San Diego State University
Charles W. Lamden School of Accountancy
ACCTG 626: Auditing and Assurance Services
Fall 2012
Instructor: Dr. Martha Doran
Office: SSE 2418
Office Hours: Mondays 2:30-3:30, before and after class or by appointment or email
E-mail: Doran1@mail.sdsu.edu
Phone: (619) 594-6841
CLASS TIME AND LOCATION: Mondays, from 4-6:40 pm, in EBA 412
COURSE GOAL: This graduate course is designed to give students an introduction to auditing
and assurance services that build on financial accounting (Acctg. 620) and accounting information
systems (Acctg. 621), and increase students’ awareness of the ethical dimension which is part of
every decision “the numbers” help inform.
MSA PROGRAM GOALS:
MSA students will graduate with:
 Communication Skills
 Group/Interpersonal Skills
 Ethics
 Research Skills
 Global/International Skills
Acctg. 626 contributes to these goals through its student learning outcomes . . .
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the end of this course, you should be able to:
1. Evaluate and communicate the reliability of organizational information by applying
professional standards
2. Apply accounting and auditing standards, theories and regulatory guidelines to the practice
of accounting assurance services.
3. Compare and contrast the need for due professional care in various professional
engagements.
4. Analyze management’s evidence for competency and relevancy.
5. Identify and analyze ethical consequences of choices and decisions made by management
and accountants.
COURSE MATERIALS (required text, websites, etc.):
Principles of Auditing and Assurance Services, 18th Ed., Whittington and Pany, McGrawHill, 2012. With Connect Plus
McGraw-Hills ConnectPlus Accounting NOTE: Connect can be purchased with your
textbook as a package or at the McGraw website. It is required for the course. Go to the
following Web address and click on the “register now” button http://connect.mcgrawhill.com/class/m_doran_fall_2012_sdsu This is a unique address for Fall 2012 SDSU
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If you have trouble with the registration, please contact Customer Support at
http://mpss.mhhe.com/.
 Students can make use of the text resources at the Online Learning Center (OLC):
http://www.mhhe.com/whittington18e which has PowerPoint slides, Multiple Choice
Quizzes, Cases, ACL cases, and links to various audit websites. The website is free
to students.
 Various Websites posted to Blackboard (Bb) such as PCAOB Standards, AICPA
COURSE ACTIVITIES:
This course will include a variety of in and out-of-class assignments - individual cases, group
cases, quizzes, and exams. Being prepared and actively participating are key ingredients to your
success in this class. Graded assignments are noted on the course schedule and are briefly
summarized as follows:
Participation and Homework: Evidence of your voluntary participation has three important
components; timely class attendance, evidence of your preparation (completing the HW
assignments on Connect and Bb) and your active participation in the class discussions. Homework
is prepared outside of class (noted in Schedule) and is due at 3:45 as noted in the Connect
instructions. You have tow attempts to complete each HW assignment with the design or intent
being for you to earn full credit (worth 5 %). Late homework is not accepted.
Quizzes: Four multiple-choice quizzes (15 - 20 questions each quiz) given on the dates noted on
the schedule (worth 25%). No Make-up Quizzes.
Group Cases: Four cases will be prepared by groups during class and turned in for a grade, as
noted on the schedule (worth 10%). No Make-up Cases.
Group Project: One out of class group project, which your group will present to the class on the
last day of class, along with a written report due at the same time (worth 10%).
Exams: Two exams (worth 50 %). No Make-up Exams.
On-Line Class Meetings: We will meet in cyber-space for at least one of our class sessions, as
noted in the syllabus. For each on-line meeting, I will post an Agenda on Blackboard describing
what you need to do, where you need to go (in cyber-space) and what you need to send to me at
then end of your “class”. I suggest you use the regular scheduled time to complete the on-line
class, but you have the option of completing the class somewhat before or after our regular
meeting time. I will make the Agenda posting available on Blackboard a day or two before the online class meeting and you can post your on-line assignments by noon on Wednesday following the
on line class.
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GRADING:
Grades will be determined based on your relative performance on the following assignments:
Activity
Homework
Quizzes
Midterm
Group In Class Cases
Group Case Write Up and
Presentation
Final
%
5
25
25
10
10
25
Grading Policy: As you can calculate, 80% of your points are earned from individual effort and
20% from group effort. NOTE: For a student to pass this course, his/her individual average for the
quizzes and exams must be at least 70%. The individual homework/participation and Group
Assignments can help increase your final grade, but you must individually score an average of 70%
on exams and quizzes, to show evidence of your completing Masters level work (like passing the
CPA exam!) Grade ranges will be as follows: 90% and above is the A range (including A- and A);
80% and above is the B range (including B-, B and B+); 70% and above is the C range (including
C-, C and C+). Scores below 70% do not evidence graduate level work and will be dealt with on a
case-by-case basis.
Blackboard Courseware: We will use the Blackboard (Bb) Courseware to communicate during
the semester. You are automatically registered on Bb when you enroll for the course, but only you
can make any changes to your email address, etc. You can do this by accessing WebPortal. Even
though you have received a tentative schedule for the auditing portion of the course, I reserve the
right to make changes I think are necessary for your maximum learning. So be forewarned:
Please check Bb and your email frequently, as I will use both of these electronic mediums to
communicate with you.
ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT (a reminder): Academic misconduct is defined as dishonesty in
academic work. Examples of academic misconduct include plagiarism, and the giving or receiving
of unauthorized aid in assigned work. Penalties for the first offense of academic misconduct range
from an F on the work in question, or an F for the course, to dismissal from SDSU. BE HONEST
IN YOUR WORK!!
And for our work together, cheating in any form will not be accepted or allowed. This class will
follow the university policy in regard to cheating or plagiarism. If you have any doubts as to
what constitutes such behavior, I have reproduced the definitions below. Please see me with any
questions, BEFORE you submit an assignment.
Cheating or plagiarism in connection with an academic program at a campus.1
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Plagiarism: The following is taken directly from SDSU’s Code Section 41301:
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a) Examples of cheating include unauthorized sharing of answers during an exam, use of
unauthorized notes or study materials during an exam, altering an exam and resubmitting it
for regrading, having another student take an exam for you or submit assignments in your
name, participating in unauthorized collaboration on coursework to be graded, providing
false data for a research paper, or creating/citing false or fictitious references for a term
paper. (Submitting the same paper for multiple classes may also be considered cheating if
not authorized by the instructors involved).
b) Examples of plagiarism include any attempt to take credit for work that is not your own, such
as using direct quotes from an author without using quotation marks or indentation in a
paper, paraphrasing work that is not your own without giving credit to the original source of
the idea, or failing to properly cite all sources in the body of your work.
PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: Our time spent together this semester will provide us with a
“laboratory” to learn and practice conduct becoming a professional. We will learn how to engage in
civil conversations, even if we disagree. We will learn how to present ourselves in a manner that
says we understand due professional care…in our choice of language, and in our treatment of
others. Some key ingredients will include the values of integrity, honesty, respect, patience and
commitment, to name a few.
I am looking forward to a great semester, the best yet…..!
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