Financial Accounting: Course Outline

Accounting and its Role

• History & development of accounting
• Accounting defined (conventional & Islamic)
• Why study accounting
• Major fields of accounting
• Accounting as a career
• Question for class discussions 

Introduction to Financial Statements

• Forms of business organization
• Users & uses of financial statements
• Business activities
• Communicating information to users
• Assumptions & principles in financial reporting

Objectives of Financial Reporting

• Characteristics of useful information
• Constraints in accounting
• The classified balance sheet
• Using the financial statements

Accrual Accounting Concepts

• Timing issues & accrual accounting principles
• The basics of adjusting entries
• The adjusted trial balance & financial statements
• Adjusting entries illustrated
• Closing the books
• Summary of the accounting cycle

Merchandising Operations

• Operating cycles & inventory systems
• Recording purchases of merchandise
• Recording sales of merchandise
• Income statement presentation
• Evaluating profitability

Reporting and Analyzing Inventory

• Classifying inventory
• Periodic inventory system
• Inventory costing
• Inventory valuation
• Analysis of inventory
• Inventory cost flow methods in perpetual inventory systems

Internal Control and Cash

• Internal control
• Cash controls
• Reporting cash
• Managing and monitoring cash
• Assessing cash adequacy
• Operation of the petty cash fund

Reporting and Analyzing Receivables

• Types of receivables
• Accounts receivable
• Notes receivable
• Financial statement presentation of receivable
• Managing receivables

Reporting and Analyzing Long-Lived Assets

• Determining the cost of plan assets
• Accounting for plant assets
• Analyzing plant assets
• Accounting for intangible assets
• Types of intangible assets
• Financial statement presentation of long-lived assets
• Calculation of depreciation using several methods

Reporting and Analyzing Liabilities

• Current liabilities & their types
• Financial statement presentation and analysis
• Long term liabilities
• Bond basics
• Accounting for bond issues
• Accounting for bond retirements
• Financial statement presentation & analysis
• Contingent and lease liabilities
• Effective interest amortization
• Accounting for long term notes payable

Reporting and Analyzing Stockholder’s Equity

• The corporate form of organization
• Stock issue consideration
• Accounting for treasury stock
• Preferred stock
• Dividends
• Retained earnings
• Financial statement presentation of stockholder’s equity
• Measuring corporate performance

Reporting and Analyzing Investments

• Why corporations invest
• Accounting for debt investments
• Accounting for stock investments
• Valuation and reporting of investments

Statement of Cash Flows

• Purpose and format
• Indirect method
• Direct method
• Using cash flows to evaluate a company

Financial Analysis

• Earning power & irregular items
• Comparative analysis
• Ratio analysis
• Limitations of financial analysis