ACCTING 2501 - Financial Accounting II

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2014

The aim of this course is to guide students in their acquisition of technical and problem solving skills in the area of corporate external financial reporting. Corporate external financial reporting comprises financial reporting by reporting entities to external stakeholders. It is mandatory for reporting entities to report in accordance with Australian accounting standards. Students in this course will gain skills in reading, interpreting and applying accounting standards. This course builds on introductory financial accounting. The course is essential for all individuals exposed to financial information in the workplace including accountants, auditors, financial analysts, managers, bankers and oversight bodies involved in the preparation or use of company financial statements. It would also be useful for those not wishing to become accountants but who plan to specialise in areas where accounting knowledge would be an advantage such as bankers and finance professionals, journalists, lawyers, and those interested in management positions including engineers and scientists.

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Course Details

Course Code	ACCTING 2501
Course	Financial Accounting II
Coordinating Unit	Adelaide Business School
Term	Semester 2
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 4 hours per week
Prerequisites	ACCTING 1005
Assessment	Exam/assignments/tests/tutorial work as prescribed at first lecture

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Dr Lisa Powell

Location: Room 13.22, 10 Pulteney St
Telephone: 8313 0103
Email: lisa.powell@adelaide.edu.au

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Students must attend the lectures and workshop that they are enrolled in. Students will only be allowed to attend an alternative class under exceptional and unusual circumstances and with the permission of the course coordinator. Students who attend an alternative lecture or workshop without permission from the course coordinator will be required to leave.

Course Learning Outcomes

On completion of this course students should be able to:

Read and interpret Australian Accounting Standards.
Understand, interpret and apply principles and regulations relating to financial accounting and the preparation of financial statements.
Demonstrate their understanding of the processes of recognition, measurement and disclosure of accounting information in the preparation of general purpose financial statements.
Read and comprehend journal articles written about accounting principles and practice.
Critically analyse and interpret case information and be able to develop a convincing argument to present their views on relevant accounting issues.
Work either individually or in a group to undertake research, solve problems and communicate their understanding of issues relating to the preparation of financial statements.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Knowledge and understanding of the content and techniques of a chosen discipline at advanced levels that are internationally recognised.	1,2 and 3
The ability to locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned and timely manner.	All
An ability to apply effective, creative and innovative solutions, both independently and cooperatively, to current and future problems.	5 and 6
Skills of a high order in interpersonal understanding, teamwork and communication.	4, 5 and 6
A proficiency in the appropriate use of contemporary technologies.	All
A commitment to continuous learning and the capacity to maintain intellectual curiosity throughout life.	All
A commitment to the highest standards of professional endeavour and the ability to take a leadership role in the community.	All
An awareness of ethical, social and cultural issues within a global context and their importance in the exercise of professional skills and responsibilities.	All

Learning Resources
Required Resources
Text Books
1. Loftus, J., Leo, K. J., Wise, V., and Clark, K., (2013) Understanding Australian Accounting Standards, John Wiley and Sons Australia Ltd, Milton, Queensland.
2. ICAA (2014) Financial Reporting Handbook 2014, John Wiley and Sons Australia Ltd, Milton, Queensland, OR CPA Australia (2014) Accounting Handbook 2014, Pearson Education Australia.
Recommended Resources
This course includes content that has been drawn from the following sources. Students are not required to obtain copies of these texts, but those seeking to review information beyond the required resources may find the following to be useful resources:
1. Leo, K., Hoggett, J., and Sweeting, J., (2012) Company Accounting, 9th Edition, John Wiley and Sons Australia Ltd, Milton, Queensland.,
2. Deegan, C. (2012) Australian Financial Accounting, 7th Edition, McGraw-Hill. (IBSN 9780071012409).
3. Henderson, S., Peirson, G., Herbohn, K., Ramsay, A., and Borg, V (2010) Issues in Financial Accounting, 14th edition, Pearson Education Australia/Prentice Hall, French’s Forrest, NSW. (ISBN 9781442511064).
Online Learning

Students are required to regularly access the MyUni website for this course, available at: https://myuni.adelaide.edu.au. Important information will be provided to students on this website including online lectures, answers to self-study and workshop questions, text-book resources, on-line tests, and announcements from the lecturer. All of the resources provided to students from this website are designed to assist in student’s learning and understanding of the information covered in this course.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

Lectures
Each week, students are required to either attend or listen to an online recording (available from MyUni) to a two-hour lecture. If attendance in lectures falls below a minimum threshold of approximately 40 students, future lectures at that time may be cancelled. Lectures provide students with an overview of the accounting issues that surround the preparation of general purpose financial statements. Lectures do not provide all of the necessary information that students are required to be familiar with in order to pass this course. It is essential that students supplement the lecture materials by reading the relevant extracts from the text books, working through examples and extending their knowledge of each topic in workshops and in their own study time. The lecturer will discuss conceptual issues surrounding the application of Australian accounting standards on particular topics, work through some introductory examples and refer to information found in Annual Reports prepared by companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). It is important that students prepare for each lecture by reading from the texts and reviewing the lecture material provided in the course handbook. The material covered in lectures will be discussed and extended in workshops held in the following week.

Workshops
Workshops of two hours duration will be held weekly commencing in week 1 of the semester. Workshops are an important component of student learning. The communication skills developed in workshops by regularly and actively participating in discussions are considered by the Business School to be very important and are highly regarded by employers and professional bodies. Membership of workshop classes is to be finalised by the end of the second week of semester. Students wishing to swap between workshop classes after this time are required to present their case to the course coordinator, but should be aware that such a request may not be approved. Questions for discussion in workshops are located in the course handout. Each week, self-study and workshop questions must be attempted by students prior to attending the workshop. Answers to the self-study questions are available from MyUni for students to review prior to attending class. Attempting the self-study questions and checking the answers provides students with the opportunity to test their knowledge and understanding of the information presented in the lecture and readings. Students’ ability to complete specific workshop questions will be assessed as a component of workshop participation.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

Throughout the semester students in this course are expected each week to attend or listen to the lecture recording (available online from MyUni) for a two-hour lecture and attend a two-hour workshop class. The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This means that, for this course, students are expected to commit approximately 8 hours per week to private study, that is, study outside of regular class times.

Learning Activities Summary

Please refer to MyUni for a full summary of learning activities for Financial Accounting II

Topics covered:
1. The Australian external reporting environment and overview of financial statement presentation
2. Preparation of financial statements
3. Income taxes
4. Property, plant and equipment
5. Intangible assets
6. Impairment of assets
7. Cash flow statements
8. Leases
9. Provisions and contingent liabilities
10. Employee benefits
11. Share-based payment
12. Share capital and reserves
13. Other disclosures

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

There are four summative assessment tasks in this course, workshop participation, online tests, assignments and final examination. Each task is designed to provide students with opportunities to
demonstrate their level of comprehension and understanding of each of the topics covered in the course as well as their understanding of the overall nature and purpose of financial reporting. All of the assessment task for this course will contribute either individually or collectively to the satisfaction of the learning objectives for this course.

Workshop participation
Workshop participation is an essential component of the learning task to be undertaken by students throughout the semester. Workshops provide students with the opportunity to interact with their tutor and fellow students to identify areas of strength and weakness in their understanding of particular topics.

Online tests
Online tests are to be undertaken on an individual basis. They provide opportunities for students to check how well they have understood the technical definitions, principles and regulations relating to financial accounting and the preparation of financial statements that have been presented to them in the lectures and required readings. Assignments There are two assignments. Each assignment is designed to engage students in the process of locating, reading and synthesising accounting information from academic and professional sources and being able to write about a technical accounting issue.

Examination
At the completion of the semester students are required to undertake a three-hour examination that will demonstrate their understanding of every topic covered in the lectures, workshops, on-line resources and other course materials.

Assessment Related Requirements

Workshop participation
Workshop participation marks will be awarded on the basis of workshop attendance and submission of ‘satisfactory’ answers to workshop problems. Full marks for workshop attendance will be achieved if students have attended at least nine workshops and submitted ‘satisfactory’ answers to at least eight workshop questions. Each week, at the commencement of the workshop, students are required to show their tutor an original handwritten copy of their answer to two workshop questions (as indicated in the topic material). During the workshop, tutors will ask a series of questions on the previous week’s topic to assess student’s understanding of key concepts for that topic. Written answers to the tutor’s questions will be marked in the class and then handed to the tutor for review. The answers will be deemed to be either satisfactory or unsatisfactory by the tutor on the basis of whether or not they demonstrate a thorough and reasonable understanding of the key concepts being assessed. Answers will be returned to students the workshops held in the following week.

Online tests
Students are required to complete four online tests throughout the semester. The best three scores achieved will be counted towards the students’ final grade. The tests are to be completed individually by students. Only one attempt is allowed per student for each test. Once a student has commenced a test on-line, they will be allowed a limited period to complete it. Details of when the tests will become available and how long students will be given to complete a test will be communicated on the MyUni home page for this course by the end of week two.

Assignments
There are two assignments offered in this course. Assignment 1 is optional but Assignment 2 is compulsory. If students choose not to complete assignment 1, the weighting of Assignment 2 will be increased to incorporate the percentage of marks that would otherwise be awarded to assignment 1. Assignment 1 requires students to complete a summative writing task. In preparation for this task, students are required to locate and read specific source material. Assignment 2 requires students to write an essay on the same technical issue referred to in Assignment 1. Details of the specific requirements of the assignments will be provided to students in a separate document available from week two.

Examination
To gain a pass for this course, a mark of at least 45% must be obtained in the final examination as well as at least 50% in total for all assessment tasks. Students not achieving the minimum exam mark will be awarded no more than 49 for their course grade.

Assessment Detail

The assessment components are as follows:

Workshop participation (all weeks) 5 %
Students are required to attend at least nine workshops and submit at least eight ‘satisfactory’ workshop answers (maximum of one per week) to their tutor. Date and time: On-going.

Online Tests 15 %
Four on-line tests will be held throughout the semester. The best three test results will be included in the overall mark for each student. Each test may include materials covered in workshops up-to and including the week the test is held. Date and time: on-going.

Assignment 1 (Week 5) (optional) 5%
Details will be provided in a separate document that will be available from week two.

Assignment 2 (Week 9) 10 % (or 15% if Assignment 1 not completed)
Details will be provided in a separate document that will be available from week two.

Final Exam 65%
There will be a three-hour examination covering all topics.

The examination for this course is partial open book. Students are permitted to take the CPA or ICAA Accounting Handbook, (2014 or 2013 edition only) to their examination. The Handbook may include underlining or highlighting (straight-lines only) and/or include tabs. There must be no writing or drawings on the tabs or anywhere in the text. Handbooks found to contain non-permitted information will be confiscated and the student may be reported for academic misconduct. Students in this course are not permitted to take a DICTIONARY (English or English-Foreign) into the examination. The use of a calculator that is not capable of storing text is permitted in the examination for this course.

Submission

Details of submission of work to be marked for continuous assessment will be provided in a separate document that will be available from MyUni by week 2. If students are unable to complete a test or
submit an assignment within the specified time due to medical or compassionate grounds they must provide appropriate documentation to the course coordinator within seven days of the test day/time or the assignment due date and an alternative time to complete the assessment will be negotiated. The nature and form of the documentation to accompany a request for an extension must be in accordance with the instructions for application for supplementary examinations for ‘medical and compassionate grounds’ located at the following website: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/student/exams/supps.html.

Students who fail to submit any piece of assessment and fail to provide adequate supporting documentation to the course coordinator will be awarded a score of zero.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

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Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator