INTERMEDIATE ACCOUNTING I (BMGT 310)

FALL SEMESTER 2014

ROBERT. H. SMITH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

INSTRUCTOR:
CLASS TIMES:
OFFICE:
PHONE:
OFFICE HOURS:
EMAIL:

Dr. Stephen Brown

(0201) Mondays and Wednesdays 11:00 - 12:15 in VMH 1314
(0601) Mondays and Wednesdays 14:00 - 15:15 in VMH 1202
VMH 4333Q
(301) 405-0570
Mondays and Wednesdays:
15:30 to 16:30
(or other times, by arrangement)
sbrown@rhsmith.umd.edu

I will try to respond to all relevant emails sent to this email address within a 48 hour period. If
you email me a question, and do not hear back within that time, it is possibly because I did not
receive your email. (The university spam filtering is overly aggressive.) Please feel free to send it
again. Please post questions about homeworks etc to the appropriate discussion forum in ELMS.
REQUIRED TEXT:
Intermediate Accounting (Seventh Edition) by Spiceland, Sepe and Nelson. Beware when buying
a copy of the text other than from the bookstore because you will also need an access code to the
McGraw-Hill Connect site. (See my note on ELMS for more details.) The student resources to
accompany this site are at:
http://connect.mheducation.com/class/s-brown-310-2014-fall
COURSE WEBSITE:
myelms.umd.edu
This website is where you can download support material such as class notes, solutions to inclass problems, and also view your grades. Please monitor this site daily, particularly before
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classes, because I will post general announcements here. (I will email to you only Very
Important Announcements.)
COURSE OBJECTIVE:
BMGT 310 is the first course of the two-semester sequence of Intermediate Financial
Accounting. It is a direct continuation of BMGT 220, (and to a lesser extent) BMGT221, and is a
prerequisite for BMGT 311. The primary objective of the course is to help students understand:
(a) The preparation of financial statements in accordance with US GAAP.
(b) The credibility and usefulness of US GAAP financial statements.
(c) Some key outstanding differences between US GAAP and IFRS.
(d) The origin and development of financial accounting standards.
(e) The importance of integrity and high ethical standards in financial accounting generally,
and specifically in the auditing profession.
(f) The financial accounting syllabi of the CPA and CFA examinations.
The exact topics to be covered in the course are outlined in the Assignment Schedule below.
CLASS STRUCTURE:
Class sessions will be structured in a lecture/problem solving format. I expect you to participate
in class discussions, and strongly encouraged to ask questions as we proceed through the
material. You are also responsible for all materials covered in the assigned chapters, some of
which may not be specifically covered in class. I will review the solutions to some of the
assigned exercises and problems in class and I expect you to practice solving all of the assigned
exercises and problems. On-line homework problems will be assigned using an on-line
homework system. These on-line homework assignments will be computer graded and form part
of your course grade. Be prepared to answer questions and contribute to the solutions to these
exercises and problems in class. Working with exercises and problems is essential.
Understanding the solution presented in class for a particular problem is only the first step; you
must be able to solve similar problems yourself.
GRADE DETERMINATION:
Your final course grade will be calculated as follows:

LETTER GRADES
Midterm Exam 1
180 points
A
900 - 1000
Midterm Exam 2
180 points
B
800 - 899
Midterm Exam 3
180 points
C
700 - 799
Learn-Smart exercises
50 points
D
600 - 699
Homeworks and discussions
110 points
F
599 and below
Comprehensive Final Exam:
300 points
TOTAL
1,000 POINTS
Pluses (+) and Minuses (-) will be used as required by University of Maryland policy. I will
aim at the recommended grade distribution for the Business School. For a 300 level core course,
this GPA is 3.1. (In recent semesters, I have exceeded this GPA.)
MIDTERM AND FINAL EXAMS:
Three Midterm Exams and will be given on the scheduled dates listed on the Assignment
Schedule (see final pages of syllabus) during regular class time in the regular classroom.
The Comprehensive Final Exam will be given according to University of Marylands Official
Examination Schedule (available at
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http://registrar.umd.edu/current/registration/exam%20tables%20fall.html) unless I post

alternative dates to ELMS. At the time of writing the scheduled dates are: for the 11:00 section
(0201) December 17th at 08:00 and for the 14:00 section (0601) is December 18th at 13:30. The
times for the final differ between sections. If you wish to switch times with a student from the
other section and you both agree, please let me know; in principle, I have no objection.
The exams will probably consist of a mixture of multiple choice questions, and short answer
questions and problems. Many exam questions will be similar to questions that are available for
practice and review beforehand on the Connect site. Some exam questions will likely be
dissimilar from those you have seen before - but will cover similar material. The final will be
multiple choice only.
WEATHER EVENTS ETC
In case of an emergency causing the university to close, a scheduled exam will be held on the
next scheduled class period. If you should miss a mid-term examination due to: (1) serious
illness (requiring medical care), (2) family emergency, or (3) religious holiday, AND you provide
appropriate documentation (e.g. doctors note), there will be no make-up but the weighting from
that exam will be assigned to the final. If the university is closed but exams are not directly
affected, the exam dates will not change, although the content to be covered may change. If we
lose an ordinary (i.e. non-exam) class because of weather etc, then either I will schedule a makeup class, or, more likely, I will create and assign specific distance-learning exercises, videos etc.
QUIZZES:
I expect to give quizzes during the semester during class time. Quiz questions will generally
consist of objective type questions. Students may choose to work in pairs to answer the quiz
questions if they wish. I do not expect that quiz scores will form part of your overall grade in
2014, however, they are good exercises for the exams and should be treated seriously.
HOMEWORKS:
Assessed homework is in three parts: 1) at McGrawHill website: Learnsmart - non-quantitative
flashcard type questions - 2) at McGrawHill website and problem sets - almost all quantitative
and 3) on ELMS website - contribution to on-line 'discussions' and/or on-line Quiz.
LearnSmart exercises
LearnSmart assignments for each chapter (see Connect website) are to be completed by the
beginning of the second of the second lecture for that chapter. i.e. you are to complete them
before we have finished covering all the material for that chapter in class. This timing is
deliberate and is intended to enable the class time to be spent more effectively than otherwise
would be possible because you should have covered the basics. The LearnSmart exercise is
intended to take approximately 30-40 minutes, IF you have read the chapter well beforehand. If
you choose to read the chapter a need-to-know basis, the exercises will likely take much longer.
Completion of the LearnSmart exercises is worth 5% of your grade.
Homeworks are to be attempted for each chapter using the Connect system that I will
demonstrate in class. In addition, I may use a couple of cases or longer homework questions
during the semester that students will be responsible for preparing, possibly in groups, prior to
class discussion and hand written solutions to these non-computer graded questions may be
required.
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Problem sets

All homework assignments can be accessed via Connect in the Assignments section of
the McGrawHill Connect web site

The questions assigned and their due dates are contained in the Tentative Calendar below.
Note that for many of the questions, the numbers will be generated algorithmically, so the
numbers WILL NOT be the same as those in your text or of other classmates.

All Homework MUST BE submitted electronically through Connect.

Late homework may be accepted - but with a penalty of x% per day. This semester will
be the second time I adopt such a lax policy to give students flexibility. The penalty will
be set at 1% per day for the beginning of the semester. If too many students do not
complete the assignments in time to keep up with class, I will probably increase the
penalty to 15% per day for later assignments.

No paper submissions will be accepted.

Each assignment is worth the same percentage of the overall assignment grade.
Generally, a score from zero to 100 will be assigned by Connect for each homework
assignment. There are 11 problem sets, therefore even if you get only 91% on each one,
it is still possible to achieve a score of 100% for these problem sets in total; I expect that
many in the class will do so. This scheme also builds in flexibility in case you choose not
to complete all of a single assignment.

If for some reason the grading system on Connect does not work properly, I might
request you to submit hard-copy of your assignments. If I have to grade homework
manually, I will use my discretion and choose to grade a subset of the exercises and
problems. The grade for the homework assignment will be based solely on the subset of
the exercises and problems graded.

To study and answer the homework questions, I encourage you to work in groups. Of
course, you must each submit your own answer.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your answers are submitted on time. Like many
computer systems, Connect may crash from time-to-time; therefore I strongly
recommend that you do NOT leave it until the last minute to submit your answers.
OVERALL GRADES:

In past semesters, I have found there to be a strong correlation between scores on

homework and final exam scores. However, if you choose to submit little or no
homework, and your percentage grade on the final exam exceeds your score for the
homework, I may reduce the weighting on homework and transfer it to the final.

I will be forgiving of anyone who has one 'bad day' on a mid-term. That is, if the
performance on one midterm is substantially worse than the other mid-term and the final,
I am prepared to consider the bad mid-term performance as anomalous and not
representative. Therefore, in assigning an overall grade, I will reduce the weight on that
bad mid-term and increase the weight on the final.
PARTICIPATION:
There is no formal grade for participation in this course. However, there is much research that
shows that most of us learn best by actively participating in the learning process. For Business
School undergraduates, actively talking and thinking about the topic will help your
understanding; therefore I strongly encourage you to make the most of your time in class. Also,
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your active participation in the class enables me to assess the understanding of the material by
the class as a whole.
Although I will not formally include 'participation' when assigning final grades I will tend to give
the "benefit of the doubt" to borderline students who, by their participation in class, have
demonstrated their understanding of the material. So:
a)
I will periodically record attendance, based on visible Name Plates - if there is space for
them in the lecture room. (Showing your names to each other will generally help you all
get to know each other too and make the class more enjoyable; we will thereby enjoy a
more effective learning environment.)
b)
Your participation is valuable when it helps others in the class to learn. Examples of
valuable participation include the asking of helpful questions (e.g. those that seek
clarification or give an opportunity to develop the course material), responding to
questions and other discussion. Valuable participation can be in the classroom or as part
of the on-line elements of the course on the discussion forum in ELMS.
c)
Activities that detract from the learning environment and hinder the ability of other class
participants to learn include: talking (even in a whisper); reading anything other than
lecture notes etc; eating in class (drinks are allowed); entering/exiting the room during
class. (I reserve the right to lock the doors 5 minutes after start of class.)
d)
I may indicate that certain homework problems and cases should be prepared for
discussion in class. I will probably cold-call individuals to answer certain questions.
Getting the answer wrong is no big deal; demonstrating by your answer that you had not
prepared for class at all is not conducive to creating a good impression (with me or your
peers).
IMPORTANT POLICY ISSUES:
CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE - Ethics and Professionalism:
Accountants are responsible for the integrity of the financial reporting system. High standards of
ethics and professionalism are an integral part of an accountant's job. They are key to the
integrity of the whole financial reporting process. I expect that you will at all times exhibit high
standards of professionalism in this course. In the context of this course, professionalism
consists of attending and actively participating in the class, being on time, not talking out of turn,
being respectful to others, and your general deportment. Repeatedly scheduling work
assignments and interviews during class sessions is unacceptable: you are expected to attend
class. All materials covered in class and/or included in the assigned chapters are "fair game" for
the scheduled exams. Please arrange your personal schedules so that late arrivals and early
departures are avoided.
Chronic lateness, talking in class, reading the newspaper, sleeping and similar behaviors that
distract others are unacceptable. Repeated walking in and out of class is distracting to your
classmates and me and, again, will not be tolerated. Use of personal computers and cell-phones
for activities not related to the class that distracts others in the room is not acceptable. Research
by my colleagues in the Department of Psychology persuades me that access to devices such as
laptops etc hinders the learning process and therefore, except when I explicitly allow it, laptops
and other devices are not to be used in class. Gross food and beverage consumption during class
is not acceptable be discrete. If you must consume some food or drink during class, remember
to clean up any mess afterwards. You are responsible for discarding beverage containers,
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wrappers etc in the appropriate receptacles. Leaving garbage in the classroom after class is
inconsiderate, unprofessional, and just plain ignorant.
EMAIL AND DISCUSSION BOARD NETIQUETTE:
Near countless surveys of future employers of our students confirm that while it is important that
students graduating from Smith should have certain technical knowledge and skills, it is more
important to them that their employees are able to communicate effectively and appropriately
to peers, managers, clients, potential clients etc. Good manners are important - hence the
emphasis begins here with several rules of netiquette that I expect you to follow.
1)
Emails should be appropriately addressed; i.e. when writing to faculty, use Dear
Professor, or Dear Professor Name (or Dear Dr Name). For less formal email
communications - especially in a response or follow-up email, the salutation "Dear" is
often omitted. Salutations in an email such as "Hey You" or "Hey, Prof" that might be
misinterpreted as disrespectful are almost always inappropriate and should be avoided.
2)
If you ask for help, and receive it, it is appropriate to briefly thank the helper.
3)
Emails, bulletin board and blog postings should primarily be written in ASCII (plain text)
wherever possible; therefore, avoid non-ascii characters such as curly quotes, bold, italic,
or non-standard size colored fonts unless you are sure all recipients can read it. (Also, use
of non-ASCII characters takes up more bandwidth, hence is slower - which can cause
problems for those without broadband/3G connections.
4)
Do not use an attachment when the content of the attachment could have been adequately
included in the body of the email.
5)
Re: audit trails included in "Reply" emails:
There are two schools of thought:
(1)
all earlier correspondence should be included in the current message. The
advantage is that that the reader of the most recent message can easily see the
interactions and history that have led to the present message. This behavior is the
default in many email programs.
(2)
all (or almost all) earlier correspondence should be deleted (and such cuts should
be indicated with <snip>). This keeps emails shorter and does not clutter up
inboxes with needless garbage.
I strongly lean towards the second view given the nature of the communications within
the university; you will probably find in your professional life that your employer will
lean to the first view - because of maintaining an audit trail.
SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDYING:
This is a very demanding course: the syllabus is crammed with topics. Perhaps the
biggest danger is that students think they know the material already since most topics in
Intermediate I were touched on in most introductory accounting courses. If you do think
you know the material already, test yourself, and aim for at least 97% in all quizzes, tests
etc.
Students have often asked me how best to study for this course. These are my opinions
on what I think works best for this course:
1)
Before the start of the course, re-fresh yourself with the Principles of Accounting. Make
sure you are very comfortable with journal entries and the accounting cycle, especially
adjusting entries and closing entries.
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2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

Focus on the materials covered in class. Perhaps use the PowerPoint slides as a chapter
overview -- focus on these topics when reading the chapter. Read the book, it's critical. I
do not have time to go over everything in the class time.
Work the assigned homework problems.
If possible, work additional homework problems.
Keep up with the course. This is a comprehensive course, and the material builds upon
itself. In addition, much of the material is highly detailed. As a result, it is highly
difficult to cram this material at the end.
I strongly encourage you to form study groups and work with your colleagues. You will
learn if you teach the material to someone else.

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

ACCOUNTING IS A CUMULATIVE SKILL. Many topics build on concepts, principles, and
techniques previously covered. It is your responsibility to read text materials and attempt to
complete homework assignments PRIOR to attending class. Also, ACCOUNTING IS NOT A
SPECTATOR SPORT. I strongly encourage you to attempt Self-Assessment Multiple-Choice
Questions, and additional end-of-chapter Exercises and Problems. Successful performance in
this course requires a significant, consistent time commitment. It is important to note that it is
extremely difficult to perform satisfactorily if you allow yourself to fall behind.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
The University's Code of Academic Integrity is designed to ensure that the principles of
academic honesty and integrity are upheld. All students are expected to adhere to this Code.
The Smith School does not tolerate academic dishonesty. All acts of academic dishonesty will be
dealt with in accordance with the provisions of this code. Please visit the following website for
more information on the University's Code of Academic Integrity:
http://www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/code.html
On each assignment you will be asked to write out and sign the following pledge. "I pledge on
my honor that I have not given and will not give to others any unauthorized assistance on this
exam/assignment; nor have I received from others any unauthorized assistance on this
exam/assignment."
ACCOMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS:
Any student with special needs should bring this to the attention of the instructor as soon as
possible, but no later that the second week of class.

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SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS: The following is a tentative plan for the course.

Deviations, if necessary, will be announced in class and/or by coursemail and/or on ELMS. You
should read the assigned chapters and attempt the Learnsmart assignments and the indicated
exercises and problems before each class. Homeworks are to be submitted online by the date
indicated on the website, which will typically the second class after completion of the relevant
chapter. The individual questions included in the on-line assignments are indicated below, but in
case of inconsistencies, the online assignment should be taken as definitive.
CLASS/ DATE

TOPIC

HOMEWORK

Wed, Sep 3

Chap. 1: Introduction

BE-1-1, E1-2, E1-5, E1-7, E19, BE1-4, E1-8, BE1-3, E1-12

2
3

Mon, Sep 8
Wed, Sep 10

Chap. 1: Introduction
Chap. 2: Accounting Process

4
5
6

Mon, Sep 15
Wed, Sep 17
Mon, Sep 22

Chap. 2: Accounting Process

Chap. 2: Accounting Process
Chap. 3:Balance Sheet

Wed, Sep 24

Chap. 3:Balance Sheet

Mon, Sep 29

Chap. 4: Income Statement

9
10
11

Wed, Oct 1
Mon, Oct 5
Wed, Oct 8

Chap. 4: Income Statement

First mid-term (Chapters 1 - 4)
Chap. 4: Statement of cashflows Possible Guest speaker

12

Mon, Oct 13

Chap. 5 Income Measurement and

Profitability Analysis

13

Wed, Oct 15

Chap. 5 Income Measurement and

Profitability Analysis

14

Mon, Oct 20

Chap. 6: Time Value of Money

15

Wed, Oct 22

Chap. 6: Time Value of Money

BMGT310 - Prof Brown - Fall 2014 - Syllabus - 8

BE2-4, E2-4, BE2-5, BE2-6,

E2-5, E2-8, E2-14, P2-3, P2-6

BE3-5, BE3-6, BE3-8, E3-2,

E3-7, E3-16, P3-3, P3-6
BE4-4, BE4-6, BE4-7, E4-2,
E4-5, E4-7, P4-1, P4-3, P4-9

BE5-1, BE5-8, E5-2, E5-5, E512, E5-18, P5-2, P5-5, P5-6

E6-1, 3, 10,11,13, P6-2, 3, 6,

13, 14

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CLASS/ DATE
16
Mon, Oct 27

TOPIC
Chap. 7: Cash and Receivables (and
Appendix 7A)

17
18

Wed, Oct 29
Mon, Nov 3

Chap. 7: Cash and Receivables

Chap. 8: Inventories: Measurement

19
20

Wed, Nov 5
Mon, Nov 10

Chap. 8: Inventories: Measurement

Second mid-term (Chapters 5 - 8)

21

Wed, Nov 12

Chap. 9: Additional Inventory Issues

(and Appendix 9A)

22

Mon, Nov 17

23

Wed, Nov 20

Chap. 9: Additional Inventory Issues

(and Appendix 9A)
Chap. 10: Property, Plant, and
Equipment, and Intangibles:
Acquisition and disposal

24

Mon, Nov 25

25

Wed, Nov 26

26

Mon, Dec 1

27

Wed, Dec 3

Chap. 11: Property, Plant, and

Equipment, and Intangibles: Utilization
and Impairment

28

Mon, Dec 8

Chap. 11: Property, Plant, and

Equipment, and Intangibles: Utilization
and Impairment

29

Wed, Dec 10

Third mid-term (Chapters 9 - 11)

30

HOMEWORK
BE7-8, E7-1, E7-4, E7-8, E712, E7-17, P7-1, P7-13, BE713, BE7-15, P7-8, P7-10
BE8-1, E8-1, E8-6, P8-2, BE85, E8-9, E8-13, P8-5, BE8-10,
P8-11, P8-15

BE9-1, E9-1, P9-2, BE9-4, E92, E9-8, P9-3, E9-14, E9-24,

E9-26, BE9-14, P9-15

BE10-2, BE10-3, BE10-11,

BE10-14, E10-1, E10-2, E10-3,
E10-6, E10-11, E10-23, P10-1,
P10-7, P10-9

Chap. 10: Property, Plant, and

Equipment, and Intangibles:
Acquisition and disposal
Exercise on EDGAR and 10-K
interpretation
Chap. 10: Property, Plant, and
Equipment, and Intangibles:
Acquisition and disposal
E11-3, P11-5, E11-11, P11-2,
BE11-7, E11-14, BE11-10,
E11-15, E111-21, E11-22, P1112

Final Exam - comprehensive

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