Course Meeting Times
Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session
TA Sessions
The TAs are important members of the teaching team and are committed to helping you reach the course objectives. They are responsible for grading most of the written assignments and exams. Schedule of their office hours will be announced on the first day of class.
Office Visitations
If you have been attending class and help sessions but are still falling behind you are encouraged to visit us. These meetings will be much more productive if you come well prepared with specific questions. In addition, be familiar with the definitions and notation related to a topic even if you are having conceptual difficulties. Most importantly, don’t tell us that you understand something when you are still perplexed. Please make appointments by email.
Grading Procedure
Your grade will be based on the following weights:
| ACTIVITIES | PERCENTAGES |
|---|---|
| Contributions to Class Discussion | 10% |
| Written Problem Sets (best 7 of 8) | 10% |
| First Exam | 20% |
| Second Exam | 20% |
| Final Exam | 40% |
Individual versus Group Assignments
The problem sets are to be done individually and are intended to help you learn and practice the mechanics of the course material. By this, we mean that the work you turn in must be your own, as opposed to copied from another. This does not mean you have to do individual assignments in isolation. We expect that you will need to consult each other in order to understand, or better understand, the material. Seeking and giving such assistance is encouraged.
Regrade Policy
If you believe an error has been made in grading your homework or exam, you may request a regrade by doing the following: Write a brief note to your TA explaining why you think there is an error and submit both the note and the entire assignment or exam to which it pertains. All regrade requests must occur within seven (7) calendar days of the day graded material is returned to the class. We reserve the right to regrade the entire contents of any submitted assignment or exam.
Bulletin Board
We will use the bulletin board to extend the class discussion outside of the space-time constraints of the class. Your TA’s and I will actively participate in all ongoing discussion threads. This should be a less threatening place to engage your classmates in discussions of course topics. To encourage all to participate, contributions to the bulletin boards will be counted towards your class participation points. Other aspects of “class participation” will be discussed on the first day of class.
Assignments
Unless otherwise noted, problem sets must be submitted before the start of the class of the due date. Note on text problems: “Do” are problems that will help you prepare for class; but they do not have to be submitted. “Opt” are problems that you could optionally do if you want more material to study.
Course Materials
Required Text
Pratt, J. Financial Accounting in an Economic Context. 5th ed. John Wiley & Sons, 2003. ISBN: 0470000465. (Hereafter cited as “Pratt”)
Required Case Packet
Includes supplemental readings and Harvard Business School cases. (Hereafter cited as “CP”)
Supplementary Texts
People have different approaches to learning, and the best text for one student may not be the best for another. One may also be interested in related, more advanced topics that are beyond the scope of this class. Therefore, here are some supplementary texts:
Stickney, C., and R. Weil. Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods, and Uses. 10th ed. Fort Worth: The Dryden Press, 1997. ISBN: 0030182727.
Bazley, J. S., L. A. Nikolai, and H. B. Grove. Financial Accounting: Concepts and Uses. 3rd ed. Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College Publishers, 1995. ISBN: 0538839228.
Hoskin, R. Financial Accounting: A User Perspective. 2nd ed. Toronto: John Wiley & Sons, 1997. ISBN: 0471172359.
Kieso, D., and J. Weygandt. Intermediate Accounting. 9th ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998. ISBN: 0471641839.
