The University of Texas at Dallas

School of Management
AIM 2301 – Introduction to Financial Accounting
Spring 2006

Section 001: Tuesday/Thursday 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 a.m. (SOM 1.217)

Section 002: Tuesday/Thursday 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. (SOM 1.217)
Section 501: Tuesday 7:00 p.m. - 9:45 p.m. (SOM 1.102)

Instructor: Volkan Muslu

Office: SOM 4.812
E-mail: Use WebCT
Office Hours: Tuesday 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Teaching Assistant: Yuhui Xia

Office: SOM 4.232
E-mail: Use WebCT
Office Hours: Thursday 2:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.

Course Description and Objectives

This course will introduce the student to the basics and current issues on financial accounting.
Any individual with an interest in the business world will greatly benefit from this course.

The objective of the course is to make students understand and intelligently use information in
financial statements. Another important purpose of the course is to give students an idea about
how capital markets respond to the financial statements. The course will inevitably include
moderately technical descriptions of how the financial statements are prepared. However, the
primary focus will be that of the user rather than the preparer of accounting information. The
course will be supplemented by real-world examples.

Course Prerequisites
The course has no formal prerequisites. The quantitative aspects of the course will require only
elementary computational skills; and a simple calculator will be required.

Textbook
The following textbook is required: Financial Accounting-The Impact on Decision Makers (The
Alternative to Debits and Credits) 4th Edition by Porter and Norton.
ISBN: 0-324-27266-9, ISBN: 0-324-23305-1 (Book)

Attendance and Assignments

I will not take attendance. However, it is critical to your success (especially in an introductory
course like this) that you attend each session. Office hours are not a substitute for coming to
class. In office hours, I will not go over material covered in class with you if you have missed
class.
At the same time, in order to reward those who regularly attend classes as well as to measure
your basic understanding of the material as we go along, I will give frequent pop quizzes
(minimum 5 times) during the sessions throughout the semester. Pop quiz dates will not be
announced. (Exception: Some of the pop quizzes may occasionally require simple preparations
on your part prior to class. If any future pop quiz requires such preparation, it will be announced
one session before the pop quiz).

I will also assign readings, exercises, and problems from your textbook. The assigned exercises
and problems will also not be collected or graded. Still, it is essential that you do the readings
and work on the assignments in a timely manner in order to master the course and get the most
out of it.

Course Grade
The overall course grade will be determined by the following weights:

Exam 1 25 %
Exam 2 25 %
Final exam 25 %
Pop quizzes 25 %
TOTAL 100 %

Exams
Exams will be in-class and open-notes. “Open-notes” means that you may utilize any
handwritten notes or handouts as well as out-of-class materials (such as the textbook, printed
homework problems, etc.). Unless you have prior approval from me, you must take the exam in
the section for which you are registered.

You are not permitted to use any electronic communications devices during the exam. This
explicitly includes cell phones and pagers. You are also not permitted to use a portable computer
on the exam. You are strongly urged to leave any electronic devices (except calculators) at home
or in a locker on the day of the exam.

All students are required to present proof of identification at the time of the exam. Acceptable
documentation must be picture identification such as official UTD Comet Card, Passport, or
State approved driver’s license.

As per school policy, exams will be retained for one year and then destroyed.

Missed Exams
To receive a passing grade in the course, students MUST take all exams. Students will not be
allowed to “substitute” one exam for a missed exam. Students missing an exam should contact
me in advance with their legitimate reasons at least one week prior to the scheduled exam time
(unless an emergency situation arises). Only students with legitimate excuses will be allowed to
take the make-up exam. Failure to take the make-up exam at the agreed time and place will
MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL BE DIFFERENT (AND POSSIBLY MORE DIFFICULT) THAN THOSE GIVEN IN
CLASS.

Missed Pop Quizzes

There will be no make-up pop quizzes. Pop quiz dates will not be announced. (Exception
repeated: Some of the pop quizzes may require simple preparations on the student’s part prior to
the class. If any future pop quiz requires such preparation, it will be announced one session
before the pop quiz.)

The lowest two grades of your pop quizzes will be disregarded to take into account the fact that
you may have legitimate excuses for your occasional absence throughout the semester. Your
overall pop-quiz grade will be determined from the remaining grades. So, if you are going to
miss a subsequent session, you do not need to let me know for the purposes of your pop quiz
grade. Remember, two of your lowest grades will automatically be disregarded.

Use of Computers and Recording Devices

Audio or videotaping of class lectures is prohibited. Students may use laptops to record their
notes subject to the following provisions: (1) the computer must be silent, (2) THE COMPUTER
CANNOT BE CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET. Students failing to follow these rules will be asked
to leave the classroom. Under no circumstances will students be allowed to use their computers
on exams.

Communication Outside the Classroom

The primary medium to communicate with me is the office hours. I encourage you to come to the
office hours with any of your questions, issues, and concerns (Exception repeated: I will not go
over the class notes with you if you have missed a session.) Also, make an effort to use TA’s
office hours.

If you can’t make to the office hours, use WebCT as the only medium to email me. I will answer
your questions (which need to be answered) via email. However, since I teach 300 students this
semester, I cannot guarantee that I will always be timely.

Academic Dishonesty
Students who engage in scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the
possibility of failure in the course and dismissal from the University. “Scholastic dishonesty
includes, but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any
work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an
examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the
attempt to commit such acts.” 1 Since scholastic dishonesty harms the individual, all students,
and the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced.

I reserve the right to change this syllabus’s content, grading scheme, and exam dates. Any
possible changes will be announced at the class ahead of the time of the change.

1
 Readings before session &
Week Date Tentative Topic
Assignments after session

01/10 Session 01 - Course introduction

1
Session 02 - Annual report and financial Read: Chapter 1 (pg. 12-24)
01/12
statements Do: Exercise 1-1, 1-3, 1-12
Read: Chapter 2 (pg. 56-71)
01/17 Session 03 - Balance sheet
2
Read: Chapter 2 (pg. 71-75)
01/19 Session 04 - Income statement
Do: Exercise 2-4, 2-9
Read: Chapter 4 (pg. 156-165)
01/24 Session 05 - Accruals I
3
Read: Chapter 4 (pg. 166-185)
01/26 Session 06 - Accruals II
Do: Exercise 4-7, Problem 4-4
Session 07 - Revenue recognition and
01/31 Read: Chapter 6 (pg. 263-270)
receivables I
4
Session 08 - Revenue recognition and Read: Chapter 6 (pg. 270-276)
02/02
receivables II Do: Exercise 6-9, 13-4 (parts 1 and 2)
02/07 Review for Exam for Sections 001 and 002 (Exam #1 for Section 501)
5
02/09 Exam #1 (for Sections 001 and 002)
Read: Chapter 5 (pg. 218-219)
02/14 Session 09 - Marketable securities I
6
Read: Chapter 6 (pg. 250-262)
02/16 Session 10 - Marketable securities II
Do: Exercise 6-4, Problem 6-2
Read: Chapter 7 (pg. 296-330)
02/21 Session 11 - Inventory
7
Read: Chapter 8 (pg. 366-369)
02/23 Session 12 - Long-term assets I
Do: Exercise 7-11, Exercise 8-5
Read: Chapter 8 (pg. 370-393)
02/28 Session 13 - Long-term assets II
8
Read: Chapter 9 (pg. 415-431)
03/02 Session 14 - Current liabilities
Do: Problem 8-1, Exercise 9-2
03/07
9 SPRING BREAK No classes
03/09
03/14 Review for Exam for Sections 001 and 002 (Exam #2 for Section 501)
10
03/16 Exam #2 (for sections 001 and 002)
03/21 Session 15 - Time value of money Read: Chapter 9 (pg. 433-457)
11
03/23 Session 16 - Long-term liabilities Read: Chapter 10 (pg. 484-500)
Do: Problem 9-13, Exercise 10-4
03/28 Session 17 - Leases Read: Chapter 10 (pg. 501-507)
12
03/30 Session 18 - Stockholders’ equity Read: Chapter 11 (pg. 536-561)
Do: Exercise: 10-9, Problem 10-5
04/04 Session 19 - Taxes Read: Chapter 10 Appendix (pg. 512-515)
13
04/06 Session 20 - Statement of cash flows Read: Chapter 12 (pg. 592-622)
Do: Problem 10-7, Exercise 12-2
 04/11 Session 21 - Business combinations
14
04/13 Session 22 - Financial statement analysis Read: Chapter 13 (pg. 654-680)
Do: Exercise 13-5
15 04/18 Review for Exam for Sections 001 and 002 (Exam #3 for Section 501)
04/20 Exam #3 (for sections 001 and 002)