McCoy College of Business Administration

TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Department of Accounting
ACC 5350 Section 001
Professional Accounting Research
Fall 2016
INSTRUCTOR: Kasey Martin, Ph.D., CPA, CIA
TEL:
OFFICE:
MCOY 453
OFF. HOURS: Fri 8:30-9:30am and 12:20-4:20pm,
E-MAIL:
Or by appointment
CLASS TIME AND ROOM: Fridays at 9:30am in Room 105

512-245-3906 (Voice)
kasey.martin@txstate.edu

This is a hybrid course in which you will learn online as well as in face-to-face class sessions. For
some learning modules, you will complete online modules instead of coming to a face-to-face
class, as indicated in the class schedule. All face-to-face classes will occur as scheduled Fridays,
9:30am-12:20pm in McCoy 105.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course provides an examination of the sources of authoritative primary and secondary standards in
financial accounting, auditing, and other accounting areas. The course addresses procedures for
identifying the applicable accounting issues, locating appropriate authority, and communicating the results
of professional research.
COURSE MATERIALS:
Required: Weirich,R. Pearson, T & Churyk, N. (2014). Accounting & Auditing Research: Tools and
Strategies, 8th Edition. Hoboken NJ: Wiley.
Laptops will be used in class. If you have one of your own, please bring it to class; you may also
check out a computer from the McCoy Computer Lab for class. You will be using these for in-class
activities and research. You will need a laptop for the midterm exam.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Every organization relies on research to investigate a specific problem or question that needs a solution.
The objectives of this course are to:
1.
Introduce some of the electronic databases used in professional accounting research;
2.
Conduct professional accounting research to obtain relevant and useful information that pertains
to the problem/question at hand; and
3.
Communicate the results of research in a clear, concise yet comprehensive, and organized
manner.
4.
Review technical accounting topics through case research.
SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE YOU ARE EXPECTED TO BRING INTO THIS COURSE:
Students are expected to:
1. Understand generally accepted accounting principles;
2. Logically reason through a posed problem or question;
3. Apply analytical and critical thinking skills;
4. Work both singularly and with others in a team environment; and
5. Communicate effectively in writing.

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PREREQUISITES:
Graduate standing
ACC 3314 with a grade of B or better
COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR INSTRUCTOR:
Office Hours Please send me an email if you need to speak with me outside of the posted office hours. We
can agree on a convenient time for a phone call, video chat session, or a meeting in my office.
Forum versus Email if you have questions about course content or mechanics, I encourage you to post it
to the appropriate discussion area (described later in this document). Doing so gives students in the course
an opportunity to interact with one another and allows everyone to benefit from answers to your questions. Of
course, do not hesitate to email me directly if your concern is of a personal nature. It is not acceptable to post
assignment answers to this forum, however, clarification of assignment requirements is acceptable.
Email Response Time Generally I will respond to emails within 24 hours of receiving them, except during
weekends. If I plan to be away from my computer for more than a couple days, I will let you know in advance.
Please indicate the course number (ACC 5350) at the beginning of the subject line of your email so I
will know to attend to it quickly.

COURSE POLICIES:
A. INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY:
The course will consist of lectures, cases, discussions and other techniques that facilitate the students
learning of the material. This hybrid course uses the following tools and features of the TRACS learning
management system described below:
Announcements I will post announcements in TRACS with assignment reminders and general course
updates.
Learning Modules The course is organized into modules of instruction that can be accessed by
choosing Learning Modules from the left panel of the course TRACS site. Materials delivered through
Learning Modules include:
Textbook and other reading assignments complete all required readings for class discussion
Forum Instructions
Module-specific assignment instructions
Recorded lectures
For scheduled face-to-face class meetings: Complete all reading assignments associated with each
module before face-to-face class begins.
For scheduled online activities: Be sure you watch all lectures and complete all activities assigned for a
module before attempting the associated assignments.
Note: The Learning Modules walk you through the course step by step. Please do not attempt to
skip activities suggested in the Learning Modules even if no points are assigned.
Resources In Resources you will find the rubrics by which I will evaluate case papers. I will also post
any other general information here that does not apply to a specific module. Class documents and
information that apply to a specific module will be found in Learning Modules.
Forums You will find the following discussion forums in the course TRACS site:
Introductions You are required to introduce yourself by posting to this forum by the due date on the
course schedule. This will give you practice posting to a forum as well as help you get to know your
classmates. This forum will only be used at the beginning of the semester.
Problem Solver Post any questions or comments you may have about a topic, an assignment, or a
technical issue to this forum. Often, your colleagues can answer questions for you more quickly than the

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instructor, particularly those problems related to technical issues. Other students may also benefit from
seeing your question and the posted answer. Feel free to answer one anothers questions! On weekdays,
the instructor will check and respond to issues raised in this forum within 48 hours. Questions posted
during the weekend may not be answered until the following Monday.
Assignments You will use the Assignments tool in TRACS to submit assignments. You will find the
instructions for each assignment in either Learning Modules (module-specific assignments) or Resources
(assignments related to more than one module).
Assessments You will find a syllabus quiz by clicking Assessments in the left panel of our TRACS site.
Sign Up You will need to sign up for one presentation and one discussant time slot. Please choose a
presenter and discussant time slot on different days (one each). If there are two (or more) slots for one
Presentation time, the other presenter will be your partner for the case. Keep this in mind when signing up
for a Presentation time slot. There are no partners for the discussants, so there is no meaning to signing
up with someone in the same time slot for Discussant; it does not mean you are partners.
B. ATTENDANCE:
Students are expected to attend each class session and be properly prepared to participate in activities
and discussions.
C. COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Assignments/Cases: Research cases and other exercises will be assigned throughout the semester.
Some of these assignments will be individual and some will be with a partner. Assignments should be
uploaded as attachments to the TRACS assignments folder by the due date and time. No assignment
grades will be dropped.
Late Work: Late assignments of any type will NOT be accepted and will result in a grade of 0. NO
additional projects or extra credit will be given to raise a student's grade before or after the last exam.
Examinations: There will be a midterm exam given at the scheduled date and time on the course
schedule.
Make-up Examinations: There are no make-up exams or make-up assignments.
Grade Evaluation (subject to modification):

Activity

Assignments
Cases
Participation/Presentations
Exam

Points
140
220
40
100
500

Final grades will be assigned on a 90% and above (A), 80-89% (B), 70-79% (C), 60-69% (D), and
below 60% (F), based on total points. All grades will be posted to TRACS.
D. CLASSROOM CIVILITY:
Disruptive behavior in the classroom is prohibited in Section 2.02 of Texas States Code of Student
Conduct and includes behavior that substantially or repeatedly interferes with the conduct, instruction,
and education of a class. The complete Conduct of Classes policy is available at
http://www.provost.txstate.edu/pps/policy-and-procedure-statements/4-teaching/pps4-02.html.
This class will consist of much student discussion. You are expected to treat your classmates with
courtesy and professionalism throughout these discussions. Be especially careful with your electronic
communication as sometimes your meaning can be misunderstood without the effects of face to face
communication and body language/facial expressions.
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E. OTHER:
TRACS will be used as a course organizing, management, and discussion tool; this tool is our official
class website. The syllabus, course outline, class notes, assignment information and other handouts will
be uploaded to TRACS and are available for your use at any time. Complete course information can be
found in the Learning Modules tab in TRACS.
The McCoy College Student Responsibilities on Learning is available at
http://advising.mccoy.txstate.edu/about/learningpolicy.

UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE POLICIES:
A. DROP: Dropping means that the student will remain enrolled in at least one hour in the current
semester. A "W" will be automatically assigned if the drop procedure is completed on or before 11:59
p.m. on September 27, 2016. After this deadline the student will be unable to drop individual classes
and will receive the grade earned in the course (see AAPPS 4.07 for a list of grades). It is suggested
that students consult the instructor prior to dropping from the class.
WITHDRAWAL: Withdrawal means that the student is going to zero hours for the current semester. A
"W" will be automatically assigned if the withdrawal procedure is completed on or before 11:59 p.m.
on September 27, 2016. After this deadline, the student may withdraw on or before 5:00 p.m. on
October 12, 2016. If the student is passing the class on the official date of withdrawal, a "W" grade
will be assigned. If the student is failing the class on the date of withdrawal, a "U" grade will be
assigned.
B. ACADEMIC HONESTY: Submission of any work for a grade for which unauthorized help has been
received is termed academic dishonesty and will be grounds for a failing grade in the course.
"Unauthorized" is a term used here to designate stealing, copying (with or without permission),
collaboration with other individuals, or sharing programming code outside of sanctioned group
activities. Students are strongly encouraged to refer to the Texas State student handbook, available at
http://www.dos.txstate.edu/handbook.html for policies related to academic dishonesty. This
instructor views any such act as a clear violation of ethical standards and will take appropriate
disciplinary and punitive action.
C. HONOR CODE: All students are required to abide by the Texas State University Honor Code found
in UPPS 07.10.01 under attachment I. The pledge for students states:
Students at our University recognize that, to insure honest conduct, more is needed than
an expectation of academic honesty, and we therefore adopt the practice of affixing the
following pledge of honesty to the work we submit for evaluation:
I pledge to uphold the principles of honesty and responsibility at our university.
D. FINANCIAL AID: Federal regulations require students to meet certain minimum academic and
attendance standards in order to remain eligible for financial aid assistance. Other program-specific
requirements may also exist. Additional information is available at www.finaid.txstate.edu.
E. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: A student with a disability may require an accommodation(s) to
participate in the course. They must contact the instructor as soon as possible, typically within the first
two weeks of the semester. They will be asked to provide documentation from the Office of Disability
Services (ODS) at that time. Failure to contact the instructor in a timely manner will delay any
accommodations they may be seeking. Ongoing care by a physician does not automatically qualify
you as an ODS special needs student. Students are required to file paperwork for accommodations
with ODS each semester. Accommodations granted one semester do not automatically carry forward
to the next. See UPPS No. 07.11.01 for additional information.

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COURSE OUTLINE
All activities and assignments appear in Learning Modules (not on the course schedule). The Course
Schedule below is a list of graded assignments and the due dates for those assignments.

Clas
s
Date
s

Format
Online

Online
Face-to9/2 Face
Online

Online
Face-to9/9 Face
Online
Face-to9/16 Face

Modules
1. Introduction

Poin
ts

30-Aug
30-Aug

2.5
2.5

1-Sep

30

2-Sep

15

3. Chapter 1-3

Assignment: Codification
Assignment A
Assignment: In class
Exercise

4. Codification Part II and

Checkpoint

Assignment: Codification
Assignment B

8-Sep

15

Assignment: Checkpoint
Training

8-Sep

10

6. Chapter 6, 9

Assignment: In class
Exercise

9-Sep

15

7. Codification Part III

Assignment: Codification
Assignment C

15-Sep

25

8. Accounting in the News

Assignment: Short Paper to

discuss in class

15-Sep

Presentations and
Discussion In Class

16-Sep

10

Assignment: Case Paper 1

Assignment: Case Paper 2

23-Sep
29-Sep
29-Sep

100
50
50

Presentations and
Discussion In Class
Assignment: Case Paper 3
Assignment: Case Paper 4

30-Sep
6-Oct
6-Oct

25
50
50

2. Codification Part I

5. Chapter 4-5

Face-to9/23 Face
Online

9. Midterm Exam
10. Case Research

Face-to9/30 Face
Online

11. Case Presentations

12. Case Research

Face-to10/7 Face

13. Case Presentations

Online
10/1 Face-to4 Face

Assignments
Introduction Forum and
Sign Up
Syllabus Quiz

Due
Dates

14. Audit Research

Presentations and
Discussion In Class
Assignment: Audit
Exercises

11-Oct

25

15. Fraud Research

Assignment: Case Paper 5

14-Oct

20

14-Oct
Total
Points

500

Presentations and
Discussion In Class

7-Oct

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