• Course Description
• Course Textbook
• Course Web Site
• Units and Topics Covered
• Assessment Breakdown
• Assessment Styles
• Course Policies and Guidelines

Strands, Units, and Expectations:

[From The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: Business Studies, 2006 (Revised)]

Strand 1: The Accounting Cycle

Accounting Principles and Practices

By the end of this course, students will:

– apply Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) (e.g., matching principle, conservatism principle, realization [aka revenue recognition principle] principle) in the accounting cycle;
– demonstrate the relationship between GAAP and accounting practices (e.g., matching principle and adjusting entries, cost principle and asset valuation);
– describe the roles of various agencies (e.g., Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, Certified General Accountants Association of Ontario, Society of Management Accountants of Ontario, Ontario Securities Commission, Canada Revenue Agency) and their effects on accounting practices.

Accounting Cycle in a Computerized Environment

By the end of this course, students will:

– record transactions, using a computerized accounting system, for a service business and a merchandising business;
– prepare a trial balance and detailed financial statements, using applications software;
– record adjusting, closing, and reversing entries, using a computerized accounting system.

Ethics and Issues in Accounting

By the end of this course, students will:

– describe the impact of ethical issues on accounting practices;
– analyse the effects of current issues on financial accounting (e.g., transactions off the balance sheet, fraudulent practices in financial statement reporting, manipulation of GAAP,move towards global accounting practices);
– evaluate the impact of the evolution of technology on the field of accounting

Strand 2: Accounting Practices for Assets

Short-Term Assets

By the end of this course, students will:

– record transactions for different terms of sales (e.g., sales on account, credit card sales, debit card sales);
– record transactions related to accounts receivable, including doubtful accounts, write-offs, and recoveries;
– explain the accounting procedures for notes receivable.

Inventory Procedures

By the end of this course, students will:

– compare the characteristics of the periodic and perpetual inventory systems;
– describe and apply different methods of inventory valuation, including average cost; first-in, first-out; last-in, first-out; and specific identification;
– explain the effects of each method of inventory valuation on financial statements;
– explain the effects of an error in valuing inventory on financial statements;
– analyse the role of technology in the management and control of inventory;
– explain the role of internal controls (e.g., paper trails, numbered documents, authorization).

Capital Assets

By the end of this course, students will:

– distinguish between capital expenditures and revenue expenditures;
– identify the elements used in determining the cost of plant and equipment, natural resources, and intangibles;
– record transactions related to amortization and depletion of tangible assets (e.g., straight-line, declining balance, units of output, revisions, disposals);
– record transactions related to intangible assets (e.g., goodwill, patents, trademarks, copyright);
– analyse methods of amortization (e.g., straight-line, declining balance, units of output) and their effects on financial statements.

Strand 3: Partnerships and Corporations

Partnerships

By the end of this course, students will:

– explain the differences between limited and general partnerships;
– record transactions relating to partnerships, including formation, admission of a new partner, retirement of a current partner, and dissolution;
– record the distribution of income among partners;
– prepare the partnership equity section of the balance sheet.

Corporations

By the end of this course, students will:

– describe types of corporations (e.g., public, private, not-for-profit) and classes of shares (e.g., common, preferred, voting);
– record transactions related to common and preferred stocks (e.g., issue, buy back, subscriptions);
– record transactions related to the declaration and distribution of dividends;
– compare the impact of various forms of dividend distribution (e.g., cash dividends, stock dividends, stock splits) on shareholders’ equity;
– prepare the financial statements for a corporation, including an income statement, a statement of retained earnings, and the shareholders’ equity section of the balance sheet.

Strand 4: Financial Analysis and Decision Making

Methods of Financing

By the end of this course, students will:

– explain the characteristics of debt financing (e.g., bonds, notes payable, loans) and equity financing (e.g., sale of common or preferred shares) as methods of financing;
– compare the advantages and disadvantages of debt financing and equity financing;
– describe alternative sources of funding available to businesses (e.g., venture capital, government loans and grants).

Annual Reports

By the end of this course, students will:

– describe the purpose of each section common to a corporation’s annual report;
– contrast the annual reports of comparable publicly traded corporations (e.g., of similar size, in the same industry, Canadian versus international);
– assess the current and projected financial strength of a corporation based on an analysis of its annual report.

Financial Analysis for Decision Making

By the end of this course, students will:

– evaluate the role and impact of accounting information in decision making;
– analyse the financial status of a company (e.g., liquidity, solvency, profitability) by using horizontal and vertical analysis;
– analyse the financial status of a company, using financial ratios (e.g., turnover ratios, book value, earnings per share, times interest earned, return on assets);
– prepare and analyse cash flow statements (i.e., statements of changes in financial position);
– use information technology to conduct financial analysis.



 

2. i. Late assignments will be penalized 5% per day, up to a maximum of 25%.

    ii. For example, an essay valued at 75% but two days late will be returned with a mark of 65%.

    iii. A day will be understood to be a 24 hour period, and not the gap between two classes, which is in fact two days and worth a 10% penalty.

    iv. Weekends will count as one day.

    v. Late penalties can be avoided in some circumstances if an extension is granted. Extensions on assignment due dates can be granted if the student submits an extension application form at least four days in advance of the due date. Please Note: Completion of this form is by no means a guarantee of an extension. The application must be reviewed and accepted by the course instructor before the extension is granted.

    vi. Once a case study has been taken up in class, late cases are no longer eligible for submission. Case studies are problem solving questions - they involve far more analyses than writing. There is a vast difference between actually doing the problem, and simply copying the answer in class. Therefore, awarding a grade for a copied solution would not provide a valid assessment of the student's ability or effort.

3. All work must be neat and accurate, typing or word processing of major assignments is strongly encouraged.

4. All borrowed information must be properly documented using an accepted procedure, i.e. footnoting, end noting, etc. Plagiarism is an offence and will result in an automatic grade of zero for the assignment.

5. Spelling and grammar will be figured into the grade of every written assignment (up to a maximum of 20% of the mark). There is no substitute for a well written paper.

Tests and Exams:

6. a) All students are expected to write tests on the set date. If a student must miss a test day, then the onus is placed on the student to let me know well in advance, and to arrange for an alternate time to take the test.

6. b) Fair Word of Warning: In the case of a rewrite, students are cautioned to not assume that their test will be the same as the test given out on the original test date. Contrary to popular belief, students who write tests at later dates often end up doing worse than usual. I believe this happens because students who write late cannot help but hear about the questions that were on the test, and then they naturally focus on preparing for those particular questions. These students can at times be devastated to find that the questions on the later test are different than the questions that were on the original test.

7. If the student misses a test day without letting me know in advance, then only a doctor's note can allow the student to make up the test.

8. If the student misses a test and yet is found to be in attendance on the day in question, an automatic zero will be awarded for the test mark.

9. If the student is found to have cheated on a test, an automatic zero will be awarded for the test mark.

Class Work Ethic:

10. Students are expected to be in class and ready to work by the beginning of the period.

11. Participation in class activities and discussions is strongly encouraged. From time to time various in-class activities will be graded. These marks may count towards 5% of the student's final grade.

12. Lateness and missing of days will count against the student's participation mark (up to a maximum of 5% of the term grade).