Graduate School of Management
St. Petersburg State University
Introduction to BA: Accounting
Fall 2008
Prof. William Coyle Ph.D. CPA CMA
Visiting Professor from Babson College, USA
E-mail: coyle@gsom.pu.ru
Classroom is in Room 403
Office Hours: By appointment; send me an email to make an appointment
Course Objectives
Financial statements are a key part of a company’s communication to outsiders, and few
participants in any aspect of business can afford to be unfamiliar with financial
accounting principles and the form of financial statements. The objectives of this course
are for you to achieve an understanding of the concepts and mechanics that underlie the
preparation and presentation of corporate financial statements and to develop the skills
needed to analyze and interpret financial statements effectively.
Topics include the preparation of the three basic financial statements – income statement,
balance sheet, and cash flow statement – and understanding the fundamental structure
connecting these three statements. Throughout the course we will relate corporate
accounting methods and choices to the quality of earnings and financial reporting.
Mastering financial accounting does not require sophisticated mathematical skills, but it
does involve the kind of analysis you would bring to a simple solving-for-x arithmetic
problem or a crossword puzzle. At the same time, it requires the practice and flexibility
needed to achieve fluency in a language. Our coverage of financial accounting will
regularly consider ethics and social responsibility.
Course Materials
The textbook for the course is Porter and Norton, Using Financial Accounting
Information, 5th ed. (Thomson South-Western, 2008).
Course Grading
Because this course is taught in a brief period of time, your course grade will be based on
your performance on a series of quizzes and class participation:
Quizzes
Participation
80%
20
100%
Quizzes – With the exception of the first day of class, quizzes will be given as follows:
 At the beginning of each day’s classes, there will be a quiz based on the material
covered in the previous week’s class. For example, the first of these quizzes will
be on Tuesday September 9 covering the material of Thursday September 4.
These quizzes will be worth more than the quizzes described next.
 At the end of each class, there will be a quiz based on the material covered in
class during that day. For example, the first of these quizzes will be on Thursday
September 4 covering the material discussed that day.
Class Participation – Participation and professionalism will be considered in your grade
for the course. Class will begin and end on time, and I will expect that you have
completed the assignments, though I will not assume that you have completed it
perfectly. Key components of this course are your questions and discussion of the topics.
Working in small groups on the homework assignments may be helpful. The most
significant mistake you can make in this course is to miss a class. Another important
mistake is to not prepare for class, that is, not read the chapter/material assigned and to
not at least try all the homework problems assigned. Note that the most valuable
contributions to class discussion are often your questions. I encourage you to ask early
and often.
Course Schedule and Assignments
Thursday
Reading:
Introduction and Chapter 1
September 4 Assignment: Exercise 1-7; Problems 1-5, 1-7
Class 1
Thursday
Reading:
Chapter 2
September 4 Assignment: Exercises 2-2, 2-5, 2-9; Problems 2-2, 2-7, 2-10;
Class 2
Quiz on material from September 4 class
Tuesday
Quiz on material from September 4 class
September 9 Reading:
Chapter 3 (do not read the appendix, pages 116-125)
Class 1
Assignment: Exercises 3-3, 3-5, 3-10, 3-11; Problems 3-2, 3-4
Tuesday
Reading:
Chapter 4
September 9 Assignment: Exercises 4-5, 4-6, 4-8, 4-11; Problems 4-1, 4-5, 4-6
Class 2
Quiz on material from September 9 class
Tuesday
Quiz on material from September 9 class
September 16 Reading:
Chapter 12
Class 1
Assignment: Exercises 12-2, 12-4, 12-5, 12-7, 12-10, 12-14;
Problems 12-3, 12-4
Tuesday
Reading:
Chapter 5 (note that LIFO is only allowed in USA)
September 16 Assignment: Exercise 5-11; Problems 5-6, 5-7
Class 2
Quiz on material from September 16 class
Tuesday
Quiz on material from September 16 class
September 23 Reading:
Chapter 7 (do not read the appendix, pages 323-329)
Class 1
Assignment: Exercises 7-4, 7-5; Problems 7-3, 7-5
Tuesday
Reading:
Chapter 8
September 23 Assignment: 8-3, 8-4, 8-5, 8-6, 8-8, 8-9, 8-11; Problems 8-3, 8-4, 8-10
Class 2
Quiz on material from September 23 class
Tuesday
Quiz on material from September 23 class
September 30 Reading: Chapter 9 (do not read appendices, pages 419-428)
Class 1
Assignment: Exercises 9-16, 9-20, 9-24; Problems 9-4, 9-8
Tuesday
Reading: Chapter 10 and 11 (do not read appendix in Chapter 11)
September 30 Assignment: Exercises 10-2, 10-5, 10-9; Problem 10-8;
Class 2
Exercises 11-6, 11-8; Problems 11-1, 11-8
Quiz on material from September 30 class