BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY
BUS 113a
INTERMEDIATE ACCOUNTING
Spring 2016
Professor: Robert A. Angell
Email: rangell@brandeis.edu
Phone: 866.700.0894
TAs: Sara Pipe-Mazo (sarapm@brandeis.edu
Office hours: T/Th 6:30 – 7:30 pm and by appt.
Office location: Sachar 1D
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will build on Bus 6a (Financial Accounting)by examining in detail the accounting
theory and concepts which form the background for the external financial reporting. Students
will expand their understanding of accounting and evaluate the impact of alternative accounting
procedures on financial statements. Topics covered will include revenue recognition,
accounting changes/errors, inventory measurement and valuation, long lived asset acquisition,
disposition and impairment.
Instruction will be a combination of lectures, case studies , problem solving, and group
presentations. This cours requires a significant amount of out-of-class work as well as working
in groups to prepare for presentations. Problem solving and case studies are very important in
this class since it develops students’ critical thinking and communications skills.
LEARNING GOALS
Upon completion of this course, the students will have a deeper understanding of:
 The environment of financial accounting and reporting, the conceptual framework and
how accounting principles and rules are created.
 The income statement and the balance sheet, earnings management and revenue
recognition
 Time value of money concept and tools to conduct financial analysis of financial
statements
 The individual accountg constituting Assets, or those accounts populating the left-hand
side of the balance sheet
COURSE MATERIALS
Intermediate Accounting, Kieso, Waygandt and Warfield with Wiley Plus Code; Wiley 15th ed.
2014 (Hardcover, Loose Leaf or Digital)
(Link: www.wileyplus.com/class/472224)
Cases may be purchased directly form Harvard Business School Publishing
(Link: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/access/43531345)
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%
20%
35%
15% (Case Study Presentation)
100%
Attendance
Students are expected to attend all classes and be prepared. 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. 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
Academic integrity is central to the mission of educational excellence at Brandeis University. Each
student is expected to turn in work completed independently, except when assignments specifically
authorize collaborative effort. It is not acceptable to use the words or ideas of another person- be it
a world-class philosopher or your lab partner- without proper acknowledgement of that source.
This means that you must use footnotes and quotation marks to indicate the sources of any phrases,
sentences, paragraphs or ideas found in published volumes, on the internet, or created by another
student. Violations of university policies on academic integrity, described in Section 3 of Rights
and Responsibilities, may result in failure in the course or on an assignment, and could end in
suspension from the University. If you are in doubt about the instructions for any assignment in this
course, you must ask for clarification.
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
Date
Day
Topics/Chapters
1/14
Th
Introduction
Chapter 1
CA1-3, 6, 15,17
1/19
T
Conceptual Framework
E2-3, 4, 6, CA2-6
1/21
Th
Accounting Information System
Disclosures
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
(including App
3a and 3b)
1/26
T
Chapter 4
E4-8, P4-1, 7, CA4-2,6
1/28
Th
2/2
T
Chapter 5
(including App
5a)
E5-4, 6, 17. P5-5
2/4
Th
Time Value of Money Concepts
Chapter 6
P6-2, 4, 6, 9, 11
Chapter 18a
E18-1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 14, 24, 25, 26, P18-2
Income Statement and
Comprehensive Income
Income Statement and
Comprehensive Income
Balance Sheet And Earnings
Management
Reading
Assignments (due the next class)
E3-6, 18, P3-2, 8, 11
Balance Sheet And Earnings
Management
Case 1 Microsoft’s Financial
Reporting Strategy
First Examination (Chpts 1-5)
2/9
T
2/11
2/15
to
2/19
2/23
Th
2/25
Th
3/1
T
Case 2 Accounting for iPhone
at Apple Inc.
Revenue Recognition
3/3
Th
Revenue Recogniton
3/8
T
Case 3 Salesforce.com
3/10
Th
Chapter 7
E7-2, 12, 18,27, P7-5, 8, 11
3/15
T
Cash and Receivables
Valuation of Inventories
Cost-Basis
Chapter 8
P8-2, 4, 11
3/17
Th
Inventories: Additional
Valuation Issues
Chapter 9
E9-3, 7, 12, P9-7, 10, 11
3/22
T
Chapter 10
E10-13, 16, 22,P10-1, 4, 6, 8
3/24
Th
3/29
T
Case 4 Compass Box
(Inventory)
Acquisition and Disposition of
Property, Plant & Equipment
(PP&E)
Review Chapters 6-10, 18
3/31
Th
Second Exam (Chpts 6-10, 18)
4/5
T
Depreciation – A Method of
Cost Allocation
Chapter 11
E11-1, 11, 16, 19, P11-1, 7
WINTER BREAK
T
4/7
Th
4/12
T
4/14
Th
4/19
4/22
to
4/29
T
Case 5 Merrimack Tractors
& Mowers, Inc.: LIFO or
FIFO
Intangible Assets
Chapter 12
E12-1, 11, 16, P12-3, 4, 5
Case 6 Delta Cargo (PP&E)
Review
SPRING BREAK
Final Exam – Cumulative (Date and Location TBD )