AC 611: HB3: Financial Accounting Problems I
Fall 2015
INSTRUCTOR:

Dr. Yannan Shen

CLASS:

HB3:

Thur

OFFICE:

Location:
Phone:
Fax:
E-mail:
Hours:

AAC 222
781-891-2652
781-891-2896 yshen@bentley.edu (best way to contact me)
Thur 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM, and by appointment

7:30 PM – 9:50 PM

SMITH XXX

REQUIRED RESOURCES:
Intermediate Accounting with Wiley Plus software (15th edition)
Kieso, Weygandt, and Warfield, John Wiley & Sons, 2015
Introduction to Financial Accounting, an online tutorial
Harvard Business School (HBS) Publishing
Students who prefer to have both hard copy and online access could purchase the
“wrapped” edition (text plus the Wiley Plus software) at the Bentley bookstore. Students not buying the textbook from the Bookstore should purchase a Wiley Plus access code directly from the publisher. Please note that textbook and software both are required for AC 611.
You will continue to use the same textbook for AC 612 as well, and the Wiley Plus access code would be valid for next semester as well. Wiley Plus also contains an etextbook, but you do NOT get a paper copy.
Your Wiley Plus url address is http://www.wileyplus.com/class/461237

The Blackboard website of the course contains a variety of course resources like the solutions manual and powerpoints and other course related announcements. You can access the Blackboard site http://blackboard.bentley.edu from any location at any time.
AC 611 Syllabus, Page #1

Log in to Centra to attend your class online and/or replay classes for review. When you are attending the class online, your name appears on-screen automatically. You’re responsible for having a functioning microphone so that you can participate while online. For Centra login information, system requirements, and help, go to http://atc.bentley.edu/hybrid.html.
Although not required, a basic business or financial calculator will help you in this and many of your other graduate school courses. Stay with a basic financial calculator: HP, TI, and Sharp, and other vendors make good and modestly priced calculators.
PREREQUISITES:
No prerequisite for MSA and Graduate Certificate in Accountancy students; for all others, BF
506 or GR 524 or PF 503
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The Graduate School bulletin describes AC 611 as a course that "deals with the measurement and reporting problems of various asset and liability accounts, revenues and expenses, and the preparation and interpretation of financial statements at the intermediate financial accounting level. Pronouncements of the AICPA, FASB and other authoritative sources are used in instruction".
COURSE OBJECTIVE:
This course will examine in detail the accounting theory and concepts which form background for the external financial reporting. It also examines the U.S. Generally
Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) related to the preparation of financial statements, with particular emphasis on asset valuations, and their relationship to income determination.
The students will be given an opportunity to expand their understanding of accounting theory, and evaluate the impact of alternative accounting procedures on financial statements.
The course aims to (i) develop the students' ability to solve professional-level problems, (ii) expose them to the complexities and nuances of dealing with real world situations in an uncertain environment, and (iii) develop their research, analytical and communication skills.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. To develop critical thinking skills by solving professional-level problems.

AC 611 Syllabus, Page #2

2. To enhance verbal and written communication skills.
3. To understand the economic and political environment in which financial reporting choices are made.
4. To identify financial reporting and measurement alternatives, and determine their effects on financial statements and ratios.
5. To research and apply professional accounting literature to determine the applicable
GAAP in a given context.
6. To enhance appreciation for theoretical and “real world” complexities, judgments, and decision making involved in financial accounting and reporting.

CLASS PREPARATION:
Much of the material in AC 611 is analytical in nature which requires a period of time to absorb. It does not lend itself to cramming.
Regular attendance and adequate preparation for each class are absolutely essential for success in the course. Readings should be completed thoroughly and any assigned problems should be attempted to the best of your ability PRIOR TO THE CLASS for which they are assigned. You should plan on studying a minimum of 8 hours per week outside of class to prepare for AC 611.
Studying in groups and reviewing end of chapter solutions can help you better understand AC
611 subject matter, but the key to optimal comprehension is to work through the homework problems individually on your own. If you only browse through the solutions, or listen to others articulate answers, you may develop an illusory sense of understanding which can be detrimental to your examination performance.
In addition to the exercises and problems assigned, please get comfortable with the multiple choice form of testing. Both examinations in this course will have multiple choice questions. Note also that multiple choice questions are an important testing mechanism at the professional accounting exams such as CPA, CMA, CIA, etc. For practice a copy of the book entitled “Financial Accounting: Objective Questions and Explanations” by Irwin
Gleim has been put on the reserve in the library for this purpose. It contains hundreds of

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objective questions and explanations for the topics addressed by the financial accounting courses. We will NOT have time to review every homework problem extensively in the class.
However, solutions manual will be available on the Blackboard site of the course. The
ACELAB (located in JEN 300, 781-891-3174) has databases, tutorials, and live tutors available to assist you.
STUDENTS WITH ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE:
The ESOL Center has faculty who specialize in teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL) and can provide support for helping students achieve success in their courses across the curriculum. You can access the ESOL center in a variety of ways including • make appointments online (http://www.bentley.edu/english/esol.cfm),
• call x2021 for an appointment, or
• stop by in the center (located on the ground floor of the Bentley Library)
STUDENTS REQUIRING ACADEMIC ACCOMODATIONS:
Bentley University abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This law stipulates that no student shall be denied the benefits of an education solely by reason of a disability.
If you have a hidden or visible learning disability which may require classroom accommodations, please make a confidential appointment with Ms. Stephanie S.
Brodeur, Disability Services Coordinator, as soon as possible, but no later than the first four weeks of the semester. The Office of Disability Services is located in the Office of
Counseling and Student Development (CSD), LaCava 166, 781-891-2274. The Coordinator is responsible arranging accommodations and services for students with disabilities. I make every reasonable effort possible to confidentially meet your requests. Disability Services, however, must first approve your request. I cannot honor your requests for special accommodations without Disability Services documentation!
CLASS PARTICIPATION:
Class will start promptly at the scheduled time. Late arrivals disrupt class discussions. All cell phones and other PDAs must be turned off at the beginning of the each class. If you

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bring a laptop computer to the class, please do not use it in the class for web browsing, e-mailing or social networking.
Active class participation is a must since it is an integral part of learning experience, and an important part of your grade. The class participation grade is my subjective but neutral assessment of the quality and quantity of your class contributions. It is possible that I might administer a surprise in-class quiz (or two) and/or collect a homework assignment (or two) to evaluate your class preparation.
I will call on students by name. If you will not be prepared for a class, send me a quick e-mail ahead of the class, or give me a quick 2-3 line note before the beginning of the class so that I don’t inadvertently embarrass you with a cold call. Remember, however, that participation is a graded portion of your evaluation. I will provide you with a name card in the first session of the course. It is important that you bring it to every session of the course, and keep it in front of you. The name cards are necessary for me to navigate the class discussion and to give you the due credit for your class contributions. If you attend the class on Centra, you are still responsible to participate in the class discussions.
EVALUATION/GRADING:
Pre-course work (Financial Accounting Online Course)
(Note: to be completed before September 21, 2015)
Mid-Term Examination
Final Examination (cumulative)
Group case write-up
Six online quizzes (five best to be counted)
Class Preparation and Participation

10%

Bonus: CAB (Connecting Accounting to Business events) Presentation

25%
30%
15%
10%
10%
100%
2%

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Pre-course work (Financial Accounting Online Course)
To reduce the need to teach introductory materials in class, and to ensure that all students have a common understanding of financial accounting basics, each class member needs to complete (before the September 21, 2015) “Financial Accounting: An Introductory
Online Course” from Harvard Business School. You can log into the HBS Publishing web site to sign up for the online course using this link: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/access/37410303 I strongly recommend you to complete the online course before the start of the semester, if at all possible. Details for purchasing the online course (price is $45.00) and suggested approach to complete the course are given below.
The self-study course is an on-line, web-based, interactive introduction to financial accounting. The online course consists of a pre-test, six chapters and a final examination.
Students who do well on the pre-test can proceed to the final examination directly. The time students take to complete the course varies from a little as 2-3 hours to as many as
10-12 hours.
Please complete the pre-test. If you do well on the pre-test, and do not desire to have a refresher tutorial, proceed to Final Exam 1 directly. Otherwise, complete the six chapters of the tutorial. Then complete Final Exam 1. Minimum passing grade is 77% (In the
Bentley grading system, it would be equivalent to a C+, or 2.3). If you are satisfied with your grade in Final Exam 1, you need NOT complete Final Exam 2.
If you do not pass Final Exam 1, or want to attempt improving your grade, you can do so by completing Final Exam 2 also. In that case, your grade will be the AVERAGE grade on the two exams. If you take only Final Exam 1, your grade therein will be your grade for this online course assignment. It is strongly suggested that you do not take the exam until you feel fully prepared. If not, please review the needed sections before taking the exam. You do not need to submit anything in a hard copy format. I will get your performance report directly from HBS Publishing.
Please note that the Financial Accounting Online Course must be completed before
September 21, 2015. The tutorial is self-contained. You do NOT need any help from the textbook or the class sessions to complete it. No extensions will be granted for the completion of the online course.

AC 611 Syllabus, Page #6

Examinations:
Exams are closed books and closed notes and they typically include multiple choice questions, problems and occasionally, essay questions. Class time devoted to different topics will be reflective of their importance and weight on the exam. A detailed structure of the exam will be announced in the week prior to each examination.
Exams will be administered in class and you will be expected to be physically present. If it is impossible for you to be physically present in class to take either of the exams, you must inform me by e-mail at least two weeks before the exam so that appropriate proctoring arrangements can be made for you to take the exam off-campus.
The time value of money tables will be available to you during the exams upon request.
You can use financial or basic calculators during the exams, but not the cell phones, laptops, programmable calculators, or other PDA devices that can receive, transmit, or store information.
The final exam will be comprehensive (cumulative) covering all chapters covered in the course although it will emphasize the materials covered in the second half of the course. Makeup exams are only available for recognized religious holidays, documented medical illnesses, or unforeseen emergencies. Travel plans, vacations, interviews, and work related reasons are generally not considered valid reasons. If you know ahead of time that you will have to miss an exam, you should contact the instructor to decide whether any special arrangements can be made.
Case write-ups:
The case write-ups are to be submitted before the announced deadlines. You will form groups consisting of no more than three students each for the purpose of case write-ups.
Additional details on the case project will be announced later.
CAB (Connecting Accounting to Business events) Presentation:
Accounting is a language of business. As such, significant interactions exist between business events and accounting. This exercise intends to extend your business awareness and deepen your ability to connect business events to accounting.
Select any business event of your choice that has appeared in popular business press
(Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Economist, Business Week, Fortune, Forbes, etc.) in the two weeks preceding each class session and be prepared to make a short

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presentation (about 3-5 minutes) to the class on the summary of the news item, why is it interesting, how does it connect to the world of accounting (broadly defined), and what are some related questions that sparked in your mind.
In each class starting week 2, we will devote some time for presentation by the individual
(and brief discussion by the class). Please e-mail me the details of your presentation
(news item, link to it, and 5-6 PPT slides) no later than Saturday night prior to the class in which you would like to present it. To conserve class time, it will not be possible to honor request from each student wanting to make the presentation. In case your work is good, but your name is not picked up in the random draw for presentation, you will still get the bonus credit.
The business event need not have a direct connection to the topics addressed in AC 611.
It is important, however, that the news item is relevant to the field of accounting including financial reporting, accounting standards, cost accounting and analysis, auditing, taxation, and accounting information systems.
Online Quizzes:
Each student will INDIVIDUALLY AND INDEPENDENTLY complete six timed online quizzes during the semester. Quizzes help you stay current with the subject matter and improve your knowledge of the materials covered in a timely fashion. Each quiz is required to be completed before the start of the class for which it is scheduled. The lowest grade will be dropped (i.e. top five quizzes will be counted for grading purposes).
No late submissions will be accepted in any circumstances and no makeup quizzes will be given. You cannot complete the quiz in class because by that time the deadline for submission would have been passed. It is strongly recommended that you review the chapter before taking the quiz; if you don’t do that, you might find the quiz to be difficult, or might run out of time to complete it.
Software packages like Wiley Plus, however, do occasionally experience “quirks” like terminating quizzes unexpectedly or marking a right answer as wrong. If such “quirks” happen during your online quiz, contact the Wiley Help Desk Chat Line immediately, and follow up with an email to me. Your email should include a brief explanation of what happened, and ideally “screen shots” or other documentation to help explain your situation. I will investigate and revise your grade if necessary.

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You can also reduce anxiety by completing your quiz sooner than later. For example, reporting ten minutes before the quiz deadline that you can’t access your internet from home may not qualify as a legitimate “quirk”.
ACADEMIC HONESTY & FAIR USE OF COPYRIGHT MATERIALS:
Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with and understanding of the academic honesty guidelines presented in the Student Handbook, as well as the Student
Computing Policy.
All course materials, including library reserves, are for teaching purposes for this course during this term only. You may not reproduce these materials to distribute outside of class.
Please see Fair Use of Copyright Materials for more information.
OTHER INFORMATION:
Friday, November 13, 2015 is the last day to withdraw from the course.
See me immediately if you need any assistance. I am available for drop-in visits during office hours, and most other times by appointment. E-mail is another effective way of communicating with me. The earlier you contact me, the better will you be able to help yourself. This course is rigorous and demanding, and it establishes a necessary foundation for many other courses you will take. Do not allow yourself to lag behind. It will be difficult to catch up!
The attached schedule is tentative. It is your responsibility to keep informed of any changes announced during the semester. (In the rare event that a class be canceled due to inclement weather, or other unforeseen circumstances, we will arrange for the makeup class, and the assignment due that day will be due the next time we meet. This applies to any scheduled examinations also.

AC 611 Syllabus, Page #9

SUMMARY: TIPS TO HELP YOU LEARN (AND BOOST YOUR GRADE)!
Financial accounting and reporting courses (like AC 611 and 612) are a core part of Bentley’s well-regarded graduate accounting curriculum. For many of you, these courses will be among the most demanding courses you will complete as a graduate student.
The rewards of your labor, however, will be enormous! Students who successfully complete these courses will join the ranks of many other well-regarded Bentley alumni who pass professional accounting exams and succeed in accounting, financial and other rewarding business careers. In order to do as well as you can, carefully consider the following tips throughout the semester:
1. Check the Blackboard website frequently for timely and important announcements.
2. Stay current with the material – don’t wait until the last minute to prepare for quizzes, exams, and the case study!
3. Study for a few hours at a time in more frequent intervals. Accounting doesn’t always read like a novel, so most successful students will “hit the books” hard for a few hours at a time more frequently, instead of opting for an all-day or all-night “marathon” session.
4. Before class:
4.1. Read the chapter(s) for general understanding, and re-read as necessary – it’s tough to grasp everything in the first reading! You are responsible for the entire chapters assigned, including appendices, unless otherwise mentioned. You can skip IFRS insights from each chapter, unless otherwise specified.
4.2. Review the key terms and questions. You need not answer each question as if it were a major essay. Jot down a few notes and ideas to see if you understand the key concepts, and then check your work with the recommended answers.
4.3. Attempt to do homework assignments. We will cover some, but not all, of the homework assignments in class. You will feel better prepared and get more from class if you at least review the assignments before class.
5. During class:
5.1. Pay attention to the class lecture and discussions. What we discuss in class will be very important not only in solving problems but in preparing for quizzes and exams.
5.2. Actively participate in class discussions. Don’t worry about asking questions or saying
“the wrong thing”. You are probably not the only one with questions. Our class is

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designed to be a safe place to express ideas. Share your ideas; we can learn from each other, and make our classroom experience more meaningful.
6. After class:
6.1.

Read the chapter again if necessary to review those areas still confusing to you.

6.2.

Work as many problems as possible! Remember, answers to all questions and problems are available on the Blackboard website.

6.3.

Solve some problems without consulting the textbook or notes since exams in the course are closed-book.

6.4.

Solve some multiple choice questions from each chapter on a timed basis without looking at the suggested answers. A good source for practicing multiple choice questions is the book entitled “Financial Accounting: Objective Questions and
Explanations” by Irwin Gleim has been put on the reserve in the library for this purpose. It contains hundreds of objective questions and explanations for the topics addressed by the financial accounting courses.

7. Feel free to consult with your fellow students and form study groups, but remember to take responsibility for your own learning.
If you follow the above tips, your exam preparation will automatically be better. Feel free to contact me with your concerns or questions at any time. The earlier you raise your concerns, the more time we will have to resolve them.
I welcome your constructive thoughts and suggestions regarding the course at any time. I truly value ideas about how to make this course the best learning experience possible.
Good luck!

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Tentative Schedule
Session
#

Date

Topic

Read

Assignments (BE= Brief
Exercise; E= Exercise; P=
Problem; CA= Concepts for
Analysis)

1

3-Sep

Introduction, Environment of Financial Reporting

2

10-Sep

Conceptual Framework

Chapter 2

3

17-Sep

Accounting Information
System

Chapter 3
(skip App. 3B and 3C)

Ch3: E6, 18; P2,8,11
Quiz 1 (Ch1, 2) Due

4

24-Sep

Income Statement

Chapter 4

Ch4: E8; P1, 7; CA3,6

5

1-Oct

Balance Sheet
Earnings Management

Chapter 5; Handouts
Reading on Blackboard

Ch5: E6,17; P5;
Quiz 2 (Ch3, 4) Due

6

8-Oct

Time Value of Money

Chapter 6

7

15-Oct

Revenue Recognition

Chapter 18A
(revised, on WileyPlus)

8

22-Oct

9

29-Oct

Cash and Receivables

Chapter 7

Ch7: 2,18,27; P5,8,11

10

5-Nov

Inventories

Chapter 8

Ch8: P2,4,11; Handouts
Quiz 4 (Ch18A, 7) Due

11

12-Nov

Inventories (Contd..)

Chapter 9

Ch9: E9,12; P7,10,11 handout problems

12

19-Nov

Property, Plant, and
Equipment

Chapter 10

Ch10: E13,16,22; P1,4, 6,8;
Quiz 5 (Ch9, 10) Due

13

3-Dec

Depreciation and
Impairment

Chapter 11
(Skip App. 11A)

Ch11: P1, 7, 9, 10

14

10-Dec

Intangible Assets

Chapter 12
(Skip App. 12A)

Ch12: E11, 16; P3,4,5
Quiz 6 (Ch11, 12) Due

15

17-Dec

Chapter 1
(Skip pp31-38)

Ch1: CA3, 6, 17

Ch2: E3, 4, 6; CA6

Ch6: P2,4,6,9,11
Ch18: E2,6,7,13,19; P1, 12;
Quiz 3 (Ch5,6) Due

Mid-Term Examination (Chapter 1-6, 18A)

Final Examination (Comprehensive)

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