XACC 280 Complete Course

Week 1:

CheckPoint: Accounting Assumptions, Principles, and Constraints

Write an essay in 250 to 300 words, including the following:

o The basic assumptions of accounting

o The principles of accounting

o The constraints of accounting

o A conclusion stating how you think sound financial reporting depends on principles,

assumptions, and constraints. Refer to the U.S. GAAP in your response.

CheckPoint: The Accounting Equation

View PhxKlips The Accounting Equation on your student Web site.

Write an explanation of the function of each element in the accounting equation, using 100 to

150 words.

Complete E1-5 on p. 34 of Financial Accounting.

Post your explanation of the elements in the accounting equation with the answers to E1-5.

Week 2:

CheckPoint: Debits and Credits

View PhxKlips Debits and Credits on your student Web site.

Complete the questions and fill in the Account Changes matrix in Appendix B.

Post the completed Appendix B as an attachment.

Assignment: Journalizing, Posting, and Preparing a Trial Balance

Complete P2-2A on p. 81 of Financial Accounting, using the templates in Appendix C for

your answers. Each part of the problem corresponds to one tab in Appendix C. Complete all

three tabs of Appendix C.

Write a message of 250 to 400 words in the body of your posting that justifies what you did in

Appendix C. This message constitutes part d of the assignment. Address your message to

your creditors and explain:

o The general goals of financial reporting

o The steps you took in the recording process

o How the steps you took support the principles of accounting

Post your message and the completed Appendix C as an attachment.

Week 3:

CheckPoint: Adjusting Entries, Posting, and Preparing an Adjusted Trial Balance

Complete parts a, b, and c of P3-1A on pp. 128129 of Financial Accounting.

Use the templates in Appendix D. Complete all three tabs.

Post the completed Appendix D as an attachment.

Week 4:

CheckPoint: Subsidiary Ledgers and Special Journals

Explain in 250 to 300 words, your answers to the following:

o What are the advantages of the four different special journals? When would you use each

type?

o What is a subsidiary ledger and what purpose does it serve?

o What is a control account and what purpose does it serve?

o Which two general ledger accounts may act as control accounts for a subsidiary ledger?

o What are the advantages of using subsidiary ledgers?

Assignment: Preparing a Financial Statement Worksheet

Complete E4-1 on pp. 176177 of Financial Accounting.

Use the template in Appendix E to complete the 10-column worksheet.

Post the completed worksheet as an attachment.

Week 5:

CheckPoint: Reversing Entries

Post your answers to BE4-12 on p. 176 of Financial Accounting.

CheckPoint: Closing Entries and a Post-closing Trial Balance

Complete E4-4 on p. 177 of Financial Accounting. Use the templates in Appendix F and

complete all three tabs.

Post the completed Appendix F as an attachment.

Week 6:

CheckPoint: The Nine Steps of the Accounting Cycle

Complete The Nine Steps of the Accounting Cycle multimedia activity.

Capture the screen of the completed accounting cycle in the multimedia activity.

Write a summary of the nine steps of the accounting cycle, in 100 to 200 words.

Post your screen capture and written summary.

Exercise: Financial Statements

Post one or two new concepts you learned from each of the PhxKlips.

Assignment: Comprehensive Problem

Complete the Comprehensive Problem on pp. 189190 of Financial Accounting.

Use the templates in Appendix G to complete the problem; complete all six tabs.

Post the completed Appendix G as an attachment.

Week 7:

CheckPoint: Ratio, Vertical, and Horizontal Analyses

The calculations you perform for this CheckPoint form the basis of your analysis of your capstone

project.

Write in 100 to 200 words an explanation of the three tools of financial statement analysis

and the function of each.

Examine PepsiCo, Inc.s Consolidated Balance Sheet on p. A6 in Appendix A of Financial

Accounting, especially its Current Assets, Current Liabilities, and Total Assets for years 2005

and 2004.

Calculate the following for PepsiCo, Inc. and show your work:

o The Current Ratio for 2005

o The Current Ratio for 2004

o Two measures of vertical analysisfor example, compute the current assets divided by

total assets for each year, and express your result as a percentage

o Two measures of horizontal analysisfor example, compute the total change in assets

by percentage, by dividing current assets in 2005 by current assets in 2004. Compute a

similar percentage for current liabilities

Examine The Coca-Cola Companys Consolidated Balance sheet on p. B2 in Appendix B of

Financial Accounting, especially its Current Assets, Current Liabilities, and Total Assets for

years 2005 and 2004.

Calculate the following for Coca-Cola and show your work:

o The Current Ratio for 2005

o The Current Ratio for 2004

o Two measures of vertical analysisfor example, compute the current assets divided by

total assets for each year, and express your result as a percentage

o Two measures of horizontal analysisfor example, compute the total change in assets

by percentage, by dividing current assets in 2005 by current assets in 2004. Compute a

similar percentage for current liabilities

Post your explanation and calculations.

Exercise: Career Opportunities for Accountants

Post your response to the following items:

o Describe two business sectors you might want to work in if you were an accountant and

explain why in 150 to 200 words.

o Research a specific company in one of the business sectors that interests you and

describe how you imagine it might be to work there. Use 100 to 150 words for your

description.

Week 8:

CheckPoint: Impacts of Unethical Behavior

Research a company that has been in the news for unethical practices, such as Enron, Tyco,

Global Crossing, or WorldCom.

Post a 250- to 300-word response that summarizes your ideas about the following:

o What was the nature of the controversy regarding this companys practices?

o How were accounting practices involved?

o If you had been an accountant for this company, how would you have acted? Explain

why.

o What might have been done to prevent the controversy?

o What was the affect of unethical behavior on the profitability of the company?

CheckPoint: Regulatory Bodies

Post your response to the following question, using 250 to 300 words: What are the major

regulatory bodies and their functions?

Assignment: Internal Controls

Write a 750- to 1,050-word paper in APA format, including citations and references,

summarizing your ideas about internal controls.

Include the following:

o An introduction to internal controls, explaining in your own words the two primary goals of

internal control

o A description of how the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has affected internal controls

o An explanation of why a company that announces deficiencies in its internal controls

would probably experience a fall in the price of its stock

o A synopsis of what you consider to be the limitations of internal controls Cite specific

examples.

o A conclusion that summarizes your main points

o A comparison of the internal control principles of (1) establishing responsibility, (2) using

physical, mechanical, and electronic controls, (3) segregation of duties, and (4)

independent internal verification.

Post your completed paper as an attachment.

Week 9:

Capstone Discussion Question

Review the annual reports for PepsiCo, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company in Appendixes A &

B of Financial Accounting. Select either PepsiCo, Inc. or The Coca-Cola Company. In your

estimation, the company you chose may be financially healthier or weaker.

Would you invest in this company? Explain why or why not. Justify your reasoning, by

presenting at least three key financial ratios that analyze the profitability, the liquidity, or the

solvency of the company.

Respond to your classmates postings, by agreeing or disagreeing with their assessments,

while pointing to the data.

o Respond to at least one classmate who selected different ratios than those you selected

or a different company to analyze.

o Comment on the significance of the ratios and your classmates conclusions.

o Use the same or other ratios to bolster your opinion.

Final Project: Financial Analysis

Review the annual reports for PepsiCo, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company in Appendixes A

& B, especially the Consolidated Statements of Income and the Balance Sheets on pp. A4,

A6, B1, & B2 of Financial Accounting.

Write a 1750- to 2,050-word paper in APA format with citations and references that provides

a financial comparison of the two companies and your recommendations to improve the

financial status of each.

Include the following:

o An introductory paragraph with a statement of the purpose of your paper and a synopsis

of what readers may expect to find in the paper It is best to write this after writing the

rest of the paper.

o Vertical analyses for both companies You may use your calculations from the

Checkpoint Ratio, Vertical, and Horizontal Analyses, providing you show your work.

o Horizontal analyses for both companies You may use your calculations from the

Checkpoint Ratio, Vertical, and Horizontal Analyses, providing you show your work.

Discussion Questions

Week 1 DQs:

In your own words, how would you describe financial accounting? Select two users, one

internal and one external, who you think benefit the most from accounting. Explain why and

how you think they benefit.

Respond to your classmates postings by adding to their definitions of financial accounting.

Also, respond to at least one posting that discusses a different user than one you selected.

Add to the benefits of accounting for that user or explain how reading your colleagues

statements has modified your view of that user.

What do each of the four financial statements tell you about a company? How do companies

use financial statements? Which financial statement do you think is the most useful and why?

Respond to your classmates postings by adding to what each financial statement reveals.

Then, comment on your classmates choice of the most important financial statements.

Provide a different opinion, modify your own, or further support an opinion and explain why.

Week 3 DQs:

What would be the effect of removing either the Matching Principle or the Revenue

Recognition Principle from the process? Use a concrete example of how doing so might

affect accounting in a given period.

Respond to your classmates postings by commenting on what might happen, if expenses are

recognized over a period that is longer or shorter than that used for revenues.

What is the difference between the cash basis of accounting and the accrual basis of

accounting? Which one would you select for a company that has inventory and why? Does

the size of the company make a difference? Explain how. What would be the advantages and

disadvantages of using one basis of accounting over the other?

Respond to your classmates by commenting on which basis of accounting might be best for a

large company with inventory and a small company with inventory. Also, comment on the

advantages of each basis of accounting.

Week 5 DQs:

What are reversing entries and why are they required? What would happen if reversing

entries were not made? What transactions might require reversing entries? What transactions

might not require reversing entries?

Respond to your classmates postings by adding to their rationales for using or not using

reversing entries.

After examining Illustration 4-5 on p. 151 of Financial Accounting, what do you consider might

happen if

o revenue accounts are not closed? Explain why.

o expense accounts are not closed? Explain why.

o dividends are not closed? Explain why.

Respond to your classmates postings by agreeing with, disagreeing with, or modifying their

speculations. Provide reasons for your opinions.

Week 7 DQs:

Select three ratios, one from each categoryliquidity, profitability, and solvencyyou think

are the most important.

Why do you consider these ratios important? Which internal and external users might be

most interested in these ratios? Explain why.

Respond to postings of your classmates who selected different ratios than those you

selected. Comment on the significance of these ratios and which users might be most

interested in them.

Review Illustrations 15-17 through 15-24 on pp. 710714 of Financial Accounting.

Given the data, would you have invested in Quality Department Store in 2006? Explain why

or why not. Summarize your analysis of the financial data to support your reasoning. What

recommendations would you make to improve the financial health of this company? Explain

why.

Respond to your classmates postings, by agreeing or disagreeing with their assessments

while pointing to the data and specific ratio, vertical, or horizontal analyses.

Week 9 Capstone DQ

Review the annual reports for a S & P 500 company of your choosing. In your estimation, the company you chose may be financially healthy or weak.

Would you invest in this company? Explain why or why not. Justify your reasoning, by presenting at least three key financial ratios that analyze the profitability, the liquidity, or the solvency of the company.

Respond to your classmates postings, by agreeing or disagreeing with their assessments, while pointing to the data.

o Respond to at least one classmate who selected different ratios than those you selected or a different company to analyze.

o Comment on the significance of the ratios and your classmates conclusions.

Use the same or other ratios to bolster your opinion.