointment with me
for a different meeting time. I can also meet with you after class as long as I know ahead of time that I
will need to stay late.
Please be prepared with the specific reason(s) why you feel your grade is incorrect (i.e., telling me a
grade is “not fair” is not an acceptable reason). I do not mind discussing grades or making a change to a
grade if it is warranted.
Similarly, if you feel that the way I have structured the class or if another person’s behavior in the
classroom is impeding your ability to do well in the course, I welcome you to speak to me about it in
person outside of our class meeting time. It is important for me to know if you do not perceive fairness
in the classroom so that I have the opportunity to address the situation.
However, if a student discussing grades or classroom management becomes confrontational and/or I
deem his/her behavior unprofessional, I will turn the matter over to the MSA Committee for resolution
and will account for the unprofessional behavior in the student’s participation grade for that week.
UNCG Policies:
Students are expected to abide by the UNCG’s Academic Integrity Policy and the Student Code of
Conduct.
Student Conduct: http://studentconduct.uncg.edu/policy/code/
Academic Integrity Policy: http://academicintegrity.uncg.edu/violation/
Student Disabilities: http://ods.dept.uncg.edu/services/
Any request for special accommodations must come through the Office of Disability Services with the
appropriate paperwork.
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SCHEDULE OF CLASS TOPICS
Day
Date
Class #
Topic
Mon
Aug. 19
1
Wed
Aug. 21
2
Mon
Aug. 26
3
Wed
Aug. 28
4
Mon
Sept. 2
Wed
Sept. 4
5
Mon
Sept. 9
6
Wed
Sept. 11
7
Mon
Sept. 16
8
Wed
Sept. 18
9
Mon
Sept. 23
10
Wed
Sept. 25
11
Mon
Sept. 30
12
Wed
Oct. 2
13
Ethics
Major Theories of Ethics
Recent Accounting and Trading Scandals
Violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
IFRS
Convergence
Major Differences between US GAAP and IFRS
US GAAP and IFRS Disclosures
No Class – Labor Day
Fair Value Accounting
Fair Value Measurement and Hierarchy
Financial Instruments
Accounting for Financial Instruments
The Credit Crisis & Financial Reform
Securitization and Asset-Backed Securities
The Role of Accounting and Accountants
The Dodd-Frank Act
Mon
Oct. 7
14
Wed
Oct. 9
15
Mon
Wed
Oct. 14
Oct. 16
Mon
Oct. 21
17
Wed
Oct. 23
18
Corporate Social Responsibility
Mon
Oct. 28
19
CSR Disclosures
The Role of Accountants
Wed
Oct. 30
20
Mon
Nov. 4
21
Tax Reform
The Current Tax System
Proposed Tax Plans: Flat Tax,
Value Added Tax, Sales Tax
No Class – Fall break
Ethics (continued)
16
Wed
Nov. 6
22
Mon
Nov. 11
23
Wed
Nov. 13
24
Mon
Nov. 18
25
Wed
Nov. 20
26
Mon
Nov. 25
27
Wed
Nov. 27
Mon
Dec. 2
28
Student-led presentations- Topics TBD
Mon
Dec. 9
29
Student-led presentations - Topics TBD
Audit
Changes to the Audit Report
PCAOB Audit Inspections
Student-led presentations - Topics TBD
No class – Thanksgiving break
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