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Syllabus
Quick Links
Course Materials
Assignments
Exams
Grading
Course Duration
BYU Course Outcomes
1. Construct and use internal accounting tools such as cost-volume-profit
analysis, budgets, product cost reports, and nonroutine decision
analyses to understand how to make better business management
decisions.
2. Construct and interpret a balance sheet and income statement
understanding its usefulness in business and investment decision
making.
3. Comfortably use accounting terms and concepts in business-related
discussions.
4. Intelligently converse about the following areas:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
The role of accounting in international business
The role of information systems in financial reporting
Fraud and how to prevent fraud
The theory and practice of income taxes
Investing in stocks
Career planning and spiritual decision making
Managerial accounting as a competitive tool
Personal budgeting and financial planning
Write a brief, focused memo demonstrating basic understanding
of background business reading material.
j. Use computer-aided learning tools and online learning resources.
k. Manage workload in a self-paced learning environment.
Prerequisite
No prerequisites
Course Materials
Intro to Accounting - The Language of Business DVD and Access
code (Required)
Accounting 200 Learning Resources Packet (Optional)
Learning Resources (DVD, Learning Resource Packet,
and Optional Text)
All of the material that you will be held accountable for on quizzes and exams
for this course is contained in the Intro to Accounting - The Language of
Business DVD and Access code.
The primary lesson materials for the course are provided through the DVD
Introduction to Accounting: The Language of Business. Each DVD lesson
presentation features a comprehensive audio/video lecture by the DVD
author (Professor Norm Nemrow) with synchronized graphic displays, sample
problems, homework problems and solution explanations. The homework
problems included in the DVD are not turned in or graded in this course. They
are provided solely for the purpose of assisting in the learning process. The
topics covered in these DVD lessons are reflected in the lessons in this
course.
The following Accounting 200 Learning Resources are included in and can
be printed directly from the Introduction to Accounting: The Language of
Business DVD set or they can be optionally purchased in packet form
through the online Bookstore:
DVD Lesson Notes, Homework Problems and Solutions (The Notes,
Problems and Solutions are organized lesson by lesson with the Notes
for each lesson provided first, followed by the Problems and Solutions
for that lesson)
Financial Practice Set Problem and Solution
Exam Topic Sheets (notes topics to be included on exams)
Sample Exam Problems/Solutions
Most students choose to purchase the packet from the Bookstore to avoid
the hassle of printing it themselves. It is an invaluable learning tool for the
course.
The Introduction to Accounting: The Language of Business DVD contains
15 lessons, which teach you the fundamental concepts of accounting. In
addition, you will be required to view eight supplemental lectures. These
supplemental lectures feature several guest lecturers who speak on topics
that are designed to enhance student appreciation of the relevance of
accounting in today’s dynamic business world (see course lessons). Before
viewing these lectures, students will read a number of current event articles
provided in the course lessons. The material covered in these readings and
the lectures will be covered in the lesson quizzes/assignments, but will not
be covered in the exams.
Effectively Using the Introduction to Accounting: The
Language of Business DVD Set
Students suggest that the DVD Lessons are most effectively used by first
printing or purchasing a copy of the Lesson Notes discussed above as part
of the Accounting 200 Learning Resources and then utilizing those notes for
additional note-taking while viewing the DVD Lessons. A student can pause
the DVD Lessons at any time to make any notations they feel will help them in
future study and reviews. In addition, the DVD Lesson explanations can be
viewed as many times as necessary to reinforce the learning of difficult
concepts. Additional DVD navigational tools allow students to personalize
their learning experience. These are the same DVDs that are used for this
course on campus at BYU-Provo and over 90% of students say the DVD are
a more effective learning tool than the more traditional textbook/classroom
lecture learning approach.
Although the homework problems in each DVD Lesson will not be submitted
or graded, a student’s ultimate success on quizzes and exams will be directly
correlated to their ability to understand and do the homework problems on
their own. Because homework solutions and explanations are provided,
many students will be tempted to simply refer to the solutions rather than
hammering out a problem on their own. This will be a serious mistake. The
best learning takes place when students work through problems on their own
before resorting to a provided solution. You must be able to understand and
do these homework problems on your own without assistance to do well on
the quizzes and exams. Students who understand and can do the homework
problems and the sample exam problems included in the Accounting 200
Learning Resources should do well on the course quizzes and exams.
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Assignments
Summary: 15 computer-graded assignments, may be resubmitted once for
a fee.
Speedback Lesson Quizzes/Assignments
A Speedback quiz will be given at the end of each of the 15 lessons. All
quizzes will be taken online and will be in true/false and multiple choice
format. The quizzes are open note and open DVD meaning students may use
any of the learning materials available to them when taking the quiz. Because
quiz results can be printed out for future study and these quizzes can be
retaken for a fee, there is no reason why a student should not ultimately get
100% of the points associated with these quizzes for grading purposes. The
quizzes cover designated material from the Introduction to Accounting: The
Language of Business DVD lessons, the Accounting 200 Lecture Series
and other readings provided in the course lessons. The quizzes do not
comprehensively cover all of the materials in the Introduction to Accounting:
The Language of Business DVD lessons and therefore cannot be relied
upon for complete exam coverage. A non-programmable calculator may be
used on quizzes.
In addition to the 15 Speedback lesson quizzes there is also a short financial
statement review assignment you will do in conjunction with Lesson 2.
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Exams
Summary: 3 proctored computer-graded exams, may retake once for a fee,
must pass the final in order to pass the course.
Exams and Keys to Successful Performance
Three non-comprehensive exams will be given throughout the course as
noted below.
Exams
Covers
Questions
Exam 1
Lessons 1-4 & Practice Set
concepts
33 multiple choice
Exam 2
Lessons 5 - 10
40 multiple choice
Final
Lessons 11 - 15
10 True/False and 43 multiple
Exam:
choice
These exams are closed book/DVD and closed note exams. They are
proctored exams and only a calculator and blank scratch paper can be used
during the exam. Bringing Accounting 200-related material into the Testing
Center stored in your calculator constitutes cheating. Taking information
related to this exam out of the Testing Center stored in your calculator also
constitutes cheating A maximum of 4 hours are allowed for the completion of
each exam. The final exam must be passed with a minimum 50% score to
pass the course. Each exam may be retaken once for a fee.
In order to perform well on exams, a student must not only have a solid
understanding of the course material but must also be able to apply that
understanding to actual problems. The best evidence of a student’s adequate
preparation for the exams is their ability to do the DVD lesson homework
problems on their own without assistance. Students must understand how to
do the problems and the reasoning behind the solutions. If students are
having difficulty understanding the homework problems they should consider
reviewing the DVD Lesson problem and solution explanations a number of
times. They may also need to re-review the actual lecture materials. A basic
overall review of the course materials may also be helpful exam preparation
and can be facilitated by simply reviewing the DVD Lesson Notes. Included
in the Accounting 200 Learning Resources are three sample exams with
solutions provided at the end of each exam. These sample exams provide
students with an opportunity to experience typical exam questions in a
multiple-choice format. These sample exams are not intended to provide
complete coverage of topics, but can be a valuable tool in exam preparation.
If a student takes the sample exam and does poorly it probably means there
is need for additional study of the lesson examples and homework problems.
Also available through the Accounting 200 Learning Resources are Exam
Topic Sheets, which simply highlight the topics to be covered in each exam.
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Grading
Assignment/Exam
% of Total Grade
Exam #1
23
Exam #2
27
Final Exam (non-comprehensive)
34
Speedback Lesson Quizzes
15
Financial Statement Review Assignment 1
Total
100
Grade Scale
A
100-92 A-
91-89
B+ 88-86
B
B-
80-77
C+ 76-74
C
73-69
C-
68-64
D+ 63-60
D
59-55
D-
E
49-0
54-50
85-81
There are NO make-up, or grade improvement projects and there is no
curving in this course. These are the final grade breakdowns...period.
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Course Duration
You have 1 year to complete this course. You may purchase a 3-month
extension if you need more than a year to complete the course.
What should I think if I struggle in this course?
To be honest, experience has shown that some students seem to have a
natural talent or gift in accounting and perform well on the multiple-choice
exams with what seems to be relatively little effort. Other students struggle but
can master the course material with considerable study, review and practice
in doing the homework and sample exam problems. Finally, for some
students, the analytical thinking process associated with accounting is a skill
that they seem to have been born without and regardless of the time and
effort put into the course it just doesn’t come. Even though these students
understandably become frustrated, they should not become too discouraged.
A lack of talent in accounting is not the end of the world. It probably just
means that you have a personality and will end up hiring an accountant rather
than doing it yourself.
Do the best you can. Learn as much as you can about business and do not
become too concerned about your ultimate grade. Remember, your grade in
Accounting 200 has no significance in the eternities!
Some students express concern that they do not perform well on multiplechoice exams. The nature of business and accounting information makes
examination through multiple-choice exams a logical testing vehicle rather
than essay or other means. Experience has shown that the multiple-choice
exams for accounting do provide a fair reflection of comprehension and
ability in the subject. It is true that many students may understand basic
business and accounting concepts but have trouble when detailed
information is provided and has to be organized, analyzed and used to
produce a problem solution. Unfortunately, that is the nature of accounting
and business information and an exam that eliminates those characteristics
is not a fair reflection of the course content.
Finally, if you are one of those students with your heart set on a degree in
business but cannot seem to overcome an accounting stumbling block, be
comforted in the fact that most people who are hired in and become
successful in business do not have an undergraduate degree in business.
Businesses are interested in people who are personable, can get along and
work well with others and can learn on the job. Your college degree is not the
most significant factor in determining your ultimate success in business.
Hardware and Software Information for Running the
DVDs
Hardware and Software Requirements (version 2.0)
Hardware:
Pentium II 300 or greater Multimedia PC
64Mb of RAM
CD-ROM drive
Speakers or headphones
Necessary Software:
Microsoft Windows 98, 2000, NT 4 SP6a, ME, XP or higher (version
2.0 will not work on Windows 95)
Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 or greater
Microsoft Windows Media Player 6.4 or higher (we recommend version
9.0+ for greater functionality)
Macromedia Flash 6.0 or higher
Adobe Acrobat 5.0 or higher
Internet Explorer 5.01 or higher
Software Installation
Version 2.0 has an automatic diagnostic and install feature for the necessary
software. Please insert the DVD and click on version 2.0. Follow the
directions and install the necessary software. If you encounter problems,
please consult the technical support by clicking on the blue technical support
button on the start up screen. You may need to perform a manual installation
of certain items. Consult the technical support for directions to accomplish
this task.
Macintosh Support
To use the accounting software on a Mac, you must purchase an access
code online and use the online software. To purchase the software go to:
www.businesslearningsoftware.com/ code
(http://www.businesslearningsoftwareinc.com/code). You will be asked to
enter an access code. Enter the following code: BYUIS200 and click submit.
Follow the prompts to finalize your purchase.
After you have purchased the software, go to
http://www.businesslearningsoftwareinc.com/cloudapp
(http://www.businesslearningsoftwareinc.com/cloudapp) and login. Follow
prompts to watch a lesson. We strongly recommend you watch the following
short training video. This video will instruct you on how to use the software
and the Learning Resource Packet effectively. Please go to:
http://youtu.be/bR--PijjrbU (http://youtu.be/bR--PijjrbU)
If you have already bought the software through the BYU bookstore, go to
http://www.businesslearningsoftwareinc.com/cloudapp
(http://www.businesslearningsoftwareinc.com/cloudapp) and use the access
code provided with the software to login.
Software Plug-in for Adjustable Speeds on DVD
Audio/Video Presentations
The ability to control the speed of the audio and video presentations in these
DVDs will be of great value to you. The 2xAV plug-in from Enounce Inc.
provides this speed control and will greatly enhance your learning
experience. Most students develop the ability to watch the lessons at two
times the normal speed (or faster) with no learning loss. That means it is
possible for you to watch an hour lecture in 30 minutes while retaining all
necessary information. You will love this feature! When you begin to install
this plug-in during the automatic install function, you will notice a document
that appears. Please read this document in its entirety. This document will
explain everything you need to know about the Enounce plug-in.
Windows XP Users
Users running Windows XP and Windows Media Player 9.0 can use an
integrated VSP (variable speed playback) module built right into the interface
of the main program. This VSP module functions much like the Enounce plugin except it can only accelerate the audio/video to 2 times the original speed
(the Enounce plug-in can achieve 2.5 times the original speed). Unlike the
Enounce plug-in, this module will never time out and stop working. When you
open the accounting software, you will notice a rate box above the volume
control. To increase or decrease the rate of the lessons, simply click the up or
down arrows. You can use the Enounce plug-in and the integrated VSP
module simultaneously to achieve playback rates faster than 4 times the
original speed. However, we suggest you watch the lessons at those speeds
only when reviewing previously learned material. When viewing a lesson for
the first time, your comprehension of the material greatly diminishes past 3
times the original speed.
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Inappropriate Use of Course Content
All course materials (e.g., outlines, handouts, syllabi, exams, quizzes, media,
lecture content, audio and video recordings, etc.) are proprietary. Students
are prohibited from posting or selling any such course materials without the
express written permission of BYU Independent Study. To do so is a violation
of the Brigham Young University Honor Code.