Department of Accounting
Syllabus for ACCT 430
Governmental and Non-Profit Accounting
Summer 2014
Personal Information:
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Instructor: John Lasik, MBA CMA CPA
E-mail address: lasikj@cwu.edu. Use your CWU e-mail account for all course-related correspondence. Be
sure to start the subject line with: 430 followed by a space.
John’s home page: www.cwu.edu/~lasikj. The ACCT 430 course site may be accessed through John’s
home page. The username and password will be provided to registered students several days prior to the
official start of the quarter.
Course Description. The following description for ACCT 430 appears in the current CWU Catalog:
Prerequisites: a grade of C- or higher in ACCT 350 and admission to the accounting major. Accounting and
budgetary controls for governmental units and non-profit service organizations, including educational
institutions (from school districts to universities) and hospitals. Emphasis is on the advantages, uses,
disadvantages, and differences in fund accounting.
Statement of Purpose for the Course. The course is well-suited for the accounting major who intends to sit
for the certified public accountant (CPA) exam and then audit governmental or not-for-profit entities. The
course is also suited for students who plan to provide financial management or consulting services to
governmental and/or not-for-profit entities.
John's Philosophy for Online Courses. The level of learning experienced in the online environment should
equal or exceed the level experienced in a traditional in-class setting.
Course Objectives. By the end of the course, the successful student will:
1.
understand the key distinguishing characteristics, concepts, and objectives of government and other notfor-profit accounting and financial reporting.
2. visualize and discuss the major overall aspects of the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB)
state and local government financial reporting model, including the “dual perspective” government-wide
and basic fund financial statements.
3. explain the role of the budget in governmental fund planning and control.
4. understand and prepare budgetary accounting entries and reports.
5. comprehend the nature and purpose of the following types of governmental funds: (a) General Fund, (b)
Special Revenue Fund, (c) Capital Projects Fund, (d) Debt Service Fund, (e) Internal Service Fund, (f)
Enterprise Fund, and (g) Fiduciary Funds.
6. account for various types of transactions affecting general capital assets and general long-term liabilities.
7. explain the basis of accounting and the financial statements required for non-government not-for-profit
organizations.
8. prepare the basic financial statements for both governmental and non-governmental not-for-profit
organizations.
9. describe issues commonly found in the management of government and other not-for-profit organizations.
10. recognize accounting issues related to colleges / universities and health care organizations.
Text and Other Required Materials
Textbook. Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting, 10th edition, by Freeman, Shoulders, Allison, and Smith.
Pearson Prentice Hall, 2013. The 13 character ISBN is: 978-0-13-275126-1. Alternatively, students may rent
an e-text version for 180 days at a cost of $99.99. If interested, go to: http://www.coursesmart.com.
430 Syllabus, Page 2
E-mail. You must use your CWU GroupWise e-mail account for all course-related business. Mail sent to
lasikj@cwu.edu with most other applications is blocked and will not be received by your instructor. This
includes Google and Yahoo e-mail applications.
Computing. Ongoing access to the Internet is required. Also, use of Microsoft Excel is required for the graded
homework assignments. An understanding of basic Excel procedures is assumed.
Course Conduct
Role of the student. Students should take personal responsibility for the amount of learning accomplished. The
pace of the course will mirror what would be expected in an in-person version of the course during the normal
quarter. "B" level and above performance will likely require a time commitment for reading, online homework,
and quiz/exam preparation that will approach 15 hours each week, every week.
Recommended study approach. Based on extensive surveys of past students, the following study approach is
recommended:
1.
Scan the assigned chapter to get a "feel" for the topics to be covered.
2.
Go to the 430 course website and open the study guide for the assigned chapter. Note the study guide
coverage for each chapter is arranged by chapter learning objectives.
3.
Cover the study guide materials for each learning objective one at a time following these procedures:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
4.
Study the listed text pages related to the learning objective. This is the most important step. Do not
take a shortcut here!
Listen to your instructor's narrated PowerPoint lecture for that learning objective.
Examine all study guide questions and linked suggested answers.
Work a reasonable cross section of the listed exercises and problems. Links are provided for
solutions to all exercises and problems.
Self-assess by answering the practice quiz questions posed. The answer blocks initially appear
blank. To view the correct answer with instruction, position your cursor in the upper left-hand corner
of the block and paint the answer block as you hold down the left mouse buttom.
Following completion of the chapter study guide, turn your attention to the chapter's homework quiz.
a)
b)
c)
Each homework quiz is comprised of 20 questions, mostly multiple choice with some true-false.
All answers are submitted to the instructor via the Excel answer form. (See the course website for
the link.)
Each quiz has a firm due date. Lasik will post a key shortly after the submission deadline passes.
The key will include additional instruction for the frequently-missed questions.
Grading Practices
Basis for Final Grade. Final grades are assigned based on your performance in the following areas:
Assessment
2 exams @ 150 each
15 on-line homework quizzes
Other on-line homework assignments
Total points
Points
300
150
35
485
The actual number of points may deviate slightly from the number cited in the table.
Exams. In-person attendance is required for Exam 1 and Exam 2. The exams will be given simultaneously at
three locations -- CWU Des Moines, CWU Lynnwood, and the main campus in Ellensburg. Exam 1 is
scheduled on Wednesday, 7/23; the time is tentatively set from 5:30-8:00 pm. Exam 2 is scheduled on Friday
8/22; the time is tentatively set from 10:00-12:30 pm.
430 Syllabus, Page 3
More on the exams. Exam 2 is not comprehensive. It includes only materials covered subsequent to Exam 1.
Exams are closed book. However, students may prepare a single 4 x 6 inch note card, both sides, for
reference during the exams. Exams are never given prior to their scheduled date. If you have requested an
excused absence on exam day and Lasik has approved your request, a makeup will be scheduled at a later
date.
Ranking Procedure for Exams. If the unadjusted class average is lower than 76.00 percent of the points
available, an equal number of points will be added to everyone’s score such that the class average improves
to 76.00 percent. The following additional considerations about the grading policy apply:
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If the unadjusted class average is higher than 76.00 percent, adjustment points will not be subtracted to
“curve down” the class average.
If some students officially withdraw from the course, prior adjustment points may change as their scores
are pulled from the database.
Assigning letter grades. Your grade in this course is based solely on your adjusted course percentage. To
monitor your progress throughout the quarter, divide the total number of adjusted points earned by the total
number of points possible. Then apply the following scale:
Course %
Above 97.00%
93.00 to 97.00
90.00 to 93.00
Grade
A+
A
A-
Interpretation
The highest grades are reserved for students who have
excelled in every phase of the course.
87.00 to 90.00
83.00 to 87.00
80.00 to 83.00
B+
B
B-
These grades denote work that is superior, but does not
warrant the special distinctiveness of the “A.”
77.00 to 80.00
71.00 to 77.00
68.00 to 71.00
C+
C
C-
“C” grades indicate that a student has made substantial
progress toward meeting the objectives of the course and
has fulfilled the requirements of the course.
65.00 to 68.00
61.00 to 65.00
58.00 to 61.00
D+
D
D-
“D” grades are for students who have made progress toward
meeting the objectives of the course, but who
fulfilled the requirements in a substandard manner.
F
The “F” grade is reserved for students who have failed to
meet or have accomplished so few of the requirements of the
course that they are not entitled to credit.
Less than 58.00
Makeup work. It is anticipated that a few of you may be forced to miss a deadline date for homework, quiz or
an exam during the quarter for various reasons. A makeup opportunity without penalty may be given at the
instructor’s discretion, but only in those instances when the absence is "excused." Excused absences include
personal illness, emergencies in your immediate family, job interviews, and university sponsored trips, among
others.
With the exception of emergency situations, requests for excused absences must be submitted prior to the
deadline for the homework, quiz, or exam. For non-emergency situations, check with me in advance before
you make travel and other arrangements for planned absences. Absences for “discretionary” reasons are not
considered excused by your instructor. For example, an absence for required job-related travel may be
excused, but an absence for "vacation-type" travel during the quarter would not be excused. (Vacation-type
travel is viewed as discretionary.)
Extra credit? Extra credit is not offered on an individual student by individual student basis.
Expected CB Student Conduct. Please view the COB student Statement of Conduct and Honor Code.
430 Syllabus, Page 4
Academic dishonesty. If your instructor has evidence that you’ve cheated, the letter grade of “F” for the course
will be reported immediately to the Registrar. Further, a report of academic dishonesty may be submitted to
the CWU’s Office of Student Affairs recommending additional disciplinary action. Refer to the CWU Catalog,
Appendix A and B.
Students with Special Needs or Disabilities. Students who have special needs or disabilities that may affect
their ability to access information or material presented in this course are encouraged to contact the Office of
Disability Support Services at (509) 963-2171 for disability-related educational accommodations.
Homework and exam schedule.
Classes begin ………………..
Ch 1 & 2 HW Quiz due ……..
Ch 3 HW Quiz due …………..
Ch 4 HW Quiz due …………..
1st Excel-assisted HW due ..
Ch 5 HW Quiz due …………..
Ch 6 HW Quiz due …………..
2nd Excel-assisted HW due .
Ch 7 HW Quiz due …………..
Ch 8 HW Quiz due …………..
Exam 1 ……………………….
Ch 9 HW Quiz due …………..
Ch 10 HW Quiz due …………
Ch 11 & 12 HW Quiz due …..
Ch 13 & 14 HW Quiz due …..
Ch 16 HW Quiz due …………
Ch 17 HW Quiz due …………
3rd Excel-assisted HW due ..
Ch 18 HW Quiz due …………
Exam 2 ……………………….
Monday, June 23, 2014
Friday, June 27, 2014
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Monday, July 21, 2014
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Monday, August 11, 2014
Friday, August 15, 2014
Monday, August 18, 2014
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Friday, August 22, 2014
Timeliness of Homework and On-Line Quizzes. Timeliness is important. All chapter homework quizzes and
Excel-assisted homework assignments must be submitted prior to 9:00 pm on the scheduled due date. In
general, submissions after 9:00 pm on the due date are not eligible for credit. Exceptions to this policy may be
made if the student has an excused absence or technical difficulties beyond the student's control are
experienced.