Accounting

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• analyze and record business transactions in the general journal and post to the general and subsidiary ledgers.
• prepare a trial balance, adjusted trial balance and post-closing trial balance.
• prepare the income statement, statement owner's equity, and balance sheet for service and merchandising businesses.
• prepare a payroll register and make the appropriate journal entries to correctly record wage/salary expenses and employer payroll tax expenses.
• construct a bank reconciliation and prepare the entries necessary to update the accounts.
• analyze the effects of transactions on the accounting equation and net income.
• assess financial statements using basic financial ratios and explain the results of the ratio analysis.
• evaluate and apply accounting terminology at a basic level.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• record business transactions in the general journal.
• prepare the basic financial statements and identify and organize required disclosures.
• compute the future and present value of cash flows.
• estimate the amount and determine the timing of income to be recognized for long-term construction contracts using both the percentage-of-completion and completed contract methods.
• apply accounting principles used for cash, receivables, inventories, fixed assets, and intangible assets.
• account for acquisition, depreciation, depletion, amortization, and impairment of property, plant, and equipment, and the disposition thereof.
• estimate the bad debt expense using the allowance method and record the bad debt expense under the direct write-off method.
• convert financial information from the accrual basis of accounting to the cash basis of accounting and vice versa.
• organize and present the accounts in the basic financial statements to comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• demonstrate the accounting and disclosure requirements for: long-term investments, current and long-term liabilities, paid-in capital, retained earnings, warrants, rights and options, convertible securities, pension plans, leases, income taxes, and accounting changes.
• prepare and analyze financial statements, including the income statement, statement of retained earnings, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows.
• analyze the stockholders' equity.
• compute the basic and diluted earnings per share.
• compute and record the amount of income taxes currently payable and the amount of deferred income taxes.
• determine whether the pension plan is overfunded or underfunded and the amount to be recorded as a pension plan asset or pension plan liability on the balance sheet.
• determine whether to recognize a lease as an operating lease or a capital/finance lease and compute the present value of the minimum lease payments under the capital/finance lease.
• set up a capital/finance lease amortization schedule using the effective interest method and the straight-line method of amortization.
• restate financial statements for prior period adjustments and changes in accounting principles.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• explain the role of the auditor and generally accepted auditing standards.
• explain the use of the audit risk model including audit risk, inherent risk, control risk, and detection risk.
• evaluate internal controls in place in an organization and the effect of those controls on audit planning.
• recognize the material assertions being made by management in the preparation of financial statements.
• compare and contrast various statistical and non-statistical sampling methodologies.
• design appropriate audit tests for assets, liabilities, stockholders' equity, revenues, and expenses.
• describe the various types of auditor reports and be able to determine when each is appropriate.
• describe the role of professional ethics and auditor liability in the audit function.
• describe the purpose of internal, operational, and compliance auditing.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• explain how cost accounting information is used by managers in planning, controlling, and evaluating operations.
• compare and record accounting transactions under job-order and process costing systems.
• estimate appropriate reorder points and economic order quantities for purchases of materials.
• identify and record various types of manufacturing labor costs.
• allocate and evaluate overhead costs.
• identify and record costs of scrap materials, spoiled goods, and defective products in manufacturing operations.
• compute and allocate joint product costs to primary products.
• analyze service department costs and allocate them to operating departments.
• calculate and explain different methods of determining internal transfer prices.
• evaluate cost behavior and use the characteristics of cost behavior in planning and evaluating business operations.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• identify and apply the Federal Labor Standards ACT (FLSA) and other federal and state laws that affect employment practices and employee compensation.
• calculate gross payroll, withholding amounts, and net pay under a variety of labor standards.
• record employer payroll and payroll tax journal entries.
• create and maintain payroll records and reports required by federal and state taxing authorities.
• prepare quarterly and annual federal and state payroll tax returns and forms.
• analyze and interpret payroll data to determine employer's total cost of labor.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• explain the constitutional origins, statutory requirements, and other legislative and administrative underpinnings of the individual income tax systems of the United States and California.
• describe the federal and California tax formula for individuals: gross income, adjusted gross income, taxable income, and income tax.
• define "substantial authority" with respect to a position taken on a tax return and locate substantial authority for such a position.
• locate where each item of income and deduction belongs on the federal and California income tax returns for individuals.
• conduct basic tax research using publicly available research tools.
• Describe the elements of income tax administration, including the audit process, reporting requirements, and taxpayer and preparer penalties.
• identify and calculate tax credits a taxpayer is entitled to claim on his or her tax return.
• prepare basic and intermediate level federal and California individual income tax returns.
• apply professional ethical behavior in accounting, taxation, and business.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• describe the constitutional origins, statutory requirements, and other legislative and administrative underpinnings of the income tax systems of the United States and California.
• compute the components of the Federal and California state tax formula including gross income, adjusted gross income, taxable income, gross income tax liability, and net tax due or refund.
• determine the filing status and filing requirements for individuals.
• identify where each item of income and deduction belongs on federal and state income tax returns for individuals.
• prepare basic and intermediate federal and California individual income tax returns.
• conduct basic tax research using publicly-available research tools.
• demonstrate the basics of income tax administration, including the audit process, reporting requirements, and taxpayer and preparer penalties, particularly California tax practitioner requirements.
• calculate California state and federal taxes using applicable laws and standard forms.
• identify and calculate tax credits taxpayers are entitled to claim on their tax return.
• apply professional ethical behavior in accounting, taxation, and business.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• explain the essential elements of financial, performance, and compliance audits by internal and independent auditors of governmental and not-for-profit entities.
• distinguish between the contents of an unqualified and a qualified financial audit report for a governmental or a not-for-profit entity.
• explain what is meant by generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS), the source of GAGAS, and why GAGAS are much broader than generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS).
• describe the characteristics of a single audit for Federal government entities including the purpose of these audits, which entities are subject to them, what auditing work is required, and what reports must be given.
• Describe the role of internal auditors in state government agencies.
• describe the implications of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 on governmental and not-for-profit organizations.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• identify the authoritative bodies responsible for setting financial reporting standards for nonprofit organizations, the federal government, and state and local governments.
• describe the minimum requirements for general purpose external financial reporting specified by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement Number 34.
• compare and contrast the modified accrual and full accrual bases on accounting.
• describe the common types of funds used in governmental and nonprofit accounting systems.
• apply the basic principles of fund accounting.
• evaluate the role of the budget and the budgetary process in the management of governmental agencies.
• explain the accounting, regulatory, taxation, and performance issues for nonprofit organizations.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• design and discuss a proposal of study with a supervising accounting instructor.
• demonstrate the ability to independently pursue a course of study or project in accounting.
• prepare a final report or project incorporating results of study or activities.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• explain the nature and purpose of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
• explain and apply the components of the conceptual framework for financial accounting and reporting, including the qualitative characteristics of accounting information, the assumptions underlying accounting, the basic principles of financial accounting, and the constraints and limitations on accounting information.
• define and use accounting and business terminology.
• explain what a system is and how an accounting system is designed to satisfy the needs of specific businesses and users; summarize the purpose of journals and ledgers.
• apply transaction analysis, input transactions into the accounting system, process this input, and prepare and interpret the four basic financial statements.
• distinguish between cash basis and accrual basis accounting and their impact on the financial statements, including the revenue recognition and matching principles.
• identify and illustrate how the principles of internal control are used to manage and control the firm’s resources and minimize risk.
• explain the content, form, and purpose of the basic financial statements (including footnotes) and the annual report and how they satisfy the information needs of investors, creditors, and other users.
• explain the nature of current assets and related issues, including the measurement and reporting of cash and cash equivalents, receivables and bad debts, and inventory and cost of goods sold.
• explain the valuation and reporting of current liabilities, estimated liabilities, and other contingencies.
• identify and illustrate issues relating to long-term asset acquisition, use, cost allocation, and disposal.
• distinguish between capital and revenue expenditures.
• identify and illustrate issues relating to long-term liabilities, including issuance, valuation, and retirement of debt including the time value of money.
• identify and illustrate issues relating to stockholders’ equity, including issuance, repurchase of capital stock, and dividends.
• explain the importance of operating, investing, and financing activities reported in the Statement of Cash Flows.
• interpret company activity, profitability, liquidity, and solvency through selection and application of appropriate financial analysis tools.
• identify the ethical implications inherent in financial reporting and be able to apply strategies for addressing them.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• identify and illustrate the primary activities and information needs of managers and explain the role of the managerial accountant as a member of the management team; compare and contrast financial and managerial accounting.
• define and illustrate various cost terms, concepts, and behaviors, and evaluate their relevancy for different decision-making purposes.
• distinguish between product and period costs and prepare and evaluate a Schedule of Cost of Goods Manufactured, Schedule of Cost of Goods Sold, and Income Statement.
• prepare traditional and contribution-margin income statements and define related terms.
• explain cost-volume-profit analysis, degree of operating leverage, and safety margin and employ each as an analytical tool.
• describe the traditional types of product costing systems (including job-order and process), illustrate the flow of costs in each, and prepare related accounting records and reports.
• discuss the impact of technology on the business environment, its implications for product and service costs, and the development of activity-based costing and management.
• explain the purposes of budgeting, prepare a master budget and its component schedules, and relate the budget to planning and control.
• explain the development and use of standard costs and flexible budgets, prepare and interpret variance analysis reports, and relate them to responsibility accounting and control.
• explain the nature of and need for segment reporting and the relationship with cost, revenue, profit, and investment centers; prepare and analyze related segment reports.
• compare and contrast absorption costing and variable costing, prepare income statements using both methods, and reconcile the resulting net incomes.
• define relevant costs and benefits and prepare analyses related to special decisions.
• explain the nature of capital expenditure decisions and apply and evaluate various methods used in making these decisions; including the time value of money.
• identify the ethical implications inherent in managerial accounting and reporting and be able to apply strategies for addressing them.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• identify differences between manual and computerized accounting systems.
• construct and maintain charts of accounts and customer, vendor, and employee master files.
• record transactions related to sales, purchases, and payroll for service and merchandising companies.
• categorize transactions by business segment and/or project.
• reconcile bank and credit card accounts to monthly statements.
• analyze end of period account balances and create appropriate adjusting and closing journal entries.
• generate and evaluate financial statements and other accounting reports.
• develop budgets and generate reports summarizing differences between budgeted and actual results.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• create computerized spreadsheets from start to finish for accounting applications.
• construct complex spreadsheet formulas and functions to develop accounting spreadsheets.
• design spreadsheets that communicate accurate, succinct, and useful accounting information.
• utilize software functionality accurately and appropriately.
• compare software currently used in business and industry.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• evaluate the ethical guidelines of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and other professional accounting organizations.
• analyze the California Accountancy Act and rules and regulations implemented by the California Board of Accountancy.
• evaluate the ethical standards of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA).
• explore other selected professional accounting codes of conduct.
• assess potential legal liability for the accounting profession.
• identify the common characteristics and causes of ethical lapses, fraud, and inadequate audits.
• evaluate and apply the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• design and discuss a proposal of study with a supervising accounting instructor.
• demonstrate the ability to independently pursue a course of study or project in accounting.
• prepare a final report or project incorporating results of study or activities.