University of Wisconsin-Madison

AIS 232-700 Introduction to Financial Reporting & Analysis

Fall 2010

Professor: Hollis Skaife, PhD, CPA, CMA

Email: hskaife@bus.wisc.edu
Telephone: 263-7979
Office: 4299 Grainger

Office Hours: MW 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. and by appointment.

Class Schedule: MW 9:30 - 10:45 Grainger 2335

MW 11:00 - 12:15 Grainger 2335

TA: Dan Walker

Email: ddwalker2@wisc.edu
Help sessions: M TH 3:00 – 5:00

Course objectives, prerequisites and course format

Our financial accounting course has two main objectives. First, the course is intended to
enhance your understanding of the concepts underlying the financial reporting of for-
profit entities (i.e., sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations). To meet this
objective, we will spend some time learning the elements of the accounting system,
which ultimately results in the preparation of financial statements. Second, the course
develops a fundamental understanding of the demand for and supply of financial
information. In order to accomplish these objectives, you will be expected to
individually complete readings and assignments prior to class discussions.

The course is targeted to students preparing for careers in management, risk and
insurance, investment banking, financial analysis and consulting. The course is designed
for students who have little, if any, background in financial accounting.

Course Materials

1. "Financial Accounting – Tools for Business Decision Making" by Kimmel,

Weygandt, and Kieso. 5th Edition Wiley Publishing ISBN-13 9780470239803
(Referred to as KWK in the readings assigned below)

2. Course Packet – Available in the Grainger Hall Copy Center.

Course Requirements

Quizzes
There will be two short quizzes (worth 20 points each) that will be used to provide a
signal of your understanding of the class material throughout the semester. Quiz dates
are noted on the syllabus.

Exams
There are two exams scheduled; a midterm and a final. The exams' contents are
dependent on our classroom learning activities. Anything and everything that we talk
about in class is considered important, and thus, suitable exam material. Exam dates are
noted in the schedule below and have been coordinated with the other core courses. All
exams are closed book and closed notes. However, you are allowed to bring one 8 x 11½
study sheet to the exam. The study sheet needs to be in your own handwriting and will
be turned in along with your completed exam.

In-the-Know (ITK)
To put our in-class activities into a “real world” setting, you will be asked to complete In-
the-Know (ITK) reports. An ITK report begins by you identifying an article in the
financial press that relates to firms’ financial reporting and that you find interesting. An
ITK report should include the appropriate citation (e.g., title of the article, author,
source), the financial reporting issue addressed, and a short discussion of why you found
the article interesting (one or two paragraphs in length). All ITK reports should be typed
and have a copy of the cited article attached. ITK reports are graded based on effort,
where sufficient effort is demonstrated by having an article at least four paragraphs in
length, proper identification of the accounting issue, and a concise, yet articulate,
discussion of why you found the article interesting.

Integrated Company Analysis

The Integrated Company Analysis (ICA) is a team project coordinated across the core
classes. The project asks you to gather publicly available information on a publicly
traded company, and analyze it, as appropriate, in the context of the material covered
within each of the core classes. At the end of the semester, your team will submit a
written report of its findings and make a summary presentation to the senior executive
committee and other invited guests.

The team project will be evaluated by communication experts as well as your instructors.
In addition, in order to ensure a fair assessment of effort, each group member will
provide an estimate of each group member’s (including his/her own) overall contribution
to the project. In rating yourself and your group members, you should consider all aspects
of effort devoted to completing the project. All evaluations are confidential. Evaluations
are based on a percentage, where 100% represents full effort. A group member’s “effort
score” will be the average percentage assigned across all team members. The “effort
score” will be multiplied times the team project grade to determine points earned on the
team project. For example, if a group receives 40 points for the team project and your
“effort score” is 90%, you will receive 36 points of the 50 points possible.
Grading Policies
The following points are assigned to the course requirements outlined above:

Integrated Company Analysis 50

ITK reports (6 reports at 10 points each) 60
Quizzes 40
Midterm 100
Final exam 150
Total 400

Grades are based on percentage of points earned, where in the past 30-35% of the
students earned A’s, 50-55% earned AB’s, 20-25% earned B’s, and 0-5% earned BC’s or
lower.

Honor Code
Academic Integrity is the foundation of any well functioning academic community. The
School of Business affirms the academic integrity rules and guidelines set out by the
University of Wisconsin – Madison and holds all members of the academic community –
students, faculty and staff – to the exact same high standards of academic integrity.
Violations of the code of academic misconduct will result in an investigation and may
result in severe sanctions according to the University and School of Business guidelines.
Below are listed a number of relevant websites for your review.

Academic Misconduct: Guide for Students:

http://www.wisc.edu/students/Code_of_Conduct.htm

UWS 14, Regent Rule on Academic Misconduct:

http://www.wisc.edu/students/conduct/uws14.htm.

Useful websites
Financial Accounting Standards Board http://www.fasb.org
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission http://www.sec.gov
U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board http://www.pcaobus.org
International Accounting Standards Board http://www.iasb.org
European Financial Reporting Advisory Group http://www.efrag.org
Financial information on publicly traded companies http://www.quote.com
http://www.finance.yahoo.com
 AIS 700 - Fall 2010 Tentative Class Schedule

Practice Problems are found at end of each chapter

Date Topic Readings Assignment Practice

Due Problems
Sept. 8 Financial Statements KWK chapter 1 -- --

Sept. 13 Financial Statements KWK chapter 2 -- E1-8. E1-9,

E1-10, E1-13

Sept. 15 The Accounting System KWK chapter 3 -- E2-1, E2-7,

E2-8, E2-11

Sept. 20 The Accounting System -- ITK 1 E3-2

continued P3-4A

Sept. 22 Accrual Accounting KWK chapter 4 QUIZ 1 P3-5A

Sept. 27 Accrual Accounting -- -- BE4-15, E4-1

continued E4-8

Sept. 29 Merchandizing KWK chapter 5 ITK 2 P4-2A

Operations

Oct. 4 Accounting for Inventory KWK chapter 6 -- E5-9

P5-2A

Oct. 6 Accounting for Inventory -- -- E6-5

continued and Review E6-10

Oct. 11 Midterm exam -- MIDTERM --

EXAM

Oct. 13 ICA work day -- -- --

Oct. 18 Internal Control and KWK chapter 7 ITK 3 --

Accounting for Cash

Oct. 20 Internal Control and -- -- E7-4, E7-6

Accounting for Cash
continued
Oct. 25 Reporting and Analyzing KWK chapter 8 ITK 4 E7-14
Accounts Receivable

Oct. 27 Reporting and Analyzing KWK chapter 9 -- E8-1, E8-2

Long-lived Assets E8-5, E8-8

Nov. 1 Reporting and Analyzing -- QUIZ 2 --

Long-lived Assets
continued
Nov. 3 Reporting and Analyzing -- -- E9-2, E9-5
Long-lived Assets E9-9, E9-11
continued
Nov. 8 Accounting for Liabilities KWK chapter 10 -- P9-6A

Nov. 10 Accounting for Liabilities -- -- BE10-5,

continued BE10-11
E10-6
Nov. 15 Stockholders’ Equity KWK chapter 11 ITK 5 E10-8
E10-16
P10-1A
Nov. 17 Stockholders’ Equity -- -- E11-9
continued BE11-6

Nov. 22 Statement of Cash Flows KWK chapter 12 -- E11-14

P11-3A

Nov. 24 Statement of Cash Flows -- ITK 6 P12-1A

continued E12-1
BE12-9
E12-6
Nov. 29 Financial Statement KWK chapter 13 -- E13-2
Analysis E13-9

Dec. 1 Financial Statement -- -- --

Analysis continued

Dec. 6 Final Exam -- FINAL --

EXAM

Dec. 14, Integrated Company

15 & 16 Analysis presentations
 AIS 700 Fact Sheet
Fall 2010

Name _____________________________________ Student number ______________

Contact telephone number ____________________________________________

Contact E-mail address ______________________________________________

Work experience in accounting? yes no

Work experience in finance? yes no

What are your objectives for this course?

What are your career aspirations?