Course Syllabus BUS 141 P Accounting Contact Details for Professor Instructor: Tel: E-mail: Andreas Rambow, PhD (cand.) 02/614.81.88 andreas.rambow@vub.ac.be Course Description This course combines financial and managerial accounting concepts in a single course and includes a study of the accounting cycles of service organizations and merchandisers. Emphasis is on the analysis and recording process of business transactions and the preparation of financial statements. The course covers also topics in valuation and reporting of assets, liabilities and equity. The second half of the course discusses managerial accounting concepts. Emphasis is placed on analysis of cost behavior, budgeting concepts, standard cost systems and variance analysis, and the use of accounting information to make decisions. Course Prerequisites (if any) None Learning Objectives After this course, you should be able to: 1. identify the fundamental principles of accounting to develop an understanding of basic business transactions 2. identify and analyze basic business transactions and record them in an accounting information system 3. prepare financial statements in the appropriate formats 4. identify and communicate with the different users of accounting and financial information to help facilitate decision making 5. identify and analyze basic business transactions to record in accounting information systems 6. define the characteristics of business entities and their impact on underlying financial transactions 7. identify the interdependency of financial statements through their preparation and analysis 8. employ managerial accounting techniques to communicate financial and accounting information within an organization 9. identify the different users of accounting and financial information to facilitate decision making Course schedule Weeks Topics Week 1: Chapter 1: Introduction to Accounting and Problems as assigned by the Accounting Profession instructor Chapter 2: Financial Statements and Accounting Concepts/Principles Week 2: Chapter 3: Fundamental Interpretations Made from Financial Statement Data Week 3: Chapter 4: The Bookkeeping Process and Problems as assigned by Transaction Analysis instructor Week 4: Chapter 5: Accounting for and Presentation of Current Assets Week 5: Chapter 6: Accounting for and Problems as Presentation of Property, Plant and assigned by Equipment and Other Non-Current Assets instructor Week 6: Chapter 7: Accounting for and Presentation of Liabilities Week 7: Midterm Exam Week 8: Chapter 8: Accounting for and Presentation of Stockholders' Equity Chapter 9: The Income Statement and the Statement of Cash Flows Week 9: Assignment Problems as assigned by instructor Problems as assigned by instructor Problems as assigned by the instructor Problems as assigned by instructor Chapter 11: Financial Statement Analysis Problems as assigned by Chapter 12: Managerial Accounting and instructor Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships Fall Recess: No classes Week 10: Chapter 13: Cost Accounting and Reporting Problems as assigned by instructor Week 11: Chapter 14: Financial Statement Analysis Problems as assigned by instructor Week 12: Chapter 15: Cost Control Problems as assigned by instructor Week 13: Chapter 16: Costs for Decision-Making Problems as assigned by instructor Week 14: Financial Statement Presentations Problems as assigned by instructor Week 15: Final Exam, exact date to be announced Problems as assigned by instructor Course Materials Accounting: What the Numbers Mean, 10/e David H. Marshall, Millikin University (Emeritus) Wayne W. McManus, International College of the Cayman Islands Daniel F. Viele, Webster UniversityTextbook: A hand-held calculator Course Assessment Course Assignments: 1. Weekly Problem Sets………….…………………………10% 2. Short Weekly Quizzes……………………………………20% 3. Midterm Exam………………………………….………..25% 4. Final Exam……………………………………………….25% 5. Financial Statement Analysis Presentation........................20% Grading Scale of Vesalius College Vesalius College grading policy, in line with the Flemish Educational norms, is now as stated follows: Letter grade A AB+ B BC+ C CD+ D F Scale of 20 17.0-20.0 16.1-16.9 15.3-16.0 14.5-15.2 13.7-14.4 13.1-13.6 12.3-13.0 11.5-12.2 10.7-11.4 10.0-10.6 0-9.9 Scale of 100 85-100 81-84 77-80 73-76 69-72 66-68 62-65 58-61 54-57 50-53 0-49 Additional Course Policies 1. This course is demanding and will require a lot of your undivided attention, time and commitment. Please try to read the chapters we are covering in advance, so that you know what we are talking about and are prepared. A student who is not prepared will get much less out of this class. 2. Although attendance is not part of the grade computation for the course, your presence at all class meetings is expected to receive the full grade you have earned. Roll will be taken at each class meeting. Any absence will result in a deduction of one percentage point from your overall course grade. 3. Attendance in this class is required. Roll will be taken randomly at any time during the class meeting. Absences will be reported to your academic advisor for the purpose of following up and further action. Your presence at all class meetings is expected to receive the full grade you have earned. Any absence will result in a deduction of one percentage point from your overall course grade. 3. Academic dishonesty (aka “cheating”) will be reported to the Student Conduct Committee (SCC) for sanctions in accordance with college policy. 4. The use of cell phones and computers in class is not allowed. You are expected to behave professionally during all aspects of the course. Anybody violating this code of conduct will be asked to leave and lose the attendance points for the day. Academic Honesty Statement Academic dishonesty is NOT tolerated in this course. Academic honesty is not only an ethical issue but also the foundation of scholarship. Cheating and plagiarism are therefore serious breaches of academic integrity. Following the College policy, cheating and plagiarism cases will be communicated in writing to the Associate Dean for Students and submitted to the Student Conduct Committee for disciplinary action. If you refer to someone else’s work, appropriate references and citations must be provided. Grammar, spelling and punctuation count, so use the tools necessary to correct before handing in assignments.