University of Michigan-Dearborn
Devel & Interp Financial Info
ACC 505
Summer II 2026, 3 Credits
Contact Information:
Jing Kong
Office Location: FCS 103 (Quad A)
E-Mail: jingkong@umich.edu (the best way to reach me)
Office Hours:
Virtual—Monday, Tuesday 2:00 - 3:00pm (zoom link is provided in Canvas announcement)
Additional office hours by appointment
Class Meeting & Format:
Section 201: Online & Asynchronous
Learning Goals:
Program Goals and Objectives may be found at (select your specific degree)
COB Program Goals
Course Description:
Students in ACC 505, Developing & Interpreting Financial Information, will demonstrate
mastery of specific topics associated with the development, reporting and analysis of the
financial results of a business operation. Specific topics include transaction analysis, classifying,
summarizing, and reporting an entity's economic activities. Additional topics include an accrualbased analysis of an operation's profitability, identification of future profitability and liquidity
risks, and recommendations to mitigate these risks.
Course Objectives:
The primary objectives of this course are:

Students will be knowledgeable about financial accounting issues and theories as they

relate to assets.

Students will be effective in written communication.

Students will be knowledgeable about global business practices and diverse cultures.

Students will be knowledgeable about ethical principles and their application.

Students will apply critical thinking skills to business situations.

Required Prerequisites
Graduate standing.
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I will do my best to assist you in the learning process. Constructive feedback is welcomed. My
goals include FAIRNESS & TRANSPARENCY; I DO CARE that you are learning the
material. Please let me know if you have any concerns.
This syllabus is subject to change from time to time. I will email you regarding any
changes.
Required Materials:
Textbook- Financial Accounting by Libby, Libby, and Hodge (12th edition, McGraw Hill)
- Textbook (recommended)
- Connect Access (required)
Cases: We will work on comprehensive case studies to have hand-on learning experience
regarding some of the contents. Instructions and supplementary material will be provided on
Canvas
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Table 1 Course Outline
The table below describes the weekly activities including week, topic, activities, and due date.
Should there is any updates, the instructors will make announcements through Canvas. Please
mark your calendar for the due dates.
Week (start date)
Content, Assignments
Week 1 (June 29th)
Chapter 1, 2; Assigned Exercises on Canvas and Connect
Week 2 (July 6th)
Chapter 3, 5; Assigned Exercises on Connect
Week 3 (July 13th)
Chapter 6, Midterm Exam 1 (July 17-19th); Assigned Exercises on Canvas
Week 4 (July 20th)
Chapter 7, 8; Assigned Exercises on Connect
Week 5 (July 27th)
Chapter 9, Case study 1; Assigned Exercises on Connect
Week 6 (August 3rd)
Chapter 11, Midterm Exam 2 (Aug 7-9th); Assigned Exercises on Connect
Week 7 (August 10th)
Chapter 12; Assigned Exercises on Connect
Final Week
Final Project (due on August 18th)
Note:
1. Please follow Canvas—Assignment section for dues of all assignments.
2. Exercises for Chapter 1 and Chapter 6 are submitted through the Canvas Dropbox, while
all remaining chapter exercises are completed on the Connect Access Platform.
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Table 2 Graded Activity
Points
150
50
200
100
500
Assignments
Class Exercises
Case Studies (50 point)
Mid-term Exam (100 point ×2)
Final Project
Total
Weight (%)
30
10
40
20
100
Table 3 Grading Scale (Online classes generally do not use curves)
A+
A
A-
97%-100%
93%-96.9%
90%-92.9%
B+
B
B-
87%-89.9%
83%-86.9%
80%-82.9%
C+
C
C-
77%-79.9%
73%-76.9%
70%-72.9%
D+
D
DE
67%-69.9%
63%-66.9%
60%-62.9%
Below60%
Technology and Media:
Canvas Discussion Board:
Please submit all in-class exercise and homework-related questions to the discussion board. I will
check the discussion board at least once a day and answer your questions.
Email:
I check my email regularly and am happy to answer questions. I strive to respond to all emails
within one business day. Please feel free to contact me with any questions about the assignment
or class. Important: Emails sent after 9:00 PM Monday-Thursday will typically receive a reply
on the next business day. Emails sent after 9:00 PM Friday will typically receive a reply by the
following Monday. Students are expected to check their school email daily.
Generative AI--Our course policy:
Learning how to use GenAI tools is important for all of us. U-M even provides a private and
secure GenAI tool, UM-GPT, at no cost to all faculty, staff, and students. Used properly, GenAI
can enhance our work; used improperly, it can be plagiarism. You may employ GenAI tools to
assist your brainstorming, initial research, and similar activities; however, the bulk of your
submissions for this course must be your own original work. You should cite or disclose the
technologies used as part of your submission. When there is a possibility of improper usage, the
instructor reserves the right to reach out to students.
(adapted form https://genai.umich.edu/resources/faculty/course-policies)
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Course and University Policies:
The summer semester runs on a compressed schedule. Students should expect to spend 12 to 20
hours per week on this course. Individual workload may vary with background and learning
style.
Assigned Exercises on Canvas (30% of grade):
Accounting is a highly practice subject. As a result, our topics will be accompanied by simple inclass exercises. Each chapter also includes simply exercises to facilitate understanding of key
concepts. There will also be end-of-chapter exercises. Students are required to submit their inclass exercises when we finish each chapter to receive 15 points for each chapter (150 points in
total). The weekly exercises are due on Sunday at 11:59pm. Please follow the due dates on
Canvas carefully to avoid penalty.
Group project: Case Studies and Final Project (30% of grade)
Effective teamwork is critical in today’s business environment, particularly with the rise of
remote collaboration tools (e.g., Zoom, Slack, Teams). This course includes three group case
studies to develop your virtual teamwork and communication skills.
Group Size: Teams will consist of 3 members. If enrollment isn’t divided by 3, one or two
groups may have 2 members.
Peer Evaluations: It is important to maintain effective communication while working as a team.
After each project, you’ll evaluate your teammates’ contributions and communication. An
"unsatisfactory" rating can reduce an individual’s grade by 20% (e.g., individual’s point can be
40 if the group receives 50 points).
 Case Study
You will be assigned one real-world case that assists your understanding of certain topics.
Those cases provide experience-based learning and help to understand and apply concepts to
daily management decisions. Students are expected to conduct basic research in order to
produce a high-quality case report. Grades of case studies will be based on the quality of case
reports and peer evaluation. Please ask the instructor if you are unsure about the case study
questions. Students are responsible for misinterpreting case study questions.
 Final Project
After completing all chapters, we will work on a final project. The project is based on real
companies and aims to cover most chapters throughout the semester. More information
regarding the final project will be provided in the final project instructions.
Mid-term Exams (40% of grade):
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There will be two mid-term exams throughout the semester. Exams will consist of multiplechoice questions and comprehensive problems. The instructor will provide a general guideline of
tested topics before each exam.
Online Asynchronous class: The exams will be conducted on Connect. For each exam, you will
have three days (Friday to Sunday on the week of exams) to have access to the exam. Once you
start, you need to finish the exam within a designed time range (e.g., 1.5 hours). Anyone who
cannot finish the exam due to any reason will take make-up exams in the final week (following
the University’s final exam schedules).
Canvas
Please monitor Canvas regularly for announcements, assignments, and other documents. It is
recommended to regularly monitor the Canvas calendar and announcements for changes in due
dates. Pay close attention to due dates.
Grading:
 Grades will be posted on Canvas. Exams will not be returned but can be viewed during
regular office hours or by appointment. Please bring any dispute regarding grading to
my attention within three days of the day that the graded material is returned to you. To
evaluate your dispute, I will need your entire originally graded work and a written
description of your disagreement. You may also visit me during my office hours or make
an appointment to discuss grading concerns.

Cheating, or suspicion of cheating, on any assignment or exam will result in a zero
for the course, and reporting the incident to the Associate Dean, for inclusion of
your name in the database of those who violated academic integrity.
o The university does not tolerate academic dishonesty. Please be mindful whether
assignments can be completed in groups, with a partner or individually. Violating
these rules is a violation of academic integrity. Assignments will have specific
rules regarding the use of outside sources such as the internet, upperclassmen,
employers, etc. and again, violating these rules is a violation of academic
integrity. Possession of old exams is a violation of academic integrity policies –
yes, even electronic versions of all or portions of old exams. Please be mindful of
“the rules” and if in doubt, ask before putting yourself in a situation that might
risk your academic future.
o Also, if an online exam is administered, it is considered cheating if you access the
internet (e.g. CourseHero, Chegg, Google) to search for exam questions. Any
access to test banks or any help from another student is also considered cheating
on exams. Online exams/quiz will permit class notes and your textbook for help,
but no other help should be used.
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Schedule Changes
Changes in the content and/or schedule as well as the assignments may be made as the course
progresses. These changes will be announced in class and on the course website well ahead of
the scheduled time. You are responsible for making yourself aware of such announcements.
Generative AI
Generative AI (GenAI or GAI) is a general term for artificial intelligence (AI) that creates new
content based on training data it has already seen. GenAI is a type of artificial intelligence
model or tool which, given a prompt or query, is capable of generating new and creative outputs
in a variety of media, including text, images, video, audio, code, or other formats that mimic
human creation with varying degrees of success.
The use and acceptability of GenAI may vary across courses and within courses. Faculty may
alter assignment expectations so students should read assignment instructions carefully.
Academic Dishonesty:
Ethics are highly valued in the College of Business. Anyone caught cheating will receive an
automatic zero grade on the assignment and be reported to the proper university channels.
Repeat offenders will receive an automatic E grade in the course.
University-wide Policies or Statements Relevant to Courses:
Please see the ‘Course Policies’ Menu on Canvas for information on the following:
 University Attendance Policy
 Academic Integrity Policy
 Counseling
 Disabilities Services
 Safety Statement
 Harassment, Sexual Violence, Bias, and Discrimination
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