Course Description

Intermediate Accounting I is the first of a three-semester sequence of courses which provide detailed study of the theory and practice of financial accounting in the United States. Intermediate I prepares you to handle matters related to GAAP financial reporting: asset, liability and equity classification; revenue/expense recognition and income determination, cash flow analysis, and financial statement analysis.

EMA Department Mission, Accounting Learning Objectives, and the College's Core Values

EMA Depatrment Mission: Students enrolled in the Department of Economics, Management and Accounting will develop competencies in their specific fields of study. In addition, they will graduate with the essential analytical, problem solving, computer, and communication skills to excel in their chosen career or graduate studies. Upon their graduation, students also will have the necessary interpersonal skills to function as effective team players with people from diverse backgrounds. Furthermore, students will be able to demonstrate competency in conducting research, a commitment to ethical and professional behavior, an understanding of the international marketplace, and an appreciation of the importance of lifelong learning.

Accounting Program Objectives: Students of accounting and public accounting will apply the basics of financial reporting and internal control, understand how managers use accounting information, appreciate how technology impacts the accounting profession, and possess basic skills to pass a professional examination.

The Department supports the College's Core Values, and this course directly addresses several of the Core Values.

• Core Value #1 -- Liberal Arts Foundation: this course, where learning and teaching happens using a liberal arts approach, helps prepare students for careers where critical thinking, unstructured problem solving, and judgment is necessary.
• Core Value #4 -- Technology: in this course students will continue to enhance their technology proficiencies, becoming comfortable and capable with methods of communication and ways to gather information intelligently.
• Core Value #5 -- World of Work: this course provides students with an education "in the various branches of useful knowledge." Requiring students to use the skills and knowledge they acquired in their liberal education, this course's content reflects today’s realities of worldwide market orientation and an economy based deeply on information exchange.

Course Competencies

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

• appreciate the importance of professional judgment and ethics in making accounting and financial reporting decisions,
• use GAAP to account for routine and non-routine business activities and events, and
• communicate the results of the financial accounting process through properly prepared financial statements and narrative reports, and interpret and use financial information for business decision-making.

Textbook and Materials

REQUIRED:

• Intermediate Accounting, 16th edition with The Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Stice, Stice and Skousen (2006). South-Western Publishing Co. ISBN: 0324355335.
• Understanding the Corporate Annual Report. Fraser and Ormiston (2003). Prentice Hall. ISBN: 0-13-100431-X
• One USB drive for use during class time

OPTIONAL:

• Study Guide (Volume 1) to accompany text, ISBN: 0-324-0000-4

Course Components

You shall complete assigned readings from the textbook and various business and accounting periodicals. These readings, which you should view with a "professionally skeptical" eye, serve as the basis for class discussions and application of textbook topics. Outside assignments provide additional opportunities for you to apply material discussed in class or to discover information related to class topics. Two examinations provide me with more formal opportunities to evaluate your progress.

Each chapter will BEGIN with a RAT (Readiness Assessment Test). The sole purpose of the RATs is to make sure you keep up with chapter reading assignments and are ready to apply the things you learn from reading your textbook. RAT questions will be drawn from the questions at the end of each chapter.

We will use brief lectures, in-class discussions and team activities, homework, and outside assignments as the means of learning and applying textbook concepts. I expect active class participation from all students. You can be expected to be called on in class. Oral communication skills are a critical factor for the success of accountants -- or any business person for that matter! Those who participate in class tend to be more academically stronger, as they know they must prepare ahead of class, read assigned materials and review those materials already covered, and keep up with homework in order to meet the demands of class participation. Participation includes, but it not limited to: asking questions and responding to questions during class, responding to homework reviews, sharing personal experiences or making comments about class topics, finding relevant articles in newspapers or journals and introducing them to the class, etc. In addition to participating in class, I will expect you to pose questions and carry on electronic discussions by way of our class e-mail list.

Class Attendance

Attendance is not taken. You will be treated as an adult in this regard, responsible for the outcomes of the choices you make. Please realize that because of the various teaching and learning methods employed in our class it is not possible to recreate the learning that takes place during class time. Absences impact your class participation grade; if you're not in class, you can't participate!

While in class, please turn off your mobile phones. If you are awaiting an emergency phone call for medical reasons, please set your mobile's alert mode to "vibrate" and leave the classroom to take the call.

To stay comfortable with and continuously work to improve my routine for Marietta College emergency preparedness, periodically we will not meet and instead conduct classes using alternate means. Just as in en emergency, you will not receive advance notice about these changes. Thus it is extremely important for you to regularly check your Marietta College e-mail and v-mail for instructions. Sometimes you will get notification via e-mail or phone, other times via a notice posted on the doors of Thomas Hall.

Computer Fluency Requirements

You are expected to have a working knowledge of e-mail and an e-mail account, fluency in simple applications of Microsoft Excel and Word, using Internet search engines, and using the Dawes Library online databases.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Students with learning or other disabilities are encouraged to contact me at the beginning of the semester to discuss their needs for accommodation. Students with learning or other disabilities are encouraged to contact me at the beginning of the semester to discuss their needs for accommodation. Any student needing accommodations due to a documented disability should notify the Academic Resource Center, located in Andrews Hall, at the beginning of the semester for further instructions.

Examinations

Examinations are designed to encourage you to synthesize the textbook and outside readings, in-class exercises, homework, and material discussed on our e-mail group list. Examination questions focus on concepts, application of financial accounting principles, and analysis of financial information for business decision making. Examinations are not comprehensive, but represent the cumulative nature of the discipline. You may use the services of the Campus Writing Center in organizing responses to your take-home examination questions.

Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty occurs when a student represents someone else's work as his or her own; it includes actions such as, but not limited to:

• Copying another person's paper,
• Copying another person's words or ideas without putting quotation marks around them or citing them as a source,
• Copying entire sentences and paragraphs from a print or electronic source without providing proper documentation and credit,
• Allowing another person to write your paper and make revisions to your work,
• Collaborating with others on examinations or assignments where the work is to be done indivdually,
• Manipulating data,
• Cheating.

Any student who engages in academic dishonesty or plagiarizes from published material (such as a web site, book, or magazine) or from unpublished material (such as another student's writing), is subject to a range of penalties, depending on the extent of the academic dishonesty, from an F on the assignment to an F for the course. Learn more about academic dishonesty, both in the Student Handbook under "Academic Dishonesty" and also on the Campus Writing Center's web site.

Last year I had several cases of plagiarism in my courses. I want you to know that I am very persistent and diligent about seeking out plagiarism and reviewing your research and writing. I deal with offenders as stated in my policy: from issuing a "zero" on an assignment to an F for the course. Students frequently forget that the impact of academic dishonesty goes well beyond the assignment or the semester. It results in a long-term loss of my trust and confidence in you. As well, I would be unable to write an objective letter of reference for you for campus activities or work, internships, jobs, or graduate school. Simply stated: avoid any temptation to engage in academic dishonesty!

Evaluation System

Any student (with the exception of first year students) on academic probation will also be placed on co-curricular probation. At the end of spring semester first year students can be placed on co-curricular probation effect for the fall semester. Refer to p. 146-47 of the 2007-08 College Catalogue for more information about co-curricular probation.