Charter Oak State College

Term: Spring 2007

Jan. 22 – March 17, 2007

Course Number/Title:

ACC 101: Financial Accounting

Instructor Name: Tony Pranzo

Email Address:

Course Description: Financial accounting theory and practice are oriented toward sole proprietorship and corporate forms of business organization. Accounting and business transactions are analyzed, recorded and summarized for the preparation of general purpose financial statements. The concepts of assets, liabilities and equity are studied in detail. Students will be exposed to the ethical and Global aspects as it affects the financial accounting practice.

Prerequisite: NONE

Course Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Understand the accounting concepts or principles relevant to the components of the Financial Statements based on GAAP.

2. Use basic transaction analysis techniques to record financial transactions (bookkeeping).

3. Use those concepts and components in basic financial analysis.

4. Use specific accounting techniques necessary to appropriately present Income Statement and Balance Sheet accounts.

5. Use basic financial analysis tools (ratio analysis and ROI primarily) to evaluate performance.

6. Research the Annual Reports of corporations and identify the portions relevant to financial analysis and economic decision making.

7. Evaluate and decide on ethical issues

Required Materials: Text Financial and Managerial Accounting, the basis for business decisions, 14th Edition by Williams, Haka, & Bettner, Publisher McGraw-Hill Irwin. This Text will also be used for Managerial Accounting. (Two for the price of one!!)

Structure of Course:

I will begin each week with a presentation to help highlight the important issues. I will refer to certain sections of the Text to reinforce important concepts e.g. see pp. 33/36. In addition, my presentation will attempt to give real life analogies/stories, some of which I experienced during my 25 years in Corporate America.

Each week will include a multiple choice/problems test to help reinforce what was learned in the assigned chapters. They will be graded. Regarding the multiple choice questions/problems, each week will be a stand-alone. I suggest you read my “eloquent” presentations first and then the chapters. When complete, it helps to do the Self-Test Questions and study the Demonstration Problems at the end of each chapter (Check your answers). Do not submit to instructor).

Course Requirements:

Read and study the chapters listed for each Unit. Complete the Self-Test at the end of each chapter, study the Demonstration Problem and answer the “Your Turn” cases embedded within each chapter . Review the Student CD-ROM as well as the Excel Templates for each chapter.

Unit tests will be posted in Assignments. Please submit the multiple choice and post the exercises/problems to the digital drop box on or before the due dates. The deadline is 24:00 hrs on the due dates indicated below. Discussion Board postings and interaction with your classmates due at the same time as the Unit tests. I will respond to each student by email with my comments and grades. At times I will interact on the threaded discussion board. I will always post my comments. I will respond within 48 hours but usually much sooner. Late tests will incur a daily deduction of ten points. Quizzes submitted after three days will earn a zero.

Grading Criteria: Assignments due dates are expected to be honored. Failure to meet deadlines will result in a grade reduction. Final course grades will be determined on the following basis:

Unit Assignments consisting of multiple choice tests & exercises/problems

(post the exercises/problems to Digital Drop Box) 50%

Discussion Board participation 10%

Final Exam March 14/17 on BlackBoard 40%

You will have two hours to complete once accessed.

The final exam will be posted on BB, as the Unit tests are, and a passing grade is required to pass the course. The final exam will be multiple choice questions. It covers all of the Chapters covered in the course e.g. Chapters 1 – 14.

Now we are ready to go!! Good luck. As we work together, we will create a rewarding learning experience.

If you have any questions during the course, please e-mail me at: :

Please note: You will find the Assignments on BlackBoard left hand side titled “Assignments”. Once you access you will see:

Where to find Unit Tests Exercises/Problems

Unit Tests Methodology:

When you access the Unit Tests, you will see ‘Instructions”. You will see them only when you click on the Unit Test. Please read them carefully, they include the exercises/problems which are to be completed and posted in the digital drop box.

You must create a document (Word or Excel only) to post your exercise/problem answers to thedigital drop box.

Jan. 22 Unit 1

Topics: Basic Financial Statements and Information needed for Decision Making

Readings: Chapters 1 & 2