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Schulich School of Business

York University
Course Outline

ACTG 2011S 3.0: I ntroduction to Financial Accounting I I
(Class) Tuesday(s), 8:30-11:30, E112 SSB
(Lab) Wednesday(s), 17:30-19:00, S126 SSB
Winter 2014

Instructor
Beppino Pasquali
Schulich School of Business S344C
416-736-5066
bpasquali@bellnet.ca
Office hours: By appointment

Secretary:
Mary Rizzo
416-736-5066
S344K Seymour Schulich Building
mrizzo@schulich.yorku.ca

Brief Description
This two-course sequence develops students' understanding of financial accounting
information so that they can be informed and effective users of the information. The courses
focus on uses of accounting information for different decisions and from different stakeholder
perspectives, and consider the economic and behavioural effects that accounting treatments
have on users and preparers. Readings from current publications are used to demonstrate
practical applications of the issues discussed in class. Classroom techniques such as case
studies, classroom discussions, student presentations and group and individual research
projects (intended to develop students' critical skills) are employed.

Prerequisite[s] / Co-requisite[s]
Prerequisite: SB/ ACTG 2010.03
Note 1: Successful completion of SB/ACTG 2010 3.00 is a prerequisite for SB/ACTG 2011
3.00. Students who have not successfully completed SB/ACTG 2010 3.00 will be withdrawn
from SB/ACTG 2011 3.00.
Note 2: SB/ACTG 2011 3.00 is not available to exchange students visiting Schulich unless it
is a full year exchange and SB/ACTG 2010 3.00 is taken in the fall.

Course Credit Exclusion: GL/ECON 2710 3.00, AS/ECON 3580.030
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Course objectives
By the end of ACTG 2011 3.00, you will be expected:
To have developed a critical understanding of the many roles of accounting information in
society.
To understand how accounting, as a language, is used to construct narratives in the
form of accounting reports.
To be conversant with the language of accounting, familiar with the standard forms of
accounting reports, and able to interpret accounting reports critically.
To understand the needs of different users of accounting reports, and to choose and
evaluate the financial information appropriate to these users.
To have improved your ability to work effectively in groups.
To have developed your critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
To have begun to develop an appreciation of real world implications of course work.
To understand International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and Accounting
Standards for Private Enterprises (ASPE).

Organization of the Course
In any given class, we may look at a particular accounting topic from the following points of
view:
Accounting theory
Accounting practice
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
Practical implications
Cash implications
Financial statements and analysis
Organizational and societal impact

Students occasionally find the pedagogical approach used in Schulichs accounting courses,
including this one, to be unfamiliar, unexpected, or even uncomfortable. At Schulich, we do
not teach accounting strictly from a bookkeeper's point of view, or from the view of only one
particular user, such as a shareholder. Such approaches can reward students who are good
at memorizing, but memorizing will only take you so far in life. We prefer to help students
develop a comprehensive understanding of accounting, and develop and apply critical
thinking skills.

The course weaves together theory, concepts, teaching problems, practical problems, and
short cases. Much of the material will be vague, imprecise, and hard to understand. This is
because accounting deals with people and their relationships. The social world is uncertain
and difficult to comprehend. Therefore, students will often feel uncertain about how to make
sense of the material, or what parts of the material are important. This uncertainty is all part
of the learning process. Whenever you experience frustration with the course material,
remember that this is an indication that you are being stretched appropriately.

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Course Ground Rules: Read Carefully
1. A minimum of 8 to 10 hours of work outside of class is required every week. Even more
work outside of class will be needed to prepare for examinations. Some students ignore
this suggestion until it is too late. Trying to cram for this course proves in most cases to
be impossible. Practice and application are required.
2. You are responsible for preparing in advance for all classes. This includes reading the
textbooks and assigned readings noted on the course outline. Educational studies show
that students who prepare in advance of class do much better than others.
3. What you get out of the class depends on how much you put into it, and how much your
classmates put into it, too. Be prepared to engage in the class discussions. This means
first of all listening to what others are saying, and thinking carefully about what they are
trying to say, and then responding constructively. The class will be a rich learning
environment if you are willing to take the risk to agree or disagree, to challenge, to
argue, to put forth your position, all the while listening carefully to the contributions of
others.
4. If you miss a class, you are responsible for arranging with your classmates to get copies
of any handouts, and for finding out what was discussed in class.
5. Lectures and case coverage may be up to two weeks ahead of, or behind, topics noted in
the course outline, depending upon the particular difficulties experienced by the class.
Regardless of class coverage, you are responsible for all material noted in the course
outline plus class discussions.
6. The instructor will enforce all applicable faculty and university policies, especially those
regarding academic conduct and misconduct. There are clear policies regarding such
things as plagiarism, and it your responsibility to understand them. This includes copying
a classmates assignment, using material from solutions manuals or solutions found on the
web. There are also clear procedures for handling cases of academic misconduct. These
procedures will be followed. If you have any questions about such matters, talk to your
instructor and to Student Services.
7. There are also clear policies on what constitutes a valid reason for missing a deadline.
Again, check with Student Services for applicable policies and required documentation
such as attending physician forms. It is highly recommended that you learn about these
policies now, and know about the appropriate forms before you need them.

Assigned Reading
Required reading for this course includes the following book[s]. They are available for
purchase from the York University bookstore.

1. Friedlan, J . (2013). Financial Accounting: A Critical Approach, with Connect, 4th
edition packaged with Connect and Lyryx, Toronto: McGraw Hill Ryerson. (Retained
package from ACTG2010)

2. Lyryx Assessment for Financial Accounting. See below Lyryx Registration for details.

3. Volodina, A., DSouza, P. (2011) Beyond the Horizon, A Casebook for Financial
Accounting, ISBN 1259016218

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Each section of a Schulich-based course has a Course Materials Database (CMD) created
within Lotus Notes. Every CMD includes some important general information for Schulich
students.

Evaluation of Student Performance
The course grading scheme for undergraduate courses conforms to the 9-point system used
in other undergraduate programs at York. The possible course letter grades for a course
(and the corresponding grade points awarded for each grade are:
A+ 9 grade points
A 8
B+ 7
B 6
C+ 5
C 4
D+ 3
D 2
F 0

(Students are reminded that they must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 5.0 to remain
in good standing and continue in the program, and to qualify for their degree. Schulich
grading guidelines mandate a section GPA of between 5.5 and 7.0.)

Where instructors use numerical or percentage grades, Schulich grading policy does not
require a preset translation of percentages into specific letter grades. In this class, final letter
grades will be determined by the following process:

The final grade for the course will be based on the following items weighted as indicated:

Lyryx Assignments (4) 10% Individual
Case Assignments (2) 10% Groups of 2
In Class Quiz 5% Individual
Midterm Examination 30% Individual
Final Examination 45% Individual
Total 100%


Lyryx Assignment
There are four on-line assignments which will account for 10% of the total marks. Each
assignment should be completed before 11:59 pm on the due date specified on-line.
Students are only permitted two (2) attempts and will not be allowed to access the
assignment after the due date. Below are the instructions to get access to Lyryx on-line:
Using Lyryx (pronounced Lyrics like the music)
Lyryx is part of your course package and is required for completing your assignments. Lyryx
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is an online interactive tool enabling students to test and practice their knowledge gained
from lectures and the text. You must register to use it. Follow the registration instructions
below to activate. There are four Lyryx homework assignments (called Labs) due throughout
the term plus the opportunity for practice. The required Lyryx Labs will have due dates and a
limited number of attempts. Once the due date has passed, only your best mark will be
recorded. Please do not ask the lecture instructor or lab instructor to help you with the
assignments. You are to attempt these without their help. For any questions or issues
related to Lyryx, please contact Lyryx at student-support@lyryx.com.

Please ensure that you submit the assignment on time and that a mark is
recorded for your assignment. There is no way that the instructor can allocate a
grade to the assignment without fully relying on the Lyryx reporting system.

Lyryx Registration:

A. For Students with an existing Lyryx Account:

1. Visit http://login.lyryx.com/ and log on with your Lyryx username and password and
click on Add Course
2. Select your institution as the Educational Institution among the list and click Next.
3. Then at the next page complete the Course Selection section by clicking on the drop
down boxes to select the correct course information, including session, course
name/code and section.
4. Click Next and the system will calculate the price of your license for the selected
course depending on your previous courses and license which is payable by credit
card. If you have previously used Lyryx for Friedlan Financial Accounting, 3rd Cdn
edition, the discounted license fee is $19.95 plus GST. Please contact Lyryx by email
at student-register@lyryx.com for any assistance.
5. From this point onwards whenever you access the Lyryx program, you will click on
Logon on the main menu and type in your username and password to log in. Lyryx is
available 7 days/week at student-register@lyryx.com for assistance.

B. For Students who do not have a Lyryx account:

1. Visit to http://login.lyryx.com/ and click on the Registration link.
2. Complete the Personal Information section.
3. Select your institution as the Educational Institution.
4. Under the Login Information section, type in your desired user name (normally
formatted as your first name.last name) and password (need to enter twice). You
may want to write these down and keep somewhere safe, as you will need this
information each time you log on to Lyryx. Click Next.
5. Then at the next page complete the Course Selection section by clicking on the drop
down boxes to select the correct course information, including session, course
name/code and section.
6. Under Special Offers, type in your pin code (from Lyryx Access card provided with
your new textbook). Note: If you bought a used textbook, you need to purchase a
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Lyryx license. Simply click Next and you can pay by credit card directly on the
website OR you can purchase the Lyryx Access code at the York Bookstore (ISBN
0070007403 for $49.95).
7. Lyryx requires J ava check the Browser Compatibility Check on the Lyryx website
www.lyryx.com. This will link you to the free download if you do not have J ava.
8. For any questions or issues related to Lyryx, please contact Lyryx at student-
support@lyryx.com.

Case Assignments:
There will be two case assignments which will account for 10% of the total marks. The
assignments can be completed on your own or with a partner. Groups of 3 will NOT be
permitted. These case assignments must be submitted at the beginning of class
and no late assignments will be accepted. Each student in a pair will receive the same
mark for the assignment, so it is strongly recommended that you study together with your
partner, and that both students contribute to each case assignment. Discussion of the cases
will contribute to your understanding of the course material and help to develop your
analytical skills. Written assignments provide an opportunity to apply the skills being taught
in the course and are useful for monitoring progress and for obtaining personal feedback.
The assignments are intended to prepare you for the midterm and final exam.

All case assignments must be typed or written legibly using blue pen. Each case must be no
longer than six letter-size pages (excluding appendices), double-spaced, 12 point font,
portrait orientation, with 1 margins. The appendices should only be used to include
calculations or tables and they cannot exceed 2 pages. It is critical that students follow these
page limits for the case answer and any answer in excess of these page limits will be marked
but will not be graded.

State your assumptions, where applicable. You must use judgment as to the style of
response that seems appropriate.

The hard copy of the assignment must be submitted at the beginning of class. In addition to
submitting a paper copy of your assignment in class, you will have to demonstrate the
originality of your work. The easiest way to do this is to submit an electronic copy of the case
to Turnitin. This is a web-based service that checks for plagiarism. Students are encouraged
to log in to www.Turnitin.com as soon as possible and should not wait until the last minute.
The master class ID for the course is 2013FallActg2011 and students need to sign in to their
applicable section. The following Class ID and Enrollment Password information are also
needed to set up the account and to post the assignments:

Section Class ID Enrollment Password
S 7350188 Actg-2011S




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In Class Quiz
The In Class Quiz will take 1 hour and it will be held at the beginning of the second class.
The quiz will be closed book and consists of 25 short questions. It will cover materials from
ACTG 2010 (Chapters 1-7). The quiz will weigh 5% of your total marks.

Examinations
Course examinations may cover, at the discretion of the instructor, all assigned readings,
handout material, class discussions, lectures, labs, and homework assignments. The midterm
examination may include materials covered up to and including the previous class and ACTG
2010. The final exam is comprehensive; that is, it covers the entire course (including material
covered in ACTG 2010), not just the classes since the mid-term. The midterm exam will
weigh 30% of your total marks and the final exam will weigh 45% of your total marks.

All exams are closed-book. The only aid permitted in the exams will be a calculator with
mathematical and financial functions. Computers, PDAs, and calculators that can store text
are not permitted. Calculators may not be shared during examinations.

The Universitys Registrars office sets specific examination dates after the term begins and
enrolment patterns are identified. Students should not make plans to be away from Toronto
during any portion of the announced examination period until the dates for their specific
examinations have been announced.

Absences from exams are not acceptable. Absences for medical or serious personal reasons
must be documented (by a note from a doctor, for example) and the instructor must be
notified within 24 hours. If a midterm is missed based on an acceptable (based on Student
Services guidelines) documented reason your midterm mark will be allocated to the final
examination making your final examination worth 75% of your total grade. If the final exam
is missed, you must 1) notify your instructor and Student Services in writing within 24 hours,
and 2) present valid and documented support to Student Services within 48 hours, and
ensure Student Services notifies your instructor. After these two steps are completed, you
may write the exam at time to be arranged by the accounting area.

Labs
Labs are an integral part of ACTG 2011. Lab sessions will provide you the opportunity to
learn the more technical aspects of the course material in a structured setting. Lab
instructors will lead students through the scheduled material and answer detailed questions.
They will also answer more general questions on the subject matter of the course. Lab
assignments are not necessarily covered in class, and are not graded. However, this material
is part of the course and you are responsible for examination purposes. Attendance will be
taken for each lab.


Academic Honesty
Academic honesty is fundamental to the integrity of university education and degree
programs. The Schulich School will investigate and will act to enforce academic honesty
policies where apparent violations occur. Students should familiarize themselves with York
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Universitys policy on academic honesty. It is printed in full in your student handbook and can
also be viewed on-line on the Schulich website, clicking through as indicated:
Schulich website Programs Bachelors Degree Learn More Academic Honesty

While academic dishonesty can take many forms, there are several forms of which
students should be highly aware because they are the ones that are most likely to
occur in the context of a specific course.
[1] Plagiarism. Plagiarism is the presentation of information, ideas, or analysis
generated by other people as being your own. It includes direct quotations as well a
substantive paraphrases where the source of that information or idea is not clearly
identified to the reader. Students should be careful to present their written work in a
way that makes it completely clear in each and every case where a quotation, a
paraphrase, or an analysis is based on the work of other people. (This includes
information from all sources, including websites.)

[2] Cheating. Cheating is an attempt to gain an unfair advantage in an evaluation.
Examples of such violations include (but are not limited to) consulting prohibited
materials during an examination or copying from another student.

[3] Failure to follow limitations on collaborative work with other students in preparing
academic assignments. Each class differs in the mix of assignments and group-versus-
individual preparation that is allowed. The instructor will make clear the extent of
collaboration among students that is acceptable among students on various pieces of
assigned work. Students should abide by those limitations and, if they are unsure
about whether a certain level or form of collaboration would be acceptable, to clarify
that question with the instructor in advance.

[4] Aiding and abetting. A student is guilty of violating academic honesty expectations
if he/she acts in a way that enables another student to engage in academic
dishonesty. If a student knows (or should reasonably expect) that an action would
enable another student to cheat or plagiarize, that students action constitutes an
academic honesty violation. Illustrative examples include making your exam paper
easily visible to others in the same exam or providing your own working or finished
documents for an individual assignment to another student (even if that other
student said that he/she just wanted to get an idea of how to approach the
assignment or to check whether they had done theirs correctly).

[5] Use of academic work in more than one course. Generally, academic work done for
every course is new work, done for that course only. If a student wishes to use some
or all of the academic work done for an assigned task in one course in another course,
the student must get explicit, prior permission from both instructors so that they
agree that the scope and nature of the overlapping use of that work is such that it can
fairly be counted toward both courses.



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Schedule of Topics and Readings ACTG 2011 3.0 Section S

Week Topics Class Preparation
Assignment
Due
Lab Preparation
Class 1: J an. 7
Lab1: J an. 8
Introduction to course
Review 2010 materials
(Chapter 1-7)
Case method review
Ch. 8 Capital assets
FRIEDLAN:
Chapter 8


FRIEDLAN:
E8-1, E 8-2, 8-3,
E8-14,E 8-17, E8-19,
P8-8,
Class 2: J an. 14
Lab 2: J an. 15
Chapter 8 - Continued

FRIEDLAN:
Chapter 8
CASEBOOK:
Dream Catchers Ltd
In Class Quiz
(Chapter 1-7)
FRIEDLAN:
E8-10, E8-11, E8-20, E 8-26
P8-11, P 8-15
Class 3: J an. 21
Lab 3: J an. 22
Chapter 9
Current and long-term
liabilities; Bonds, Leases,
Contingencies, etc.
FRIEDLAN:
Chapter 9

Lyryx Lab 1

FRIEDLAN:
E9-7, E9-16, E19, P9-1,
P 9-15
Class 4: J an. 28
Lab 4: J an. 29
Chapter 9 (Continued) FRIEDLAN:
Chapter 9
Case #1 FRIEDLAN:
E9-5, P9-5, P9-7,
Class 5: Feb. 4
Lab 5: Feb. 5

Chapter 9 (Continued)
Review
FRIEDLAN:
Chapter 9
CASEBOOK:
Comfy Homes I nc
Lyryx Lab 2

FRIEDLAN:
E9-27, E 9-31
P9-3, P9-17
Class 6: Feb. 11
Lab: No Lab
Mid Term Exam (Chapters 1-9)
Co-Curricular Days/Family Day Feb 15 - 21
Class 7: Feb. 25
Lab 6: Feb. 26
Chapter 10
Owners Equity

FRIEDLAN:
Chapter 10

FRIEDLAN
E10-2, E10-5, E10-9,
E10-10
Class 8: Mar. 4
Lab 7: Mar. 5


Chapter 10 (Continued) Midterm take up
FRIEDLAN:
Chapter 10
CASEBOOK:
CafeBucks I nc.
FRIEDLAN:
E10-11, E10-22; P10-1,
P10-9, P10-13

Class 9: Mar. 11
Lab 8: Mar. 12
Chapter 11
Inter-corporate investments

FRIEDLAN:
Chapter 11

Lyryx Lab 3 FRIEDLAN:
E11-1, E11-5
E11-9, E11-10, P11-1
Class 10: Mar. 18
Lab 9: Mar. 19
Chapter 11 (Continued)
Chapter 12
Using Financial Statements

FRIEDLAN:
Chapter 11/12
CASEBOOK:
EcoPlanet Inc


FRIEDLAN:
E12-6, E12-9,
E12-16, E 12-17, P12-5,
Class 11: Mar. 25
Lab 10: Mar. 26
Chapter 12 (Continued) FRIEDLAN:
Chapter 12
Case #2 FRIEDLAN:
P 12-7, P12-11, P12-13
Class 12: Apr. 1
Lab 11: Apr. 2
Review Lyryx Lab 4 Review
Final Exam Date TBD (From Apr 8 to 24) Will cover materials from ACTG 2010 and 2011.
Note: The list of lecture topics and readings indicate the material to be reviewed and prepared for
the class. If any changes in this schedule become necessary, notifications will be posted in the
course CMD, and/ or an email will be sent to students Lotus Notes email accounts.