Instructor: Charles P. Baril
Semester: Fall 1997
Office: Showker Hall 345
Office Hours: Monday 3:40 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Other times by appointment
Telephone: 568-3092 - office
E-mail: barilcp@jmu.edu

Honor Code: I anticipate that all students will follow the JMU Honor Code.

Course Philosophy: This course is primarily intended for students who desire to pursue a career in accounting. It is a foundation course for unstructured decision-making in the financial accounting arena.

Course Objectives:

1. To develop a basis for analyzing the impact of individual investment, production, and financing transactions on a firm's financial statements and the decisions of financial statement users via ratios and other means.
2. To develop a basis for "understanding" what activities a firm has engaged in and what activities it might consider for the future through an examination of its financial statements.
3. To develop a basis for evaluating the theory and application of accounting principles.

	Total Points
Exam 1 (Chapters 1-4, 19 (pp.987-96)	100
Exam 2 (Chapters 5-9)	100
Comprehensive final exam	120
Classroom (quizzes-45; projects-15; homework-20)	80
	400

Letter grades will be awarded as follows:
A = 360 - 400 points
B = 320 - 359
C = 280 - 319
D = 240 - 279

Course Policies

1. Assignments: You are expected to complete, to the best of your ability, the reading, exercise and problem assignments before coming to class. Use your textbook, outside readings, study mates, and instructor as resources for working on these assignments. Regular and concentrated practice of these exercises and problems is necessary for satisfactory completion of the course. If you have difficulty in a particular area, work extra problems! Your focus should be on the circumstances and reasons for implementing the various techniques and standards which we examine. This will facilitate the development of your decision-making skills.
2. Homework will be collected on a random basis and graded based on effort. To facilitate your study and my evaluation, please use a pen for corrections/additions made during class versus pencil for work completed prior to class.
3. Any absence from a scheduled test without prior approval from the instructor will result in a grade of zero for the missed test. An excused absence will result in the comprehensive final examination being allocated 100 more points. No more than one excused absence may be granted per student per semester.
4. Students are responsible for the material in the textbook and that discussed in class.
5. Extra Help: I will be happy to give you extra help at any time during the semester. Just come by during my office hours, send an e-mail message, or make an appointment and I will be glad to answer questions, rework problems, review the class lecture, or assist you in any other way. It is helpful if you will make a list of questions from the textbook readings, homework assignments, class discussions, etc. Keep a "Question Pad" and bring it by whenever you need answers. It is never easy for me when someone asks: "Can you explain Chapter 8 again?" However, I can usually be of help when a student asks "Where did the book get this number in this problem?" or "Why did you use 16 in class instead of 9?" or "What rule should be applied to this situation?" Getting help from a teacher is often dependent upon asking the right questions.
6. You are required to attend one professional program such as those sponsored by the student chapters of IMA and BAP. You are required to turn in a brief memo commenting on the program attended within one week of attendance. DEADLINE for submitting memo - November 17. This requirement will replace class on November 25.

A portion of your work in Accounting 343 will be performed in groups. Groups are self-selected. You are required to organize your group no later than September 3. The ideal group size is three. Groups of four will be allowed, but remember that more people make it more difficult to arrange schedules so as to be able to meet. All groups must have representation from both "majority" and "minority" sex/ethnic/nationality/age-group backgrounds. (No groups may be comprised exclusively of white males, white females, ethnic minorities, or foreign students.) On September 3, your group should turn in a sheet with the names of its members.

The primary objective of group assignments and activities in the class is to encourage working together as a team to learn and/or to accomplish an assigned task. Several people's schedules must be coordinated, which requires some give and take. All individuals need to be involved in the assigned task to identify the problem, put forth ideas and insights, create a solution, and prepare a finished product. The rationale for group work includes:

1. The research is very convincing that students perform much better and learn more when they work in groups. Therefore, you are encouraged to study together in groups, even on individual assignments. By studying together, you will reinforce each others' learning. Everyone can learn something from others.
2. When you graduate from JMU and enter the business world, almost all of your work will be performed in groups. Rarely will you work alone as a professional. Take advantage of this opportunity to get used to working together towards a common goal, an enhanced ability to identify problems, make decisions, and provide support within the financial accounting arena.

Course Assignments: This schedule is tentative. It will be modified if developments indicate that a change is appropriate.

Date	CH	Assignment	General Topic
1997
8/27	Introduction	Pre-test
9/1	1	Q1-1, 6, 18, 19	Accounting Environment
9/3	2	E2-4, 2, 10	Theoretical Structure
9/8	3	E3-1; P3-1; E3-19	Accounting Process
9/10	3	P3-3, 4; E3-14
9/15	3	E3-15; P3-5, 11
9/17	3	Ch. 3 quiz (30 pts.)
9/22	19 (pp.987-96)	E19-9, 14, 13	Error Analysis
9/24	4	E4-1, 2, 6	Income Statement
9/29	4	E4-11, 16; P4-11
9/30	TEST #1	CHAPTERS 1, 2, 3, 4, 19 (pp. 987-96) (6-8 PM - ZSH G6)
10/1	No class
10/6	5	P5-1 (Total Assets = 31,680)	Balance Sheet
		E5-10, 2, 6, 12
10/8	5	C5-8; C5-10; P5-11, 14
10/13	FALL Holiday
10/15	Merck F/S-handout	Individual assignment	Financial Statement Analysis
	6	E6-3, 9; E6-1	Statement of Cash Flows
10/20	6	Merck Group assignment; P6-2, 5
10/22	7	E7-13; C7-6,	Revenue Recognition
		Ch. 6 quiz (15 pts.)
10/23	(Last day to withdraw from class)
10/27	7	E7-12, 16; C7-1
10/29	8	E8-1; P8-2; E8-5, 8	Short Term Monetary Items
11/3	8	C8-3; E8-18; C8-5
11/5	9	P9-6(1), 1, 12	Inventory Valuation
11/10	9	C9-8; P9-19; E9-9
11/11	TEST #2	CHAPTERS 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 (6-8 PM - ZSH G6)
11/12	No class
11/17	10	P10-1, 3	More on Inventory Valuation
11/19	10	P10-4; E10-17, 5
11/24	11	P11-1, C11-4; E11-7; P11-8, 11	Plant Assets and Intangibles
11/25	If acceptable professional program	memo submitted by 11/17, no	class.
12/1	11	P11-9, 10(1), 12
12/3	Review for Comprehensive Final Exam
12/9	FINAL EXAM - COMPREHENSIVE	CHAPTERS 1-11 AND 19 (pp 987-96)	(6-8 PM - ZSH G6)
		with 10 and 11 emphasized slightly

Return to top of page