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Financial Reporting and Analysis

Analytical Thinking

Course Description

Analyzing corporate financial statements to understand how accounting concepts, reporting flexibility, business complexities, economic factors, and managerial incentives influence financial reporting decisions and shape the information ultimately presented to external stakeholders.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Students will be required to complete a financial reporting project not required of undergraduate students. The project will consist of a 5-10 page research paper that examines a current financial accounting issue, selected by the student and the professor, that builds on one or more items studied in the course. As part of the project, the student will be required to submit an outline prior to midterm and the final product on the last day of class for the semester. The paper must be prepared using proper MLA style and must be the student's own work product. (NOTE: Depending on the number of students enrolled, the professor may, at his or her discretion, make this a small group project.)

Athena Title

Financial Report and Analysis

Equivalent Courses

Not open to students with credit in ACCT 5001E

Prerequisite

ACCT 2101 or ACCT 2101E or ACCT 2101H

Semester Course Offered

Offered fall and spring

Grading System

A - F (Traditional)

Student learning Outcomes

  • Students will understand the role of the accounting cycle in the preparation of financial statements.
  • Students will describe the appropriate measurement bases for elements of financial statements and explain the interrelationships among the financial statements.
  • Students will interpret, analyze, and evaluate the financial statements and footnotes of publicly traded companies using financial ratio analysis to appraise past performance, predict future performance, and identify the stronger performer.
  • Students will assess areas within the financial statements that allow for judgment and flexibility, which are subject to potential misstatement or earnings management.

Topical Outline

  • Review of the Accounting Cycle and Financial Statements
  • Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Statement of Cash Flows and Profitability Analysis
  • Revenue Recognition
  • Reserves and Accounts Receivable, including Allowances
  • Valuation of Inventories
  • Tangible Assets/Depreciation, and Intangible Assets/Impairments
  • Investments
  • Long-Term Liabilities
  • Accounting for Income Taxes
  • Stockholder’s Equity, Dilutive Securities and Earnings Per Share

Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes

Analytical Thinking

The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.


Syllabus

Public CV

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