College of Business Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems

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1 College of Business Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems Syllabus for ACCT530 Financial Planning, Control and Performance Evaluation Using SAP Spring 2012 Instructor Nancy Jones, CMA Office Glenn 203 Office Hours Tuesdays 1:30 3:00, Wednesdays 1:30 3:00, Thursdays 9:30 10:30 and 1:30 2:30 COURSE MATERIALS - TEXT Textbook: Cornerstones of Cost Accounting, 1st edition, Hansen and Mowen, Southwestern Publishing, ISBN COURSE DESCRIPTION This course covers most of the core concepts involved in cost accounting and uses the SAP system to illustrate many of these concepts. That means that students will be learning the concepts involved in product costing, decision making and responsibility accounting and then apply these concepts in real world situations involving a major integrated information system (SAP). Because of the high degree of integration, it is also necessary to understand concepts and procedures related to sales and distribution activities, material management activities (procurement) and production planning and execution activities. This knowledge will be integrated in a case study whose end result is to determine profitability of goods being produced and sold. PREREQUISITES: Intermediate Accounting 325, Accounting Information Systems 321 COURSE OBJECTIVE The objective of this course is to provide students with the understanding of the concepts involved in product costing, managerial control and performance evaluation and to also provide an in-depth exploration of the application of these concepts in the enterprise-wide modeling capabilities of the SAP system. The course provides exposure to various activities in a company s value chain, including procurement, production, and sales, and to the modeling of those activities in SAP. The focus of the course is on the financial implications of those activities; hence, major emphasis will be given to the financial accounting (FI) and controlling (CO) modules within the SAP system. We will also examine cost accounting data from a multi-national company s data warehouse. COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING There will be two exams covering the material in that part of the course. There will be two terminal exams given as part of the major assignments noted below. There will be a comprehensive final exam covering all of the class. ACCT 530 Syllabus, Spring 2012 Page 1 of 8

2 There will be eight major assignments which relate to the comprehensive case study. It cannot be emphasized too greatly that completing these assignments accurately and on time is critical to your success in this course. Each assignment builds on the previous assignments and the same goes for the work done in SAP. If you don t complete that work, then it is usually impossible to do the subsequent work. Therefore, we must enforce the rule that there will be no late assignments accepted for grading. However, because of the correlation between the assignments, even if you don t submit an assignment for grading, the work must be done in order to lay the foundation for the subsequent assignments. Your grade will be determined by your score on the major assignments, homework, possible supplemental homework and assignments, possible pop quizzes, two exams and the comprehensive final exam. NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS will be accepted for grading. The approximate point values for each of these are as follows: Student Work Assignments Points Exams (2 x 75) 150 Homework & Quizzes 60 Final Exam 50 Lab Assignments 280 Total 540 Course grades will be determined by your percentage of the total points earned in the following manner: % of Total Final % of Total Final Points Earned Grade Points Earned Grade A C A C B D B D B F C+ For the SAP assignments you will work in a team environment. Determined by the number of students in the class, the teams will contain between 3 to 4 students. The exact size of the teams will be discussed in class in the first couple weeks of the semester. You will be responsible for forming your own team. Be careful in forming your team since the team will remain the same for the entire semester. Teams will be evaluated based on the work submitted by the team and two terminal exams. Terminal exams involve each team meeting individually with me in the lab with each team member demonstrating the work they did and answering questions about that work. Hence, assignment grades for each individual will be determined by the work submitted by their team and their individual performance on the terminal exam. Individual Performance There are individual performance measures in the course, including the exams, homework assignments and pop quizzes. However, even the group assignments will involve terminal exams where each member of the group will be given an oral exam on the work done on the SAP system. In addition, each group assignment will involve confidential peer evaluations done by each member of the group. ACCT 530 Syllabus, Spring 2012 Page 2 of 8

3 Comprehensive Case Study The course will involve students in the completion of a comprehensive case study consisting of the following parts: * Part 1 - Structural Considerations - This part involves students in identifying or creating key elements of the case, including key players, (e.g., vendors, customers, etc.), organizational units (e.g., work centers, cost centers, plant, company, sales divisions, sales channels, sales offices, sales districts, etc.), inventory (raw materials, components, finished products), and a related financial structure (chart of accounts, reporting structure, profitability analysis structure, profit centers, etc.). Includes remedial assignment (3 parts) (worth 20 points) * Part 2 - Planning - In this part, students will develop a detailed plan for April, 2012 for selected areas of Company 3000 and Plant 3000 that will involve sales planning, production planning, cost center planning, and profitability planning for specified profitability segments, and profit center planning. Includes SAP assignments 1 thru 6. (worth 180 points) * Part 3 Execution - This part will involve students in the recording of a wide range of transactions for the month of April, 2012 (sales, purchases of raw materials and other resources, production of subassemblies and finished products, etc.) that routinely take place within the structure set up in Parts 1 and 2. This part will identify the linkages that exist in the company s value chain activities, including procurement, production, and sales, and between those value chain sectors and the FI and CO modules. Includes SAP assignment 7. (worth 30 points) * Part 4 - Performance Evaluation Instead of using the minimal data generated in the above assignments to do our analysis, we will access a data warehouse of actual data from the Tyson Company and do CO/PA analysis of that data. (worth 50 points) Systems Configuration Changes During the semester, students will often identify the need for making changes in the configuration of the assigned Client. Students must not try to make any configuration changes themselves. Instead, to carefully control the manner in which such configuration changes are made, students must submit their requests for configuration changes to me. If the changes are necessary, then I will make them. Assignments Each of the four parts of the comprehensive case study described above will be divided into a series of assignments that each group will do. The various assignments are cumulative in their impact on the comprehensive case. Incorrect completion of an early assignment will cause problems later on. Hence, care is needed in completing each assignment. Other Course Requirements Each student is responsible for handling his own course add/drops/withdrawals. If you register for the class and don t even attend any of the class sessions, it is your responsibility to initiate and submit the paperwork if you want to drop the class. Be punctual and attend all class meetings. If you do miss a class meeting, it is your responsibility to get notes from a classmate. ACCT 530 Syllabus, Spring 2012 Page 3 of 8

4 All exams are to be taken in class and students must take the exam during the regularly scheduled time. If you are going to miss an exam, you must notify the instructor before the exam is given. Only in the rare instance that it isn t possible to notify the instructor (for example, you are in a serious auto accident on the way to take the exam and end up in the hospital), will be considered exceptions to this rule. No matter the reason for missing the exam, proof must to brought to the instructor to validate the claim. Otherwise, this will be an unexcused absence and the grade on the exam will be zero. You are expected to read the textbook and view online lectures prior to class sessions. Read the specific assignments and attempt to work on the assignment before attending class. This will increase your comprehension of the material and will allow you to contribute to the class in a more meaningful way. Also, it will allow you to resolve technical issues well before the due date of any assignments. Complete assignments and homework in a professional manner, so that the physical appearance is neat and orderly, the assignment is complete and your thoughts are organized in a logical sequence. Course Outcome To get the most out of this course, you need to work effectively as a team member, which means that you must accept personal responsibility for making a significant contribution to team activities. To make a significant contribution, here are some suggested Do s and Don t s: Do Don t Collaborate extensively with other members of your team. Use all available resources. Solutions to problems will typically be found in bits and pieces gleaned from different resources. Constantly strive to see the big picture. How do the various segments of the SAP system fit together in an integrated, enterprise-wide business solution? Expect to come up with quick answers to problems. The SAP system is exceedingly complex and not particularly user-friendly. Fall behind in completing Assignments. The case builds assignment-by-assignment throughout the semester. Become frustrated by changes in schedules, exercises, or requirements. The comprehensive case study continues to be developmental in nature and changes may need to be made on the fly by the instructor. Give up quickly when the system does not seem to be working properly. Explore possible explanations and experiment with alternative approaches to completing a specific task. COMPUTER LABS Computers are available to COB students in Glenn 106, Glenn 102, and Glenn 304. There are also university computers available in the Meriam library, first floor. You do not need to access the computer lab to do your work in this course. You may load the SAP GUI to your home computer or laptop to access the client and server for your SAP work. COURSE POLICIES Any student who does not attend any of the class meetings during the first week of classes may be administratively dropped from the course. ACCT 530 Syllabus, Spring 2012 Page 4 of 8

5 An incomplete grade is given only if a student is forced by some serious and compelling circumstance to miss a significant portion of class. It is not given because a student is unable or unwilling to keep pace with the requirements of the course. This grade will only be given in the context of a contract in which the student and the instructors agree on what is missing and when it is due. We will be using the WebCT (Vista) resource provided by the University for communication and student records. You will be able to trace your own progress, to link to addresses we provide, to access the syllabus, assignments, lecture slides, and a class bulletin board through this system. We will use WebCT for much of the communication in the course. Grades will be posted on WebCT. Assignments will also be placed on WebCT. Also, the Discussion board in WebCT can be used to post questions and share information with fellow students. IMPORTANT NOTICE: We reserve the right to alter the course during the semester in order to improve the course quality. Cheating of any kind will be punished severely: students will be assigned an F for the course and may be referred to Student Judicial Affairs. With the exception of specifically designated group work (such as the major assignments) homework and, of course, the quizzes and exams each need to represent your own independent, individual effort. The above statement primarily applies to textbook assignments, exams and quizzes. I encourage students to discuss SAP concepts both within your groups and even between groups, since this is an excellent way of thoroughly understanding the system. ACADEMIC HONESTY The College of Business faculty are committed to reducing all kinds of cheating. Recently we have caught (and turned in) several students who were involved in plagiarizing outside sources, copying other students work, and various other forms of cheating. If there is convincing evidence that you have been involved in any form of academic dishonesty, our policy is to: Fail you in the course Lock you from WebCT and the SAP system Provide a report and documentation to Student Judicial Affairs for further action Please read the article provided by Student Judicial Affairs at its web site: STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Students with a verified learning disability can take proctored exams at the Accessibility Resource Center (ARC, previously DSS). Upon identifying themselves to the instructor and the university, students with verified disabilities will receive reasonable accommodation for learning and evaluation (e.g., exams). Please make sure to provide your instructor the verification well in advance of an exam. For more information, contact the Accessibility Resource Center at ACADEMIC CODE OF CONDUCT Over the past few semesters there has been a distinct lack of professional courtesy exhibited by some of the students in the College of Business. The situation has degraded to such an extent that our industry council representatives (the people that hire our students) have commented negatively on this behaviour. This has gotten to the point in which it is disruptive to the learning environment and in some cases very ACCT 530 Syllabus, Spring 2012 Page 5 of 8

6 embarrassing to our institution. Hence, we will adhere to a code of professional conduct in this class that has explicit rules and penalties for non-compliance. You are responsible for your actions and will be held accountable. Read this code of conduct and conduct yourself appropriately. While most of the faculty believe that these behaviors should have been learned early in your academic career (many of them in kindergarten), we enumerate them so that all students are aware of the social and professional expectations in this class. We expect: You will regularly attend class, You will arrive in class on time, You will not leave class until the class period is complete, You will come prepared for class this means that you have completed the required readings, viewings, and assignments prior to class, You will pay attention during class - this means that you will not talk to other students during class unless the conversation is about a class topic and then is not disruptive to the other students, You will not do other work or other tasks not related to the class during the class, You will not use computers, PDA s, cell phones or other devices for non-class work during class, o For example, this means that you will not surf the Internet, play computer games or send s not related to the class during class, You will respect your classmates by being a productive, not disruptive, member of the class. Failure to adhere to these rules may result in any of the following actions: You will be requested to cease the disruptive behaviour, You will be requested to leave class, You will have points deducted from your class score (determined by the severity of the offense), You will be failed in the course, You will be sent to Student Judicial Affairs for more severe punishment to be determined by Student Judicial Affairs. We as a faculty do not take these problems lightly and neither should you! COURSE SCHEDULE The course schedule that follows gives you a week-by-week description of the course activities. It includes the topics to be covered that week, lab assignments, and homework due. It is impossible to predict the precise flow of the course and these dates may have to be adjusted from time to time. Modifications to the schedule and changes in course requirements will be announced in class and/or through WebCT Vista. ACCT 530 Syllabus, Spring 2012 Page 6 of 8

7 TENTATIVE SCHEDULE FOR ACCT 530 Spring 2012 Week Date Reading, Lectures and Activities Assignments Due 1 1/23/12 Syllabus and Course Overview Module 1 Introduction to cost management & basic concepts (chapters 1 & 2) HW Due /30/12 Module 2 Cost behavior (chapter 3) Overview of SAP work SAP preliminary work (individual assignment in 3 parts) Module 3 Activity-based costing (chapter 4) HW Due /6/12 Module 4 - Chapter 5 Job-Order costing Start SAP Assignment 1 HW Due 4-23, 4-24 SAP preliminary work due 4 2/13/12 Module 5 - Chapter 8 Budgeting for planning and control, Start SAP Assignment 2 HW Due 5-11, 5-27, SAP Assignment 1 Due 5 2/20/12 Module 6 - Chapter 6 Process costing HW Due 8-2, 8-5, 8-32 HW Due 6-16, 6-21, /27/12 Exam 1 Module 7 - Chapter 7 Cost allocation Start SAP Assignment 3 SAP Assignment 2 Due 7 3/5/12 Continue cost allocation Schedule First terminal exam HW Due 7-3, 7-9, 7-10, /12/12 Module 8 - Chapter 9 Standard costing Start SAP Assignment 4 SAP Assignment 3 Due HW Due 9-14, /19/12 Spring Break 9 3/26/12 Module 9 - Chapter 10 Responsibility accounting Start SAP Assignment 5 SAP Assignment 4 Due HW Due 10-3, /2/12 Module 10 - Chapter 11 Strategic cost management HW Due 11-4, ACCT 530 Syllabus, Spring 2012 Page 7 of 8

8 11 4/9/12 Module 11 - Chapter 12 Activity-based management Start SAP Assignment 6 SAP Assignment 5 Due HW Due /16/12 Exam 2 Data warehouse analysis 13 4/23/ /30/12 Module 12 - Chapter 13 Balanced scorecard Start SAP Assignment 7 Schedule terminal exams Module 13 - Chapter 18 Pricing and profitability analysis (note: the recorded lectures show this as chapter 19) SAP Assignment 6 Due HW Due 13-3 HW Due /7/12 Wrap up & review SAP Assignment 7 Due Final Exam Tuesday 5/15/2012 Final exam is scheduled at 10:00 AM in Glenn 304 ACCT 530 Syllabus, Spring 2012 Page 8 of 8