Time Schedule:
William L. Wells
ACCTG 480
Seattle Campus
Fund and budgetary accounting as applied to public sector organizations, such as governments, foundations, hospitals, and colleges. Prerequisite: 2.0 in ACCTG 302; may not be repeated.
Class description
Organziation. Excluding examinations, the first 2/3rds of the course address governmental topics. The last 1/3rd addresses nonprofit organizations in general, hospitals, colleges and audit requirements on both government and nonprofit organizations.
The text develops topics generally in the same order as I do. In some instances, however, the text combines basic topics with what I consider to be advanced topics. I present the advanced topics separately after basic topics. What this means to you is that some author-produced material will include questions on those advance topics before they are formally discussed in class.
Student learning goals
Government: As used in this course, “government” applies to state and local entities; federal government accounting/reporting is not included in this course although your text includes a chapter on this topic. At the conclusion of this course, you should be:
• Able to interpret and record simple government-related economic events and summarize/convert those events into various fund and government-wide financial statements according to generally accepted accounting and reporting principles.
• Familiar with the content of a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report prepared by a nonfederal governmental reporting entity according to Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 34 (and other applicable statements).
• Aware of efforts to measure service and accomplishments by governmental entities.
• Able to recognize and record various government related economic events according to generally accepted accounting and reporting standards and summarize/convert those events into various fund and government-wide financial statements as found within a comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR).
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Not-for-profit organizations (NFPO): At the conclusion of this course, you should be:
• Able to interpret and record simple NFPO economic events and summarize/convert those events into various NFPO financial statements according to generally accepted accounting and reporting principles.
• Familiar with 1) the process of becoming a NFPO, 2) recurring NFPO tax and other reporting requirements, and 3) NFPO financial reporting statements and their content.
For both topics, you should also be 1) able to derive information from the reports mentioned above, and 2) aware of federal and state audit requirements relating to entities that receive governmental support.
• Able to recognize and record various economic events (according to generally accepted accounting and reporting principals - GAAP) that, when summarized, become NFPO financial statements.
General method of instruction
Lecture,discussion, student presentations, guest lecturers
Recommended preparation
If you expect to get the most value from this course, you should:
•Prepare for each class session by 1) reading the assigned material prior to the corresponding class, 2) previewing the related overhead transparencies and noting your questions there from, and 3) reviewing the related material on Blackboard.
•Learn during each class session by 1) attending and being attentive, 2) participating in discussions, and 3) asking questions on unclear or confusing points. •Stay abreast of the class's progress and any changes to the published schedule.
•Seek help early if you are having difficulty understanding the material.
•Concerning governmental accounting, former students have indicated that the greater the effort invested in the early stages, the easier the rest of the course becomes.
•If you need special accommodations due to a disability or other scheduling conflicts, please see me as soon as possible. Otherwise, see University of Washington policies and procedures on other topics.
•Please remember that you are responsible for your learning.
Class assignments and grading
Instruction
•Attend class •Take your own class notes or download and use my overhead transparencies •Read chapters or portions thereof that relate to the topics covered •Review publisher-prepared PowerPoint slides for each chapter •Review selected articles that exemplify points being made throughout the course
Assessments
•Take graded quizzes on line (see below for details) •Prepare and present to the class a testable topic (see below for details) •Prepare for examinations by working publisher-prepared questions, exercises, problems, on-line tests and on-line illustrative examination essays and problems. Answers to all three assessment-related materials are also accessible on-line. •Select the weighting given to each examination within certain limits (see below for details) •Participate in class (which will also contribute to your final course grade).
Two midterms and a final examination.(80%) Five on-line quizze (5%) Required presentation.(10%) Class participation.(5%)
