Roy E. Crummer Graduate School of Business
Rollins College
Course Syllabus
Summer 2011
PMBA ACCT 501 (44) - FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
Professor Ralph E. Drtina
Office:
Hours:
Crummer #202
Thursday 5:30-6:30 p.m. and
by appointment
E-mail:
Phone:
rdrtina@rollins.edu
407-646-2344 (W)
407-599-7085 (H)
COURSE OBJECTIVE
Since accounting is often referred to as the “language of business,” graduate students of management
should have a working understanding of basic accounting principles and their limitations. In this course,
you will become familiar with accounting principles by means of problem solving and case analysis.
Primary emphasis will be placed upon the use and interpretation of financial statements prepared for
parties outside the firm. Secondary importance is given to accounting procedures, which will be used as
tools to enhance understanding of financial relationships.
COURSE MATERIALS
Required: Easton, Wild, Halsey, and McAnally, Financial Accounting for MBAs, 4th ed., Cambridge
Business Publishers, 2010 (ISBN 978-1-934319-34-5).
HOMEWORK
Homework is integral to the learning process for this course. You will be assigned a group of problems
for each topic to be covered in the course. Assignments will consist of two types: procedural “selfreview” materials that you will be expected to master on your own and more analytical materials that
you should prepare for “class discussion.” See the attached Class Schedule for a session-to-session
breakdown of these assignments. Most of our class time will be devoted to the introduction of new
concepts and the analysis of class discussion assignments.
I have set up a course Blackboard web page that provides Excel worksheets for all problem assignments.
Look under the “Assignments” tab for our course. There will be three files that correspond to the Class
Schedule: self-review problems, class discussion problem shells, and class discussion problem solutions.
You can download Excel solutions for all “self-review” assignments from Blackboard. You can also
download partially completed Excel worksheet shells for “class discussion” assignments. After we’ve
completed our discussion of the day’s assignments, I will post the Excel solutions on Blackboard.
Homework assignments are not required to be handed-in to me. Nonetheless, the key to successfully
completing this course is to understand thoroughly all the materials assigned. If you are unclear about
procedures, analysis, and conclusions contained in the assigned materials, be certain to resolve any
difficulties by working with your classmates or by talking with me. Discussing assignments with your
team members can prove extremely helpful in reinforcing your understanding and clarifying areas of
uncertainty.
ACCT 501 (44) - PMBA
Summer 2011
Course Syllabus
Page 2
CLASS PARTICIPATION
Each student is expected to participate in class discussions covering homework assignments and chapter
content. In order to contribute to class discussions, you should become familiar with problems and
cases prior to the class in which they are discussed. Classroom participation is evaluated on your ability
to discuss the issues in some depth and on the amount of time you contribute to the discussion. Thus,
there are two components to classroom participation: the quality of your analysis of the issues and the
quantity of your discussion time relative to other members of the class. To earn an A in class
participation, you must be a leader in class discussions. You should offer meaningful insights about
assignments and other course material. Attendance is a necessary condition to receive an A, but is not
by itself sufficient.
COURSE GRADE
Grading will be based on the following weights:
Quizzes (best 2 of 3)
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Team Presentation
Participation
Total
A
AB+
B
93-100
90-92
88-89
83-87
12%
32%
34%
12%
10%
100%
BC+
C
C-
80-82
78-79
73-77
70-72
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the Crummer School Academic Integrity Policy, faculty, students and staff are expected to
uphold the highest level of ethical standards. This course requires that all students meet expectations of
scholastic honesty, particularly while taking quizzes and exams. Prior to quiz or test taking, you may
collaborate in any way with your classmates in helping you better understand course material. However
during the quiz or test period, any sharing of information, materials, or electronic files during quizzes
and exams is prohibited. Collusion or cheating in any form will not be tolerated. Failure to abide by
these standards will result in full punishment as prescribed by the Policy.
POLICY ON MISSING MIDTERM EXAM AND QUIZ
Makeup exams will be given only under unusual circumstances. When it is determined that a makeup
exam is needed, arrangements must be made prior to the scheduled exam.
No makeup quizzes will be given. If you miss one quiz, this will be the one that you drop. If you miss
more than one quiz, the missed points will be added to the weight of the in-class portion of the final
exam. This is administered on the last day of class.
ACCT 501 (44) - PMBA
Summer 2011
Course Syllabus
Page 3
GUIDELINES FOR TEAM PRESENTATION
Your team will make a short presentation on a given topic related to the Home Depot, Inc. 2010 annual
report. The objective of the team presentation is to analyze Home Depot’s financial performance and
render an opinion on the firm’s outlook. In order to provide industry perspective, use Lowes Inc. as a
basis for comparison. Teams will be asked to sign up for a presentation in our first class meeting. See
the Class Schedule for dates and topics of presentations.
Here are some ideas to guide your discussion:
 Show where information related to the topic is presented on the financial statements.
 Explain how the topic affects operating income and cash flow.
 Compare and contrast Home Depot accounting methods with those of Lowes.
 Provide data for comparison and analysis.
 Offer insights about calculation of data.
 Prepare ratios related to the topic.
 Offer a history of common-sized data and ratios.
 Compare common-sized data and ratios with Lowes Inc.
 Discuss notes on the topic contained in the annual reports.
 Offer insights about the expected effect of your topic on future financial performance.
This list is not meant to be all inclusive. Moreover, some of these items may not be relevant to your
presentation. Use judgment about which discussion points to include in your presentation. You should
choose what’s best to make your presentation both informative and interesting. Be sure to go beyond
the discussion in the text. Use outside materials to shed added light on the subject. Above all, avoid
summarizing material presented in the text.
Your presentation should be accompanied with PowerPoint slides. No formal paper is required. Please
limit the number of presenters to no more than two team members. If you use reference materials
beyond those assigned in class, include citations for your references. Before the day of presentation,
send me by email a copy of your slide show and supporting Excel workbook by 9:00 pm. If you send me
your slide show later than the date and time prescribed, you will be penalized 4 points. The length of
presentation should be 15-20 minutes. Presentations lasting longer than 20 minutes will be penalized 4
points for each additional minute or portion thereof. Additional class time will be set aside for a
questions-and-answers session.
I expect that the grade you receive on this report will be the same as that assigned to your team.
Nonetheless, upon completion of the project I will request that you submit a form to evaluate the
performance of individuals on your team. You will be asked to score each teammate based on
participation and commitment to the project. I reserve the right to increase or decrease individual
participation grades due to teammate assessments.
ACCT 501 (44) - PMBA
Summer 2011
Course Syllabus
Page 4
Class Schedule
Problems and Cases
Meeting
Date
1
Apr. 28.
2
May 5
Reading
Module 1
Module 2
Module 2
Module 3
Module 3
3
May 12
4
May 19
5
May 26
Appendix B
Appendix B
Module 4
8
June 23
9
June 30
11
July 14
12
July 21
Self
Review
Class Discussion
Financial accounting for MBAs (read pp. 1-9 to
1-20, skim the rest)
Financial statements and transaction analysis (read pp. 2-20 to 2-32)
P1-36
(omit c)
P2-39
E2-27
P2-45
Financial statements and transaction analysis (read pp. 2-1 to 2-19)
Accounting adjustments, constructing financial statements (read pp.
3-1 to 3-16)
M3-14
E3-26
P1-38
P3-43
P3-41
P3-47
P2-47
QUIZ
Accounting adjustments, constructing financial statements (read pp.
3-16 to 3-23)
Constructing statement of cash flows (read pp. B-1 to B-11)
Constructing statement of cash flows (read pp. B-11 to B-20)
Q B-11
E B-29
(App. B)
M B-24 (App. B)
P2-43*
M4-18,19,20
Tools of liquidity and solvency analysis (read pp. 4-26 to 4-29)
Reporting and analyzing operating assets (read pp. 6-1 to 6-20)
Presentation 2— revenues, stock price, dividends
M6-14
M4-22
M6-12
Reporting and analyzing operating assets (read pp. 6-20 to 6-37)
Presentation 3— cash flow, liquidity, solvency
M6-16
M6-18
E6-30
E6-37
QUIZ
Compound interest (read pp. 8-27 to 8-31)
Reporting and analyzing non-owner financing (read pp. 8-1 to 8-15)
Presentation 4— inventory, gross profit
M6-19
E6-34
E8-36
Module 9
Reporting and analyzing non-owner financing (read pp. 8-16 to 8-27)
Reporting and analyzing owner financing (read pp. 9-1 to 9-9)
Presentation 5— plant assets, impairments
E8-35
M9-24
E8-25
P8-37*
Module 9
QUIZ
Reporting and analyzing owner financing (read pp. 9-15 to 9-23)
E9-34
E9-47
P9-50
Analyzing and interpreting financial statements (read pp. 4-1 to 4-12)
Presentation 1—strategy, common size, ROA, ROE
MIDTERM EXAM
Module 4B
Module 6
Module 6
Module 8A
Module 8
Module 8
10
July 7
Read entire chapter (excluding chapter appendix) unless otherwise
indicated
M4-16
M4-17
6
June 9
7
June 16
Topic
FINAL EXAM
*Indicates that no problem shell is available on Blackboard.