Course Description:This course will review the principles prevailing in the practice of contemporary accounting and the act of applying these principles, with particular emphasis on areas of high current significance.  Cases will be incorporated in the curriculum to give students a fuller understanding of the concepts and practical considerations relevant to current accounting issues.

Course Objectives:

• To convey to students the importance of financial accounting and financial statements
• To increase a students research skills
• To increase a students communication skills; written and oral
• To encourage and develop students' critical thinking by incorporating a strong decision-making orientation
• To learn to organize, coordinate, delegate tasks, achieve consensus and resolve conflict through the group experience

Course Activities to Meet Objectives:Students will be expected to make class presentation and prepare papers - individually, and within a team.  American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) cases will be utilized.  Nancy Dennis, Outreach Librarian, will provide research assistance.  Current issues in accounting will be discussed from articles in The Wall Street Journal.  Papers will be assigned.  All papers must be typed, 1.5 or double-spaced.  Grammar, spelling, and punctuation will be important.  Most work will be completed in teams.  I will not accept late work unless you have an excused absence or have made prior arrangements.

Schedule of Assignments: To be assigned based on current topics.

Course and Grading Policies:Case analysis 50%; written papers 30%, class participation 20%.

Attendance: Regular attendance is strongly recommended.  A maximum of three absences may be allowable in this course.  A fourth absence may be allowable on special petition from the registrar and me.  Any student who is unable to attend classes because of his/her religious beliefs will be excused.

Last Day to Withdraw from the Course: The last day on which withdrawal from the course is permitted with a “W” grade is the last day of the tenth week of the semester.

Assistance: Any student having problems with course material should feel free to talk to me to arrange for assistance. I will be available during office hours or by appointment. Nancy Dennis,  will also be available to provide research assistance, as needed.

Tutoring:  Free tutoring is available in the Accounting Lab on South Campus.  Hours of operation are posted on the door.  The Learning Center is located on the fourth floor of the Library and is open Monday - Friday from 8:30-5:00.  Accounting tutors are available.  The Writing Center is located in Meier Hall, Room 223.

College Policy Statement:A Salem State College is committed to non-discrimination of handicapped persons as specified in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.  Students who qualify as handicapped persons under the definition of this act should notify me at the beginning of the course so that reasonable modifications in course requirements may be made when necessary.  Alternative methods of testing and evaluation are available in all courses offered by Salem State for students with requirements for such methods.

General:  The above procedures and following schedule are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.

Research papers: Papers should be formatted as follows:

 Title page
 Statement of issues
 Discussion of the literature
 Your recommendations and conclusions
 References

Cases:  Cases will be assigned from the AICPA Case Development Program.  Cases can be found at http://www.aicpa.org/.
Some of the cases require Adobe Acrobat in order to read the .pdf format, if you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader, click here!

Week 2 – Issue Paper - Rite Aid Corp.  Individual project. See DIALOG@CARL for Wall Street Journal Abstracts and the Boston Globe full text. (Note: these two databases are only available on campus).

Weeks 3 & 4 – Case presentation/written assignment - Case No. 98-01.  Assurance Services:  ElderCare Assisted Living.   This is a multi-media case that addresses “ElderCare” as a new, potential service area for CPAs.  ElderCare is the latest new assurance service introduced by the AICPA. It is a service designed to provide assurance to family members that care goals are achieved are achieved for elderly family members no longer able to be totally independent. This service relies on the expertise of other professionals, with the CPA serving as coordinator and assurer of quality service based on criteria and goals set by the client.

Week 5 – Case presentation/written assignment – Case No. 98-05.  Rowe Pottery Works, Inc.  This case analyzes a failing business and demonstrates how New Finance accountants can help turn around a small business.

Week 6 – Case presentation/written assignment – Case No.  98-04.  The Tampa Bay Renegades.  This case involves accounting and auditing issues related to a sports franchise that has both domestic and foreign owners.

Week 7 - Current issues paper.

Week 8 – Case presentation/written assignment – Case No. 98-09.  Dow Corning Corporation: Silicone Breast Implant Product Liability.The case addresses the issue of liability valuation and disclosure for product liability litigation against Dow Corning, and Chapter 11 reorganization, along with related ethical issues.  Each group will be assigned to represent a different group of stakeholders, i. e. management, auditors, investors and litigants for case analysis.  Students will make oral and written presentations from the viewpoint of the stakeholder of the assigned group.

Weeks 9 & 10 - Classroom work – Case No. 97-04: The Museum of Fine Arts.  A case study on the implementation of the new nonprofit accounting standards.

Week 11 - Case presentation/written assignment – Case No. 92-08: All in the Family: The Sale of Operations. The purpose of this case is to demonstrate that authoritative guidance still requires accountants to use judgement and that solutions will often not be consistent across accountants.  Defining a business segment and determining whether it is a separate line of business is often not an easy task.  This case also focuses on a small business with a related party transaction.

Week 12 - Case presentation/written assignment – Case No. 97-12: A New Golf Ball at Wilson. The case introduces the concept of capital budgeting, with particular emphasis on net present value and internal rate of return.  The case also lends itself to a discussion of variables involved in cash flow determination, including the difficulties encountered when forecasting new product sales and related expenses.

Week 13 - Classroom work.  Current topic to be determined.

Weeks 14 & 15– Research paper preparation and presentation.

Accounting Links

RAW: Rutgers Accounting Web
http://www.rutgers.edu/Accounting/
Claims to be the largest repository of  links to firms, associations, educators, educational programs, standards, and government agencies related to accounting, finance, taxation, and auditing. Useful links to EDGAR, Big Five Accounting Firms, FASB, and directories of accounting firms in the U.S. and abroad.

AICPA
http://www.aicpa.org/
Comprehensive, well organized site.Of particular interest to students in ACC417 are links to AICPA classifieds, career resources, CPA links, and "Inside the Beltway." Case studies for this course are located under the links: "Educator - Education Programs and Services - Professor/Practitioner Case Development Program - Index of Cases."

SEC EDGAR Database
http://www.sec.gov/edgarhp.htm
From the introduction: "EDGAR, the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system, performs automated collection, validation, indexing, acceptance, and forwarding of submissions by companies and others who are required by law to file forms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Its primary purpose is to increase the efficiency and fairness of the securities market for the benefit of investors, corporations, and the economy by accelerating the receipt, acceptance, dissemination, and analysis of time-sensitive corporate information filed with the agency." See link to "Search the Edgar Database" for helpful tips on efficient searching.

The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition
http://update.wsj.com/
The combined subscription includes The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition and Barron's Online. An annual subscription costs $29 with proof of your print subscription to any edition of  The Wall Street Journal or Barron's. Nonprintsubscribers pay $59. When you subscribe, your first two weeks are free. Your Interactive Journal  free-trial includes 10 free articles in
the Dow Jones Interactive Publications Library, a premium service.

The Interactive Journal  includes all the news from The Wall Street Journal -- plus 24-hour-a-day updates, exclusive access to Barron's Online, powerful personalization features, including online portfolios, and in-depth coverage of technology. Special features include the Web Center for news reported elsewhere on the web; access to the news archives for the past 30 days; your own customized news and portfolio pages; and a powerful site atlas.

Barrons Online
http://www.barrons.com/
Available with a subscription to the Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition. The same subscription terms apply. Claims to provide the full text of the popular print edition -- plus a wealth of daily updates that provide credible perspective and concise analysis throughout the trading week, including the weekday market commentary and analysis, providing a perspective you won't find anywhere else. Special features include: expansive, expertly compiled market statistics, timely interviews with mutual-fund managers, insightful analysis of specific stock situations, a comprehensive collection of information on Internet investing, and online brokerages on the Electronic Investing page, including Website of the Week, a hands-on review of an investing site.

dowjones.com
http://dowjones.wsj.com/p/main.html
Gives current headlines from the Dow Jones Business News, Wall Street Journal Interactive, and press wire releases. Facilitates quick searches of stock quotes and market indicators. Particularly helpful are search engines for industry and general business  information across the DJ Business News, WSJ Interactive, web sites, and press wires. Registration is required to search the site. Searches are free, but there is a charge for viewing articles.

Dow Jones Interactive
http://askdj.dowjones.com/
Dow Jones Interactive is a customizable, enterprise-wide business news and research solution. It integrates content from top national newspapers, Dow Jones & Reuters newswires, business journals, market research reports, analyst reports and websites. Fee required - requires registration and establishment of an account.

MSCPA Online
http://www.mscpaonline.org/
The official web site of the MSCPA. Keeps you abreast of local news. Facilitates searching by over 100 industry and services categories or by town to find a participating MSCPA member. The MSCPA Virtual Marketplace is virtual tradeshow of companies that attended the CPA & Business EXPO. The "Members – Exchange E-mail" enables you to converse with other professionals on these topics: federal tax issues, state tax issues, general accounting issues, corporate management/ business issues, technology solutions, financial services, and small firms' issues.

American Accounting Association
http://www.rutgers.edu/Accounting/raw/aaa/
The official web site of the AAA. Provides news and professional development activities, and updates on conferences and workshops. Of particular notes are the "Links and Accounting Associations." It gives direct links to over 10 accounting journals available online, including the Journal of Accountancy. Also helpful is the link to other mega accounting sites.

Web Business Links from the SSC Library Home Page
http://www.salemstate.edu/library/busres.htm
Links to web sites on general business sites and sites specifically for business news, company information, currency converters, government, legal, and political resources, statistics, stock and mutual fund quotes, and taxes.

Salem State College Library Business Database Links
http://www.salemstate.edu/library/dsbus.htm
Direct links to business databases in EBSCO, FirstSearch, DIALOG@CARL, and InfoTrac. These provide articles (many fulltext) from business periodicals and newspapers. Both scholarly and popular sources are included.

Harvard Business School Baker Library
http://library.hbs.edu/
Links to recommended web sites on all aspects of business. Good for company and industry research. Provides numerous search engines for navigating the site's resources.

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