University of Texas at Dallas

Accounting 3320 – Financial Information Management - Fall 2005

Instructor: Asst. Prof. Umit G. Gurun

Office: SOM 4.435
Email: Please use WebCT

Lecture times and locations:

Course Call Number Title Days Start End Room Credit
AIM 3320 001 10049 FINANCIAL INFORMATION MGMT MW 11:00 a.m. 12:15 p.m. SOM1.217 3
AIM 3320 002 10050 FINANCIAL INFORMATION MGMT MW 12:30 p.m. 1:45 p.m. SOM1.217 3
AIM 3320 501 10051 FINANCIAL INFORMATION MGMT W 7:00 p.m. 9:45 p.m. SOM2.112 3

TA information:
1) Yifeng (Frank) Zhang, SOM 4.424, yxz029000@utdallas.edu
2) Ali Coskun, SOM 4.420, axc047000@utdallas.edu

Office Hours:
For Umit Gurun: Wednesday 4:00 to 6:00 PM, or by appointment.
For TAs: Will be announced later on WebCT

Course Description and Objectives:

Increase student awareness of the role of accounting in the economy and help students
understand the preparation and use of financial statements. The focus will be on the relationship
between user and preparer of accounting information. This course is a case based course. We
will discuss many cases through out the semester. I will occasionally lecture on related topics. I
will present most of the cases myself, however, your participation (voluntary or response to cold-
calls) will determine your participation grade.
Some of the cases we will cover are as follows:
1. Dot.Com
2. ASICS (*)
3. Nike (*)
4. Yokohoma (*)
5. Panda Co.
6. Gone Fishing
7. Foodlion (*)
8. Babe Company
9. Abercomdie (*)
10. Xylon
11. Frederics of Hollywood (*)
12. Maya (*)
13. Podracad
14. Naboo
15. Intel
 16. LaFarge
17. Amber
18. Hydron (*)
19. Pharmacia (*)
20. Boston Beer and Lion Brevery (*)

The (*) cases can be obtained from the case book. I will post the remaining cases to WebCT
before we cover them in class. If the time permits, we will study other cases from the case book.
Each week on Thursday, I will post a message to the discussion board on WebCT that
outlines the following week’s material and assignments. This document will include questions
that we will focus on and other related material. Occasionally, you will be asked to turn in a
written report before we discuss the cases.

Course Prerequisites:
AIM 2301. The quantitative aspects of the course will require only elementary computational
skills; however a calculator and/or some spreadsheet knowledge will be required. I assume that
you are familiar with basic finance/accounting concepts (such as definitions of debit/credit,
balance sheet/income statement etc.) and have introduction level of accounting knowledge.
We will solve plenty of basic exercises on “accounting cycle”, therefore if you have taken an
intermediary accounting course before there will be some repeated materials.

Required Course Materials:

1) Cases In Financial Reporting, 4th Edition, by D. Eric Hirst and Mary Lea McAnally,
published by Pearson Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-149448-1.
2) Financial Accounting in and Economic Context by Pratt- (available at UTD Bookstore)
ISBN: 0471758760

The second book contains selected chapters from Financial Accounting in and Economic Context
by Jamie Pratt (Wiley Publishing) – Sixth edition, ISBN: 0471655287. We will use the second
book as a supplementary text to our case discussions. However, I will assign questions from the
second book when we discuss the “accounting cycle”.

Course Policy on Attendance:

It is critical to your success that you attend each session. However, I will not take attendance at
each class. Office hours are not a substitute for coming to class, therefore, I will not go over
material covered in class with you if you have missed class. More importantly, there will be
numerous handouts (sample problems) distributed in class which you may use on the exams.

Emails: Please try to use office hours if you have questions. I will try to answer all your possible
questions via email, however let me remind you that I am teaching 300 students this semester
and it may be impossible to reply all emails promptly. Please use WebCT to communicate me.
Grading Policy:
Assessment:
3 exams @ 25% each 75%
Assignments + Pop Quizes 25%
TOTAL 100%

Exam dates are indicated on the last page of this syllabus. All exams will be held in class at class
time. I will assign several assignments/cases (minimum 4) and give a couple of pop quizzes
(minimum 0). Your lowest grade assignment/pop quiz will not be included in the calculation of
your Assignment/Pop Quiz grade. Each assignment/pop quiz will have equal weights in the
calculation.

Missed Exams: To receive a grade in the course, students MUST take all exams. Under no
circumstances, none, zero, will a student be allowed to “substitute” one exam for a missed exam.
Students missing an exam must contact me prior to the scheduled exam time and make a
mutually agreeable arrangement for the makeup exam. Failure to take the make-up exam at the
agreed time and place will result in a grade of zero. Students with anticipated absences (such as
a documented university sponsored event) should contact me prior to the absence.

Missed Pop Quiz/ Assignment: There will be no makeup assignments/pop quizzes. You are
required to submit all assignments on the due date/hour. Late assignments will not be accepted.
Students with anticipated absences (such as a documented university sponsored event) should
contact me one week prior to the absence. Pop quiz dates will not be announced. If you miss a
pop quiz and believe that there is a good reason for the absence, you should bring documentation
(such a doctor’s report) to support your case.

Disposition of Exams:
As per school policy, exams will be retained for one year and then destroyed.

Use of Computers and Recording Devices

Audio or videotaping of class lectures is prohibited. Students may use laptops to record their
notes subject to the following provisions: (1) the computer must be silent with speakers muted,
(2) THE COMPUTER CANNOT BE CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET. Students failing to follow these
rules will be asked to leave the classroom. Under no circumstances will students be allowed to
use their computers on exams.

Academic Dishonesty
Candidates are expected to be above reproach in scholastic activities. Candidates who engage in
scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in
the course and dismissal from the University. “Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited
to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are
attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any
act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts.” 1 Since

1
(Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Part One, Chapter VI, Section 3, Subsection3.2, Subdivision 3.22
scholastic dishonesty harms the individual, all candidates, and the integrity of the University,
policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced.

WebCT:
Other information about the class will be posted on WebCT.

Scholastic Integrity:
The University has policies and discipline procedures regarding scholastic dishonesty. Detailed
information is available on Scholastic Dishonesty web page. All students are expected to
maintain a high level of responsibility with respect to academic honesty. Students who violate
University rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the
possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the University. Since such dishonesty
harms the individual, all students and the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic
dishonesty will be strictly enforced.
 Course Outline

# Monday Wednesday Concept From Pratt Cases

1 22-Aug-05 24-Aug-05 Introduction
2 29-Aug-05 31-Aug-05 Importance of Financial
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Dot.Com, Panda, Gone Fishing,
3 5-Sep-05 7-Sep-05 Statements
Chapter 3, Chapter 4 Foodlion, Abercomdie, ASICS
4 12-Sep-05 14-Sep-05 Accounting Cycle
5 19-Sep-05 21-Sep-05
6 26-Sep-05 28-Sep-05 Review Session / Midterm 1
7 3-Oct-05 5-Oct-05 User of Financial Statements Chapter 5 Nike, Yokohoma, Boston Beer,
8 10-Oct-05 12-Oct-05 Ratio Analysis Frederics of Hollywood, Pharmacia
9 17-Oct-05 19-Oct-05 Earnings Management
10 24-Oct-05 26-Oct-05 Review Session / Midterm 2
11 31-Oct-05 2-Nov-05 Cash Flow Statement Chapter 13, Chapter 14 Xylon, Podracad, Naboo, LaFarge,
12 7-Nov-05 9-Nov-05 Valuation Amber, Hydron, Maya, Intel
13 14-Nov-05 16-Nov-05
14 21-Nov-05 23-Nov-05 Review Session / Midterm 3
15 28-Nov-05 Comprehensive Case

• September 5, 2005 is the Labor Day.

• Nov 24-Nov 25 is the Thanksgiving Day.
• Important notice:
I reserve the right to change the schedule of the topics, grading scheme and exam dates. Any possible changes will be
announced at the class.