THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL
BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY
BUS 6a – Sections 2 & 3
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
Fall 2015
Professor: Robert A. Angell
Email: rangell@brandeis.edu
Phone: 866.700.0894
TAs:
Kyla Gabriel (gekkyla@gmail.com)
Eric Gordon (egordon@brandeis.edu)
Devin Satyawan (devins@brandeis.edu)
Wenyi Zhang (zwy0312@brandeis.edu)
Office hours: T/Th 5:00 – 6:00 pm and by appt.
Office location: Sachar 1D
Recitations: Thursday 6:30 – 8:20 PM
Location: Golding Judaica Center 110
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The primary objective of this course is to develop a fundamental understanding of financial
accounting and corporate reporting issues. Students will be exposed to a variety of real world
applications involving for profit financial statements. More specifically, students will acquire
skills allowing them to read, interpret and analyze the income statement, balance sheet and
statement of cash flows. This course will primarily address accounting standards employed in
US (GAAP) but will acquaint students with international standards (IFRS) used by other
countries in numerous accounting areas. Further, issues related to the project on the convergence
of standards currently being conducted by the FASB and IASB will be discussed. Throughout
the course, emphasis will be placed on interpreting financial statements to understand how
accounting information, in a variety of decision settings, can be utilized by managers.
LEARNING GOALS
Upon completion of this course, the student will have a fundamental understanding of financial
reporting issues as they relate to for profit businesses. Students will be able to (1) prepare,
understand, and interpret the basic financial statements (statement of earnings, balance sheet and
statement of cash flows) and (2) evaluate the financial well-being of an organization by
employing analytical techniques that include financial ratios and trend analysis. Additionally,
students will be able to identify ethical aspects of a financial situation and evaluate those aspects
when making business decisions.
COURSE MATERIALS
Libby, Libby and Short Financial Accounting, 8th Edition with Connect (ISBN 9781308488646),
Irwin McGraw Hill (Required). You can either buy the fully digital version which includes an
ebook and assignments OR purchase the printed text and online assignments separately.
McGraw Hill web address for assignments (LearnSmart AND Homework Problems) is
https://connect.mheducation.com/class/r-angell-fall-2015-sections-2-and-3© 2015
Please do not purchase the international version of the text as it will not correspond to the
syllabus nor any other version.
Please bring a basic function calculator to all class meetings.
Additional Course Materials/Cases are available on LATTE
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING POLICY
Course Grading and Exams
Your course grade will be determined based on the following formula:
Homework/Attendance/Participation
Exam 1
Exam 2
Final Exam
Group Project
10%
20%
25%
30%
15%
100%
Attendance
Class and Recitation attendance is required. Records of attendance will be kept for each class and
recitation. Students are allowed one excused absence. Please notify me in advance when you are
unable to make it to class. After the first absence, the homework/attendance component of the
grade will be negatively affected. Please arrive for class on time and remain until the end of class.
It is extremely disruptive when students enter late or leave early. I do understand that there are
valid reasons for needing to be late or leave early, as such, please notify me prior to class. It is
expected that you will come to each class ready to discuss the readings, exercises and problems.
Homework
In an accounting class, keeping up with the assigned homework problems is critical to your success.
If you do not take the time to challenge yourself and struggle with the issues in each problem, you
will, in all likelihood, perform very poorly on exams. Success in this four- credit course is based on
the expectation that students will spend a minimum of 9 hours of study time per week in preparation
for class (readings, papers, discussion sections, preparation for exams, research, etc.). All
homework will be submitted via the McGraw Hill Connect platform. IMPORTANT: ALL
HOMEWORK SHOULD BE YOUR WORK AND NOT THE WORK OF OTHERS.
Participation
Students are expected to adequately prepare for each class session and to actively participate in
class discussion. Class participation involves being regularly engaged in the discussion/lecture and
making a positive contribution by asking thoughtful questions, sharing relevant experiences,
requesting clarification and making comments. All forms of participation should be conducted in a
manner that is respectful of fellow students and the professor.
Exams
THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP EXAMS, UNLESS THE STUDENT HAS A VALID
EXCUSE AND NOTIFIES THE PROFESSOR PRIOR TO MISSING THE EXAM. There
will be absolutely no opportunity to assign the weight of a missed exam to another exam. If you
miss an exam without a valid excuse, you will receive a grade of zero. Therefore, please make
every effort in advance to ensure that you will be in attendance on the exam dates shown on the
syllabus. Make-up exams will only be scheduled if you miss an exam for a legitimate reason; you
will need to provide evidence for your absence and you must notify me prior to the scheduled exam
time. All exams are closed book with no index cards/review sheets of any kind permitted while
taking the test. The use of text capable calculators is strictly prohibited.
Academic Integrity
You are expected to be honest in all of your academic work. Please consult Brandeis University
Rights and Responsibilities for all policies and procedures related to academic integrity. Students
may be required to submit work to TurnItIn.com software to verify originality. Allegations of
alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity. Sanctions for
academic dishonesty can include failing grades and/or suspension from the university. Citation and
research assistance can be found at LTS - Library guides.
Privacy: This class requires the use of tools that may disclose your coursework and identity to
parties outside the class. To protect your privacy you may choose to use a pseudonym/alias rather
than your name in submitting such work. You must share the pseudonym/alias with me and any
teaching assistants as needed. Alternatively, with prior consultation, you may submit such work
directly to me.
Student Accommodations
If you have a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and require accommodations,
please contact Beth Rodgers Kay (brodgers@brandeis.edu) and bring it to my attention prior to the
second meeting of the class.
CLASS SCHEDULE – Subject to Change at Professor’s Discretion
Exams 1 and 2 will be given during the Recitation Period
Date
Day
8/27
Th
Introduction
9/1
T
Balance Sheet, Income
Statement/Interrelationship of
Financial Statements
Chapters 1,
2(pgs 42-56)
Analysis of Economic Events
via Journal Entries
Chapter 2 (pgs
57-77)
Adjusting Journal Entries
Chapter 3,
Global
Connections B
(LATTE)
9/3
9/8
9/17
9/22
9/24
9/24
Th
T
Th
T
Th
Th
Evening
Topics/Chapters
Reading
Chapters 1,
2(pgs 42-56)
Global
Connections A
(LATTE)
Th
10/6
T
Chapter 1 LearnSmart
E1-3, E1-4, E1-7, P1-1, P1-2
Chapter 2 LearnSmart
E2-4, E2-6, P2-1, P2-2, P2-3
Chapter 3 LearnSmart
E3-2, E3-3, E3-4, E3-5, E3-17, P3-2, P3-6
Chapter 4 LearnSmart
Income Statement and
Expanded Transaction Analysis
Chapter 4
Non-recurring Items and
Income Statement
Chapter 5
E4-6, E4-8, P4-2, P4-3, P4-5
Chapter 5 LearnSmart
E5-8, E5-10, E5-12, P5-6
Review of Chapters 1 - 4
Exam 1 (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4)
Sales and Receivables
10/1
Assignments (due the next class)
Chapter 6 LearnSmart
Chapter 6
E6-9,E6-13, E6-17, E6-18, P6-3, P6-4, P6-5
Sales and Receivables
Chapter 7 LearnSmart
10/8
Th
Inventory & Cost of Goods
Sold
10/13
T
Inventory & Cost of Goods
Sold
Chapter 7
E7-3, E7-9, E7-10, E7-18, E7-20, P7-1, P73, P7-4, P7-8, P7-9, P7-10
Chapter 8 LearnSmart
10/15
10/20
Th
Non-current Assets
Chapter 8
T
Financial Statement Analysis
Project Introduction
Chapter 13
E8-2, E8-8, E8-11, E8-13, E8-23,
P8-3, P8-6, P8-8, P8-9, P8-10,P8-11
Chapter 13 LearnSmart
E5-17, E13-3, E13-8, E13-9, P7-7, P13-10
10/22
Th
Project workshop
10/27
T
Understanding Audited
Financial Statement Analysis
10/29
Th
Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 14 Review
10/29
Th
Evening
11/3
T
Exam 2 (Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8,
13)
Liabilities and Time Value of
Money
Email to Prof Angell team, liaison and
companies to analyze
Chapter 9
Chapter 9 LearnSmart
E9-4, E9-15, E9-22, P9-11, P9-12
Chapter 10 LearnSmart
11/5
Th
Bond Pricing and Impact of
Debt Financing
11/10
T
Bond Pricing and Impact of
Debt Financing
Chapter 10
M10-2, M10-3, M10-4, M10-6, E10-16,
E10-20, P10-8, P10-10, P10-12
Chapter 12 LearnSmart
11/12
Th
Statement of Cash Flows
11/17
T
Statement of Cash Flows
Chapter 12
E12-4, E12-7, E12-8, E12-16, P12-1, P12-2,
P12-4
Chapter 11 LearnSmart
11/19
Th
Stockholders’ Equity
11/24
T
Stockholders’ Equity
Chapter 11
E11-8,E11-11,E11-16,E11-18, E11-22, E1123,P11-5,P11-8
Appendix E LearnSmart
12/1
Th
Investments
Appendix E
ME-3, ME-4, EE-2, EE-5, EE-6, EE-7, PE-4
12/3
T
12/8
Th
Investments
Financial Statement Analysis
Project Due
Final Exam – Comprehensive with Emphasis on Chapters 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, Appendix E (Date and Location TBD )