ACCT101
Financial Accounting G1, G2, G3, G14
Course Outline 2013/2014 Term 1
A. Instructor and Contact Information
Sung Gon CHUNG
Level 4 Room 4021,
School of Accountancy
Singapore Management University
Singapore 178900
Tel:
(65) 6828-0262
Fax:
(65) 6828-0600
Email: sgchung@smu.edu.sg
Consultation times: Friday 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Teaching Assistant:
G1 and G2: CHIA Wei Qi weiqi.chia.2011@economics.smu.edu.sg
G3 and G14: Edmund TAN Kaien edmund.tan.2012@business.smu.edu.sg
B. Course Prerequisites: None
C. Course Description
This course provides students with a basic understanding of accounting as “the language of business”.
It introduces students to the basic concepts, principles, procedures and approaches underlying the
accounting process. This basic understanding facilitates the interpretation of financial information,
which is necessary for making business decisions.
D. Learning Goals, Course Objectives and Skill Developments
This course contributes to the development of the following learning goals:
o LO1.1
Our students can recognize, develop, measure, record, validate and communicate
financial and other related information.
o LO1.2
Our students can analyze, synthesize and evaluate financial and other related
information for decision making in a management context.
o LO2.3
Our students can communicate effectively in a business context.
o LO3.1
Our students understand and can apply the ethical principles relevant to accounting
professionals.
E. Learning Approach (optional)
The pedagogical approach to this course consists of three interlocking elements:
Instructor-facilitated Learning: Facilitation, Clarification, Synthesis
Individual Learning: Preparation, Analysis, Action
Collaborative Learning: Teamwork, Discussion, Sharing
The role of the instructor is to facilitate, provide clarification of critical concepts, not to read out pages
of the textbook to you. Often, it is important to be able to see the “trees from the forests” and
synthesise on why certain things matters are just as important as how specific processes/procedures
are performed.
ACCT101 – Financial Accounting AY2013/2014 G1, G2, G3, G14 Term 1
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Students are reminded that their individual contribution to learning starts before class. Students should
prepare by pre-reading, analysing the materials/tasks/cases to be covered before coming to class and
actively participate in class discussions. Preparation is the prerequisite for analysis which will allow
you to take action in your individual learning.
Collaborative learning elements are developed through your contribution to your classmates learning
experiences, either through teamwork in your group project or other assigned tasks, and being willing
to contribute to class discussions and share your findings and work so others will benefit. Naturally,
your individual preparation, analysis and action will determine how much you are able to contribute to
collaborative learning.
F. Textbook and Other Resources
Primary Text: Harrison, Horngren, Thomas and Suwardy (2014), Financial Accounting: International
Financial Reporting Standards, 9th edition, Pearson
Case Book: Suwardy (2010), Understanding Financial Statements: A Case-Based Approach, Pearson
Prentice-Hall
FA Learning Objects: Suwardy (2006), numerous e-learning resources is available in SMU e-learn
There are numerous basic financial accounting books in the library that you can further consult for
additional references. You may require access to www.asc.gov.sg for selected insights into applicable
accounting standards. In addition, a good summary of accounting standards (“IFRS in Your Pocket
2009”) is available from IASPLUS http://www.iasplus.com/dttpubs/pocket2009.pdf. Whilst you will not be
expected to know all accounting standards in any great detail in your first financial accounting course,
you should have an appreciation of the relevant accounting standards covered in this course (see
Detailed Course Work Plan in Annex 2).
Advice on Using Your Textbook
Read the chapters to learn rather than just to get through them
Do not get discouraged if you initially find some material challenging to learn
Think of reading as the initial stage of studying
G. Lesson Plan
Please include a generic lesson plan (either a topic list like below, or a week-by-week plan), which you
can subsequently elaborate in later parts of your document, either in this section or as an appendix. The
example below uses an abridged lesson plan, with detailed course plan in the Annex.
Class sessions are of 3-hour duration and will include a review of study materials, class discussions and
other learning activities. Course materials will be published in SMU e-learn (http://elearn.smu.edu.sg).
A brief outline of course schedule is provided below. A detailed course work plan is available in Annex 2.
Cash and Receivables
Financial Statements and Annual Reports
PPE (Property, Plant and Equipment) and
Recording Business Transactions
Intangibles
Processing Accounting Information
Liabilities
Completing Accounting Cycle
Owners’ Equity and Income Statement
Financial Statement Analysis
Cash Flow Statement
Merchandising Operations and Inventory
ACCT101 – Financial Accounting AY2013/2014 G1, G2, G3, G14 Term 1
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H. Assessment
To pass the course, students are required to obtain a TOTAL mark of 50% or better. The assessment
components are listed below:
Components
1. Class Activities:
Homework, Case write-up, Pop Quizzes, and
Participation
Weight
17%
2. Progress Assessment
Formal quizzes
18%
3. Assignments - Group Project
15%
4. Final Exam
Sum
50%
100%
A+
A
A-
>=86 %
83-85%
80-82%
B+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
F
77-79%
74-76%
70-73%
66-69%
63-65%
60-62%
53-59%
50-52%
<=49%
Additional explanation:
Class activities (17%)
- Homework and case write-up (for the cases you do not present) (10%)
- Pop Quizzes and Class Participation (7%)
Progress Assessment (18%)
- Quizzes (formal): 3 formal quizzes in class.
Assignments (15%):
- Group Project: A typed report and an oral presentation.
Final exam (50%)
- The final examination is a closed-book, of 3 (three) hours duration and covers the entire course.
More details to be announced in class and SMU e-learn.
No make-up exam or quiz will be given except for medical reasons supported by proper
documentation. If a student cannot take a formal quiz for a medical reason, the final exam score
will be applied to the missing quiz. For example, a student cannot take the second mid-term for a
medical reason, and get 80 in the final exam, then 80 will be recorded as the second mid-term score.
I. Course Policy
1. The general approach of this course is lecture, problem-solving, and discussion of cases relevant to
the topic. Students who read the chapter ahead of attending class will benefit most from the class
presentation.
2. Homework Assignment: When a reasonable amount of efforts are thought to be exerted, two points
per problem will be given. One point per problem will be given to the homework which shows
obviously minimal efforts (jotting down several lines). Zero point for not solving the problem.
Due dates for the homework are given in the Annex 1.
All the homework should be submitted before the start of the class. For example, week 2
assignments should be submitted before I start the week 2 lecture. All the homework
submitted after the start of the class will be considered late homework.
Late homework will be accepted up until the day of the relevant quiz, but will only receive halfACCT101 – Financial Accounting AY2013/2014 G1, G2, G3, G14 Term 1
Page 3
credit.
Assigned homework must be hand-written. Any printed copy will not be accepted.
(Assignment changes and announcements may be made in class or SMU e-learn and it is the sole
responsibility of the students to find out what has been announced during their absence from class).
3. Classroom Behavior and Participation: Maintaining proper discipline and conducting yourself in a
responsible manner are of utmost importance for not only this course but also for your own personal
development. At the same time, students are encouraged to raise questions and to participate in the
class as well as in the tutorials. A part of the course grade would be allocated to class participation
and discipline. You will get participation points by providing constructive feedbacks.
There are several specific behavioral codes for this class: 1) Absolutely NO CELLPHONE (including
SMS), 2) Prudent use of notebook computer (you may use notebook computer only for class related
purpose), 3) Obtain permission from the professor for absence of the class in advance.
PUT YOUR NAME CARD IN THE TABLE so that I can cold-call you easily. If you don’t put your
name card, I will not ask a question. If you don’t get any question, your participation score will be low.
4. Pop Quizzes: Whenever I feel necessary and time allows, a few exercise problems will be given in
the class. Students are supposed to solve and submit them in the class.
DON’T BE LATE FOR THE CLASS. A pop quiz can be given at the start of the class. Late students
will not be given an opportunity to solve the quiz.
As in homework problems grading, the pop quizzes are not graded on the correctness of the
answers but on effort. Grades will be ‘0’ or ‘1’ or ‘2.’ If you don’t solve some part of the quiz, you will
get 1. If you don’t submit them on time, no credit will be given.
5. Quizzes (formal): Three formal quizzes for progress assessment will be given in class. Only two
quizzes will be counted. One quiz with the lowest score will not be counted.The evaluation of the
formal quizzes will be based on the correctness of the answers.
6. Group Project: You are to form a group of 5 or 6 members for the group project. If you have a
specific group of students you want to work with for these assignments, please let your TA
know by the end of the 4th week. Otherwise, students will be randomly assigned into groups. Cases
will be randomly assigned to groups. The details of the group case work are presented in the Annex.
Report (10%)
- Both hardcopy and electronic copy of the report (in .doc file format) should be submitted/emailed
to the instructor before the presentation. It should be typed double-spaced on A4 size papers,
with 1 inch margin and minimum font size of 12. The pages should strictly utilized as follows.
(a) Page 1
Cover sheet: contain the title of your report, your section number, the names of the
team members, and the name of your instructor. Title of your report is the title of the case with
case number
(b) Page 2-9
Main body. Pages for this part can be less.
(c) Pages 10+
References and Appendices. There is no page limit for the references and
appendices
-
In the main body of the report you need to address all of the questions for the case. However, you
can decide the format and the order of answers.
-
You can provide a quick overview (up to one page) of the company and industry at the beginning
of the main body of your report. If there are more than two companies in your case, skip the
overview part.
-
You are welcomed to use other sources of information (e.g. company’s website, press releases,
newspaper clippings, etc) but they must be clearly cited, referenced and noted. Indicate where
ACCT101 – Financial Accounting AY2013/2014 G1, G2, G3, G14 Term 1
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possible the section(s) of the annual report or other source(s) which provide(s) the information.
9
9
9
9
9
I am looking for
Sufficient level and depth of analysis.
Use of appropriate benchmarks to make judgement.
Appropriate use of summary tables, charts, figures, appendices, etc to illustrate your points.
Good, clean, and consistent formatting, appropriate spacing, consistency of styles, and good
English expressions, adherence to grammar and sentence structure.
Properly-cited references that demonstrate an attempt to learn beyond the course materials.
Grades are based on the following criterion (out of 20 points):
19-20 marks: truly exceptional report exceeding expectation of having only done a “first course in
financial accounting”,
17-18 marks: excellent report, meeting significant majority of the above requirements,
14-16 marks: good effort, meeting most of the above requirements,
11-13 marks: commendable attempt, but lacking in some areas,
0-10 marks: extremely poor effort.
Presentation (5%)
- The electronic copy of the presentation (in .ppt file format) should be emailed to the instructor
before the presentation. You will have 30 minutes of time. However, the presentation itself
should aim at 20 minutes to accommodate 10 minutes Q&A. Your fellow audiences are
encouraged to ask questions during the presentation.
-
Not everyone in the group needs to present. Actually, it is best to keep it under three people. Also,
you need not cover all of the questions in your presentation.
-
If some case questions include some Accounting jargons which are not covered in the class, the
presenting group should explain them in the class. If you do not explain those jargons properly, I
will ask you to explain them when you present.
-
Presentation will be graded by students. Grades of 0-5 will be given by your peers after the
presentation based on time control, presentation skills, content, and interaction with audiences.
Any individual grade lower than 3 needs to be justified by a statement and are subject to my
adjustment.
It is important to participate in the group works equally. To prevent free-riders, the scores will be
adjusted based on peer evaluation within each group.
Students who do not present are also to answer one or two case questions which are provided
in the Annex 2 (Maximum length a half page for each case). This individual case write-up will be
graded on the basis of effort as in homework problems grading (0, 1, or 2 points). The questions you
have to answer are in the annex 3.
Students will be given a chance to ask a few questions at the end of the presentation to make sure
the presenting group clearly understands what they are presenting.
7. Email Policy: You should understand that the material in this course does not lend itself to being
explained very well via email. A visit during my office hours would prove more beneficial to you.
8. Course Schedule: The tentative course schedule is given on the last page of this course outline and
also on SMU e-learn. All contents covered in the textbook will be taught and tested in the exam unless
the very specific exclusions are declared.
9. Course Homepage: Make sure you are familiar with SMU e-learn where our course homepage
parks, and check the course homepage regularly in order not to miss important announcements.
10. General comments: I strongly encourage you to discuss with me any problems that you may have
with this course as soon as they arise. Please do not allow problems to accumulate because it will be
ACCT101 – Financial Accounting AY2013/2014 G1, G2, G3, G14 Term 1
Page 5
more difficult to solve them later. In this course, each chapter builds on the previous chapters. It is
like constructing a building – the foundation first, then the ground floor, then the first floor so on. If you
have problems in the earlier parts, you will not be able to understand the later parts. Moreover, the
level of difficulty increases as we progress. It is much easier to get high marks in the earlier quizzes,
but it would be difficult to get even a decent grade in the final exam. Hence, it is very important to be
serious with your studies right from the beginning.
Academic Integrity
“All acts of academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication,
facilitation of acts of academic dishonesty by others, unauthorized possession of exam
questions, or tampering with the academic work of other students) are serious offences. All
work (whether oral or written) submitted for purposes of assessment must be the student’s own
work. Penalties for violation of the policy range from zero marks for the component
assessment to expulsion, depending on the nature of the offense. When in doubt, students
should consult the instructors of the course. Details on the SMU Code of Academic Integrity
may be accessed at http://www.smuscd.org/resources.html.”
Prepared by: Sung Gon Chung, 19/07/2013
Approved by: Associate Dean, Seow Poh Sun, 5 August 2013
ACCT101 – Financial Accounting AY2013/2014 G1, G2, G3, G14 Term 1
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Annex 1: Detailed Course Work Plan [The following schedule is tentative. It WILL change
depending on the pace of the class]
Week
1
2
3
4
Topic
Introduction and
Ch.1 Conceptual Framework and Financial
Statement
Ch.2 Recording Business Transactions
Ch.2 Recording Business Transactions
(Remainder)
Ch.3 Accrual Accounting
Ch.3. Accrual Accounting (Remainder)
Ch.7 PPE & Intangibles
Ch.5 Internal Control, Cash, and
Receivables (Receivables only)
Homework Assignments
S1-14, E1-17A, E1-18A, E1-20A, E1-21A, E122A, E1-24A, E1-25A
S2-3, S2-6, S2-7, S2-9, S2-12, E2-15A, E220A, E2-21A,
S3-1, S3-5, S3-8, S3-10,S3-11, S3-14, S3-16, ,
E3-18A, E3-26A, E3-29A, E3-43A,
1st Quiz (formal)
Ch.6 Inventory & Inventory and
Merchandising operations
S7-4, S7-5, S7-6, S7-8, S7-10, S7-12, E7-22A,
S5-11, P5-67A
6
Ch.9 Liabilities (including Appendix B;
excluding Leases)
S6-4, S6-5, S6-7, S6-11, S6-12, E6-19A,
Pre: PC-3, PC-5 (P. 834),
7
Ch.9 Liabilities (Remainder)
S9-3, S9-6, S9-7, S9-11
5
nd
2
Quiz (formal)
Recession Week, No Class
Have a good vacation
9
Ch.10 Shareholders’ Equity
E9-21A, E9-24A, E9-30A, P9-73A
10
Ch.11 The Statement of Cash Flow
11
Ch.12 Financial Statement Analysis
(Excluding EVA)
Ch.4 Presentation of Financial Statement
S10-5, S10-6, S10-8, S10-10, S10-13, S10-16,
S10-17, E10-27A, E10-55,
S11-5, S11-6, S11-7, S11-8, S11-9, S11-11,
S11-12, E11-22A, E11-26A,
12
3rd Quiz (formal)
Ch.5 Internal Control & Cash (Bank
Reconciliation only)
S12-12, S12-13, Case write-up
Group 1 Case Presentation
Group 2 Case Presentation
Group 3 Case Presentation
Group 4 Case Presentation
S5-6, S5-11, Case write-up
13
Group 5 Case Presentation
Group 6 Case Presentation
Group 7 Case Presentation
14
Self-review of the course and preparation for N.A.
the final exam, No class
Final Exam
Details to be announced
ACCT101 – Financial Accounting AY2013/2014 G1, G2, G3, G14 Term 1
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Annex 2: Case questions
Week
Cases& topics
Case presenting
groups
Students
who do not
present
Q9
12
1st Case Presentation
(Case 01; Reading an
annual report)
Q 1, 4, 8, 9
12
Case 10 Receivables
and cash conversion
cycle
Q 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
(Explain "average
resident period" and
"average payment
period")
Q3
12
Case 06 Capitalization
decisions
Q 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
Q6
12
Case 12 Property,
plant and equipment
Q 1, 2, 3, 5 (Explain
why Malaysia Airline's
PPE percentage is so
low compared to those
of other companies)
Q3
13
Case 09; Balance
sheet compositions
Q 1, 2, 3, 4 (Explain
"the balance sheet
presentation
requirements of FRS1")
Q1
13
Case 14 Loans and
Borrowings (SingTel,
CapitaLand, and
Keppel)
Q 2,3,4,5
Q 4
13
Case 16; Share capital
and equity transactions
Q 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (Explain
"cancelation of shares"
and "right issue")
Q2
13
Case 17; Cash flows
Q 1, 2, 3, 4 (Explain
each ratio in the
question 4)
Q2
Group
1
Group
2
Group
3
Annex 3: Suggested problems
P1-58A, P1-59A, P1-61A, P2-61A, P2-62A, P2-64A, P3-62A, P3-63A, P3-64A, P3-66A, P5-69A, P7-62A,
P7-64A, P7-67A, P6-61A, P6-64A, P9-75A, P10-76A, P10-77A, P10-78A, P10-80A, P11-60A, P11-61A,
P12-53A, P12-55A
ACCT101 – Financial Accounting AY2013/2014 G1, G2, G3, G14 Term 1
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