COURSE OUTLINE
Introduction to Financial Accounting
ACCT 2033 §8—Spring 2014
1:00—2:15 pm WF (Testing Only)
College of Business, Room 201
CRN 14527
Instruction by:
John F. Robertson, MBA, JD, LLM, CMA, CPA, CFP®.
Professor of Accounting, Department Chair
Bachelor of Arts—The University of Tennessee
Master of Business Administration—Vanderbilt University
Doctor of Jurisprudence—Vanderbilt University
Master of Laws in Taxation—The University of Alabama
Office:
Room 204, Business Building
Office Hours:
Regular Office Hours (Room 204)
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 2:00pm—5:00pm.
You do not need an appointment to visit me during scheduled office hours. I am often
called away from the office for meetings. (Especially on Mondays) If you need to see me
near the beginning or end of a regularly scheduled period of office hours, or if you are
making a special trip to campus, I suggest that you call first to confirm that I will be
available. I will not be able to meet with you immediately before class begins.
Office Telephone:
Office Facsimile:
(870) 972-3038
(870) 972-3868
Email Address:
jfrobert@astate.edu
Blackboard Learn Login Site: http://bblearn.astate.edu
Course Description:
Introduction to accounting and the accounting cycle. Basic accounting and reporting for
merchandising and service oriented business organizations. Primary emphasis is on
accounting principles applicable to measuring assets, liabilities, owners’ equity and
income.
Required Materials:
1. Financial and Managerial Accounting 5/e with Connect Plus, ISBN 9780077785949, Wild
Shaw and Chiappetta, 5th, McGraw-Hill/Irwin. This is the package that combines all three
products (Print book, homework manager, and e-book). The publisher only makes this
particular package available to bookstores. You need at least one copy of the book (print or
electronic) and the Connect homework manager.
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2. Calculator. You may not share your calculator with another student. I will provide you with
a four function calculator on exam days.
3. Internet access.
4. An ASU Student e-mail account.
Financial Accounting Primary Objectives:
There are three general learning objectives for this class:
1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of key concepts in financial reporting.
(Business Knowledge)
2. Students will understand the format and inherent connections between the basic
financial statements. (Business Knowledge)
3. Students will learn to analyze and interpret the impacts of common transactions on
financial performance. (Critical Thinking)
Specific learning objectives are listed at the start of each chapter in the textbook.
Conduct of the Course
This is a Web-Assisted class. The Registrar’s office states: “[s]ome courses, called web-
assisted classes, will require some on campus meetings for exams or other activities as well as
web-based instruction.1” This course will meet on campus for the two exams. The mid-
term on Wednesday April 9, and the final on Friday May 2.
Please refer to Blackboard Learn for information about the learning units. The course is
designed to be asynchronous, which means that there are no set times when you must be
on-line2. I may be able to have optional study sessions, but I have not worked out the
mechanics for such sessions.
All students are expected to exhibit academic integrity at all times. ASU enthusiastically
promotes academic integrity and professional ethics among all members of the ASU
academic community. Violations of this policy are considered serious misconduct and
may result in disciplinary action and severe penalties. Faculty members may respond to
cases of plagiarism or cheating by giving a failing grade on the paper or exam, giving a
failing grade in the course, and/or recommending expulsion from the university.
The ASU Student Handbook3 defines plagiarism and cheating as:
Plagiarism is the act of taking and/or using the ideas, work, and/or writings of
another person as one's own.
1
http://registrar.astate.edu/webclass.php
Asynchronous is not the same as self-paced. This class has regular due dates throughout the seven week
period. If you anticipate that you will be unable to participate in the class for long periods of time during
the term, then I suggest that you pick another course.
3
Page 18. The Handbook is available on-line at: http://www.astate.edu/a/student-conduct/studentstandards/handbook-home.dot
2
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1. To avoid plagiarism give written credit and acknowledgment to the source of
thoughts, ideas, and/or words, whether you have used direct quotation,
paraphrasing, or just a reference to a general idea.
2. If you directly quote works written by someone else, enclose the quotation with
quotation marks and provide an appropriate citation (e.g., footnote, endnote,
bibliographical reference).
3. Research, as well as the complete written paper, must be the work of the person
seeking academic credit for the course. (Papers, book reports, projects, and/or
other class assignments) . . .
Cheating is an act of dishonesty with the intention of obtaining and/or using
information in a fraudulent manner.
1. Observing and/or copying from another student's test paper, reports, computer
files and/or other class assignments.
2. Giving or receiving assistance during an examination period. (This includes
providing specific answers to subsequent examinees and/or dispensing or
receiving information that would allow the student to have an unfair advantage in
the examination over students who did not possess such information.)
3. Using class notes, outlines, and other unauthorized information during an
examination.
4. Using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting, in part or in whole
the contents of an examination or other assignment not authorized by the
professor of the class.
5. Using for credit in one class a term paper, book report, project, or class
assignment written for credit in another class without the knowledge and
permission of the professor of the class.
6. Exchanging places with another person for the purpose of taking an
examination or completing other assignments.
Other schools cover the same topics in slightly different terms. For example, Dean
Nancy Bagranoff at Old Dominion University defines plagiarism to include some of the
things ASU calls “cheating.” You may review her definition at several sites on Old
Dominion’s website, including Dr. Henry’s page:
http://www.odu.edu/~lhenry/plagiarism.shtml.
I regard unauthorized assistance as academic dishonesty. It is never acceptable for you to
receive assistance with any graded aspect of this class from anyone other than myself.
This means you may not ask for help on any of the research projects from friends,
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relatives, acquaintances, employers, co-workers, classmates, other instructors, or anyone
else you might happen to encounter while you are working on a project. However, I will
be glad to discuss your project with you—singly or in groups. I urge you to contact me if
you have any questions.
You may take advantage of the College or University writing labs, but only to improve
your written communication skills.
I view the possession of an instructor’s manual, a test bank, a solution guide, or
similar resource as academic dishonesty.
I also regard the reuse of material you crafted for another purpose as academic
dishonesty. I expect all your assignments in this class to be new, original works that
have been prepared by you without assistance from others.
Blackboard:
You should check Blackboard every day for announcements.
You are Responsible for your own Registration:
Any student who registers for this class, but fails to access the Blackboard site between
the first and eleventh days of class, will be dropped from the class. This is the only time
that I have the ability to drop you from the class.
All students listed as enrolled on the final roster at the end of the semester will be
assigned a final grade. You cannot withdraw from the course by simply ceasing to attend
class at some point during the semester. You must formally withdraw from the course or
from the university. This is not something that I can do for you. You are responsible for
contacting the appropriate officials of the university by the drop deadline. Accordingly,
you will receive a grade based on the work you have completed if you cease to attend
class and fail to withdraw from the class or the university. This grade will probably be an
“FN.”
Responsibility for Material:
You are responsible for, and the exams may include questions from: the material the
chapters of the text covered in a given exam period, the material in any class handouts,
any material posted on Blackboard, and any topics we discuss in class.
Grading:
1. EXAMS. This course will consist of two examinations, a mid-term and a final. Each
exam is worth 100 points.
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It is the practice of Arkansas State University to allow students to participate in university
sponsored events, even when those events cause them to be absent from class. Students
participating in university sponsored events will be given reasonable opportunities to
make up missed assignments and exams.
You must have a valid excuse for missing an exam. I do understand that there can be true
emergencies. However, in most instances, you will know that you are going to miss an
exam in advance of the exam date. You must notify me prior to the exam. Please
understand that the additional time between the original exam and the make-up exam will
never work to your advantage. In preparing for the make-up exam you will be spending
your time to master old material while the class moves on to new material. This will put
you at a disadvantage that you may never overcome. The make-up exam will not be the
same exam given to the rest of the class, and the make-up exam may be oral or written.
Inclement weather. In the event that the University remains open, but weather conditions would
make your drive to campus hazardous, I will allow you to take a make-up examination. You will
need to document the hazardous conditions.
The exams are closed-book. Examples of things you MAY NOT use in the exams
include, but are not limited to: study guides, outlines, class or reading notes, pda’s, cell
phones, etc. You do not need to bring anything to the exams except your ASU ID card.
Tentative Test Schedule
Exam 1: (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6)—Wednesday April 9, 2014
Exam 2: (Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, & 12)—Friday May 2, 2014
2.
CONNECT. You are required to prepare Homework Problems through McGrawHill/Irwin’s Connect on-line system. Details will be available in Blackboard. You will
prepare two problem sets for each chapter. One will allow you to take advantage of all
the features such as multiple attempts and check you work, and one will require you to
complete the problems without such advantages. The second set will count for more
points.
3.
HOMEWORK & QUIZZES. You will have some Excel and written assignments
due during the semester. You will take a few quizzes during the semester. Topics for
each quiz will be drawn from the assigned text material for that day, the “new” material.
Quizzes will be given at the beginning of the class period. If you are absent or late, you
will not be able to take the quiz. The general rule is that quizzes cannot be “made-up.” I
will schedule a make-up quiz with you if you miss a quiz because of an official ASU
event. You will be required to document that you were not able to access the internet for
the entire time that the quiz was available.
4.
DISCUSSION BOARDS: Working as teams, you will post and reply to
comments on discussion boards. I anticipate 4 teams. Discussion boards are organized
as debates. Two sets of teams will take the affirmative side to a position, and two sets of
teams will take the negative side. You will need to make comments every week.
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5.
I reserve the right to amend any part of the outline or the course schedule
throughout the semester. Alterations may take the form of oral modifications in class,
changes announced by e-mail, or changes announced on Blackboard.
6. Some of the homework and exam problems will seem to call for a yes or no
answer. A simple yes or no is never sufficient to receive full credit for any work you
submit to me. You must support your work by your well-reasoned thoughts.
Grades in this class will be based on the following:
Grading Scale:
Activity
Exam 1
Exam 2
Connect problems
Discussion Boards
Homework Problems, Quizzes,
TOTAL POINTS
Percentage Points
90-100% --A
80-89%--B
70-79%--C
55-69%--D
Below 55%--F
Points Available
100
100
300
50
50
600
TOTAL POINTS—
540—600
480—539
420—479
330—419
BELOW 330
Keys to Success:
Everyone is capable of doing very well in this course if you will do the following:
You must study! You should spend a minimum of 6 hours per week studying for this
class. This amount of studying simply replaces the class time that we do not have in the
class. I am including watching the Tegrity shows as studying in this time allocation.
However, I recommend that you spend significantly more time studying each week.
I suggest the following sequence to formalize your studying:
 Start the process by reviewing the chapter objectives.
 Watch the narrated slide show in Tegrity.
 Read the chapter one time.
 Watch the Tegrity lecture show.
 Watch the Tegrity show dealing with chapter problems.
 Reread the chapter and take reading notes. One simple way to do this is to outline
the chapter.
 Now you are ready to work problems, make comments on discussion boards, etc.
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Students with Disabilities:
Students who require academic adjustments in the classroom due to a disability must first
register with ASU Disability Services. Following registration, please contact me to
discuss appropriate academic accommodations. Appropriate arrangements can be made
to ensure equal access to this course.
Since this is a web-assisted course, I rely heavily on technology. If you have a disability
that limits your ability to utilize technology, such as Blackboard, I urge you to contact
ASU Disability Services immediately.
Extra Credit:
Occasionally, I may assign activities for extra credit. These extra points do not change
the grading scale. There will never be an opportunity for an extra credit assignment
tailored to an individual student. All students will have an equal opportunity to
participate in all extra credit assignments.
Incompletes:
The Arkansas State University Policy regarding Incompletes is as follows:
“A grade of “I” (Incomplete) is appropriate on the final grade roster when a student fails
to meet all course requirements for reasons beyond his/her control, (i.e. illness of the
student, or serious illness or death in the family, or extended research projects at the
graduate level). Procrastination, pressure of work in other courses, or work not connected
with the student’s school load are not satisfactory reasons for an “I” grade. All “I” grades
must have prior approval of the chair of the department in which the course is offered,
which requires the “Request for Incomplete Grade” form to be filed with the department
and the Office of the Registrar.”
Note that the Request for Incomplete Grade form also requires my signature. There are no
circumstances, regardless of what you may have heard, where a grade of “I” will be automatically
granted.
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