Worcester State University
Financial Accounting I Syllabus
Fall 2022
Professor: Dr. Paul Dubrey Jr CPA, CFE, DBA, MBA
E-mail address: pdubrey@worcester.edu
Office Hours (Sullivan 204A): Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 8:00 am – 8:30 am
and 12:30 pm – 1:00pm
The instructor receives the right to modify this syllabus during the course to
make this a meaningful learning experience.
Course Description: This course examines the use of US Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles and bookkeeping systems. Students will learn how to prepare
journal entries, post to T-Accounts, prepare Trial Balances, and several financial
statements.
Course Materials:
Textbook: Sent out via email along with my accounting lab instructions.
Supplies:
Pencils, notebook, calculator (cannot be your phone for tests or quizzes).
Additional Resources
Course topics, Assignments and Required readings (distributed in class)
I may attempt to supplement the course materials with current topical readings. I
will direct you to (or hand out) those readings prior to a given session.
Course Philosophy & Teaching Procedures
Course Philosophy:
My philosophy on teaching is that all students have the ability to learn when proper
motivation, encouragement, and hard work come together.
Teaching Procedures:
Welcome to Financial Accounting!
My goal in this course is to develop your knowledge of some of basic bookkeeping and
financial statement preparation. This course examines information used by executives
and managers who work in business.
You will be asked to read assigned work, listen to mini-lectures of important
concepts, take notes, participate in discussions, present information, complete
homework and quiz assignments, and study for assessments. I strongly encourage you
to ask questions and not to feel inhibited to do so.
I believe that we can create a rich educational experience through mutual
participation and commitment. However, I also hope that we can have some
discussions and activities where we can have some fun along the way.
Instructional objectives
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
1. Define terminology associated with the field of financial accounting.
2. Understand the bookkeeping and accounting functions for a commercial enterprise.
3. Demonstrate how accounting for the items in 2 impacts the various financial
statements.
4. Distinguish between operating, investing and financing activities when
evaluating transaction impacts on the Statement of Cash Flows.
5. Analyze financial statements by identifying and computing relevant ratios.
6. Integrate financial accounting principles and methods to formulate an assessment
on the operations of an economic entity.
Basis for student grading:
Participation (includes attendance)
Quizzes (unannounced)
My Accounting Lab
Exam I
Exam II
Exam III
Total
5%
10%
10%
25%
25%
25%
100%
Grading rubric for Class Participation
Each student will be evaluated for class participation throughout the semester. In
order for a student to receive all 5 points the following criteria must be met.
Points will be taken off for missing items:
Participation
Demonstrates interest in material by active participation
Asks questions for further understanding
Exhibits preparation for class
Completes Assignments on time
Attends every class
Accounting is best learned by actual doing. As a result, to be successful in this
class, you will need to be an active participant in this class by not only participating
in class group/team activities but by completing the quiz and homework assignments
on a timely basis, i.e., by their due date. We will be reviewing homework/problems with
the homework in class and you should be able to demonstrate your understanding of
the homework and quizzes which you completed. Since the course concepts build on
each other, it is important that you stay current with the material through attendance at
class and completion of assignments.
ATTENDANCE
1. In order for this to be a meaningful learning experience for you, your
physical attendance is extremely important and indicates your
commitment and dedication to your learning. As a result, I have
Included attendance as part of the participation grade.
Attendance will be taken as a normal part of the class period.
2. I realize that life situations can occur, e.g., ill health, family crises, etc.
I'd appreciate an E-mail to let me know that you are unable to attend
class.
3. MISSED CLASSES If you do miss class, it is your responsibility to
obtain/review the course materials that were presented at the class(es) that
you missed as well as complete the assignments that were required for that
class (es). Do not send me an email asking for the assignment. It is your responsibility
to keep track of what is due or to ask another student.
Problem Scenarios:
Make-ups
THERE ARE NONE. Should the school be closed due to inclement weather, the
assignment and/or assessment will be due at the next class meeting.
Plagiarism
Our purpose in the classroom is to seek the truth; this work requires trust a
honesty between student and teacher.If we are not honest about what we
know and don’t know, our learning will always be impaired. Because our
teaching and learning depends on this honest communication, we expect all
students to understand what plagiarism is and why it is unacceptable.
Plagiarism means taking someone else's ideas or words and presenting them as one's
own. The offense can take many forms including cheating on a test, passing in a
paper taken from the Internet or from another student, or failing to properly use or
credit sources in an essay.
Sometimes the issue is subtle, involving getting too much
help on an assignment from someone else. In every instance, plagiarism means
cheating oneself and the owner of the source. Since the cheating sabotages a
student's learning experience, consequences range from no credit for the assignment
to failure for the course and possible expulsion from the college.
I will not tolerate plagiarism and it will result in a zero for the assessment.
As you will learn in this course (if you have not already in a previous course(s)), most
professions and organizations have Standards of Conducts that need to be
maintained. You should always act in an ethical manner.
Cell Phone courtesy
In order to get the most benefit from this course, we need to be committed to the
course material and avoid distractions as much as possible.
I require that cell phones be turned off and there be no text messaging during the
class period. If there is a personal and/or business need to accept a cell phone call,
I require that you put your cell phone on vibrate. If there is an immediate need for a
response, please let me know and accommodations can be made so that cell phone
calls and/or text messages can be placed/returned.
Internet usage
If you bring a laptop to the classroom, I require that you limit its use to only class
related activities, e.g., taking notes, etc. In order to gain an understanding of the
concepts presented in this course, it will be necessary for you to remain focused on
and attentive to the classroom presentations/discussions. I require that that you resist
the temptation to use the Internet during classroom time unless you are specifically
requested to do so. Failure to be an active participant in class affects your participation
grade.