LURLEEN B. WALLACE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
ONLINE COURSE SYLLABUS
CONTACT INFORMATION
Instructor Name:
Bernice Donaldson
Campus Location:
MacArthur Campus
Office Location:
Administration Building
Office Phone:
334-493-5324
Office Email:
bdonaldson@lbwcc.edu
Office Hours:
7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Campus Mailing Address:
P.O. Drawer 910
Opp, AL 36467
COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE
BUS 241 Principles of Accounting I
PREREQUISITES
There are no prerequisites for admission to this course
DIVISION AND DEPARTMENT
Business/Computer Science/Personal Services
SEMESTER HOURS CREDIT
Three hours
CATALOG DESCRIPTION
This course is designed to provide a basic theory of accounting principles and practices
used by service and merchandising enterprises. Emphasis is placed on financial
accounting, including the accounting cycle, and financial statement preparation analysis.
TEXTBOOK(S)
Warren Reeve Fess. Financial Accounting Edition 9. South-Western, 2005.
Text includes access to Personal Trainer 4.0 and E-pack (to be used with WebCT and
Tegrity ).
TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS
A. General requirements
 A personal computer (not WebTV) with Windows 2000 or Windows XP
(computer labs are available on all three campuses)
 A VGA (or equivalent) or better monitor
 Reliable Internet access. (If using a dial-up connection, at least 28.8k
modem is recommended. Slower dial-up connections will affect course
performance. If you are an AOL user: You will need AOL version 7.0 or
higher)
 Netscape Navigator/Communicator 7.1 higher or Internet Explorer 6.0
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

or higher
Word processing program such as Microsoft Word 97 or above
(Microsoft Works is not compatible)




A printer connected to the computer
A CD-ROM drive
Sound Card
Most recent versions of plug-ins and viewers. These are free
additions to browsers that allow students to view special course
components such as video, clips, or animations.
B. Course specific requirements
 Excel software
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
Working Papers for exercises and problems
Paper
Floppy disks or USB drive
COURSE OBJECTIVES
CHAPTER ONE: Introduction to Accounting and Business
Upon successful completion of this chapter the student will be able to describe the nature
and the role of accounting in business, the importance of business ethics and summarize
the development of accounting principles; state the accounting equation and define each
element of the equation; explain how business transactions can be stated in terms of the
resulting changes in the basic elements of the accounting equation; describe the financial
statements of proprietorship and explain how they interrelate; and use the ratio of
liabilities to owner’s equity to analyze the ability of a business to withstand poor business
conditions.
CHAPTER TWO: Analyzing Transactions
Upon successful completion of this chapter the student will be able to explain why
accounts are used to record and summarize the effects of transactions on financial
statements; describe the characteristics of an account; list the rules of debit and credit and
the normal balances of accounts; analyze and summarize the financial statement effects
of transactions; prepare a trial balance and explain how it can be used to discover errors;
discover errors in recording transactions and correct them; and use horizontal analysis to
compare financial statements from different periods.
CHAPTER THREE: The Matching Concept and the Adjusting Process
Upon successful completion of this chapter the student will be able to explain how the
matching concept relates to the accrual basis of accounting; explain why adjustments are
necessary and list the characteristics of adjusting entries; journalize entries for accounts
requiring adjustment; summarize the adjustment process and prepare an adjusted trial
balance; and use vertical analysis to compare financial statement items with each other
and with industry averages.
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CHAPTER FOUR: Completing the Accounting Cycle
Upon successful completion of this chapter the student will be able to review the seven
basic steps of the accounting cycle; prepare a work sheet; prepare financial statements
from a work sheet; prepare the adjusting and closing entries from a work sheet; explain
what is meant by the fiscal year and the natural business year; and analyze and interpret
the financial solvency of a business by computing working capital and the current ratio.
CHAPTER FIVE: Accounting Systems and Internal Controls
Upon successful completion of this chapter the student will be able to define an
accounting system and describe its implementation; list the three objectives of internal
control, and define and give examples of the five elements of internal control; journalize
and post transactions in a manual accounting system that uses subsidiary ledgers and
special journals; describe and give examples of additional subsidiary ledgers and
modified special journals; apply computerized accounting to the revenue and collection
cycle; and describe the basic features of e-commerce.
CHAPTER SIX: Accounting for Merchandising Businesses
Upon successful completion of this chapter the student will be able to distinguish the
activities of a service business from those of a merchandising business; describe and
illustrate the financial statements of a merchandising business; describe the accounting
for the sale of merchandise, and for the purchase of merchandise; describe the accounting
for transportation costs, sales taxes, and trade discounts; illustrate the dual nature of
merchandising transactions; prepare a chart of accounts for a merchandising business;
describe the accounting cycle; and compute the ratio of net sales to assets as a measure of
how effectively a business is using its assets.
CHAPTER SEVEN: Cash
Upon successful completion of this chapter the student will be able to describe the nature
of cash and the importance of internal control over cash; summarize basic procedures for
achieving internal control over cash receipts, cash payments, including the use of a
voucher system; describe the nature of a bank account and its use in controlling cash;
prepare a bank reconciliation and journalize any necessary entries; account for small cash
transactions using a petty cash fund; summarize how cash is presented on the balance
sheet; and compute and interpret the ratio of cash to current liabilities.
CHAPTER EIGHT: Receivables
Upon successful completion of this chapter the student will be able to list the common
classifications of receivables; summarize and provide examples of internal control
procedures that apply to receivables; describe the nature of and the accounting for
uncollectible receivables; journalize the entries for the allowance method of accounting
for uncollectibles, and estimate uncollectible receivables based on sales and on an
analysis of receivables; journalize the entries for the direct write-off of uncollectible
receivables; describe the nature and characteristics of promissory notes; journalize the
entries for notes receivable transactions; prepare the current assets presentation of
receivables on the balance sheet; and compute and interpret the accounts receivable
turnover and the number of days’ sales in receivables.
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ONLINE TEACHING METHODS
A variety of teaching methods and student involvement exercises will be utilized to
address different learning styles.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
In a Web class students are still expected to accept responsibility for covering the
assigned material and completing assignments on time. The student is responsible for
keeping pace with the assignment calendar. This requires a mature attitude and selfdiscipline.
Students are expected to attend all classes for which they are registered. Students who are
unable to attend class regularly, regardless of the reason or circumstance, should
withdraw from that class before poor attendance interferes with the student's ability to
achieve the objectives required in the course.
Tracking of student activity and performance will be conducted approximately every two
weeks.
WITHDRAWAL
Refer to the College catalog page 31
EVALUATION PROCEDURES FOR ONLINE STUDENTS
There are many available resources for this course. The homepage contains icons or links
to the different resources. In the Contents section, you will find access to eLectures,
exercise demos, problems, illustrative problems and practice quizzes that will be graded
for you. Your eLectures and illustrative problems are provided for you in Flash,
providing auditory and visual learning styles. You will find these very helpful in
understanding the concepts in each chapter. The Personal Trainer is provided for you to
enter your answers to the exercises and problems, after you have completed them in your
working papers. You will have the assigned exercises and problems marked with the
letter "R". As you complete the exercises and problems they will be graded immediately
for you. The Working Papers that you were asked to purchase will provide you with the
necessary papers to actually work the problems before submitting them for the grade. The
assignments section will state your reading assignments, as well as other assignments.
Grading Procedure
Personal Trainer You will receive a grade in the assigned exercises and problems in the
Personal Trainer. Remember, you need to complete your working papers before
submitting your work in the Personal Trainer. Your participation in submitting your work
on time will be your proof of attendance. Exercises and problems in Personal Trainer will
be 5% of your final grade.
Written Exercises There will be written exercises designed to help sharpen your
communication skills. If you can express a concept in writing, you will prove that you
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understand that concept. You will be asked to respond to specific questions that probe
your knowledge of issues relating to accounting. The questions are designed to be
completed in one to three minutes. You will have a time limit on your responses. Your
participation in submitting your work on time will be your proof of attendance. Written
exercises will count 5% of your final grade.
Class Interaction Communication is essential in this course. You will participate in
discussion boards or forums and we will have group interaction on one graded project.
You will be able to communicate with your classmates via chat rooms and email, as well
as phones. Your participation in submitting your work on time will be your proof of
attendance and will count 5% of your final grade.
Chapter Quizzes You will take a timed quiz at the end of each chapter. Please do not try
to take your quiz before completing and submitting your assignments for the chapter.
You need a full understanding of the concepts before taking your quizzes. Your
participation in submitting your work on time will be your proof of attendance and will
count 35% of your final grade.
Midterm and Final Exam You will take a midterm online but your final exam must be
taken on campus. These exams will represent 50% of the final grade. If you are unable
to take the final exam on campus you will have to secure an approved proctor off
campus. It is your responsibility to secure a proctor. A list of approved proctors will be
provided for you, if you are unable to attend campus.
MAKE-UP POLICY
Since this is an online course, there is ample opportunity to complete the work at your
convenience. All assignments have due dates which must be met. Failure to complete
quizzes will result in a grade of zero. Make-up of quizzes will be allowed only in
situations of emergency. Always contact the instructor if you anticipate difficulty
meeting a deadline.
LATE WORK
It is very important that you submit your work on or before the assigned dates. Points
will be deducted from your grade as a result of late submissions.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Students are expected to follow the Student Code of Conduct as described in the current
College catalog (pages 162-164). Cheating and plagiarism violate these standards and
may result in disciplinary action, including expulsion.
POLICY ON REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH
DISABILITIES
Lurleen B. Wallace Community College complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Programs, services, and
meetings conducted by the College will be accessible to all people who desire to attend.
If you have a disability that might require special materials, services, or assistance, or if
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you have any questions relating to accessibility, please contact the ADA Coordinator on
the respective campuses. For TDD users in Alabama, the Alabama Relay Center is
available by calling 1-800-548-2546. All materials related to compliance with the
Americans with Disabilities Act are maintained by the college coordinators.
Andalusia Campus
Bridges Anderson
334-881-2247
Greenville Campus
Dr. Jean Thompson
334-382-2133 ext. 3102
MacArthur Campus
Jason Cain
334-493-3573 ext. 5363
OTHER
Additional course information may be announced by the instructor, and the instructor
may make changes to this syllabus.
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