BUAD 285B Managerial Accounting

Transcription

1 BUAD 285B Managerial Accounting Syllabus Spring 2014 Professor: David H. Erkens Office: HOH 817 Office Phone: 213/ Office Hours: 4:00 5:00 pm MW; and by appt. (also feel free to me at any time). COURSE DESCRIPTION This is an introductory course in management accounting. The Institute of Management Accountants defines management accounting as: a value-adding continuous improvement process of planning, designing, measuring and operating non-financial and financial information systems that guides management action, motivates behavior, and supports and creates the cultural values necessary to achieve an organization s strategic, tactical and operating objectives. There are three things that I would like to highlight about this definition. First, it indicates that management accounting involves the preparation and use of information for internal management purposes. Given that these purposes are very different from those of financial accounting, the accounting is very different as well. Second, management accounting is a process that cuts across the entire organization. Therefore, at least some of the material covered in this course will be relevant to you, no matter what kind of organization you work in and what role you play in that organization. Finally, management accounting includes many different types of information, both financial and non-financial. LEARNING OBJECTIVES I have designed the course with the following overarching learning outcomes in mind: To gain knowledge about key concepts and principles that characterize the discipline of Management Accounting To become proficient in using managerial accounting information for decision-making in real-world business environments To learn how to design systems that will produce relevant management accounting information for decision making and decision influencing To develop capacity to design and implement strategies to solve problems and classes of problems in various organizational settings 1

2 REQUIRED MATERIALS Garison, R.H., E.W. Noreen, and P.C. Brewer. [GNB] Managerial Accounting. 14 th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill ( ) NOTE: The text s Online Learning Center may be useful. It provides supporting materials including check figures, quizzes and practice exams. Other materials including one case study will be distributed in class GRADING Four Online Quiz Scores (each 5%) 20% Mid Term Examination 30% Final Examination (cumulative) 50% Total 100% Quizzes and Exams As an incentive to stay up to date and do the assigned readings, there will be four online multiple-choice quizzes (see schedule below). Quizzes will be posted the week before the quiz must be completed (Sunday s by 11:59 pm). Each quiz covers the most recent topics that we covered in class. These assignments are administered via Blackboard and should take less than one hour to complete. You have one week to complete these quizzes and can take as many attempts as you like. Because you have ample of time to complete these quizzes, you will receive a score of -0- for quizzes that are not completed by the deadline. Grade Determination Final grades represent how you perform in the class relative to other students. Your grade will not be based on a mandated target, but on your performance. Historically, the average grade for this class is about a B (3.0). Three items are considered when assigning final grades: (1) your total score (see above), (2) the median score for the class, and (3) your ranking among all students in the class. Class Participation It is important for you to attend class every day, be well prepared, and act professionally, which among other factors implies being on time. There are several reasons why this is important. First, material we cover in class is what is considered most important for the course, and therefore is what you will be tested on. Second, exams start promptly at the beginning of class; late arrivers will not be given extra time to complete them. Third, I will keep track of your participation during each class. The top contributors in each section (defined as the top 15%-20%, depending on how close the final participation scores are) will be eligible to receive a 1/3 letter grade increase in their final letter grade (e.g., instead of a B- you will receive a B). The scores that I give you will reflect the quality of your contributions to class. High quality contributions include: discussion of relevant points about cases and exercises that demonstrate the student has prepared in advance; insightful questions and/or comments; the use of logical arguments to illustrate or make a point; 2

3 constructive feedback to the discussion, including counter arguments to the points that have been raised in class; and participation that pushes the discussion of the cases to a higher level. Policy for Regrading Exams If you believe that your exam has been graded in error, I am happy to regrade your paper if you do the following. For a simple mistake, such as an addition error or a multiple-choice answer marked wrong incorrectly, please just show me the error. For a more complicated issue such as a debate about an essay answer or an answer to a longer problem, please put your concern in writing. You must explain why you believe your answer is correct, where correct is defined by the solution sheet. NOTE: For either type of issue, you must contact me within 10 days of receiving the exam. If I do not receive a request for regarding within 10 days of your receipt of the exam, the grade will be considered final. Additionally, I reserve the right to regrade the entire exam. Policy for Making up Exams Unless you have my prior approval, you MUST take exams in the section for which you are registered. The policy of the Leventhal School of Accounting is that you should not miss exams unless there is a very serious emergency AND you can properly document this emergency. Also, to the extent possible, you must inform me of the emergency prior to the exam. If you miss the midterm exam for something other than a serious emergency and/or you cannot provide documentation, you will receive a grade of -0- on the exam. If there is a serious emergency and you can provide proper documentation and, where possible, notify me of the situation prior to the midterm exam, I will not give a makeup exam. Instead, I will base your grade on the online quizzes and the final exam. That is, I will gross up the points from the final exam to determine your grade. This policy works to your advantage for two reasons. First, it is impossible to create makeup exams that are of the exact same level of difficulty as the original exam, which often results in the makeup exam being more difficult. Second, if you have experienced an emergency, your performance on an exam shortly thereafter likely would be compromised. ABOUT YOUR PROFESSOR David H. Erkens is an assistant professor of the Leventhal School of Accounting. He received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Arizona State University with a concentration in accounting. He earned his M.E. from Maastricht University in International Management, after which he worked as an associate auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Professor Erkens specializes in teaching managerial accounting at USC and has done so at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral level. His research focuses on the determinants and effects of expertise as it relates to management control systems, particularly controls related to compensation arrangements and corporate governance. His research has been published in the Journal of Accounting Research, The Accounting Review, The Journal of Corporate Finance and has been covered by the press, such as Agenda, CFO Magazine and The Economist. Professor Erkens received the AICPA-CIMA Best Early Career Researcher Award in

4 MARSHALL GUIDELINES Add/Drop Process If you miss the first two weeks of the course, I will ask an administrator to drop you from the course. This is so that everyone who wants the chance to take the course will have that chance. Web registration will be open during the first week of class. After that, I will add people based on the wait list that I am maintaining. Retention of Graded Coursework I return your midterm exam to you after they are graded. If you are not present on the day the midterm exam is returned, I will continue to bring the midterm exam to class for one week after the initial return attempt. After that, I will maintain midterm exams in my office for you to pick up during office hours. Any midterm exam not picked up will be shredded at the end of the 2015 spring semester. Technology Policy Laptop and Internet usage is not permitted during academic or professional sessions. Use of other personal communication devices, such as cell phones, is considered unprofessional and is not permitted during academic or professional sessions. ANY e-devices (cell phones, PDAs, I- Phones, Blackberries, other texting devices, laptops, I-pods) must be completely turned off during class time. There will be plenty of time for using these devices during class breaks. Videotaping faculty lectures is not permitted due to copyright infringement regulations. Audiotaping may be permitted if approved by me. Use of any recorded or distributed material is reserved exclusively for the USC students registered in this class. Statement for Students with Disabilities Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) For more information visit Statement on 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 Student Guidebook, ( 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 4

5 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. Emergency Preparedness/Course Continuity In case of a declared emergency if travel to campus is not feasible, USC executive leadership will announce an electronic way for instructors to teach students in their residence halls or homes using a combination of Blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technologies. IMPORTANT DATES FOR SPRING 2014 (SECOND HALF SESSION 442) First Day of Class Mon., March 10 Last Day to Add or Drop w/out a W for ACCT courses Mon., March 24 Spring Break Mon. Sat., March Last Day to Drop with a W for ACCT courses Mon., April 28 Last Class Meeting Wed., April 30 Final Examinations Wed.-Wed., May 7 14 Commencement Fri., May 16 5

6 COURSE SCHEDULE Session Date Topic Reading Assignments 1 3/10 Managerial Accounting Overview & Review Chapters 1 and 2 2 3/12 Job-Order Costing Chapter 3 3/16 Online Quiz I due Chapters 1, 2 and 3 Suggested problems E2-5, E2-13 P2-18 E3-1, E3-5, E3-6, P /24 Activity-Based Costing: A Tool to Aid Decision Making Chapter 7 Handout 4 3/26 Activity-Based Costing: A Tool to Aid Decision Making E7-11, E7-20 3/30 Online Quiz II due Chapter 7 5 3/31 Profit Planning Chapter 8 E8-7, E8-13, P /2 Profit Planning 7 4/7 Midterm Exam (Classes 1 6) 8 4/9 Flexible Budgets and Performance Analysis Chapter 9 9 4/14 Standard Costs and Variances Chapter /16 Performance Measurement in Decentralized Organizations Chapter 11 4/20 Online Quiz III due Chapters 9 and /21 Performance Measurement in Decentralized Organizations Chapter 11 A & B 12 4/23 Differential Analysis: The Key to Decision Making Chapter 12 4/27 Online Quiz IV due Chapter 11, A & B 13 4/28 Differential Analysis: The Key to Decision Making Chapter /30 Final Exam Review Final 5/12 Final Exam (Classes 1 14) 4:30 6:30 pm E8-14, P8-17 P8-18, P8-20 E9-1, E9-4 P9-20 E10-2, E10-4, P10-10, P10-13, P10-14 P11-14, P11-15, P11-16, P11-17 P11-A3, C11-A7, P11-B4, P11-B5 E12-10, E12-11, E12-14 P12-19, P12-21, P12-27