Louisiana Tech University
Accounting 494
Foundations in Accounting
Winter 2015
Instructor: Dr. Andrea Drake
Office: 302 College of Business
Office Phone: (318) 257-2822
E-mail: adrake@latech.edu
Office hours: M-F 8:00 am
– 10:00 am and by appointment
Course Resources

Moodle Website: ACCT 494-084
– Winter 2015. Please check this site frequently for announcements or additional class materials.

Electronic Textbook: Financial and Managerial Accounting: The Basis for
Business Decisions, 16 th edition (Williams, Haka, Bettner and Carcello) published by McGraw-Hill.

McGraw-Hill Connect
– an electronic, interactive program that you can use to do suggested homework exercises and take exams.
Course Objectives and Content
This course will cover topics in both financial and managerial accounting that will serve as a foundation for successful completion of Accounting 505. The underlying focus will be on how to use and interpret accounting information, rather than how to produce it.
Primary objectives include:
1. Developing an understanding of how various transactions affect a firm’s financial statements and a working knowledge of the accounting cycle.
2. How to classify and analyze costs for decision making including cost-volumeprofit analysis and non-operating decisions.
Secondary objectives will include topics such as the analysis of specific balance sheet accounts, how various cost systems are designed, budgeting and variance analysis. Specific learning objectives are listed for each chapter covered.
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Grading
Given that this course is designed to provide you with background skills and information, grading is on a pass/fail basis. There is a 20 question multiple choice exam for each of the five course modules. To pass the course, you must score at least 70% on each of these five exams. You may take each exam up to three times and your highest score will be the one used for assessment purposes. You may take the exams in any order, however given that much of the material builds on and extends previous topics, it’s recommended that you take them in the order given.
Exams will be taken electronically via Connect. All exams are multiple choice and instructions are on the Connect site.
You may use your notes and the book for exams, but I recommend that you study for the exams with the intention of not having to use these resources. Again, the material covered in this course should become part of your “background knowledge”, meaning you do not need to look it up once you move on to the next course.
You must pass each of the five module exams no later than 12:00 pm on Tuesday,
March 3rd!
Enhancing your course experience (i.e. homework)
Suggested textbook reading and problem assignments are listed in the following table.
You will get the greatest benefit from this course if you study and work problems in short, regular sessions. Each module is meant to be completed in approximately 1 – 2 weeks. Although the homework assignments are not required to pass the course, they will greatly improve your understanding and I strongly urge you to do as much of each assignment as you can. As noted above, the majority of material covered on the module exams will be based on the homework exercises. To help facilitate your home study, you have access to an interactive electronic system called McGraw-Hill
“CONNECT” . This program allows you to work on problems and get immediate feedback and/or hints. It is tied to the electronic textbook. To access CONNECT, do the following:

Go to the fo llowing Web address and click the “register now” button: http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/class/a_drake_online_section
You will need to enter an e-mail address and follow the instructions to purchase
CONNECT Plus, which gives you the CONNECT functions plus access to the electronic textbook. If you would like a hard copy of the textbook, you can find new and used copies on many textbook websites or contact the bookstore on campus.
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
The first time you access the system, you will have to enter your student pass code (i.e. the 20 digit number) that came with your CONNECT Plus purchase and enter some basic data. This is done by clicking on the “register as a student” line that appears in the textbook picture. Once you have selected a username and password, you will be able to click on any assignment listed and work problems at your convenience.
I also encourage you to work with other students if you have questions on any of the material. A convenient way to ask questions is to use the discussion forum in our
Moodle site.
Accommodations for students with disabilities
Qualified students needing accommodations based on a disability are encouraged to make their requests to me at the beginning of the quarter via e-mail. Note: prior to receiving disability accommodations, verification of eligibility from the Testing and
Disability Services Office is needed. Disability information is confidential. Information for Testing and Disability Services may be obtained in Wyly Tower 318 or www.latech.edu/ods .
Academic Honor Code
In accordance with the Academic Honor Code, students pledge the following: Being a student of higher standards, I pledge to embody the principles of academic integrity.
The Academic Honor Code can be accessed at: http://www.latech.edu/documents/honor-code.pdf
Emergency Notification System
All Louisiana Tech students are strongly encouraged to enroll and update their contact information in the Emergency Notification System. It takes just a few seconds to ensure you’re able to receive important text and voice alerts in the event of a campus emergency. For more information on the Emergency Notification System, please visit http://www.latech.edu/administration/ens.shtml
.
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Suggested Reading and Problem Assignments
Note: BE = Brief Exercise; E = Exercise; P = Problem
Module
Number
1
2
3
Reading Assignment and Homework Problems
Primary Learning Objectives Note: the numbers below refer to corresponding textbook problem numbers. Connect assignment numbers are 1, 2, 3 etc. For example: BE1.2 = #1 in
Homework Assignment 1 in Connect.
Chapters 1 and 2
*General Accounting Terminology
*Elements of Internal Control
*Effects of Transactions on Financial Stmts.
Homework Assignment 1
BE1.2, BE1.9, E1.7, E1.8, BE2.3, BE2.4,
BE2.6, E2.6, E2.13, E2.17, P2.6A, P2.9A
Complete Module 1 Exam
Chapters 3, 4 and 5
*The accounting cycle
*Principles of accrual accounting
*Preparing vs. using financial stmts.
Complete Module 2 Exam
Homework Assignment 2
BE3.3, BE3.5, BE3.7, E3.9, P3.3A, P3.7A,
BE4.2, E4.2, E4.4, E4.10, P4.2A, BE5.8, E5.2
Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11
*Valuing assets on the Balance Sheet
*Analyzing accounts receivable
*Determining inventories and Cost of Goods Sold
*Effects of Depreciation on the Balance Sheet
*Evaluating Liabilities
*Understanding Equity Transactions
Complete Module 3 Exam
Homework Assignment 3
BE7.5, BE7.6, E7.5, E7.15, BE8.1, BE8.2,
BE8.3, BE8.9, E8.1, BE9.3, BE9.5, BE9.7,
BE9.8, BE10.7, E10.4, BE11.2, BE11.4,
BE11.8, BE11.9
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4
5
Chapter 16, 20 and 21
*Understanding the difference between internal and external accounting
*Using cost-volume-profit analysis effectively
*Analyzing non-routine operating decisions
Homework Assignment 4
E16.9, E16.12, E16.13, E16.15, BE20.3,
BE20.5, BE20.6, E20.1, E20.9, BE21.4,
BE21.9, E21.1, E21.4, E21.6, E21.12
Complete Module 4 Exam
Chapters 17, 23 and 24
*Basics of cost systems (Job-order costing)
*Implications of overhead allocation
*Activity-based cost systems
*Costs and Benefits of Budgeting
*Evaluating operations via variance analysis
Homework Assignment 5
BE17.4, BE17.10, E17.1, E17.2, E17.5,
BE23.3, E23.1, E23.9, E24.1, E24.6, E24.8,
E24.13
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