AC 4950 & AC 6950

SEMINAR IN ACCOUNTING THEORY

Dr. Heier

Schedule

Projects

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Jan Heier

Office: Business 314E Phone: 244-3497 or 244-3490 E-Mail: jheier@monk.aum.edu

PREREQUISITE: If you are taking AC 417 you must have competed AC 302 or Equivalent If you are taking AC 617 you must have graduate Standing and have competed AC 302 or Equivalent

REQUIRED TEXTS: Accounting Theory Harry Wolk and Michael Tearny -- 5th edition Southwestern Publishing, 1997

FASB Conceptual Framework --- Latest Edition Financial Accounting Standard Board

ACCREDITATION: Due to SACS accreditation policies which are followed by AUM, there must be a difference in the requirements for cross-listed classes. If you are enrolled in this class as an undergraduate (ACCT 4950), you will be required to complete only the FASB assignment as described above. As a graduate student, enrolled in ACCT 6950, you will be required to complete the FASB assignment as well as the second term project as well. For those enrolled in the class as an undergraduate student but have already graduated from the accounting program, the ACCT 4950 class will not counted as part of the MBA Accounting Option should you choose to enroll in that program. If you wish to enroll in the ACCT 6950 to gain graduate credit toward the MBA Accounting Option, please contact Joy in the graduate advising office at 244-3565

COURSE OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this course are for students to understand the underlying principles and concepts of financial accounting theory, including the FASB's Conceptual Framework. In addition, the course will lead to an understanding of the process for developing GAAP, evaluating current financial accounting standards against theory as well as analyze and solve accounting problems in relationship to theory and practice.

GRADE: Exam 1 100 Points Approximately ¾ Multiple Choice & ¼ Semi - Take home Essay

Exam 2 100 Points Approximately ¾ Multiple Choice & Semi - Take home Essay

FASB Review 50 points

Term Project 50 points

Grand Total 350 points undergraduate and 400 points graduate Points

Your final grade is based on the points available and the points earned. The "curve" is a basic 10 point scale

Due to space limitations, exams are kept by the instructor after one quarter and then are destroyed

EXAMINATIONS: There will be two exams given during the quarter. Each exam with have a 25 point take home exam as one of its components. You will need to buy two Scranton sheets to use during the tests. The remainder of the exams will be a combination of essay, problems and objective questions. For this section, you will need to buy two "Blue Books."

MAKE UP EXAMS: Make-up exams are only given if the professor is notified of a problem prior to the exam period or within a reasonable amount of time (24 hours after the exam). No make-up will be administered to a student if the exam has already been handed back to the class for review. Students who cannot arrange a make-up time will have the points from the missed exam applied to the final. No points are given if the professor is not notified of a difficulty within the reasonable time.

ATTENDANCE: Attendance is highly recommended. There is a positive correlation between students attending class and their final grade. Attendance will be taken, but is not used in computing course grade. Students who choose not to attend class also choose not to have additional instructor assistance, if needed.

ACADEMIC HONESTY: Any violation of the Academic Honesty Policy as defined in the student handbook (Aumanac) will be treated in accordance with Student Discipline Code policy and procedures.

DISABILITY POLICY: Faculty in the School of Business make every effort to accommodate unique and special needs of students with respect to speech, hearing, vision, seating, or other possible disabling conditions. Please notify the instructor as soon as possible of requested accommodations or ways to help. Please register with the Center for Special Services for help in receiving accommodations for any disabilities.

PROJECTS AND ASSIGNMENTS: All students will complete a FASB/GASB project that will include a written report of a current FASB/GASB statement and a short (five minutes maximum oral report to the class. Those students taking the course for graduate credit will also compete a written and oral report on accounting problems and solutions at a current or former employer. Those who are not working will be assigned a short term paper on a current accounting topic.

Tentative Schedule ---- May be changed at the Professor's discretion

Projects

FIRST: The first is a maximum seven page review of a current FASB pronouncement. You may choose from SFAS 105 through SFAS 136. Not all are listed because many in this group are amendments and deferrals. You can geta copy of original pronouncement out of the Journal of Accountancy that corresponds to the insurance date provided and or a codified version in the FARS Data Base located in the AUM library. You may get a summary of the pronouncement in the Professional Library Section of the NY Society of CPAs Home Page at http://www.nysscpa.org/ For other Accounting Links go to Dr. Heier's Homepage

This paper will explain in a concise fashion why the FASB was instituted (what problem was it trying to solve), its purpose (how was the problem solved). In addition, what were the criticisms of the against FASB for its pronouncement. These can be found in articles about the pronouncement from either the Journal of Accountancy or the CPA Journal; both of which are subscribed to by the AUM library and are included in EBSCO's Academic Source Elite. Finally, the paper should include a numerical example of the FASB's accounting application. A ten minute presentation will be required to explain finding to the class, including a one page handout summary fore each of the class member. This handout should include two multiple choice questions about the SFAS that could be included as part of the exams.

The FASB Statements you may pick from:

SFAS 105 - Disclosure of Information about Financial Instruments with Off-balance Sheet risk (March 1990)

SFAS 106 - Employers' Accounting for post retirement Benefits other than Pensions (December 1990)

SFAS 107 - Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial Instruments (December 1991)

SFAS 109 - Accounting for Income Taxes (February 1992)

SFAS 111 - Rescission of FASB Statement No. 32 and Technical Corrections (November 1992)

SFAS 112 - Employers' Accounting for Post Retirement Benefits (November 1992)

SFAS 113 - Accounting and Reporting for Reinsurance of Short-Duration and Long-Duration Contracts (December 1992)

SFAS 114 - Accounting by Creditors for Impairment of a Loan (May 1993)

SFAS 115 - Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt And Equity Securities (May 1993)

SFAS 116 - Accounting for Contributions Received and Contributions Made (June 1993)

SFAS 117 - Financial Statement for Not-for-Profit Organizations (June 1993)

SFAS 118 - Accounting by Creditors for impairment of a Loan --- Income Recognitions and Disclosures (October 1994)

SFAS 119 - Disclosures about Derivative Financial Instruments and Fair Value of Financial Instruments (October 1994)

SFAS 121 - Accounting for the Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and for Long-lived Assets to be disposed of. (March 1995)

SFAS 122 - Accounting for Mortgaging Servicing Rights (May 1995)

SFAS 123 - Accounting for Stock Based Compensation (October 1995)

SFAS 124 - Accounting for Certain Investments Held by Not-for-Profit Organizations (November 1995)

SFAS 125 - Accounting for Transfers and Servicing of Financial Assets and Extinguishment of Liabilities (June 1996)

SFAS 126 - Exemption From Certain Required Disclosures About Financial Instruments for Certain Nonpublic Entities (December 1996)

SFAS 128 - Earnings Per Share (February 1997)

SFAS 129 - Disclosure of Information about Capital Structure (February 1997)

SFAS 130 - Reporting Comprehensive Income (June 1997)

SFAS 131 - Disclosures about Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information (June 1997)

SFAS 132 - Employer' Disclosures about Pensions and Other Post Retirement Benefits (February 1998)

SFAS 133 - Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities (June 1998)

SFAS 134 - Accounting for Mortgage-Backed Securities Retained after the Securitization of Mortgage Loans Held for Sale by a Mortgage Banking Enterprise--an amendment of FASB Statement No. 65 (October, 1998)

SFAS 135 - Rescission of FASB Statement No. 75 and Technical Corrections (February 1999)

SFAS 136 - Transfers of Assets to a Not-for-Profit Organization or Charitable Trust That Raises or Holds Contributions for Others (June 1999)

SECOND: The second project is a maximum of fifteen page paper that will discuss a current accounting problem that your employer is facing or has faced and how the problem either have been solved or could be solved. If you are not currently employed, topics in accounting problems will be assigned from the Emerging Issues Task Force. More Details will be given later on the this project. You may combine your FASB report with this project though two papers still need to be produced. The second paper must deal with the application of the problem to your work environment. Again you will give a ten minute presentation on your topic.

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