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 2015 Tuesdays 9:30-12:20
INSTRUCTOR: Irfan Safdar, Phd
OFFICE: 325 Bryan Building
E-MAIL: musafdar@uncg.edu
OFFICE HOURS: By appointment
Course Description:
This seminar is designed to allow students to critically examine and discuss issues affecting the current
financial reporting environment including auditing and ethics. 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.
 Formulate opinions related to the issues being discussed
Course Resources:
No textbook is required. However, you will be required to purchase a set of case studies/ from a link
that I will provide. The case studies are inexpensive. All remaining 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 Canvas.
Grading Scale:
A
93 - 100%
A- 90 - 92.99%
B+ 87 - 89.99%
B
83 - 86.99%
B- 80 - 82.99%
C+ 77 - 79.99%
C
70 - 76.99%
F
Below 70%
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Final course grades
 Final Exam
 2 Mini-Exams
 Homeworks and Presentations
 Participation/contributions to open discussion
25%
30%
30%
15%
Attendance
This class is a seminar, therefore attendance is crucial. If a family or medical emergency occurs and you
cannot attend class, I expect you to let me know prior to our class meeting or the absence will be
considered unexcused. Absences related to work or personal issues are not excused. In the case where an
absence is excused:
 participation grades for that class are allocated to the remaining classes
 a missed presentation will be done when the student returns
Preparing for class
An introduction to the topic for class, assigned readings and any additional assignments are posted in
Canvas. You should plan to spend 4-8 hours preparing for each class meeting by doing the assigned
readings, doing your own additional research to answer any questions you have related to the assigned
readings, and when applicable, preparing for your presentation.
Participation
Because the class is a seminar and not a lecture, you are expected to participate throughout each class. In
many classes, I will present the material related to the topic but will call on students as I go along to
answer specific questions. Your ability to add to the discussion strongly depends on your familiarity
with and understanding of the topic which is directly associated with the time you spend doing the
assigned readings and supplementing it with any additional research to help answer any questions you
have based on the readings. I encourage students to ask questions at any point during the class.
Questions you have related to the topic will help facilitate our discussions and improve others’
understanding.
Participation grades will be posted to Canvas according to the following grading rubric:
5: When called on, student has an appropriate response to all questions asked. Student asks questions
that show that a solid understanding and adequate research of the topic was done.
4: When called on, student has an appropriate response to most (all) of the questions asked but all (most)
questions the student asks show that a solid understanding and adequate research of the topic was done.
3: When called on, student has an appropriate response to most of the questions asked. Most questions
the student asks show that a solid understanding and adequate research of the topic was done.
2: When called on, student has an appropriate response to some of the questions asked. Some questions
the student asks show that a solid understanding and adequate research of the topic was done or no
questions were asked.
1: Student came to class but was unable to provide appropriate responses to questions asked and student
did not ask any reasonable questions in class.
0: Unexcused absence
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Presentations
Each student/group is assigned short presentations. Each presentation should explain the answer to an
assigned question or topic in a simple, straightforward manner. Specific assignments for each
presentation will be posted in Canvas or announced in class.
The first objective of the presentations are to allow students to conduct independent research using both
assigned readings (when applicable) and students’ own research to supplement their understanding of
the topic being presented. The second objective is to allow students to use judgment to determine the
most important items related to an assigned topic for a presentation. The third objective is to
communicate your information to the audience. This is critical because without it, your audience will not
be able to determine what you learned or what they are supposed to take away from the presentation.
The most important thing you can do to increase presentation effectiveness is to rehearse out loud; first
by yourself and then at least one other time with a classmate or friend. Please see the document titled
“Preparing for Presentations” in Canvas for further instructions.
The grading rubric that will be used for presentations is as follows:
Presenter:
Discusses all relevant information and shows that adequate research was done to
prepare
Minimizes details so that the main points stand out; presents information in a concise
manner and where possible, supported by data
Explains information in a conversational manner; does not read from notes or slides
Explains information in straightforward, understandable terms that are the presenter’s
own words
Speaks slowly and clearly
Uses the right amount of time to speak; enough to adequately cover information but
does not get cut off before the assigned question is answered
Points
available
20
20
20
20
10
10
Mini-Exams and Final Exam
 Exams will be comprised of multiple-choice and short answer questions based on the assigned
readings and class discussions.
 Students are expected to take the exams as scheduled. If you have an emergency, notify me before
the exam and if approval is warranted, a make-up will be scheduled.
 Using notes or other resources or communicating with classmates during a quiz or exam is not
allowed. Any evidence of cheating constitutes a violation of UNCG’s AI policy and will be
documented as such.
Professionalism
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This class will be run in a professional manner to help prepare students for the business world.
Promptness, attendance and attention are expected. Professionalism should be shown towards all
members of the course and 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.
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.
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.
Disruptive Behavior in the Classroom:
Please familiarize with the disruptive behavior policy which is available on‐line at
http://sa.uncg.edu/handbook/policies/. It states that
“The instructor may withdraw a student from a course for behavior that is deemed by the
instructor to be disruptive to the class. The grade assigned will be “W” if the behavior occurs before the
deadline for dropping a course without academic penalty, and the instructor has the option of giving a
“W” or a “WF” if the behavior occurs after the deadline.”
Adverse Weather: The University of North Carolina at Greensboro will remain open during adverse
weather conditions unless an administrative decision on changing work and class schedules is made by
the Chancellor. Students can receive details on the UNCG home page (www.uncg.edu), or by dialing
three campus telephone numbers: Adverse Weather Line (336-334-4400); Campus Switchboard (336334-5000); and University Police (336-334-5963).
Important Dates: Please refer to http://www.uncg.edu/reg/Calendar/acaCal/sp15.html for important
dates.
ACC 630 Spring 2015 Class Schedule
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I expect the following schedule will be tentatively what we follow. However, it may be necessary to spend more/less time on some topics
that could change our plans. If changes are needed, I will tell you of changed due dates during class. It is important that you read
relevant materials before coming to each class period. Assignment due dates will be posted later.
Date
Aug 18
Topics
Introduction to Syllabus and IFRS Convergence
Syllabus
Aug 25
IFRS Adoption in Canada
IFRS Adoption in China
Sep 1
IFRS Case Study TBA
Sep 8
Mini-Exam 1
Ethics
Sep 15
Fraud and Accounting Scandals
Sep 22
Issues in Auditing
Sep 29
Issues in Auditing
Oct 6
Issues in Auditing
Oct 20
Issues in Auditing
Oct 27
Mini-Exam 2
Nov 3
Fair Value
Nov 10
Issues in Derivatives Accounting
Nov 17
Topics in Finance
Nov 24
Topics in Management Accounting
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