Accounting 521/721

Fund Accounting

Spring 2006

 

Instructor:               Oliver Feltus

Office:                     Miller 110

Phone:                     622‑4977

e-mail:                      oliver.feltus@eku.edu

fax:                          622-8071

 

Office                       09:30 –11:00 & 02:00 - 03:00 T

Hours:                     09:30 –11:00 & 02:00 - 06:00 R (and by appointment.)

 

Prerequisite:           ACC 302 (with C- or better).

 

Required Texts:      Government and Not-For-Profit Accounting, Freeman, Shoulders, and Allison, 8th ed.

 

Course Outcomes.  By the end of the course the student should be able to: 

  1. Explain the key distinguishing characteristics, concepts, and objectives of government and nonprofit (G&NP) accounting and financial reporting.
  2. Explain the role of the budget in governmental fund planning and control.
  3. Prepare budgetary accounting entries.
  4. Determine when various types of governmental fund revenues should be recognized.
  5. Define expenditures as used in governmental fund accounting and reporting; apply governmental fund expenditure recognition guidance.
  6. Understand the basic nature and purpose of various funds and the types of activities recorded in those funds.
  7. Account for various types of transactions affecting governmental operations.
  8. Determine what activities should be reported using Enterprise Funds and Internal Service Funds.
  9. Explain the circumstances in which fiduciary funds are used to report assets held by governments in fiduciary relationships.
  10. Prepare government-wide financial statements and the fund financial statements.
  11. Explain the types of worksheet adjustments needed to derive governmental activities data for the government-wide financial statements from governmental funds financial statement data.
  12. Describe the nature and contents of the three major sections of a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).
  13. Explain the basis of accounting and the financial statements required for non-government, not-for-profit organizations.
  14. Account for various types of transactions affecting governmental operations.
  15. Prepare financial statements for non-government, not-for-profit organizations.

 

Disabilities

 

If you are registered with the Office of Services for Individuals with Disabilities, please make an appointment with the course instructor to discuss any academic accommodations you need. If you need academic accommodations and are not registered with the Office of Services for Individuals with Disabilities, please contact the office on the third floor of the Student Services Building, by email at disabilities@eku.edu or by telephone at (859) 622-2933 V/TDD. Upon individual request, this syllabus can be made available in alternative forms.

 

Classroom Resources

 

You are expected to bring to class each day: the textbook, pencils, paper, and a calculator. Only calculators that perform minimal functions, such as plus, minus, multiply, divide, etc., will be allowed during quizzes and exams.  No graphing calculators, palm pilots, or computers are allowed.

 

Classroom Behavior

 

To help make the class work for everyone: turn off cell phones during class, keep talk to fellow students to a minimum during class, speak loud enough for all to hear when asking questions, and treat everyone in the classroom with respect.

 

Homework

 

Homework problems will be selected to give you practice in applying techniques and understanding concepts.  Assigned problems will be announced in class and posted on Blackboard.  The selected problems will be chosen to highlight the objectives of the course.  Some of the assigned problems will be collected for a grade.  The solution to all assigned problems will be discussed in class

 

Continuing Problem

 

A “continuing problem” will be assigned from chapters 4 - 15.  The continuing problem will be collected periodically throughout the semester.

 

Quizzes

 

Quizzes, each worth 10 points, will be given throughout the semester.  Quizzes will be based on the assignments and in class examples.  Quizzes are designed to give you feedback on how well you have learned the material.  For this reason, the lowest quiz score(s) will be dropped and the top five remaining quiz scores will be used for your total quiz grade.  Make-up quizzes will not be given unless arrangements have been made with me in advance of the quiz.

 

Semester Project (721 students only)

 

Graduate school guidelines require that students in ACC 721 have course requirements in excess of those for students in ACC 521, therefore, students enrolled in ACC 721 are required to complete a research paper.  The length of the paper must be at least 10 pages (double-spaced, font no larger than size 12).  The subject of the paper will be of your choice with my prior approval.  Grading of the paper will be “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory.”  A grade of “unsatisfactory” will result in a semester grade of “I” for Accounting 721.  The grade of “I” will stand until a “satisfactory” is awarded for the paper.

 

Exams

 

There are two semester exams each worth 100 points.  The exams are designed to give you the opportunity to demonstrate that you have achieved the course objectives.  The grade that you earn on the exam will be directly related to the amount of time that you prepare for the exam. 

 

The exam schedules are printed on the course schedule page of this syllabus.  Failure to take an exam without prior permission or a valid excuse will result in a grade of zero for that exam.  Exams will be made-up only in the event of a university excused absence or an emergency.  In the event of an emergency, you must notify the Accounting Office (622-1087) as soon as possible as to the nature of the emergency and when you will return to class.  It is your responsibility to make arrangements with me for the make-up exam.  Failure to schedule the make-up exam within one week of returning to class will result in a grade of zero for the exam.  You may be required to present proof of the emergency before being permitted to take the make-up.

 

Academic Honesty

 

The University faculty expects students to adhere to the principles of academic honesty; therefore, academic dishonesty will not be tolerated.  The first time that two students turn-in the same work, I will give each student one-half of the credit for the assignment as a warning.  The second time this happens, both students will receive a zero for the assignment.  I have attached a copy of the University “Academic Honesty Policy” to this syllabus for your reference. 

 

Attendance

 

Attendance is encouraged and expected of all students.  Attendance will be recorded and may be used in assigning grades.

 

Repeats

 

Business School Policy: A business school student may repeat a course only once without permission of his/her advisor, department chair, and the Dean of the College of Business and Technology.

 

Grading

 

Grading of quizzes, exams, and projects will be based on your ability to demonstrate that you have met the learning objectives covered in that part of the course.  All grades will be posted on Blackboard.  Points will be assigned for the following items during the semester:

 

                                                                                                % of Total     

                                                                        Points                 points          

            Quizzes                                               100                      20%            

            Homework                                          100                      20%

            Continuing Problem                            100                      20%

Mid-term Exam                                   100                     20%

Final Exam                                          100                     20%

Total                                                    650                    100%            

 

 

Assigning Grades:

    

Grades will be assigned using the standard University scale as follows:


 

 

 

Retained Work

 

I reserve the right to retain for pedagogical reasons either the original or a copy of any student's work submitted for a grade in this class.  To the extent possible, I will remove the students’ names from retained items.

 

Blackboard

I use Blackboard as the primary means to communicate with students outside of the classroom.  All grades on quizzes, exams, and projects are posted on Blackboard along with the current course average grade.  Copies of the syllabus, handouts, assignments, and supplementary material are posted on Blackboard after being given out in class.  You should check Blackboard at least twice a week to see if I have posted any new material. 

All EKU students are assigned an EKU Webmail account.  Blackboard will allow students to change their email address to their home email address (AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.).  Some email accounts (AOL is one of the worst) have spam-blockers that will block mail from EKU.  If you change your email address, it is your responsibility to make sure that your home email account will not block email from EKU.  If you email me and do not receive a reply within 3 days, check to see that your email account is not blocking EKU email.  (Blackboard has a Messaging feature that allows students to send email within Blackboard to any student enrolled in the same class.   You can use this feature to contact me if you are concerned about your email account not allowing email from EKU.)

Tentative Schedule

 

The following schedule is subject to change.  Changes in the schedule or assignments will be announced in class.  Students are responsible for all announced changes even if they miss the class in which the change is announced.



Academic Honesty Policy

Eastern Kentucky University faculty and students are bonded by principles of truth and honesty which are recognized as fundamental for a community of teachers and scholars. The University expects that students will honor and that faculty will honor and enforce these principles which contribute to a foundation upon which a quality education can be built. With this premise, the University affirms that it will not tolerate academic dishonesty

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of presenting ideas, words, or organization of a source (published or not) as if they were one's own, without acknowledgment of the source. Since university instructors assume material presented by students is their own unless otherwise indicated, all quoted material must be in quotation marks, and all paraphrases, quotations, significant ideas, and organization must be acknowledged by footnotes or by some other form of documentation acceptable to the instructor for the course. Plagiarism also includes presenting material which was composed or revised by any person other than the student who submits it, as well as the deliberate falsification of footnotes. The use of the term "material" refers to work in any form including written, oral, or electronic (as in the case of computer files).

Cheating

Cheating includes buying, stealing, or otherwise fraudulently obtaining copies of examinations or assignments for the purpose of improving one's academic standing. During examinations or in-class work, it includes receiving information from others and referring to unauthorized notes or other unauthorized information. In addition, copying from others, either during examinations or in the preparation of homework assignments, is a form of cheating.

Computers should not be used to acquire or provide information in conflict with the academic honesty policy. Furthermore, the Code of Ethics for Computing and Communications makes it the responsibility of computer users to keep information, data, and programs in their computer accounts secure from others.

Co-Responsibility

Anyone who knowingly assists in any form of academic dishonesty shall be considered as guilty as the student who accepts such assistance. Students should not allow their work to be copied or otherwise used by fellow students, nor should they sell or give unauthorized copies of examinations to other students.