THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
ACC 326 Syllabus – Fall 2013
Unique Numbers 2660 and 2665
Class Meetings
MW 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. in UTC 4.112
MW 11:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. in UTC 4.124
Instructor
E-Mail
Phone
Office
Office Hours
Robert Freeman
Robert.Freeman@mccombs.utexas.edu
512-471-5332
CBA 3.222
Monday 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. and by appointment
Assistant
E-Mail
Phone
Office
Office Hours
Stephen Jaquess
stephen.jaquess@bba09.mccombs.utexas.edu
214-732-8993
CBA 3.222
TT 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. and by appointment
Assistant
E-Mail
Phone
Office
Office Hours
Jeff Wilson
jeffrey.wilson@bba09.mccombs.utexas.edu
214-364-5112
CBA 3.222
TT 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. and by appointment
COURSE OBJECTIVES
ü Become more familiar with financing, investing, and operating activities of business entities
ü Understand how these activities are treated under general accepted accounting principles
ü Establish the ability to evaluate financial statements
This course is designed for non-accounting students whose post-graduation careers are likely to
require frequent use use of financial statements issued by publicly held corporations. Learning
to use financial reports is a two step process: (1) understand how a company’s operating and
financing transactions create of corporate wealth, and (2) develop an intuitive feel for when and
how financial reports communicate the prospective and final outcomes of transactions that are
either in process or completed. To a large extent, the first step is addressed in introductory
business courses (e.g., introductory accounting, economics, and finance courses), but it is also a
secondary objective of this course. The second step was also addressed in introductory
accounting courses for routine transactions of fairly simple business enterprises. The primary
objective of this course is to build upon these introductory courses by learning how more
complex business transactions (e.g., Mergers and Acquisitions, Foreign Operations, Obligations
for Post Retirement Benefits, Complex Financial Instruments, Hedging with Derivative
Securities) affect the Basic Financial Statements and Earnings per Share.
Fall 2013 Syllabus for ACC 326 (Intermediate Accounting)
Page 2 of 6
COURSE MATERIALS
Required
Course Notes: Available on Blackboard before each topic is discussed in class. The notes
are a more detailed version of material that we discuss in class – including detailed
examples and self-testing exercises.
Intermediate Accounting (7th Edition), by Spiceland, Sepe, and Nelson (McGraw-Hill /
Irwin, 2013). Bound version of the textbook is available at the co-op bookstore. Electronic
and loose-leaf versions are available from the publisher.
Advanced Accounting (2nd Edition), by Hamlen, Huefner, and Largay (Cambridge Business
Publishers. 2013). We will cover chapters 1 through 5 of this book. The first two chapters
are available in electronic form from the publisher without charge. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 are
available at the co-op bookstore (ISBN 9781618530509). A hardbound copy of the complete
textbook is on reserve in the library.
Electronic References
The Wall Street Journal
EDGAR The Security and Exchange Commission’s financial statement data base. Available
under the “Filings” menu at http://www.sec.gov/.
Fall 2013 Syllabus for ACC 326 (Intermediate Accounting)
Page 3 of 6
HOMEWORK
Recommended Problems
There is a lot of material in the textbooks and Course Notes. In class, I will emphasize what is
important and walk you through illustrative transactions (and related financial statements); but
we will not cover enough problem material in class to adequately prepare you for the exams.
You are strongly encouraged to work as many problems from the textbooks and Course Notes as
your schedule permits. The last page of the syllabus lists textbook problems that are related to
the materials emphasized in class. Course Notes contains problems that I have written, and many
of those have appeared on prior exams. Solutions to all recommended problems are available on
the course Blackboard site.
Required Problems
To encourage you to develop exam skills, selected problems from the Course Notes and the
Hamlen textbook will be graded (see the list below). You will receive full credit for an
assignment if the grader concludes that you made a reasonable effort. Detailed solutions to
required problems will be posted to Blackboard after the due dates.
Due Date
September 13
September 20
September 20
September 23
October 4
October 11
October 18
October 25
November 1
November 8
November 15
November 22
December 6
Topic
Income Statement
Income Taxes
Accounting Changes
Cash Flow Statement
Securitizations & VIEs
Debt Securities
Equity Securities
Derivatives & Hedging
Earnings per Share
Stock Compensation
Pensions
Mergers & Acquisitions
Post Acquisition Fin St
Problems in
Course Notes
IS2, IS3
IT4, IT5, IT6
AC2, AC6
CF2
SV5, SV8
DS5, DS6
ES2, ES3
DH2, DH4
EPS2, EPS3
SC2, SC3
PN3, PN4
Exercises (E) &
Problems (P) in
Hamlen Textbook
E3- 7 and P3- 2
P4- 1 and P5- 1
How to submit homework:
Ø Place a hard copy of your solution in the homework box on the
receptionist counter in CBA 4M.202 or give your solution to one of the
teaching assistants during their office hours.
Ø Upload an electronic solution to Blackboard (see instructions on the
following page).
Problem solutions are due no later than 5:00 p.m. on the
due date. Late homework is not accepted.
Fall 2013 Syllabus for ACC 326 (Intermediate Accounting)
Page 4 of 6
Instructions for electronic submissions of Required Homework
To Download an electronic version of a Course Notes problem.
Note: Electronic versions of Hamlen textbook problems are not available.
a. Navigate to the Assignments Page on Blackboard.
b. Scroll to and click on the HW Assignment you would like to complete.
c. Right click and select Save Target As to download the file to your computer.
To Submit your completed HW assignment.
d. Navigate to the Assignments Page on Blackboard.
e. Scroll to and click on the HW Assignment you have completed.
f. Type any comments, Click Browse to attach your finished assignment.
g. Select the file to attach and Click Open to confirm your selection.
h. Click Submit, indicating you are ready to turn in this assignment.
Note: If you choose “Save,” the file will NOT be submitted for grading.
i. Click OK.
Fall 2013 Syllabus for ACC 326 (Intermediate Accounting)
Page 5 of 6
EXAMS
There will be three exams. If you miss an exam and have a valid reason for missing it, we will
arrange to give you a make-up exam. If you do not have a valid reason for missing an exam, you
will receive a zero on the exam (which usually results in a failing grade for the course).
In-Class Exam I
Wednesday, September 25
In-Class Exam II
Monday, October 28
Comprehensive Final Exam
The final exam schedule will be available at
http://registrar.utexas.edu
approximately one month before the end of the semester.
Exam performance is directly related to systematic preparation, which includes timely
completion of suggested homework (including suggested problems that are not turned in for
grading). Since this course moves quickly, you cannot afford to fall behind on readings or
problems. You will have difficulty solving problems unless you complete the assigned readings
and work through the examples in the class notes. Skill in solving problems from the textbooks
and class notes will be tested on exams.
COURSE GRADE
Course grades are based on the following weighted average of quizzes, homework, and exams:
Quizzes
Homework
Exam 1
Exam 2
Comprehensive Final Exam
Total
15
15
20
20
30
100
BLACKBOARD (HTTP://COURSES.UTEXAS.EDU/)
Grades and most course-related materials (e.g., problem solutions and WSJ articles) will be
posted to Blackboard. In addition, you are encouraged to post questions to the discussion forum.
For example, you might post a question about a homework problem or a question about an
example that we worked in class. The TAs and I will post answers to your questions.
ACC 326 – FALL 2013 CLASS SCHEDULE Class
Dates Readings in Course Notes
(Problems in Course Notes)
Page 6 of 6
Materials in Spiceland (S) and Hamlen (H)
Chapters
Recommended Exercises [E] & Problems [P]
Review of Financial Statements: Presentation, Recognition, & Measurement Prerequisite
8/28
9/4 & 9
9/11 & 16
9/18
9/23
9/25
The Accounting Process & Balance Sheet
The Big Picture: financial accounting and security valuation
Income Statement (IS)
Income Taxes (IT)
Accounting Changes & Error Corrections (AC)
Statement of Cash Flows (CF) – review of ACC 311
Exam I
9/30 & 10/2
10/7 & 9
10/14 & 16
10/21 & 23
10/28
10/30
11/4 & 6
11/11 & 13
11/18
11/20
11/25 - 12/2
12/4
TBA
Securitizations & VIEs (SV)
Issuing and Investing in Debt Securities (DS)
Issuing and Investing in Equity Securities (ES)
Derivatives and Hedging (DH)
Exam II
Earnings per Share (EPS)
Stock-Based Compensation (SC)
Pensions & Other Post-Employment Benefits (PN)
Mergers and Acquisitions Overview (MA)
Date of Acquisition Consolidation (MA)
Post-Acquisition Consolidation (PA)
Foreign Operations (FO)
Final Exam – comprehensive
S: 1, 2, 3
E2- 1, 7, 8, 11, 14; E3- 5, 15, 16; P3- 5, 10
No textbook reading or problem assignments. See Class Notes.
S: 4A, 5A, 11B
E4- 3, 5, 6, 7; P4- 2, 8; E5- 11, 13; P5- 5
S: 16
E16- 2, 5, 10, 15, 22, 26; P16- 4, 7, 9, 10
S: 9D, 11B, 20
E11- 18, 19; P20- 2, 13
S: 4B, 21
E21- 2, 9, 14, 17, 21; P21- 6
In Depth Transaction Analysis S: 7B
S: 14, 12A
S: 18A, 18B, 12
S: Appendix A
No textbook problem assignments. See Class Notes.
E14- 2, 17, 21, 32; P14- 9, 24; E12- 5, 12, 26; P12- 1
E18- 5, 11, 13; E12- 15, 16; P12- 5, 6, 12
EA- 2, 3; PA- 1, 2
S: 18C, 19B
E18- 10, 19, 20; P18- 9; E19- 15, 18, 19; P19- 14
S: 19A
E19- 5, 6, 7, 16, 27, 28; P19- 1, 5, 8
S: 17
E17- 10, 12, 13; P17- 4, 9; E21- 28
H: 1, 2
E2- 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10; P2- 2, 9;
H: 3
E3- 1, 10, 11; P3- 3, 4, 10
H: 4, 5
E4- 3, 11; P4- 4,10; E5- 1, 6; P5- 4
No textbook reading or problem assignments. See Class Notes.