Virginia Tech
ACIS 3115: Intermediate Financial Accounting
Spring 2016
Instructor: Brooke Beyer, Ph.D., CPA
bbeyer@vt.edu
Office:
Pamplin 3098
540-231-7352
Office Hours: Monday 1:15pm-5:15pm and by appointment.
Required Material:
1) Intermediate Accounting. Spiceland, Sepe, & Nelson. 8th ed. (2016) by McGraw-Hill Irwin.
(We will be covering Chapters 1-11).
2) McGraw-Hill Connect
3) iClicker (1st or 2nd addition) – make sure to register in Canvas
4) E-case: Whistling While You Work
5) Internet access – Class materials, syllabus, and assignment schedule will be posted on Canvas
(https://canvas.vt.edu).
There are a number of textbook options (e.g., hardcover, loose leaf, and eBook) and ways to use
them (e.g., purchase, rent, or borrow). If you purchase certain ones, then you will receive a
registration code to access Connect. If you do not get a Connect registration code with a
purchase (e.g., purchase used book or borrow), then you will need to make a separate Connect
purchase. To access our class’ Connect with either your registration code or to separately
purchase Connect, visit: http://connect.mheducation.com/class/beyer-acis-3115-spring-2016
Prerequisites:
Successful completion of ACIS 2115.
Course Description:
In-depth study of the process of preparing and presenting financial information about an entity
for outside users (i.e., financial accounting). The course provides a rigorous exposure to the
theory and application of generally accepted accounting principles. The course moves at a fast
pace and is more demanding than the prerequisite course. Students need to invest more hours in
this course than prior accounting courses to perform at an acceptable level. Working at a steady
pace and not falling behind is essential for acceptable performance.
CLASS POLICIES:
Attendance and Class Participation:
I expect you to attend class each day. It is important that you keep up and do the assigned
problems and other assignments in the course. This is a very challenging course, and will require
a commitment on your part to be successful. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to pass
this course if you do not complete the assignments.
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Conduct:
I expect you to behave in a professional manner. I reserve the right to deduct points (depending
on severity) for any of the following: failure to be prepared for class, sleeping in class, disrupting
class with chatter between classmates, texting, reading the newspaper, surfing the internet,
studying for other courses, or repeatedly coming in late or leaving early. If your behavior is
obvious enough to distract me, then it is obvious enough to distract others. Please visit me
during my office hours if you have any questions or concerns. Please turn off your cell phone
during class - I expect your undivided attention.
Course Changes:
Please be aware that the syllabus is a general guide only. At times, we will be going either more
slowly or faster than indicated. You should use your own judgment as you prepare for class each
day. I expect you to keep up with any changes to the syllabus. If you are not in the class when
changes to the schedule are made, you are still responsible for new/updated material.
Extra / Partial Credit:
There are no opportunities for extra credit in this class, so please do not ask for extra credit at the
end of the semester when you have not earned the grade that you want. Begin working hard now
for the grade that you want!
Communication:
Email is the best way to contact me. I will typically respond to an email within 24 hours except
for emails sent on Friday afternoon through Sunday night as I may not check email on weekends.
I have official office hours as indicated on the front of this syllabus. I will gladly set up an
appointment to meet with you as well.
Important announcements, changes to the syllabus, or other updates will be posted on Canvas
and if urgency requires, an email will be sent to all students registered in the course.
Point Distribution:
Assignments and Exams
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3
Final Exam
Connect Homework
(best 10 out of 11 scores)
Attendance/In-class Questions
E-case: Whistling While You Work
TOTAL
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Points
100
100
100
100
50
50
50
550
Grading Scale:
Grade
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
Percentage
93% - 100%
90% - 92%
87% - 89%
83% - 86%
80% - 82%
77% - 79%
73% - 76%
70% - 72%
67% - 69%
63% - 66%
60% - 62%
0% - 59%
Points
511 - 550
495 - 511
479 - 494
457 - 478
440 - 456
424 - 439
402 - 423
385 - 401
369 - 384
347 - 368
330 - 346
0 - 329
Exams:
There will be three regular exams and a comprehensive final exam. All exams are worth 100
points. Excuses for missing an exam include instances of personal emergency that can be fully
documented. Approved absences should be approved in advance and you must provide adequate
documentation such as a doctor’s excuse. For medical absences, I do not need to know the cause
of the absence. Simply document you were under a doctor’s care on the exam date, could not
return to school until after the exam date, etc. An unexcused absence on exam will result in a
zero grade that cannot be made up.
Connect Homework:
Homework is assigned throughout the semester. See the “ACIS 3115 schedule – Spring 2016”
for due dates. The homework assignments enable you to apply what you have read in the text and
we have discussed in class. To encourage the careful and attentive completion of each homework
assignments, the Connect policies are as follows:
1) You can attempt each homework assignment up to three times. Only your best score will
count. If you have only partially completed an assignment, Connect will automatically
submit for you when it is due.
2) If you have eBook access, you are welcome to access it when you are completing
Connect assignments (similarly, you are welcome to access the printed text and notes).
3) You can utilize “Connect hints”, but get a 5% penalty for the particular question’s score.
4) You can utilize the “check my work” three times per question.
5) Most of the homework is algorithmic; this means that your homework assignment will
have slightly different amounts than the other students in class.
The best ten grades from the eleven chapters will be used to determine each student’s total
homework points (50 points possible). Students can judge their development in the course by
noting how well they understand the homework. If you have trouble using Connect, visit
www.mcgrawhillconnect.com/support or call 1-800-331-5094. For registration difficulties,
please call 1-866-280-6055 or visit http://www.connectstudentsuccess.com/
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Attendance/In-Class Questions:
There will be points awarded for attendance and in-class questions. The points will be awarded
based on responses to questions using your iClicker. Some of the questions will be for accuracy
while some will just be for participation. In order to receive points for attendance and in-class
questions, you must be present in class and answer the questions. The points awarded for
accuracy will be for questions based on the reading required for that particular class. Make sure
you read the chapter assigned before the first class the chapter will be discussed.
E-case:
The e-case will be a semester long project involving reading/watching the case from Helios
Digital Learning. You will have to purchase online access to the e-case ($8.99). The instructions
for purchasing access to the e-case are available on Canvas. The e-case is titled Whistling While
You Work (WWYW) and will be broken down into three parts during the semester. At the
conclusion of the semester, you will be required to complete a writing assignment based on the
case. We will have three in-class discussions of the case which will include a quiz. The total
point for the WWYW e-case is 50 (15 points – quizzes/ 35 points writing assignment).
Calculator Policy:
Cell-phone calculators, PDAs, and programmable calculators may not be used during exams.
ONLY NONPROGRAMMABLE CALCULATORS MAY BE USED ON EXAMS.
Class Website:
A class website will be established and maintained throughout the course on Canvas
(https://canvas.vt.edu). Class materials such as notes, assignments, etc. are available in Canvas. I
also post grades on Canvas, but note that the grades available in Canvas are unofficial.
Student Perceptions of Teaching (SPOT) questionnaire:
Toward the end of the semester, the online Student Perceptions of Teaching (SPOT)
questionnaire will be used to gather feedback on particular aspects of the course and instruction.
I read and consider all student comments regarding the course and instruction.
Course Topics:
Unit 1: The Role of Accounting as an Information System (chapters 1-6)
 Environment and Theoretical Structure of Financial Accounting
 The Accounting Process
 The Balance Sheet and Financial Disclosure
 The Income Statement, Comprehensive Income and the Statement of Cash Flows
 Income Measurement and Profit Analysis
 Time Value of Money Concepts
Unit 2: Economic Resources (chapters 7-11)
 Cash and Receivables
 Inventories: Measurement
 Inventories: Additional Issues
 Property, Plant, and Equipment and Intangible Assets: Acquisition and Disposition
 Property, Plant, and Equipment and Intangible Assets: Utilization and Impairment
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Honor Code:
THE HONOR CODE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED IN THIS COURSE. ALL
ASSIGNMENTS SUBMITTED SHALL BE CONSIDERED GRADED WORK, UNLESS
OTHERWISE NOTED. ALL ASPECTS OF YOUR COURSEWORK ARE COVERED BY
THE HONOR SYSTEM.
Students with special needs or circumstances:
Any student with documented special needs or circumstances should notify me at the beginning
of the semester so the necessary accommodations can be arranged. Students requiring special
accommodations for exams will 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 SSD Office requires a three day advance notice to
take the test in their office. Please plan accordingly if this applies to you. You are responsible for
making any necessary reservations to take tests at the SSD office.
Miscellaneous:
Bring your textbook and a calculator to class every day. The easiest way to understand many of
the concepts we will be discussing is by example – I will be working many problems and
examples in class. You need your book to be able to follow along and understand the example
problems.
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