4AK3 - Fall 2013
Commerce 4AK3
Accounting Information for Decision Making
Fall 2013 Course Outline
Accounting and Financial Management Services Area
DeGroote School of Business
McMaster University
COURSE OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this course is to introduce the use of accounting information in decision making
to individuals. This objective will be accomplished by teaching students the principles of
financial and managerial accounting for the purpose of enhancing their financial literacy. This
course focuses on accounting information for internal and external users of an organization.
Students who complete this course will be expected to identify the sources of relevant accounting
information, and use this information in decision-making.
INSTRUCTOR AND CONTACT INFORMATION
Vince Raso, CPA, CA, CBV
vraso@kpmg.ca
Office Hours: by appointment
Tel: (905) 523-2258
Administrative Assistant: Ms. Alicja Siek
Office: DSB-303
Tel: (905) 525-9140 x24630
COURSE ELEMENTS
Credit Value:
Avenue:
Participation:
Evidence-based:
3
Yes
Yes
Yes
Leadership:
Ethics:
Innovation:
Experiential:
No
Yes
No
Yes
IT skills:
Numeracy:
Group work:
Final Exam:
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Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Global view:
Written skills:
Oral skills:
Guest speaker(s):
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
4AK3 - Fall 2013 Page 2 of 7
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course covers the basic principles in financial and managerial accounting as well as the use
of accounting information in decision making. In the financial accounting part of the course, the
course covers the conceptual framework of accounting, Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles, financial statements, and financial statement analysis. In the managerial accounting
part of the course, the course covers cost behaviour, cost-volume-profit relationships, budgeting,
and the use of cost information in decision-making.
REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS AND READINGS
Avenue registration for course content, readings and case materials - http://avenue.mcmaster.ca
Custom book combining select chapters from the following two textbooks:
1. Financial Accounting, Third Canadian Edition, by Libby, Libby, Short, Kanaan, and
Gowing.
2. Managerial Accounting, First Canadian Edition, by Hilton and Favre-Marchesi
The custom book can be purchased from Titles beginning September 6, 2013.
EVALUATION
The final grade will be calculated in the first instance from the grades obtained on a midterm and
a final, individual assignments, group project, and participation. The examinations and their
weightings in the determination of the final grade are:
Components and Weights
Midterm
5 Individual Assignments
2 Group Projects
Participation
Final Examination
Total
25%
20%
20%
10%
25%
100%
Individual Assignments
Individual assignments will be from end-of-chapter problems. On average, students should
spend about 3-4 hours working on each assignment. Students are not allowed to collaborate on
individual homework assignments. All questions must be addressed to the professor or the
course TA. All homework assignments must be submitted electronically using the Dropbox
feature on Avenue.
Group Projects
Students will be asked to formulate groups of three to four members by the end of the second
week of classes, and hand in the names of group members to the professor. Each group member
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4AK3 - Fall 2013 Page 3 of 7
is expected to contribute equally towards the final submission. Group members are encouraged
to report to the professor as early as possible other members who do not contribute their fair
share. Group project assignments and instructions will be handed out by no later than the third
week of classes.
Notes on Examinations
1. Exams will have multiple-choice questions and long-answer problems.
2. The official McMaster University photo identification card must be presented at each
examination.
3. NOTE: The use of a McMaster standard calculator is allowed during examinations in this
course. See McMaster calculator policy at the following URL:
http://www.mcmaster.ca/policy/Students-AcademicStudies/examinationindex.html
4. The instructor reserves the right to adjust your final grade on the basis of the overall
evaluation of class performance, trend of your performance, participation, and other
factors. This adjustment will result in a maximum change of one grade point.
Grade Conversion
At the end of the course your overall percentage grade will be converted to your letter grade in
accordance with the following conversion scheme.
LETTER GRADE
PERCENT
LETTER GRADE
PERCENT
A+
A
A-
90 - 100
85 - 89
80 - 84
C+
C
C-
67 - 69
63 - 66
60 - 62
B+
B
B-
77 - 79
73 - 76
70 - 72
D+
D
D-
57 - 59
53 - 56
50 - 52
F
00 - 49
Communication and Feedback
Students who are uncomfortable in directly approaching an instructor regarding a course concern
may send a confidential email to the respective Area Chair (area-chair’s-email@mcmaster.ca) or
the Associate Dean (adbusac@mcmaster.ca).
Students who wish to correspond with instructors or TAs directly via email must send messages
that originate from their official McMaster University email account. This protects the
confidentiality and sensitivity of information as well as confirms the identity of the student.
Emails regarding course issues should NOT be sent to the Area Administrative Assistants.
Instructors are required to provide evaluation feedback for at least 10% of the final grade to
students prior to Week #8 in the term.
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4AK3 - Fall 2013 Page 4 of 7
Instructors may conduct an informal course review with students by Week #4 to allow time for
modifications in curriculum delivery.
Students who wish to have a course component re-evaluated must complete the following form:
http://www.mcmaster.ca/policy/Students-AcademicStudies/Form_A.pdf
In order for the component to be re-read:





the component must be worth 10% or more of the final grade in the course
students pay a fee of $50 in Gilmour Hall #209 (receipt is then brought to APO)
the Area Chair will seek out an independent adjudicator to re-grade the component
an adjustment to the grade for the component will be made if a grade change of three points
or greater on the 12 point scale (equivalent to 10 marks out of 100) has been suggested by the
adjudicator as assigned by the Area Chair
if a grade change is made, the student fee will be refunded
LECTURES
Learning in this course will be accomplished by lecturing and discussions. Mini-cases and shortanswer problems will be assigned for each lecture. Students are expected to read the questions
and submit tentative solutions at the beginning of the class. Although these submissions will not
be graded for accuracy, students will receive credit towards participation. Students will be callcalled to answer questions. The ensuing discussion, along with lecture presentation, will be used
to teach the covered topics. Your participation grade will be based on your engagement in class
discussions. Students may want to use the Discussion Board on Avenue to follow up on class
discussions. The instructor will take into account the quality of in-class and the Discussion
Board discussions in assigning participation grades.
The course materials will generally follow those assigned in the text. However, lecture coverage
will include materials not covered in the text and exclude some materials from the text. Students
are responsible for all materials covered in lectures and, therefore, should attend all lectures.
Absence from lectures is not an excuse for not being aware of the details of coverage in the
course.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
It is the student’s responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. Please refer
to the University Senate Academic Integrity Policy at the following URL:
http://www.mcmaster.ca/policy/Students-AcademicStudies/AcademicIntegrity.pdf
This policy describes the responsibilities, procedures, and guidelines for students and faculty
should a case of academic dishonesty arise. Academic dishonesty is defined as to knowingly act
or fail to act in a way that results or could result in unearned academic credit or advantage.
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4AK3 - Fall 2013 Page 5 of 7
Please refer to the policy for a list of examples. The policy also provides faculty with procedures
to follow in cases of academic dishonesty as well as general guidelines for penalties. For further
information related to the policy, please refer to the Office of Academic Integrity at:
http://www.mcmaster.ca/academicintegrity
REQUESTING RELIEF FOR MISSED ACADEMIC WORK
1.
Students may request relief from a regularly scheduled midterm, test, assignment or other
course component in the following two ways:
a)
b)
for absences from classes lasting up to five (5) days; or
for absences from classes lasting more than five (5) days.
a)
For absences from classes lasting up to five (5) days
Students must use the MSAF (McMaster Student Absence Form). This is an on-line, selfreporting tool, for which submission of medical or other types of supporting documentation is
normally not required. Students may use this tool to submit a maximum of one (1) request for
relief of missed academic work per term as long as the weighting of the component is worth 29%
of the final grade or less. Students must follow up with their course instructors regarding the
nature of the relief within two days of submitting the form. Failure to do so may negate the
opportunity for relief. It is the prerogative of the instructor of the course to determine the
appropriate relief for missed term work in his/her course.
If the value of the component is worth 30% or more, students must report to the APO to discuss
their situation and will be required to provide appropriate supporting documentation.
b)
For absences from classes lasting more than five (5) days
Students cannot use the MSAF. They MUST report to the APO to discuss their situation and
will be required to provide appropriate supporting documentation.
Students who wish to submit more than one request for relief of missed academic work per term
cannot use the MSAF. They must report to the APO and discuss their situation with an academic
advisor. They will be required to provide supporting documentation and possibly meet with the
Manager.
The MSAF cannot be used during any final examination period.
Students unable to write a mid-term at the posted exam time due to the following reasons:
religious; work-related (for part-time students only); representing university at an academic or
varsity athletic event; conflicts between two overlapping scheduled mid-term exams; or other
extenuating circumstances, have the option of applying for special exam arrangements. Please
see the DeGroote Missed Course Work Policy for a list of conflicts that qualify for academic
accommodation
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4AK3 - Fall 2013 Page 6 of 7
http://ug.degroote.mcmaster.ca/forms-and-resources/missed-course-work-policy/
Such requests must be made to the Academic Programs Office at least ten (10) working days
before the scheduled exam along with acceptable documentation. Instructors cannot themselves
allow students to unofficially write make-up exams/tests. Adjudication of the request must be
handled by the Academic Programs Office.
If a mid-term exam is missed without a valid reason, students will receive a grade of zero (0) for
that component.
STUDENT ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES
Student Accessibility Services (SAS) offers various support services for students with
disabilities. Students are required to inform SAS of accommodation needs for course work at the
outset of term. Students must forward a copy of such SAS accommodation to the instructor
normally, within the first three (3) weeks of classes by setting up an appointment with the
instructor. If a student with a disability chooses NOT to take advantage of an SAS
accommodation and chooses to sit for a regular exam, a petition for relief may not be filed after
the examination is complete. The SAS website is:
http://sas.mcmaster.ca
POTENTIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE COURSE
The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the term.
The university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme
circumstances. If either type of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice and
communication with the students will be given with explanation and the opportunity to comment
on changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check their McMaster email and course
websites weekly during the term and to note any changes.
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4AK3 - Fall 2013 Page 7 of 7
Commerce 4AK3
Accounting Information for Decision Making
Fall 2013 Course Schedule
DATE
TOPIC
September 10
FA Ch. 1: Financial Statements and
Business Decisions
FA Ch 2: Investing and Financing
Decisions
FA Ch. 3: Operating Decisions and
Income Statement
September 17
Preparation
Assignment1
E1-3, CP1-5, CP1-6,
CP1-7
Homework
Assignment2
E2-3, E2-6, E2-9,
CP3-7
P1-1, P2-7,
P2-8, P3-6,
P3-8
September 24
FA Chapter 6: Communicating and
Interpreting Accounting Information
October 1
FA Ch. 7: Revenues, Receivables, and
Cash
October 8
FA Ch. 8: Cost of Goods Sold and
Inventory
October 15
FA Ch. 9: Long Lived Assets
FA Ch. 10: Current Liabilities and
Notes Payable
Midterm
P9-6, CP9-7, CP10-9,
CP10-10
MA Ch. 2: Basic Cost Management
MA Ch. 5: Activity-Based Costing and
Management
MA Ch. 6: Activity Analysis, Cost
Behaviour and Cost Estimation
MA Ch. 7: Cost-Volume-Profit
Analysis
TBA
November 19
MA Ch. 9: Profit Planning and
Activity-Based Budgeting
TBA
November 26
MA Ch. 13: Decision Making:
Relevant Costs and Benefits
TBA
October 22
October 29
November 5
November 12
Maple Leaf Foods FSQuestions to be
provided on Avenue
E7-5, E7-13, E7-15,
AP6-2 for
E7-17, P7-1, CP7-7
RONA
2008-2009
E8-2, E8-4, E8-13,
CP8-8
TBA
P7-6, E8-18,
E9-16, E106
Assignment
4- TBA
TBA
1
Assignment
5- TBA
Preparation assignment is due at the beginning of the class. These assignments will be marked for completeness
only and credit will be applied towards participation. Submission of cases for the first class is encouraged, but not
required.
2
Homework assignments are due at the beginning of the following class.
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