Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 1 BUSI 590 A Integrative Accounting Seminar June 2015 Session (14-M55) Monday, June 1 Saturday July 25, 2015 Course Description Textbooks Culminating experience for the MBA Accounting Track. This course examines and integrates the four major areas that constitute the uniform CPA exam: financial accounting and reporting; auditing and attestation; business environment and concepts; and regulation. Prerequisite: Completion of 24 hours in the MBA program, including all other Accounting courses Proctored Exams: None Wiley Custom Text (2014). Integrative Accounting Seminar. Wiley Publishing. ISBN: 9781119091431-(WCS) Ingraham, L. & Jenkins, J. (2014). Comprehensive Assurance & Systems Tool (CAST): An Integrated Practice Set-Assurance Practice Set, 3 rd ed. ISBN: 978-0-13-309921-8 Sherman, D, & Young, D (2001). Tread Lightly Through These Accounting Minefields. Harvard Business Review. Locate online with this product number (not available through MBS Direct): R0107k-HDB-ENG Healy, P. & Petkoski, D. (2012). Fighting Corruption at Siemens. Harvard Business Multimedia Case. Locate online with this product number (not available through MBS Direct): 112702-HTM-ENG Choose from one of the following books for the Ethics Book Review (see Assignment Overview below for additional information): Toffler, B. (2003). Final Accounting: Ambition, Greed, and the Fall of Arthur Anderson. ISBN: 978-0- 7679-1383-6 Markopolos, H (2010). No One Would Listen. Wiley Publishing. ISBN: 978-0-470-91900-2 McLean, B. & Elkind, P (2013). The Smartest Guys in the Room. ISBN: 978-1-59184-660-4 Cooper, C (2009). Extraordinary Circumstances. Wiley Publishing. ISBN: 978-0-470-44331-6 Textbooks for the course may be ordered from MBS Direct. You can order online at http://direct.mbsbooks.com/columbia.htm (be sure to select Online Education rather than your home campus before selecting your class) by phone at 800-325-3252 For additional information about the bookstore, visit http://www.mbsbooks.com.
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 2 Course Overview Throughout the next eight weeks we will begin your journey to becoming a Certified Public Accountant. This course is NOT meant to be a comprehensive CPA review course. You will be introduced to the structure, format, and process for taking the CPA exam and we will spend time generally reviewing each content area covered on the exam. The course is broken down in to four, two week segments. The first two weeks we will focus on a general CPA Exam overview, Ethics, and Business Environment & Concepts. The second two weeks we will focus on Regulation. The third two weeks we will focus on Audit, and the last two weeks we will focus on the Financial Accounting & Reporting. Technology Requirements Participation in this course will require the basic technology for all online classes at Columbia College: A computer with reliable Internet access, a web browser, Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Office or another word processor such as Open Office. You can find more details about standard technical requirements for our courses on our site. You will need to scan or otherwise digitize the Comprehensive Problems due in Week 5 so you can submit it to the Dropbox. Accordingly, you will need access to either a scanner or a digital camera that will produce a high enough quality image so that the assignment is clearly readable. Course Objectives This course was designed to meet the following goals: To integrate the concepts studied in previous accounting classes in to a coherent whole and present a comprehensive view of the accounting profession. To examine the requirements for obtaining professional certification in accounting Measurable Learning Outcomes By the end of this course, students should be able to: Describe and explain the CPA exam topics as specified in the AICPA s Content and Skill Specification Outlines Prepare an integrative case that incorporates aspects of all four major content areas. Demonstrate proficiency in the techniques and software used in the uniform CPA exam.
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 3 Grading Grading Scale GRADE POINTS PERCENT A >585 90-100 B >520 80-89 C >455 70-79 F <455 0-69 Grade Weights ASSIGNMENT POINTS PERCENT Discussions 75 12 CPA Prep Plan 50 8 Ethics Multimedia Case 100 15 Ethics Book Report 100 15 Comprehensive Problems 325 50 TOTAL 650 100 The work submitted for this class must not have been used previously by you or another individual. Any student who submits work previously used, will automatically receive an F in the course. Schedule of Due Dates WEEK ASSIGNMENT POINTS DUE DATE Discussion 1 (Introduction) 3 Wednesday 1 Discussion 2 9 Friday/Sunday Accounting Minefields Case Part 1 50 Sunday 2 Discussion 3 9 Friday/Sunday CPA Prep Plan 50 Sunday Accounting Minefields Case Part 2 50 Sunday 3 Discussion 4 9 Friday/Sunday Comprehensive Problem 1120 & 1065 50 Sunday 4 Discussion 5 9 Friday/Sunday Comprehensive Problem 1120S & 1040 50 Sunday Siemens Ethics Case 100 Sunday 5 Discussion 6 9 Friday/Sunday Comprehensive Problem Audit (Part 1) 25 Sunday 6 Discussion 7 9 Friday/Sunday Comprehensive Problem Audit (Part 2) 25 Sunday 7 Discussion 8 9 Friday/Sunday Ethics Book Report 100 Sunday 8 Discussion 9 9 FRIDAY/SATURDAY
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 4 Assignment Overview Comprehensive Problem Financial 75 SATURDAY Discussions: In addition to your initial Introduction post there will be one required, graded discussion topic each week. Your first weekly posting is due Friday and is worth a maximum of 7 points. It may require analysis, research, or critical thinking. Your second weekly posting is due Sunday and is worth a maximum of 2 points except during Week 8 when it is due Saturday. You must respond to at least one other student s post. Your response should be value added. In other words, I agree, or Good Job, will not earn the maximum points. Your response should indicate that you read the first student s post and can offer a substantial comment. Please attempt to respond to a different student each week and respond to a student that doesn t have a response yet, when possible. Do not post your discussion or responses as attachments. Discussion postings submitted as attachments will receive zero credit. All discussions should be completed in Word format and with proper spelling/grammar. No late postings will be accepted without prior approval from the instructor. Your discussion grade will be based upon the following criteria: 1. Your initial post demonstrates familiarity with the assigned readings, without copying directly from the text. 2. Your response is complete and concise, written in your own words and in full sentences. 3. Your postings are a model for other students to learn from. A General Discussion board will be available throughout the session. Use of this discussion is neither required nor graded. Participation in this discussion is the equivalent of raising your hand in class. You are welcomed and encouraged to use this forum to discuss any topic in the course. If you have a question, I will do my best to respond within 24 hours. Comprehensive Problems: This course is divided into four two-week sections. The comprehensive problems will focus on the business environment and ethics (Weeks 1-2), tax returns (Weeks 3-4), a comprehensive audit program (Weeks 5-6) and a comprehensive financial report (Weeks 7-8). These problems require knowledge of topics you have covered in previous courses. They are comprehensive and will require a significant time commitment. Ethics Book Review: You will select one of the titles listed in the Textbook section above and write a 3 page report. The Ethics Book Review is due Saturday of Week 8. Ethics and ethical behavior play a large role in the accounting profession. As a matter of fact, after passing the CPA exam you will be required to pass an ethics exam before you are eligible to be licensed as a CPA. Scandals like Enron, WorldCom, and the Madoff scheme have brought ethics and ethical behavior to the forefront of our profession in the past decade. Additional information is available in the Content area of the course. Ethics Case: In addition to your book review, you will also complete an interactive multimedia case during this course. There will be questions to answer as you work through the case. The case must be completed and answers to the case questions submitted by Sunday of Week 4. CPA Prep Plan: In this course, you will construct a CPA Preparation Plan. This prep plan is intended to outline the process you will take from the beginning of your CPA review to passing your last exam. This plan will be personal based on your schedule and learning style. Your plan must be prepared in Word using bullet point format. You will answer a required set of question regarding how you will approach the CPA Exam. These questions and additional information are provided in the Content area of the course.
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 5 Course Schedule Week 1 Introduction to CPA Exam & Business Environment & Concepts Section Discussions: Introduction: Please post a brief description of yourself, including, at a minimum, where you live, work and play. Include where and in what you earned your undergraduate degree. Please post by Wednesday evening at 11:59pm CT. Discussion 2: As mentioned before, this course is not meant to be a CPA review program. However, there are several comprehensive review options available to students including the Becker, Wiley, or Kaplan program. Spend some time researching a CPA Exam review program. I would recommend starting by simply searching for CPA Review Programs on the internet. For the program you select, at a minimum answer the following questions. In what format is the information presented (text, online, video)? How much does it cost? Does it cover all four sections? Do you think it would work well as a review program for you? What else did you find? Every student must research and discuss a different review program. If you have trouble finding one, please let me know. Complete this post by Friday night. By Sunday night, respond to another student in the class by comparing or contrasting the information they found with their CPA review program to yours. Ethics Book Review: Select and begin reading your chosen title for the Ethics Book Review. Ethics Case: Begin working through the Siemens ethics case. This case has several modules and will take some time to complete. Please refer to the Content area of the course for additional information on the requirements for this case. Comprehensive Problem: Read Tread Lightly Through These Accounting Minefields. Answer the questions for minefield 1-3. Your answers should be submitted in Word. Answer all questions in complete sentences. Week 2 Business Environment & Concepts Section Discussion 3: There is a lot of information available to CPA candidates online you just have to know where to find it. Visit the link for the NASBA website provided in the Content area of the course. Once there select exams, then CPA exam. Also, read the CPA Exam Candidate Review Bulletin. Share with the class FIVE facts/rules/observations you discovered about the CPA exam for your state. Each student should have different responses. Consider the following when review the website and sharing your findings with the class: How much does it cost to take exam? What are the eligibility requirements? How is the exam administered? What is a passing grade? How do you apply? Complete this post by Friday night. By Sunday night, respond to another student s answers. CPA Prep Plan Due: Submit your completed CPA preparation plan to the Dropbox by Sunday at 11:59pm Central Time. Detailed information on how to prepare and format your plan is available in the Content area of the course. Comprehensive Problem: Read Tread Lightly Through These Accounting Minefields. Answer the questions for minefield 4-6. Your answers should be submitted in Word. Answer all questions in complete sentences.
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 6 Week 3 Regulation Section Discussion 4: In week 3 we switch gears and begin discussing the Regulation (tax and business law) portion of the CPA Exam. In this discussion we will review the tax profession as a whole. Spend some time researching different tax accountant jobs on the internet. What did you find? I would recommend visiting the websites of some different accounting firms to see what kind of positions they have available or the kind of tax services they offer. If you have work experience in a tax related job, please share with the class. Consider the following questions as you prepare your discussion: What kind of jobs can you have as a tax accountant? What would your starting salary be? What do you think you would be doing on a day to day basis? What are the pros and cons? Complete this post by Friday night. By Sunday night, respond to another student in the class by comparing or contrasting the information you found during your research to theirs. Comprehensive Problem: All tax returns and supporting work (completed in Excel or Word) should be submitted to the Dropbox no later than Sunday at 11:59pm Central Time. Review pages 8-50 of your Wiley custom text for tax return examples. Ensure you review the sample 1120 and 1065. After reviewing the examples, complete the 1120 and 1065 tax return problems beginning on page 51. For the 1120 tax return problems you must first complete an income statement and balance sheet in Excel. You may find it helpful to create a schedule that shows how you got from book income to taxable income. The required tax forms you will need to complete the 1120 and 1065 are available in the Content area of the course. You may use your Wiley review text to help prepare the tax returns. The applicable content can be found in modules 35-39. Week 4 Regulation Section Discussion 5: The discussion this week will focus on ethical behavior. What do you think makes someone an ethical person? In every accounting class I ve taught when I ask the students to raise their hands if they consider themselves to be an ethical person, they ALL raise their hands. However, we can t possibly all have the same standards for ethical behavior. Where does your ethical behavior come from? Is it nature or nurture? How do you think this will play a role in your profession as a Certified Public Accountant? Please use work or personal experience as examples for this discussion. Complete this post by Friday night. By Sunday, respond to another student by comparing and contrasting your post to theirs. Comprehensive Problem: All tax returns and supporting work (completed in Excel or Word) should be submitted to the Dropbox no later than Sunday at 11:59pm Central Time. Complete the 1120S and 1040 tax return problems in your Wiley custom text. For the 1040, complete tax return problem 5 (NOT the simple return). The required tax forms you will need to complete the 1120S and 1040 are available in the Content area of the course. You may use your Wiley review text to help you prepare the tax returns. The applicable content can be found in Module s 35-39. Ethics Case: Submit your completed case evaluation to the Dropbox no later than Sunday at 11:59pm Central Time. Evaluation must be completed in Word. Bullet point format is acceptable, but questions must be answered in full sentences. Grammar, presentation, and spelling will all be taken into consideration when evaluating grades. Week 5 Audit Section Discussion 6: Watch the first 5 segments of Ethics in Corporate America: A Crisis of Credibility
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 7 video available in the Content area of the course. In the first few minutes of the video they suggest that business ethics is an oxymoron. What do you think? As someone getting ready to embark on a career as a CPA do you think business ethics are improving or getting worse? What did you observe while reading your Ethics Book Review choice? Anything in the book you read that made you think of ethics in a different way or that really grabbed your attention? Please use examples from the video and your Ethics Book Review while discussing business ethics in America today. Complete this post by Friday night. By Sunday, respond to another student by comparing and contrasting your post to theirs. Comprehensive Problem: Submit all required work and documents to the Dropbox no later than Sunday at 11:59pm Central Time. The audit comprehensive problem is available in the Comprehensive Assurance & Systems text. This text presents a practice audit using Chateau Americana (a fictional winery). Complete the following portions of the practice audit: Client Acceptance & Understanding the Business Environment. Please note the current year, 20XX is 2010, and the previous year, 20XX is 2009. When completed these documents will need to be scanned or photographed and uploaded to the dropbox. Every page submitted must have your initials, the date and be clearly readable. Week 6 Audit Section Discussion 7: This week we will switch gears and begin looking at auditing. Similar to our discussion in Week 3, we ll spend some time researching the auditing profession on the internet. If you have some experience in an auditing related job please share with the class. Consider the following as you prepare your answer: What kind of audit services do accounting firms offer? What would your day to day responsibilities look like? What would it mean to be an auditor for a public accounting firm? Can you be an auditor for a private company? What would the pros and cons of being an auditor include? Complete this post by Friday night. By Sunday night, respond to another student by comparing what you find regarding the audit profession to what they found. Comprehensive Problem: Submit all required work and documents to the Dropbox no later than Sunday at 11:59pm Central Time. Complete the following sections of the Chateau Americana practice audit: Performance of Audit Tests for the Revenue Cycle and Completing the Audit (we will skip the two sections related to the expenditure cycle). Course Evaluations: Please evaluate the course. You will be able to submit your course evaluation between Sunday of Week 5 and Thursday of Week 7. A link will be sent to your CougarMail that will allow you to access the evaluation. Week 7 Financial Section Discussion 8: This week, please read Sunbeam: The Revenue Recognition Principle and answer questions 1 and 2 from the Case Questions at the end of the reading. This case deals with a few violations of accounting principles you have learned in your financial accounting courses. The case is available in the Content area of the course. Complete this post by Friday night. By Sunday, respond to another student and comment on their observations. Comprehensive Problem: Submit all required work and documents to the Dropbox no later than Saturday of Week 8 at 11:59pm Central Time. Please note these problems are not due till Week 8 but it is highly recommended that you not wait until next week to begin. The comprehensive financial accounting problem is available in the Wiley custom text and
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 8 begins on page 77, Rockford Comprehensive problem, For this assignment you will be asked to prepare several journal entries and then turn those journal entries into financial statements. Instructions begin on page 84 and you will complete instructions 1-11 (NOT 12, 13, or 14). Please note, an alternative set of instructions begins on page 87 we will NOT be using these for this course. The financial section of your CPA Exam Review text will be a great resource as you work through the journal entries. The custom text provides you with journals, ledgers, and financial statement templates to use. If you choose to use them, you must initial/date each page, scan or photograph and upload them to the Dropbox. Otherwise, you may use Excel. Ethics Book Review: Submit your completed Ethics Book Review to the Dropbox by Sunday at 11:59pm. An outline is available in the Content area of the course. The completed report should be no longer than 3 pages. Week 8 Financial Section Discussion 9: This week, please read Waste Management: The Definition of an Asset and answer questions 1 and 2 from the Case Questions at the end of the reading. This case deals with a few violations of accounting principles you have learned in your financial accounting courses. The case is available in the Content area of the course. Complete this post by Friday night. By Saturday, respond to another student and comment on their observations. Comprehensive Problem: Financial Comprehensive Problem due by Saturday at 11:59pm. Review the information provided in Week 7 above. Course Policies Student Conduct Plagiarism All Columbia College students, whether enrolled in a land-based or online course, are responsible for behaving in a manner consistent with Columbia College's Student Conduct Code and Acceptable Use Policy. Students violating these policies will be referred to the office of Student Affairs and/or the office of Academic Affairs for possible disciplinary action. The Student Code of Conduct and the Computer Use Policy for students can be found in the Columbia College Student Handbook. The Handbook is available online; you can also obtain a copy by calling the Student Affairs office (Campus Life) at 573-875-7400. The teacher maintains the right to manage a positive learning environment, and all students must adhere to the conventions of online etiquette. Your grade will be based in large part on the originality of your ideas and your written presentation of these ideas. Presenting the words, ideas, or expression of another in any form as your own is plagiarism. Students who fail to properly give credit for information contained in their written work (papers, journals, exams, etc.) are violating the intellectual property rights of the original author. For proper citation of the original authors, you should reference the appropriate publication manual for your degree program or course (APA, MLA, etc.). Violations are taken seriously in higher education and may result in a failing grade on the assignment, a grade of "F" for the course, or dismissal from the College. Collaboration conducted between students without prior permission from the instructor is considered plagiarism and will be treated as such. Spouses and roommates taking the same course should be particularly careful. All required papers may be submitted for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers may be included in the Turnitin.com reference database for the
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 9 purpose of detecting plagiarism. This service is subject to the Terms and Conditions of Use posted on the Turnitin.com site. Non-Discrimination There will be no discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, ideology, political affiliation, veteran status, age, physical handicap, or marital status. Disability Services Students with documented disabilities who may need academic services for this course are required to register with the Coordinator for Disability Services at (573) 875-7626. Until the student has been cleared through the disability services office, accommodations do not have to be granted. If you are a student who has a documented disability, it is important for you to read the entire syllabus before enrolling in the course. The structure or the content of the course may make an accommodation not feasible. Online Participation You are expected to read the assigned texts and participate in the discussions and other course activities each week. Assignments should be posted by the due dates stated on the grading schedule in your syllabus. If an emergency arises that prevents you from participating in class, please let your instructor know as soon as possible. Attendance Policy Attendance for a week will be counted as having submitted a course assignment for which points have been earned during that week of the session or if the proctoring information has been submitted or the plagiarism quiz taken if there is no other assignment due that week. A class week is defined as the period of time between Monday and Sunday (except for Week 8, when the week and the course will end on Saturday at midnight). The course and system deadlines are all based on the Central Time Zone. Cougar E-mail All students are provided a CougarMail account when they enroll in classes at Columbia College. You are responsible for monitoring e-mail from that account for important messages from the College and from your instructor. You may forward your Cougar e-mail account to another account; however, the College cannot be held responsible for breaches in security or service interruptions with other e-mail providers. Students should use e-mail for private messages to the instructor and other students. The class discussions are for public messages so the class members can each see what others have to say about any given topic and respond. Late Assignment Policy An online class requires regular participation and a commitment to your instructor and your classmates to regularly engage in the reading, discussion and writing assignments. Although most of the online communication for this course is asynchronous, you must be able to commit to the schedule of work for the class for the next eight weeks. You must keep up with the schedule of reading and writing to successfully complete the class. Late assignments will be charged a penalty of 10% of total points possible per day (weekends included). No assignments may be submitted more than 2 days late. Due date extensions must be requested prior to the assignment s due date and require instructor approval. Approval will be granted under significant extenuating circumstances, such as hospitalization, required travel for work or extreme personal/family emergencies. Under no circumstances will an assignment or exam be accepted after the last official day of class for the session. No assignments will be accepted
Columbia College Online Campus P a g e 10 without prior approval from the instructor. Course Evaluation You will have an opportunity to evaluate the course near the end of the session. Course evaluations will open on Sunday of Week 5 and will remain open until Thursday of Week 7. A link will be sent to your CougarMail that will allow you to access the evaluation. Be assured that the evaluations are anonymous and that your instructor will not be able to see them until after final grades are submitted. Additional Resources Orientation for New Students This course is offered online, using course management software provided by Desire2Learn and Columbia College. The Student Manual provides details about taking an online course at Columbia College. You may also want to visit the course demonstration to view a sample course before this one opens. Technical Support If you have problems accessing the course or posting your assignments, contact your instructor, the Columbia College Helpdesk, or the D2L Helpdesk for assistance. Contact information is also available within the online course environment. CCHelpDesk@ccis.edu 800-231-2391 ex. 4357 helpdesk@desire2learn.com 877-325-7778 Online Tutoring Smarthinking is a free online tutoring service available to all Columbia College students. Smarthinking provides real-time online tutoring and homework help for Math, English, and Writing. The Writing Center can be used for writing assistance in any course. Smarthinking also provides access to live tutorials in writing and math, as well as a full range of study resources, including writing manuals, sample problems, and study skills manuals. You can access the service from wherever you have a connection to the Internet. I encourage you to take advantage of this free service provided by the college. Access Smarthinking through CougarTrack under Students->Academics->Academic Resources.