IONA COLLEGE

Hagan School of Business

Accounting Department
Course Outline
Accounting 650 Special Topics in Accounting
Fall 2016
Instructor - A. Griffith, DBA, EA, CIA, CFE
Telephone/Voice Mail: (914) 633-2273
E-Mail: agriffith@iona.edu (preferred method)
Office Hours: Immediately after class OR by appointment
Description:
A study of international accounting and financial reporting standards, foreign country accounting
practices and related influences and convergence of international and U.S. standards; foreign currency
and hedging transactions; translation and analysis of foreign financial statements; international taxation
and transfer pricing considerations.
Course Objectives:
After completing this course, students will have an understanding of the following:
1. International accounting standards (IFRS), their relationship to U.S. standards (GAAP), and
efforts to achieve harmonization and/or convergence among standards.
2. Accounting standards within several countries and the regulatory and socioeconomic factors
influencing them.
3. The recording of transactions in foreign currencies and the procedures for translating foreign
currency financial statements into dollars.
4. The financial reporting and disclosure practices of multinational and foreign companies.
Required Text:
International Accounting by Doupnik and Perera; 4th edition, 2015; ISBN# 978-0-07-786220-6;
McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Class Conduct
Promptness and behavior should be that expected of a serious student:
1. Read the assigned material at least twice before coming to class,
2. Bring textbook to class,
3. Please respect those with food allergies by not bringing food into the classroom, and
4. Turn off or place in silent mode all electronic devices.
Disruptive or inappropriate behavior will have a negative impact in determination of final grades.
Absence Policy
Absences will be recorded during each class session and excessive absences reported to the Dean in
accordance with College regulations. Excessive absences, as defined by school policy, is missing 20%
or more of the scheduled class sessions. This will directly result in a grade of FA for the course unless the
student withdraws from the course by the appropriate deadline for withdrawal. If a student arrives late to
class, that student is responsible for ensuring that he or she has been reported as present in the classroom
during the class sessions.
Blackboard Access:
All students are required to access Blackboard for grade information and to complete any other
Blackboard based activities.
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Project Assignments:
Projects are assigned via Blackboard. Additionally, specific questions and problems in each chapter may
be assigned with the intent of discussing the related concepts in class. Each student is expected to cover
all of the material at the end of each chapter until they fully understand the concepts.
Examination Procedures:
The content for the exams will include the discussions in class and the content of the textbook. The
format and date of examinations will be specified within the week before the examination. All
examinations must be completed to receive a satisfactory grade for the course.
Missed examinations must be completed before or during the scheduled final examination period at the
end of the course. Missed exams that are outstanding longer than one week will receive a reduction of
10% of the total possible points on the exam after the exam has been graded. The format of a makeup
exam is not guaranteed to be the same as the in-class exam. Any deferred final examinations will be
conducted in accordance with school policy.
Programmable calculators are not permitted during the examination sessions unless approved by the
instructor immediately prior to the exam session. Use of cell phones and other multifunction electronic
devices are not permitted during the examination sessions.
Exam Access Policy
The completed exams will be retained by the instructor. The opportunity to inspect ones exam(s) outside
of the classroom environment, other than the immediate class session after the examination is graded,
must be arranged in advance with the instructor.
Intellectual Dishonesty:
The College policy on cheating will be enforced:
Cheating on an examination during the term will result in failure for the examination.
Cheating on the final examination will result in failure of the course.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is defined by school policy and academic standards.
o All written assignments may be screened by the instructor via any means necessary for
plagiarism. Assignments identified to be plagiarized will be given a grade of zero for
the assignment.
All incidents of academic dishonesty will be reported to the deans office.
Failing a course due to cheating, plagiarism, or academic dishonesty negates ones ability to
withdraw from that course.
Late Submission Policy
Late submission of assignments will not be permitted except in the case of an excused absence or advance
arrangement with the instructor.
Reserved Right
The instructor has the right to alter this course outline as deemed necessary to meet the objectives of the
course.
Allocation of Final Grade:
Projects
Mid-term Exam
Final Exam
Total Points

250
100
100
450

Final Grade Equivalents:

The relationship between points accumulated for the course and letter grades follows:
A = 90 to 100%
B = 80 to 84%
C = 70 to 74%
F = below 60%
B+ = 85 to 89%
C+ = 75 to 79%
D = 60 to 69%
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Tentative Schedule of Major Units of Instruction and Examinations:

Aug
22
(M)
Introduction, Chapter 1
29
(M)
Chapter 2
Sep

5
12
19
26

(M)
(M)
(M)
(M)

No class
Chapters 3 & 4
Chapters 5 &6
Chapter 7

Oct

3
10
17
19
24
31

(M)
(M)
(M)
(W)
(M)
(M)

Mid-term exam (chapters 1-7)

Chapter 8
Chapters 9 & 10

7
14

(M)
(M)

Chapter 15
Final exam (chapters 8-15)

Nov

Last day to withdraw

Chapters 11 & 12
Chapters 13 & 14

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