ACIS 2116
SSpprriinngg 22001166
Principles of
Managerial Accounting
Virginia Tech
Section 1. The objective of this course is to teach students the following:
1.1
The nature and purpose of managerial accounting. Managerial accounting differs
from financial accounting because managerial accounting is used to help
managers plan and control the operations of the firm.
1.2
The types of reports and information that managers need to make decisions.
1.3
The concepts underlying the measurements used in managerial accounting.
1.4
The importance of ethics and professional integrity.
Section 2. Course Prerequisites: You must have received credit for ACIS 2115 in
order to take this course. If you have not received credit for ACIS 2115, you will be
dropped from ACIS 2116.
Section 3. Required Course Materials:
Introduction to Managerial Accounting, 7th edition, by Brewer, Garrison and Noreen
(McGraw-Hill Education, 2016).
Access code for Connect Accounting – This access code is needed in order to complete
the homework assignments online. If a textbook is purchased at a bookstore on or near
campus, the textbook may be bundled with a Connect Accounting access code. If your
textbook does not come with a Connect Accounting access code, the access code can be
purchased for $125.00. To register for Connect and/or purchase access to Connect, you
must go to a specific web address that will be given to you by your instructor. You must
go to that specific web address in order to register for the correct section. When you
purchase access to Connect separately you will also be purchasing access to the ebook.
iClicker – iClickers will be used to take attendance and answer in-class questions.
Simple, non-programmable, 4 or 5 function calculator – Students may only use simple,
non-programmable, 4 or 5 function calculators during exams. Students may NOT use
graphing, financial, scientific and/or programmable calculators during exams.
ACIS 2116 Syllabus Spring 2015
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Section 4. Grading:
4.1 Grades are based entirely on your performance on the items listed in the box below.
Homework
Attendance/In-class Participation
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3
Final Exam
Total
Percent of
Grade
10%
6%
21%
21%
21%
21%
100%
4.2 Final grades will be determined based on the following standard scale. There is NO
guarantee that final grades will be curved.
A
93% and above
A-
90% – 92%
B+
87% - 89%
B
83% - 86%
B-
80% - 82%
C+
77% - 79%
C
73% - 76%
C-
70% - 72%
D+
67% - 69%
D
63% - 66%
D-
60% - 62%
F
0% – 59%
Note: All sections of ACIS 2116 are graded based on the same scale.
Section 5. Important Information:
5.1 This course is coordinated by Dr. Easterwood. Dr. Easterwood prepares all the
exams. If you have questions, you may contact her by email at cmeast@vt.edu or by
phone at 231-7920.
5.2 This course is a difficult course. Unlike other courses you may have taken, you
cannot get by with simply reading the lecture notes and/or listening to the lecture.
This is a course where students must study and must PRACTICE applying the
concepts learned in class. If you merely read the book and listen to the comments
made in class, you might think you understand the material but when it comes time to
work a problem on a test you won’t know how to do it. You must work problems and
exercises in order to do well in this class. Learning accounting is a lot like learning
ACIS 2116 Syllabus Spring 2015
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how to drive. Simply reading an instruction manual for how to drive does not enable
you to go out on the highway by yourself. You have to practice. Ideally, you should
read the textbook before coming to class, think about what is covered in class, and
then practice working problems and exercises after class.
5.4 Do not wait until the day before the exam to ask for help! If you have trouble
understanding the material and/or the homework problems ask your instructor for
help during office hours or set up an appointment with your instructor.
5.5 Grades are not negotiable. As mentioned in Section 3 above, your grade for the
class is based solely on your performance on exams and homework. The course
coordinator in conjunction with your instructor will determine your final grade.
Making the following statements to your instructor either verbally or in writing will
not result in your receiving a higher grade: (Assume that X is the grade you
want/need.)
i. I studied a large number of hours therefore I deserve a grade of “X”,
ii. I have never made a grade below an “X” before.
iii. I need a grade of “X” in order to...keep my scholarship, get off academic
probation, proceed with the rest of my course work, graduate, prevent my parents
from hurting me, etc.
iv. If I receive a grade below an “X” my GPA will go down.
Section 6. Policy on Extra Credit:
NO extra credit assignments are given in this course. There are no exceptions to this
policy.
Section 7. Scholar:
Information about the course including the syllabus, tentative schedule, and instructor’s
office hours can be found on Scholar.
Section 8. Examinations:
8.0 There will be three midterm exams and a final exam. The exams will consist of
objective questions. These objective questions may include multiple choice,
matching, and true/false questions.
8.1 Midterm exams will be given from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm on the following dates:
Exam 1: Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Exam 2: Thursday, March 24, 2016
Exam 3: Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Room assignments for the exams will be announced in class at a later date and will
be posted on Scholar.
8.2 Note the date and time for each exam. If you have a regularly scheduled class
which conflicts with the exams, you MUST send an email to the course coordinator
requesting an alternate time. In your email, you must specify the name of the
conflicting course, the time it is held, and who your ACIS 2116 instructor is. The
course coordinator is Dr. Easterwood and her email is cmeast@vt.edu. You must
send this email within the first two weeks of the semester—by January 29. After
January 29 changes will be made ONLY for documented emergencies and illness.
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8.3 Makeup exams will ONLY be given if you are taking another class that meets during
the scheduled exam time, you are a Virginia Tech athlete and you have a required
athletic event on the exam date, or you have a documented family emergency or
medical condition. Medical conditions or other circumstances that cause a student to
miss a scheduled exam must be documented and approved by the Dean of Students
Office or the College of Business Undergraduate Office in Pamplin 1046. All
makeup exams are handled by Dr. Easterwood, the course coordinator. The course
coordinator can be contacted via email at cmeast@vt.edu. The course coordinator
has final authority to determine if your absence is justified and whether you can take
a makeup exam.
8.4 Other exam policies:
1. You must take the exam in the room indicated by your instructor.
2. You must bring your student ID to each exam.
3. Only simple, non-programmable, 4 or 5-function calculators will be allowed
during exams.
4. You are not allowed to copy, duplicate or photograph exams. Doing so will be
considered a violation of the honor code.
5. Cell phones and other electronic devices must be turned off and put away in book
bags, back packs, or purses. If a proctor sees a student with a cell phone or hears
a cell phone ring during an exam, the proctor will ask the student to turn the cell
phone off and put it away. It the student does not do this, the proctor has the right
to put the cell phone in a secure place until the student has turned in his/her exam.
6. Exam grades are based on what you mark on the op scan – not what is marked in
your exam booklet. You will not get credit for a question answered correctly in
the exam booklet but incorrectly on the op scan.
8.5 If a student believes there is an error in the grading of his/her exam, he/she has one
week from the date grades are available to request that the exam be re-graded.
Exams will not be re-graded after a week.
8.6 Students may not keep their exams. Exams must be returned to the instructor.
Leaving the exam room or the instructor’s office, with an ACIS 2116 exam is
considered a violation of the VT Honor Code.
8.7 Final Exam. The final exam is a common time exam. The final exam will be held
on Wednesday, May 11 from 7:45 am to 9:45 am. PLEASE NOTE THAT
THERE IS NO ALTERNATE OR MAKEUP FINAL EXAM. If you have
another class with a final exam scheduled on Wednesday, May 11 at 7:45 am, you
will have to make arrangements to move the other exam.
Section 9. Homework:
Assignments for each class meeting are detailed in a separate tentative schedule for the
course. An online system called Connect will be used to handle the submission and
grading of all homework assignments. To register for Connect you will need the access
code that you purchased and you must go to the specific web address given to you by
your instructor.
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The dates on which assignments will be available for online completion are indicated at
the Connect Web site. Generally, assignments become available the day before
corresponding text material is first discussed in class, and must be submitted by 11:59 pm
on the date stated on the tentative schedule. Because these assignment questions are
auto-graded, you must format your responses precisely as instructed in each question. It
is your responsibility to make sure that the homework is completed and submitted prior to
the deadline. The Connect web site automatically submits your work at the due date and
time. Absolutely no work is accepted after the deadline; therefore, your grade is based on
what you have completed by the homework deadline.
Students are limited to 5 attempts per question on Connect. The highest score earned on
all attempts will be used to calculate the final homework grade. In addition, ten percent
of the total possible homework points will be dropped when calculating the final
homework grade. Thus, in order to receive full credit on the homework, a student must
earn 90% of the total possible points. Note that many of the questions are algorithmic.
That means that different students will have homework problems with different
numerical values.
Do not wait until the evening the homework assignment is due to start working on it.
You may not be able to finish the homework by the deadline. Homework deadlines are
strictly observed. Extensions on homework are not given to students who are having
problems with their computers. If your computer is not working properly, plan on
completing the homework in a computer lab. Going out of town and not having access to
a computer is also not a valid excuse for receiving an extension on a homework
assignment.
Section 10. Attendance/In-class Participation
Points will be awarded for attendance and answering in-class questions. The points will
be awarded based on responses to questions using your iClicker. Some of the questions
will be graded for accuracy and some will not. In order to receive points for attendance
and in-class participation, you must be present in class and answer the questions. The
questions will relate to material in the chapter assigned for that particular class day.
Section 11. Getting Help:
Your instructor may or may not have a phone in his/her office. All instructors, however,
will hold scheduled office hours. The hours and location will be posted on Scholar. If
there is something you do not understand, you are encouraged to seek help from your
instructor during office hours. Before seeking help from your instructor, however, you
should read the relevant text material, and independently develop specific questions.
Instructors are not expected to solve entire homework assignments or to provide
repeat lectures of classes that have been missed, but rather to help with specific
unclear issues.
Section 12. Cell Phone Policy:
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Cell phones that go off during class time can be very distracting; therefore, cell phones or
other electronic devices that ring, beep, or play a melody should be silenced before class
begins.
Section 13. Student Responsibility
Students are expected to attend all classes and participate in class discussions. If,
however, a student should miss a class, the student is responsible for all material covered
during the class and for completing all assigned work. It is the student’s responsibility to
obtain notes from a classmate and study them for understanding.
Section 14. Special Accommodations:
Students who require special accommodations for exams should submit the Faculty
Accommodations form to Dr. Easterwood, the course coordinator, no later than the
second week of classes. All students requiring special accommodations for exams must
take their exams at the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) Office. To take an
exam at the SSD Office a Testing Reservation Form must be completed and turned in to
that office. The Testing Reservation Form must be signed by Dr. Easterwood, the course
coordinator.
Section 15. Academic Honesty
The honor code will be strictly enforced in this course. All assignments submitted shall be
considered graded work, done by the individual. All aspects of your coursework are
covered by the Honor System. Any suspected violations of the Honor Code will be
promptly reported to the Honor System.
Honesty in your academic work will develop into professional integrity. The faculty and
students of Virginia Tech will not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty.
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