Accounting 1
Syllabus
Course Essential Questions
- What legal channels must accountants follow?
- Why is the financial information on the balance sheet and income statement essential, in order for stakeholders to make good business decisions?
- How can businesses implement greater control over cash systems?
- How can a business utilize financial information to analyze the progress of the business?
Course Learning Objectives
- Explore education and career options available for Accountants.
- Investigate regulatory agencies within the accounting profession.
- Prepare and analyze an income statement, statement of owner's equity, and balance sheet.
- Interpret the data presented in financial statements.
- Describe and apply the steps of the Accounting Cycle.
- Recognize different accounting strategies used for various business structures.
- Describe the purpose of journals and ledgers and their relationship.
- Apply appropriate accounting procedures to payroll and taxes.
Unit 1: Introduction to Accounting Procedures (Weeks 1-4)
Unit Level Essential Questions
- How does financial information impact decisions?
- How are stakeholders influenced by financial communications?
- How is material represented on financial documents?
Week 1: Getting to Know Accounting
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Understand the rules and policies of the course.
- Begin to build community by sharing important information with your teacher and classmates about yourself and your school.
- Develop your skills for navigating the course environment and using the various course tools.
- Examine an annual report of a Fortune 500 Company.
- Identify skills and experience needed to be an Accountant.
Week 2: Sharpen Your Pencils
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Define the saying “Accounting is the Language of Business”.
- Identify the role of accounting in business.
- Compare and contrast financial and managerial accounting.
Week 3: The Accounting Equation
Weekly Learning Objectives
- State the accounting equation.
- Explain the effects of transactions on the accounting equation.
- Identify legal challenges in accounting.
- Identify skills and experience needed to be an Accountant.
Week 4: Accounting Principles
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Describe the roles of the FASB, IFRS, IASB and GAAP in setting accounting standards.
- Explain the relationship between the US and international accounting standards.
- Identify fundamental principles of accrual based accounting.
- Identify skills and experience needed to be an Accountant.
Week 5: Transactions in Journals and Ledgers
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Identify the basic reporting structure of accounting information.
- Account for business transactions using double entry bookkeeping.
- Identify the accounting books of record.
Unit 2: Steps in the Accounting Cycle (Weeks 6-9)
Unit Level Essential Questions
- What are the steps in the accounting cycle?
- How does a business organize financial information to analyze the progress of the business?
- How and why are adjusting and closing entries journalized and posted?
Week 6: Initial Steps of the Accounting Cycle
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Define and describe the initial steps in the accounting cycle.
- Analyze how transactions affect a company's financial statements.
- Categorize accounts and explain how they will be reported on financial statements.
Week 7: Using a Worksheet
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Describe the process of adjusting journal entries.
- Create adjusting journal entries.
- Identify the kinds of transactions that need to be adjusted at the end of the accounting cycle.
Week 8: Financial Statements
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Prepare an income statement.
- Prepare a balance sheet.
- Identify the three main components of the statement of cash flows.
Week 9: Closing the Books
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Record and post the common types of adjusting entries.
- Prepare a post closing trial balance.
- Calculate the liquidity of a company based on adjusted trial balances.
- Explore education and career options available for Accountants.
Unit 3: Accounting for Revenue (Weeks 10-15)
Unit Level Essential Questions
- How can a business estimate the value of uncollectible receivables?
- Why do businesses need to record uncollectible accounts expenses at the end of a fiscal period?
- What is a possible ramification of deferred revenue reporting?
Week 10: Controlling Cash Flows
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Describe internal controls within an organization.
- Apply internal control concepts to receipts and payments.
- Demonstrate petty cash journal entries and reconciliation.
- List the responsibilities of controlling petty cash.
- Explore education and career options available for Accountants.
Week 11: Effects of Cash Transactions
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Differentiate between three methods of recording sales by credit cards.
- Prepare a bank reconciliation and its associated journal entries.
- Demonstrate proper financial statement presentation of cash and cash equivalents.
- Explore education and career options available for Accountants.
Week 12: Revenue Collection Legality
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Analyze transactions for accounts receivable, including uncollectible accounts, write-offs, and recoveries.
- Account for uncollectible accounts using the balance sheet & income statement.
- Describe fraud in financial statements and Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX) Act requirements.
- Summarize revenue recognition under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
Week 13: Bad Debts & Uncollectible Accounts
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Compute and journalize bad debt expenses.
- Apply the direct write-off method of accounting for bad debts.
- Prepare an accounts receivable aging analysis.
- Explore education and career options available for Accountants.
Week 14: Aging and Factoring Accounts
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Describe the process of factoring accounts receivable.
- Journalize collections on notes receivable.
- Identify financial statement disclosures related to receivables.
- Reflect on your accounting knowledge to date.
Week 15: Auditing Progress
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Reflect on your accounting knowledge to date.
- Critique your accounting strengths and weaknesses.
- Explore education and career options available for Accountants.
Unit 4: Accounting Systems for a Merchandising Business (Weeks 16-19)
Unit Level Essential Questions
- What makes accounting for a merchandising company unique?
- Why do businesses take a physical inventory when they are using a perpetual inventory system?
- How do businesses determine the cost of merchandise inventory?
- Why does the value of ending inventory sometimes have to be an estimate?
Week 16: Merchandising Business
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Compare and contrast merchandising enterprises and service providers.
- Describe costs of goods sold in relation to the matching principle.
- Create a QuickBooks account online.
- Explore education and career options available for Accountants.
Week 17: Periodic & Perpetual Inventory
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Compare and contrast perpetual vs. periodic inventory systems.
- Analyze and record transactions for the sale of merchandise using both perpetual and periodic inventory systems.
- Explore and learn basic basic QuickBooks terminology as it pertains to accounting.
Week 18: Inventory Valuation
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Describe and demonstrate the basic inventory valuation methods.
- Describe inventory cost flow assumptions and their impact on financial statements.
- Rationalize whether LIFO or FIFO is more effective for your company.
- Explore education and career options available for Accountants.
Week 19: Adjusting Statements for Inventory
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explore education and career options available for Accountants.
- Report common financial statement disclosures regarding inventory.
- Apply the conservatism principle to inventory costing.
- Adjust journal entries for net realizable value.
Unit 5 : Property, Plant, Equipment, and Other Assets (Weeks 20-23)
Unit Level Essential Questions
- How is it possible for a company to have an intangible asset?
- How does depreciation affect the profits of a business?
- If natural resources can be depleted, why are they considered to be a fixed asset?
Week 20: Plant Assets
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Differentiate between capital and revenue expenditures.
- Apply the cost principle to different categories of plant assets.
- Journalize the purchase of plant assets.
- Identify the skills and experience needed to be an Accountant.
Week 21: Depreciation and Life Cycle of Assets
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain the effect of depreciation and amortization on financial statements.
- List techniques an accountant would use when reviewing fixed assets.
- Identify the accounting concepts and practices related to plant assets and depreciation.
- Identify the skills and experience needed to be an accountant.
Week 22: Natural Resources as Assets
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Identify the skills and experience needed to be an accountant.
- Describe some special issues in accounting for natural assets.
- Compute depletion for a given cost, residual value, and estimated output.
- Journalize adjusting entries for recording depletion.
Week 23: Tangible and Intangible Assets
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Demonstrate proper financial statement presentation and disclosures related to assets.
- Distinguish between tangible and intangible assets.
- Transfer data to financial statements using QuickBooks Online.
Unit 6: Liabilities (Weeks 24-26)
Unit Level Essential Questions
- What conclusions can be drawn by analyzing the liabilities of a business?
- How do you prepare payroll, payroll checks, and the records that must be maintained?
- Why are deductions from employee's earnings classified as liabilities for the employer?
- How does QuickBooks Online adjust custom reports?
Week 24: Current Liabilities
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Analyze, journal, and report current liabilities.
- Define and apply accounting treatment for contingent liabilities.
- Prepare journal entries to record short term notes payable.
- Identify skills and experience needed to be an Accountant.
Week 25: Payroll
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Record transactions incurred in preparing payroll.
- Describe common payroll withholdings.
- Apply previously acquired skills to QuickBooks.
- Identify skills and experience needed to be an Accountant.
Week 26: Non-current Liabilities
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Explain the pricing of long-term liabilities.
- Apply computer amortization using an effective interest method.
- Interpret a bond amortization table.
- Identify skills and experience needed to be an accountant.
- Apply previously acquired skills to QuickBooks Online.
Unit 7: Accounting for Corporations (Weeks 27-29)
Unit Level Essential Questions
- How are ratios prepared to assess liquidity?
- How do stocks and equity affect the balance sheet?
- What are the differences between corporation and partnership accounting?
- How are financial statements prepared for different forms of business?
Week 27: Stocks & Bonds
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Record the entries for a bond issue sold at a discount and sold at a premium, using the straight-line amortization method.
- Identify different types of corporations.
- Distinguish between characteristics of common and preferred stock.
- Apply previously acquired skills to QuickBooks Online.
Week 28: Fundamentals of Corporations
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Describe the corporate form of doing business.
- Define dividends and how they are declared and distributed.
- Illustrate the balance sheet presentation of stockholder's equity.
- Connect QuickBooks Online simulated bank accounts.
Week 29: Corporate Financial Statements
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Utilize data in financial statements to calculate current and acid ratios.
- Calculate earnings per share and the price-earnings ratio.
- Identify the factors of dividend payouts.
- Work in QuickBooks Online to create a balance sheet comparison report.
Unit 8: 21st Century Accounting Techniques (Weeks 30 -33)
Unit Level Essential Questions
- How does an accounting system analyze fraud?
- What is the function of internal control?
- What future computer proficiencies and certifications maybe required for the Accounting profession?
- How will I utilize my accounting knowledge in the future?
- What part of accounting appeals to me the most?
Week 30: Accounting & Information Systems
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Define and describe the components of an accounting information system.
- Identify common sources of information for financial statement analysis.
- Utilize QuickBooks Online to reconcile bank statements.
- Explore education and career options available for Accountants.
Week 31: New Frontiers in Accounting
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Define and explain internal controls and their purpose within an organization.
- Apply responsible accounting concepts to evaluate cost, profit, and investment centers.
- Prepare for the Final Exam.
Week 32: Why Accounting Matters
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Justify the benefits of certifications.
- Investigate industry ratios for your company based on previous ratio calculations.
- Prepare for the Final Exam.
Week 33: 3Rs: Reflection, Review and Annual Report
Weekly Learning Objectives
- Evaluate how you will utilize your accounting knowledge in the future.
- Take your Final Exam.
- Reflect on what you learned in this course.
- Complete the VHS Learning Survey.