acc4030 accounting theory course outline summer … · acc4030 – accounting theory course outline...

University of Manitoba

I.H. Asper School of Business

Department of Accounting and Finance

ACC4030 – Accounting Theory

Course Outline

Summer 2016

Instructor: Debbie Mortimer, B. Comm. (Hons.), M. Acc., FCPA, FCGA Summer 2016

Office: 366 Drake Phone #: 204- 474-6389

Office Hours: 2pm-4pm Tuesday/Thursday or by appointment

E-mail: [email protected]

Course Objective:

The main objectives of this course are:

- To describe and explore various theories that underlie financial accounting and

reporting.

- To explain and illustrate the relevance of these theories in order to understand the

practice of financial accounting and reporting.

- To critically examine the broader implications of financial accounting for the fair and

efficient operation of our economy.

- To give an understanding of the current financial accounting and reporting

environment from the standpoint of the investor and the manager.

- Increase awareness of how theories relate to, or contradict, real world events

- Develop an interest in current events and issues facing the profession

- Understand how scholarly research tests theories and can assist policy development

The skills and competencies you gain in this course will be essential for continuing on to a

professional accounting designation.

research

Real world:

-events

-current

practice

-profession

theory

mailto:[email protected]

AACSB Assurance of Learning Goals and Objectives.

The Asper School of Business is proudly accredited by AACSB. Accreditation

requires a process of continuous improvement of the School and our students. Part of

“student improvement” is ensuring that students graduate with the knowledge and

skills they need to succeed in their careers. To do so, the Asper School has set the

learning goals and objectives listed below for the Undergraduate Program. The

checked goal(s) and objective(s) will be addressed in this course and done so by means

of the items listed next to the checkmark.

Goals and Objective in

the Undergraduate

Program

Goals and

Objectives

Addressed

in this

Course

Course Item(s) Relevant to these Goals

and Objectives

1 Quantitative Reasoning

A. Determine which

quantitative analysis

technique is

appropriate for

solving a specific

problem.

Identify type of question (notably,

present value accounting (Chp 2),

decision making (Chp 3), and incentive

compensation (Chp 9))

Quantitative analysis in assignments

and exams

B. Use the appropriate

quantitative method

in a technically

correct way to solve

a business problem.

Application of present value accounting

(Chp 2), decision theory (Chp 3), and

utility functions (Chp 3 & 9)


and exams

C. Analyze quantitative

output and arrive at

a conclusion.

Interpretation of actual stock prices to

theoretical stock prices (Chp 4), and

decisions based on utility function

results (Chp 3 & 9)


and exams

2 Written Communication

A. Use correct English

grammar and

mechanics in their

written work.

Qualitative analysis in assignments and

exams (notably Group Project)

B. Communicate in a

coherent and logical

manner



C. Present ideas in a

clear and organized

fashion.



3 Ethical Thinking

A. Identify ethical

issues in a problem

or case situation

Identify motivations for various

management, investor and regulator

decisions (Chp 4-13)


exams

B. Identify the

stakeholders in the

situation.

Identification of stakeholders in capital

and labour markets (Chp 4-13)


exams

C. Analyze the

consequences of

alternatives from an

ethical standpoint.

Evaluation of consequences to capital

and labour markets of various

management, investor and regulator

decisions (Chp 4-13)


exams

D. Discuss the ethical

implications of the

decision.

Discuss impacts to capital and labour

markets of various management,

investor and regulator decisions (Chp 4-

13)


exams

4 Core Business

Knowledge

Entire course

Text and Website Information:

Financial Accounting Theory, William R. Scott. Prentice Hall. 2015. Seventh Edition. ISBN:

978-0-13-298466-9

Please note that while the text is the primary source of information for the course, class

discussions are important. Thus, you are responsible for the text material and class discussions

for examination purposes.

The course will be set up UM Learn. Here you will find lecture notes, assignments, groups,

textbook solutions, and practice exams. Follow the instructions below to log on to UM Learn:

1. The UM Learn website address is: https://www.umanitoba.ca/d2l

2. Sign in using your University of Manitoba UMnetID. (If you do not have a UMnetID, go

to the Iridium website at:

https://iridium.umanitoba.ca/ and click on Create UMnetID.)

3. From your Summer 2016 list of courses, click on ACC-4030.

https://www.umanitoba.ca/d2l

https://iridium.umanitoba.ca/

Grading:

Course grade is based upon:

12% Group project – article research, due Thursday, Aug 4, 2016 (via drop box in UM Learn)

8% In Class Written Assignments/Discussion (8 @ 1% each)

30% Midterm Exam, 2.5 hours – Chapters 1-7, Thursday, July 14, 4:15pm-6:45pm Scotia

Bank Lab

50% Final Exam, 3 hours – Chapters 1-13 – Saturday, Aug 6 9am-12pm, 122 Drake

For students who miss the midterm for legitimate reasons, the weight of the midterm exam will

be allocated to the final examination (ie., you will be writing an 80% final examination).

Absence from exams due to illness requires a medical certificate. If you miss the midterm for

non-legitimate reasons you will be given a score of 0 (zero). There will be NO DEFERRED

MIDTERM exam privileges.

Students who miss the final exam must apply to the Undergraduate Program Office in their

faculty for possible deferred examination privileges.

Any request for re-reads of term examinations and assignments must be made, in writing, within

10 working days of the class when it was returned. The date for voluntary withdrawal is July 26.

Final grades are based on the student’s weighted mark and performance relative to other

students. The following are the tentative grade cut-offs:

Cumulative Marks Grade GPA

90-100 A+ 4.5

85-89 A 4.0

75-84 B+ 3.5

70-74 B 3.0

65-69 C+ 2.5

60-64 C 2.0

50-59 D 1.0

Below 50 F 0.0

These tentative cut-offs are subject to adjustment up or down depending on the relative

performance of the current class compared to prior classes that have taken the course with the

same instructor.

Group Work:

Article Project

The purpose of this assignment is to apply concepts and theories discussed in the course to

practical issues.

In assigned groups of 4-5 people, you will be required to select ONE article from a

predetermined list of articles chosen by the instructor. The article should be discussed in light of

theories or concepts discussed in the course. For example, you may relate the article to theories

which either confirm or contradict or expand upon the material in the article. The total length for

the article review should not exceed 5 pages double-spaced, minimum 11 point font.

Grading will be based on the following criteria:

Identification of relevant theories

Understanding of theory

Appropriate application of theory to article

Conclusions

Submission of the project should be done via the UM Learn drop box function. Please submit

one file per group

Each group member will have an option to evaluate each other group member’s performance. If

one or more members did not contribute fully he or she should be given a contribution score of

less than 100% (minimum = 0%). Your individual grade will be equal to the grade assigned for

the group project, multiplied by your individual average contribution score as determined by the

other group members. Please submit your evaluation via UM Learn dropbox by Aug 5. Note if

you do not submit a group evaluation it will be assumed you are giving each member a 100%

contribution score.

In Class Written Assignments

Starting June 23, you will be required to submit a written answer to a specific question, designed

by the instructor. You will be given class time for this task. You will be allowed to discuss the

question with your fellow students. Then you will form your own individual response for

submission.

These assignments are optional. If you choose not to submit an assignment, the weight of the

assignment will be added to the final exam. Grading will be on a pass fail basis. The “correct”

answer is not necessarily required to receive a “pass”. There are 10 assignments scheduled for 1

point each to a maximum of 8 points.

Tentative Course Schedule

Date Topic Readings June 21 Course Outline and Course Introduction Chp. 1

Accounting Under Ideal Conditions Chp. 2

June 23 Accounting Under Ideal Conditions

In class assignment – chapter 2

Groups Assigned

Chp. 2

June 28 Decision Usefulness Approach to Financial Reporting


Chp. 3

June 30 Efficient Securities Markets


Chp. 4

July 5 Value Relevance of Accounting Information


Chp. 5

July 7 Measurement Perspective on Decision Usefulness


Chp. 6

July 12 Measurement Perspective Applications


Chp. 7

Article Discussions – posted on UM Learn

July 14 Midterm Exam – Chapters 1-7 – 4:15pm-6:45pm Scotia Bank

Computer Lab

July 19 The Efficient Contracting Approach of Decision Usefulness


Chp. 8

July 21 An Analysis of Conflict


Chp. 9

July 26 Executive Compensation Chp. 10

Earnings Management

In class assignment – chapter 10/11

Chp. 11

July 28 Standard Setting – Economic Issues


Chp. 12

Aug 2 Standard Setting – Political Consequences and/or Review Chp. 13

Aug 4 Review and Article Project Due by 7pm

Aug 5 Group Evaluation due by 7pm

Aug 6 Final Exam 9am-12pm Room 122 Drake

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

It is critical to the reputation of the I. H. Asper School of Business and of our degrees that

everyone associated with our faculty behaves with the highest academic integrity. As the faculty

that helps create business and government leaders, we have a special obligation to ensure that our

ethical standards are beyond reproach. Any dishonesty in our academic transactions violates this

trust. The University of Manitoba Undergraduate Calendar addresses the issue of academic

dishonesty under the heading “Plagiarism and Cheating.” Specifically, acts of academic

dishonesty include, but are not limited to:

using the exact words of a published or unpublished author without quotation marks and

without referencing the source of these words

duplicating a table, graph or diagram, in whole or in part, without referencing the source

paraphrasing the conceptual framework, research design, interpretation, or any other

ideas of another person, whether written or verbal (e.g., personal communications, ideas

from a verbal presentation) without referencing the source

copying the answers of another student in any test, examination, or take-home assignment

providing answers to another student in any test, examination, or take-home assignment

taking any unauthorized materials into an examination or term test (crib notes)

impersonating another student or allowing another person to impersonate oneself for the

purpose of submitting academic work or writing any test or examination

stealing or mutilating library materials

accessing tests prior to the time and date of the sitting

changing name or answer(s) on a test after that test has been graded and returned

submitting the same paper or portions thereof for more than one assignment, without

discussions with the instructors involved.

Group Projects and Group Work

Many courses in the I. H. Asper School of Business require group projects. Students should be

aware that group projects are subject to the same rules regarding academic dishonesty. Because

of the unique nature of group projects, all group members should exercise special care to insure

that the group project does not violate the policy on Academic Integrity. Should a violation

occur, group members are jointly accountable unless the violation can be attributed to a specific

individual(s).

Some courses, while not requiring group projects, encourage students to work together in groups

(or at least do not prohibit it) before submitting individual assignments. Students are encouraged

to discuss this issue as it relates to academic integrity with their instructor to avoid violating this

policy.

In the I. H. Asper School of Business, all suspected cases of academic dishonesty are passed to

the Dean’s office in order to ensure consistency of treatment.

acc4030 accounting theory course outline summer … · acc4030 – accounting theory course outline...

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