SBU 103/ BUS 103 FOUNDATION ACCOUNTING

UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND LEGAL STUDIES

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE

SBU 103 FOUNDATION OF ACCOUNTING I 3 CREDITS

COURSE OUTLINE FOR 2015/2016 ACADEMIC YEAR FIRST SEMESTER

Course Lecturers:

Mr. Seyram Kawor (B.Com Adm/Management, B.Com Procurement, B.Com HRM, and Others)

Mr. George Tackie (B.Com Accounting and B.Com Finance)

Mr. Richard Nana Boateng (B.Com Marketing)

Course description

This course is designed to equip students with the basic principles and concepts underpinning financial accounting. The course exposes students to the conceptual and regulatory framework of accounting, accounting equation, accounting cycle and the procedures for recording business transactions and reporting financial information. It also equips students with the skills of preparing final accounts for sole proprietorship after making the necessary corrections.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, the student should be able to:

· Define accounting and explain the purpose of accounting information

· Describe the conceptual and regulatory framework of accounting

· Apply the principles of double entry in recording business transactions

· Apply the relevant accounting standards in reporting financial information

· Locate and correct errors in the books of accounts

· Prepare bank reconciliation statements

· Prepare control accounts and reconcile control account balances with sales and purchases ledger balances

· Prepare basic financial statements for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

· Make end of period adjustments to final accounts

Topics to be covered

References

1. BPP Learning Media. (2012). IFRS Explained London: BPP House

2. Jennings, A. R. (1999). Financial accounting. London: DP Publication.

3. Libby, R., Libby, P. A. & Short, D. G. (2004). Financial accounting. New York, McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

4. Marfo-Yiadom, E., Asante, S. & Tackie, G. (2015). Financial accounting and reporting: an introduction. Accra: Kwadwoan Publishing.

5. Wood, F. & Sangster, A. (2012). Business accounting I. London: Pearson Education Limited.

How to pass SBU 103

To pass the course you must pass both the overall continuous assessment score and the examination. Performance in the course will be assessed on the following basis:

· A Coursework Quiz and/or Assignment 40% (Weeks 4 and 8)

· End of Semester Examination 60%

The purpose of assignment in SBU 103

Assignments are key instruments of learning. Each assignment you undertake is designed to help you develop and integrate your learning from the course. They ask you to think about some of the key concepts in the course and build your own framework of understanding about them. Assignments are the main means by which you and your tutor communicate. The assessment process enables one-to-one conversation to take place between you and your tutor. If you need assistance to get started you can consult your tutor. This might be to help you plan and complete the assignment but also to check your understanding of what it requires and the learning points within the particular SBU 103 material on which you are planning to draw. It is important to know that your tutor will not tell you the answers but will comment (by email) on your own ideas and suggestions. This exchange of ideas will be useful in providing guidance on your future study in the course. Completed assignments also provide an opportunity for your tutor to comment on the quality of your written work and the way in which you have presented the materials as well as awarding a mark for them.

This mark gives you a benchmark for how well you are doing on the course. It’s nice to do well and of course you should strive to do as well as you can. But if you do not get a good mark, take it as an opportunity to learn what went wrong rather than seeing it as a disaster. Most people learn more from mistakes than from doing well all the time. If you do not understand why you got the mark you did, you are entitled to go back to your tutor for further explanation.

What your tutor looks for in an assignment

There are several general points your tutor will be looking for when marking your assignment:

• That you have read and understood the question being asked and followed the guidance provided
• That you have appreciated and understood the content of the material covered in the relevant week
• That you have applied academic concepts from the relevant SBU 103 course material
• That you have appropriately related the issues to your own and/or other’s practical experience
• That you have been able to collect and present relevant information to answer the questions asked in the assignment.
• That you have word-processed your assignment and submitted it on time.
• Your tutor will also be looking at the clarity and rigour with which you have assembled your ideas and marshalled your arguments. Good writing again is a key skill for business so being able to express yourself clearly and succinctly is important.

Referencing

Reference your arguments. When producing academic work, convention dictates that we give credit to other people’s work when we cite their theories or research findings to substantiate our arguments. This means stating where concepts and ideas you have used in your assignment come from if they are not your own original thoughts. Your tutor may deduct marks if you fail to reference appropriately. For SBU 103 you should use what is known as the Harvard System of Referencing (what usually is referred to as the APA System at UCC) even if you are already familiar with an alternative system.

Plagiarism

The University of Cape Coast takes suspected cases of plagiarism very seriously. What constitutes plagiarism or cheating? If you submit an assignment that contains work that is not your own, without indicating this to the marker (acknowledging your sources) you are committing “plagiarism”. This can occur in an assignment when:

• Using a choice phrase or sentence that you have come across
• Copying word-for-word directly from a text, paraphrasing the words from a text very closely
• Using text downloads from the internet
• Borrowing statistics or assembled facts from another person or source
• Copying or downloading figures, photographs, pictures or diagrams without acknowledging your sources
• Copying from the notes or essays of a fellow student
• Copying from your own notes, on a text, tutorial, video or lecture, that contains direct quotations.

Plagiarism may occur inadvertently due to inexperience. So read carefully all the course-specific study advice attached and how to reference your sources as stated above.

Attendance and lateness to lecture

Attendance policies of the University will apply (Refer to page 20 of the Academic Policies and Regulations handbook). Lateness shall not be tolerated. Students arriving late for lectures disrupt the orderly course of the contact session.

Class Participation

Participation helps students assess their own understanding. It is in the interest of all student to participate in class discussions and ask questions, especially when they are in doubt.

Missed quizzes, tests, and assignments

If for any justifiable reason the student will miss a test or quiz, the student should get clearance from the lecturer in advance. Retrospective permissions will not be granted for missed tests and quizzes. An automatic Zero will be awarded for missed quizzes, tests, and assignments.

Late submission of assignments

Late assignments will not be tolerated. If a student has any genuine problem(s), he/she must contact the lecturer before the deadline for the submission of the assignment. There are no guarantees for extension of time; each case will be treated on its own merit.

Dress code

Students should follow the guidelines for dress and appearance as it appears Academic Policies and Regulations Handbook. Appropriate student dress is an integral part of professional development. A student in SBU 103 has the responsibility to adhere to the spirit and specification of the dress code.

· All clothing is to be in good repair, should be fir properly and should not be excessively wrinkled. Clothing should not be provocative. Clothing that reveals excessive cleavage, or the back, chest, stomach or underwear of the wearer is not appropriate.

· Hair is to be clean and dry, and should be professional in appearance.

· Hats or head coverings of any kind are not appropriate. Head covers that are required for religious purposes or to honor cultural tradition are allowed.

· Dress shirt, long- or short-sleeved, are acceptable. A tie, properly tied, is required at all times.

· Shocks that cover the ankles are to be worn. Conservative walking shoes, loafers, clogs, boots (clean and in good repair), and leather deck-type shoes are acceptable. Athletic shoes, flip-flops, sandals or slippers are not acceptable.

· Especially for the ladies, blouses, dress shirts, tops and turtlenecks are acceptable. Inappropriate attire includes tank tops, shirts with potentially offensive words, terms, logos, pictures, cartoons, or slogans; t-shirts and tops with bare shoulders or spaghetti-straps unless worn under an open blouse. Casual dresses and skirts that are split just above, at or below the knee are acceptable. Dress and skirt length should be a length at which the student can sit comfortably in public. Mini-skirts, sun dresses, peasant dresses/shirts, beach dresses, and spaghetti-strap dresses are inappropriate. Low-cut blouses which reveal cleavage are unacceptable. Cleavage should not be visible (front and back) when bending over.

· Polo shirts are only allowed during games season.

· Students are required to dress like professional executives once every month to be agreed in class. However, students are to dress like professional executives during end-of-semester examinations.