15.515 | Fall 2003 | Graduate

Financial Accounting

Readings

The reading assignments listed below are what you should read before coming to class. The class lectures assume this reading has been done, and while you may not completely understand the material you will have a familiarity with the concepts and transactions we will be covering each day. Additional short readings (e.g., recent business press articles) will be distributed in class.

Readings that refer to “Pratt” can be found in the course textbook, J. Pratt, Financial Accounting in an Economic Context, 5th ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Other readings are from the Intel 2002 Annual Report, which is available for download from the website. “CP” stands for the Case Pack of readings that students purchase. (Note that the CP is not available online to OCW users.)

LEC # TOPICS READINGS
1 Overview and Introduction - Setting the Stage and the Course Framework

Pratt, Chapters 1 & 2.

CP: Mueller, Gernon, and Meek. An International Perspective on Financial Accounting. Chapter 1 in Accounting: An International Perspective. 4th ed. Irwin, 1997.

Other: Basic Book-keeping, on the course server and distributed with your orientation materials.

2 Principles of Accrual Accounting Pratt, Chapters 3 & 4.
3 Elements of an Annual Report and Financial Ratios

Pratt, Chapters 3 & 5.

Intel 2002 Annual Report

4 Revenue Recognition and Accounts Receivable

Pratt, Chapter 6, Review Chapter 3, especially pp. 83-85, “The principles of matching and revenue recognition”, Chapter 4, p. 126 “Unearned (Deferred) Revenues.”

Intel: Revenue Recognition, p. 54, and the line “Deferred Income on Shipments to Distributors” in the balance sheet.

5 Revenue Recognition CP: Bruns, William J., Jr., and Susan S. Harmeling. Circuit City Stores, Inc (A). Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, 1993. Case No. 9-191-086.
6 Accounting for Inventory and COGS

Pratt, Chapter 7.

Intel: pp. 53.

CP: Accounting for Manufacturing Companies, Understanding LIFO / FIFO.

7 The Matching Principle and Long-lived Assets

Pratt, Chapter 9, Chapter 4 (pp. 118 - 130).

Intel: “Property, Plant, and Equipment,” and, “Advertising,” page 53.

CP: Wilson, G. Peter. Understanding the Statement of Cash Flows. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, 1992. Note No. 9-193-027.

8 Matching Principle: Property, Plant, and Equipment CP: Bruns, William J., Jr., and Eric J. Petro. Depreciation at Delta and Pan Am (A). Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, 1993. Case No. 9-190-035.
9 The Statement of Cash Flow

Pratt, Chapter 14.

Intel: pp. 47.

CP: Wilson, G. Peter. Understanding the Statement of Cash Flows. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, 1992. Note No. 9-193-027.

  Midterm Exam  
10 Accounting for Taxes 
(This subject can be tough - preparation is essential)

Pratt, Appendix 10B.

Intel: “Provision for Income Taxes”, pp. 62-63.

11 Marketable Securities and Valuation Adjustments

Pratt, Chapter 8, through pp. 332.

Intel: pp. 50, 58-60.

12 Current Liabilities and Contingencies and an Introduction to Long-Term Debt

Pratt, Chapter 10.

Intel: pp. 54.

CP: Bruns, William J., Jr., and Susan S. Harmeling. Accounting for Frequent Fliers. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, 1993. Case No. 9-192-040.

13 Long-Term Debt

Pratt, Chapter 11, through pp. 484, Appendix B “The Time Value of Money” (pp. 689+).

Intel: pp. 27.

14 Debt and Valuation

CP: Barth, Mary E., and Charles A. Nichols III. First National Bank Corp. (A). Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, 1994. Case No. 9-192-042.

Special Note: First National Bank builds on the previous three sessions and you should review the terms and concepts from those sessions. The class preparation questions will guide the case discussion. The economic activity for this session centers on credit analyses related to loans. The accounting decision is determining the allowance for bad debts, a decision that requires considerable judgment. The case refers to numerous users’ decisions that are affected by this accounting decision.

15 Leases Pratt, Chapter 11, pp. 484 to end, review Appendix B “The Time Value of Money” (p. 689+).
16 Stockholders’ Equity

Pratt, Chapter 12.

Intel: pp. 48, 61.

17 Acquisitions

Pratt, Chapter 8, pp. 332 to end, Appendix 8A, Appendix 9A.

Intel pp. 46, 50-51.

18 Current Issues in Financial Reporting  
19 Introduction to FSA

CP: Matsumoto, Dawn, and Robert Bowen. Microsoft’s Financial Reporting Strategy. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2000. Case No. 9-100-027.

Read In Class: Charan, Ram, and Julie Schlosser. Ten Questions Every Board Member Should Ask . Fortune, October 27, 2003.

20 Course Review and Wrap-up  
  Final Exam  

Course Info

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Fall 2003
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