GSBA-510: Accounting Concepts and Financial Reporting

Instructor: / Randy Beatty
Office: / 117 Accounting Building
Office Hours: / Noon – 1:00 pm Sat
& by appointment.
Phone: / (213) 761-9186 (cell)
Email: /
COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is designed to provide a working knowledge of the fundamentals of financial accounting. We will pursue this objective by:

  1. covering rules, conventions, and approaches used in preparation of financial statements,
  2. understanding the core concepts of financial reporting,
  3. developing the skills to analyze financial statements,
  4. investigating various public sources of financial information used in capital markets,
  5. assessing the usefulness and limitations of financial statement analysis in specificdecision contexts.

With these objectives, we investigate the following topics:

  1. concepts, principles, and methods (GAAP & IFRS)
  2. financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, & cash flow statement),
  3. assets (current assets, PP&EQ, & Intangible assets),
  4. equities – liabilities (current & long-term) and stockholders’ equity, and
  5. analysis of financial statements.

COURSE MATERIALS
  1. Pre-term Tutorial

USC Marshall: Fundamentals of Financial Accounting Tutorial (Modules 1-3)

Cambridge Publishing Company

  1. Required Text

Financial Accounting, 5th Edition by Dyckman, Hanlon, Magee, and Pfeiffer. (DHMP)

  1. USC Blackboard Course Pages

All information for this course, including announcements, assignments, solutions and other resources will be posted on the USC Blackboard Course Pages under

If you have any questions or need assistance with the Blackboard Course Pages, please contact the Marshall Help Desk (Hoffman Hall Room 300, 213-740-3000 or .

Course Grade

The course grade is based on the following:

i. Class Participation 5%

ii.Quizzes (Aug. 10, Aug. 15, & Aug 22) 30%

ii..Comprehensive Final Exam - (September 7th 8:00 am – 11:00 am) 65%

Total 100%

Retention of Graded Work

Retained paperwork, unclaimed by students, will be discarded after December 31, 2018.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include

the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be

submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own

academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. All students

are expected to understand and abide by these principles. SCampus, the StudentGuidebook, ( or contains the University Student Conduct

Code (see University Governance, Section 11.00), while the recommended sanctions are located in

Appendix A.

Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further

review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at: Failure to adhere to the academic conduct standards set forth by these guidelines and our programs will not be tolerated by the USC Marshall community and can lead to dismissal.

No audio or video recording is permitted.

STATEMENT OF ACADEMIC CONDUCT AND SUPPORT SYSTEMS

Academic Conduct

Plagiarism – presenting someone else’s ideas as your own, either verbatim or recast in your own words – is a serious academic offense with serious consequences. Please familiarize yourself with the discussion of plagiarism in SCampusin Section 11, Behavior Violating University Standards Other forms of academic dishonesty are equally unacceptable. See additional information in SCampusand university policies on scientific misconduct,

Discrimination, sexual assault, and harassment are not tolerated by the university. You are encouraged to report any incidents to the Office of Equity and Diversity or to the Department of Public Safety This is important for the safety whole USC community. Another member of the university community – such as a friend, classmate, advisor, or faculty member – can help initiate the report, or can initiate the report on behalf of another person. The Center for Women and Men provides 24/7 confidential support, and the sexual assault resource center webpage describes reporting options and other resources.

Support Systems

A number of USC’s schools provide support for students who need help with scholarly writing. Check with your advisor or program staff to find out more. Students whose primary language is not English should check with the American Language Institute which sponsors courses and workshops specifically for international graduate students. The Office of Disability Services and Programs certification for students with disabilities and helps arrange the relevant accommodations. If an officially declared emergency makes travel to campus infeasible, USC Emergency Information will provide safety and other updates, including ways in which instruction will be continued by means of blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technology.

COURSE OUTLINE AND ASSIGNMENTS

Course Plan:

Session / Date / DHMF Chapter(s) / Topic / ASSIGNMENTS[1]
1 / Aug 3 / 1 / Introduction Financial Accounting / DHMF Self-study: E1.27, E1.31,
& P1.38
IA HW: P1.36
Primary HW: C1.47
2 / Constructing Financial Statements / DHMF Self-study: E2.46, & P2.57
IA HW: P2.69
Primary HW: P 2.67
2 / Aug 5 / 3 / Adjusting Accounts for Financial Statements / DHMF Self-Study M3.24 & M3.29
IA HW: P3.47
Primary HW: P3.54
Mattel Financial Disclosures
(In Class)
3 / Aug 10 / 4 / Reporting and Analyzing Cash Flows / DHMF Self-Study M4.31, P4.51,
& P4.52
IA HW: P4.46 & P4.48
Primary HW: E4.42, E4.43,
& C4.57
Quiz 1
4 / Aug 12 / 5 / Analyzing and Interpreting Financial Statements / DHMF Self-Study M5.16, M5.17,
& M5.18
IA HW: P5.38 & P5.39
Primary HW: P5.41, P5.42,
& P5.44
(forecasting)
Maleus Corp. –
Construct F/SAnalysis (M)
(In Class)
5 / Aug 15 / 6 / Reporting and Analyzing Revenues, Receivables, and Operating Income / DHMF Self-Study M6.16, E 6.29,
E6.31& E 6.34
IA HW: E6.41 & P6.43
Primary HW: E6.30& E6.38
Quiz 2
Session / Date / DHMF Chapter(s) / Topic / ASSIGNMENTS1
6 / Aug 17 / 7 / Working Capital / DHMF Self-Study M7.13, M7.17,
E7.26
IA HW: M7.19, E7.27, &
C7.37
Primary HW: M7.15 & P7.36
7 / Aug 22 / 8 / Reporting and Analyzing Long-Term Operating Assets / DHMF Self-Study M8.13 &, E8.24
IA HW: E8.27 & E8.35
Primary HW: P8.39C8.42
Quiz 3
8 / Aug 24 / 9 / Reporting and Analyzing Liabilities / DHMF Self-Study M9.27 & M9.3,
IA HW: E9.41 & E9.48
Primary HW: E9.46, & P9.52
9 / Aug 25 / 9 / Reporting and Analyzing Liabilities / DHMF Self-Study E9.41& E9.42
IA HW: E9.39
Primary HW: P9.53 & P9.59
10 / Aug 29 / 10 / Reporting and Analyzing Leases, Pensions, and Income Taxes
(460-474 & 484-492) / DHMF Self-Study M10.13& E10.34
IA HW: M10.14
Primary HW: M10.16&E10.26
11 / Aug 31 / 10 / Reporting and Analyzing Leases, Pensions, and Income Taxes
(460-474 & 484-492) / DHMF Self-Study E10.31
IA HW: E10.32 & E10.34
Primary HW: M10.22&P10.40
12 / Sept 2 / 11 / Reporting and Analyzing Shareholders’ Equity / DHMF Self-Study M11.19M11.36
IA HW: E11.51
Primary HW: E11.52 &P11.58
Two Firms Operating &
Financing Decisions (M )
InClass
13 / Sept 7 / Final – Comprehensive

1

[1] DHMF refers to the Dyckman, Hanlon, Magee, & Pfeiffer texts. Bold numbers refer to primary homework problems that all students should attempt. Underlined problems refer to instructional assistant problems that will be covered in help sessions after self-study italicized supplemental homework problems are considered, as necessary. Self-Study Problem and Instructional Assistant answers will be available on Blackboard. While the student should attempt all of the primary problems in bold, not all of these problems will be explicitly covered in class. Solutions to all problems primary homework problems will be available electronically once the materials have been covered in class.