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UIC Financial Accounting Theory (ACCT 4030)

 

All relevant information on UIC Financial Accounting Theory (ACCT 4030) will be posted on this website.

 

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UPDATES Back to top || Updates || Course Outline and Lecture Notes || Lecture Review || Course Details || Assessment Information

Please check here for updates during the semester:

September 10, 2012
I am checking with the other classes on a date for the mid-term test. Will keep you posted.
 
I have listed what I have received so far for the project, please check to make sure that the information is correct and complete.
 
September 11, 2012
For the size of the group for the presentation, please keep it managable (not too many) because I would need to enough exposure to your presentation parts to properly assess each person. If you group have six or more person, then 4 to 5 minutes are not really adequate for a proper evaluation.
   
September 12, 2012
Our TA is Alice Zhu, her email is alicezhu@uic.edu.hk. Her office is in the big TA office in the same building where the main DBM office is.
 
In our first lecture, we discovered that many students have another accounting class on Saturdays at 1pm. Hence we are investigating the possibilities of having our mid-term in the late afternoon of Saturday October 13. Please check your schedule.
   
September 14, 2012
I have added a marking rubrics for the presentation and the report in the Assessment section to give you a better idea of how marks are given for this part of our course.
 
For the mid-term test, we are looking at having it on Saturday October 13 late afternoon because many students in my classes have other Saturday classes during the day. We can firm up the time once the other two classes have been consulted this Saturday during their first lecture.
 
September 17, 2012
The date and time of our mid-term test is still being finalized. However, make up can be arranged if you have other test or classes.
   
September 18, 2012
Please check your schedule for possible mid-term test late afternoon (5pm or 6pm) of Wednesday October 10, Friday October 12, and Saturday October 13. In other words, we are trying to find a day with the least conflict. PLEASE EMAIL TO ME IF YOU ARE BUSY AND CANNOT TAKE THE MID-TERM ON ANY OF THESE THREE DAYS IN THE LATE AFTERNOON. THANKS.
   
September 24, 2012
Due to the October 1 holiday, we are trying to finalize the mid-term test dates.
   
September 29, 2012
Mid-term test confirmed to be held on Friday October 12, 2012 from 5:15pm to 6:00pm. Class 1 (Monday 11am class) and Class 2 (Monday 2pm class) students should take their mid-term test in B301. The test will start promptly at 5:15pm.
 
October 5, 2012
An article on how accounting treatments used by firms to make their numbers look better. We will go through briefly in class.
   
November 5, 2012
For the groups which have presented in class, please make sure allthe requirements are met, e.g. what to submit and their timing, etc, otherwise no marks will be given.
   
November 19, 2012

Please check the following list of powerpoint and report that I have received for your group presentation. If you have not submit soft copy of your presentation and report to me, please do so within the allowed time per syllabus.

Class 1 (11am) received - Group 1 ppt only, Group 2 both ppt and report, Group 3 both ppt and report, Group 4 ppt only, Group 5 both ppt and report.

Class 2 (2pm) received - Group 1 both ppt and report, Group 3 both ppt and report, Group 4 both ppt and report, Group 5 report only, Group 7 ppt only, Group 8 ppt only.

   
November 26, 2012

Please check the following list of powerpoint and report that I have received for your group presentation. If you have not submit soft copy of your presentation and report to me, please do so within the allowed time per syllabus.

Class 1 (11am) received - Group 1 ppt only, Group 2 both ppt and report, Group 3 both ppt and report, Group 4 both ppt and report, Group 5 both ppt and report, Group 6 both ppt and report, Group 7 report only, Group 9 ppt only.

Class 2 (2pm) received - Group 1 both ppt and report, Group 3 both ppt and report, Group 4 both ppt and report, Group 5 both ppt and report, Group 6 both ppt and report, Group 7 both ppt and report, Group 8 ppt only.

December 3, 2012

Please check the following list of powerpoint and report that I have received for your group presentation. If you have not submit soft copy of your presentation and report to me, please do so within the allowed time per syllabus.

Class 1 (11am) received - Group 1 both ppt and report, Group 2 both ppt and report, Group 3 both ppt and report, Group 4 both ppt and report, Group 5 both ppt and report, Group 6 both ppt and report, Group 7 report only, Group 8 both ppt and report, Group 9 ppt only.

Class 2 (2pm) received - Group 1 both ppt and report, Group 3 both ppt and report, Group 4 both ppt and report, Group 5 both ppt and report, Group 6 both ppt and report, Group 7 both ppt and report, Group 8 both ppt and report.

December 16, 2012

For our class tomorrow, please bring your textbook and previous lecture notes and slides to class.

Please check the following list of powerpoint and report that I have received for your group presentation. If you have not submit soft copy of your presentation and report to me, please do so within the allowed time per syllabus.

Class 1 (11am) received - Group 1 both ppt and report, Group 2 both ppt and report, Group 3 both ppt and report, Group 4 both ppt and report, Group 5 both ppt and report, Group 6 both ppt and report, Group 7 both ppt and report, Group 8 both ppt and report, Group 9 both ppt and report.

Class 2 (2pm) received - Group 1 both ppt and report, Group 3 both ppt and report, Group 4 both ppt and report, Group 5 both ppt and report, Group 6 both ppt and report, Group 7 both ppt and report, Group 8 both ppt and report, Group 9 both ppt and report.

   

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ASSESSMENT Back to top || Updates || Course Outline and Lecture Notes || Lecture Review || Course Details || Assessment Information

ALL in-class quizzes, assignments, mid-term test, and final examination are, unless specifically indicated, INDIVIDUAL effort, meaning that you should work on your own material and any unscholarly actions prohibited by the university must be avoided.

I will post ALL relevant course materials, updated information, correspondences, and relevant student questions in the UPDATES section on this page. Students are responsble to check the UPDATES section frequently on their own to ensure that they are up-to-date. I will provide the dates of the updates to easier search.

The final grade for this course is based on the following components:

Class participation, discussion and assignment 5%
Mid-term test 20%
Group presentation (presentation + Q&A + reports) 25%
Final examination (closed book) 50%
  100%

Mid-term test. The mid-term test will be held for all sessions on Friday October 12, 2012 from 5:15pm to 6:00pm. The mid-term test will be based on the teaching material covered up to the date of the mid-term test (i.e. Chapters 1 to 4).

Group presentations. There are 9 research papers listed in the Course Details section and each group will be responsible for the presentation of one of the 9 papers. The papers will be allocated to groups on a first come first serve basis. Please divide into groups of 5 to 7 students each and email to our TA and myself your group member names and the research paper that you would like to work on.

Each group is responsible for the following: (a) a 30 to 40 minutes presentation on the research paper, (b) a 10 minutes Q&A session, and (c) a 2 to 4 page report on the research paper. The report is due two weeks after the date of the presentation.

The total grade for the presentation (10% out of the 25%) will be based on four criteria: (1) the quality of the content in the presentation (for example, proper description of the research paper and its findings), (2) the coordination of the presentors so that information flow is easy to understand, (3) the quality of the presentation materials in terms of design, clarity, and ease of understanding, and (4) the quality of the presentation skill for each presentor (for example, clarity of presentation, eye contact, body gesture). In the Q&A session, students are encouraged to ask questions on others' presentations and these questions will count towards their class participation and discussion marks.

For total grade for the report (15% out of the 25%) will be based on two criteria: (1) how the findings of the research paper relate to what we are teaching in our class, and (2) the quality of the report which includes the visual and the written content. The actual findings of the research paper can be included in the report, but their main role is to support your claims of how they relate to what we are teaching in our class. A summary report of the research paper itself with no discussion of how the findings are related to our class material will NOT receive very high marks.

To conclude for the presentation and the report, there are several important components. (1) What did the researchers want to find out at the outset and what have they found. (2) How did their findings correspond with what we have taught in class at UIC; did the findings agree or disagree with what we have discussed in class. (3) How did the researchers proofed their theories (or how did they support their findings). What input and process have they used and performed such that they can concluded that what they have found is correct. (4) Other parts as you deemed necessary or beneficial for the understanding of your paper by your classmates. Points (1) to (3) are only some of the total components, there can be others that are important, so include them if you think appropriate.

Presentation #1
Class 1 (11am) - 0930600052, 0931500011, 0930600091 / 0930600059, 0930600101, 0930600152, 0931300006
 
Class 2 (2pm) - 0930100123, 0930600117, 0931200057, 0930600011, 0930600001, 0930600094
Presentation #2
Class 1 (11am) - 0930600028, 0930600039, 0930600079, 0930600080, 0930600092, 0930600161, 0930600018
 
Class 2 (2pm) -
Presentation #3
Class 1 (11am) - 0930600024, 0930600107, 0930600108, 0930600186
 
Class 2 (2pm) - 0930600033, 0930600138, 0930600089, 0930600137, 0830300052
Presentation #4
Class 1 (11am) - 0930600060, 0930600021, 0930600071, 0930600182, 0930600175, 0930600139
 
Class 2 (2pm) - 0930600111,0930600016, 0930600109,0930600082, 0930600010, 0930300001
Presentation #5
Class 1 (11am) - 0930600167, 0930600078, 0930600083, 0930600096, 0931500011, 093060052, 0930600091
 
Class 2 (2pm) - 0930600134, 0930600130, 0930600100, 0930600053, 0930600005, 0930600119
Presentation #6
Class 1 (11am) - 0930600097, 0930900017, 0930800050, 0930900009, 0930600086
 
Class 2 (2pm) - 0930600073, 0930600032, 0930600003, 0930600014, 0930600185
Presentation #7
Class 1 (11am) - 0930600135,0930600123, 0930600170, 0930600025
 
Class 2 (2pm) - 0930600029, 0930600067, 0930600075, 0930600157, 0930600066, 0930600015
Presentation #8
Class 1 (11am) - 0930600160, 0930600044, 0930600043, 0930600145, 0930600034, 0930100129, 0930600173
 
Class 2 (2pm) - 0930600118,0930600049, 0930600041, 0930600099, 0930600050, 0930600156
Presentation #9
Class 1 (11am) - 0930600093, 0930600068, 0930600065, 0930600056, 0930600104, 0930600013
 
Class 2 (2pm) - 0930600064, 0930600129, 0930700012, 0930500019, 0930600168

Final examination. All material taught in class (all of Scott's chapters except chapter 7) will be covered. In addition, the research papers used for the presentations will also be covered in the final examination. For the final examination, most of the answers are in written format (as oppose to calculation type questions) and good and clear writing skills will be a definite plus.

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LECTURE REVIEW Back to top || Updates || Course Outline and Lecture Notes || Lecture Review || Course Details || Assessment Information

A summary of our discussion during the lecture is provided here for your reivew

September 10, 2012
We went through the following topics today:
 
  • introduction to FAT,
  • the effects of historical versus current value accounting (iphone 5 example),
  • brief historical development,
  • information asymmetry leading to adverse selection and moral hazard problem, and
  • how to understand research papers effectively.
   
September 17, 2012
We went through the following topics today:
 
  • review of chapter 1,
  • how the use of current value accounting increases relevancy of financial statements and can help reduce adverse selection problem
  • how the use of historical value accounting increases reliability of financial statements and can help reduce moral hazard problem,
  • difference between certainty and probability certain,
  • construction of financial statements under certainty and probability certain situations and found that current value accounting can only work if everything is 100% certain, otherwise current value falls apart because there can be no agreement of current value from everyone,
  • current value accounting is balance sheet forcused while historical value accounting is income statement focused, and
  • there is no true net income because each financial statement user has their own expectations (probability and outcome) and risk averseness.
 
September 24, 2012
We went through the following topics today:
  • review of chapters 1 and 2,
  • introduction of prior and posterior probabilities from Chapter 3,
  • decision making using prior and posterior probabilities (using restaurant selection, matchmaking, and textbook examples),
  • how accounting information can help users update and revise their probilities, and
  • introduction to risk, return, and beta.
October 8, 2012
We went through the following topics today:
  • overview of previous chapters,
  • presentation and report topics to cover,
  • chapter 4 efficent market,
  • examples of decisions made under behavior finance, and
  • practice questions from chapter 3.
October 15, 2012
We went through the following topics today:
  • summary of how theories are tested in the research papers,
  • earnings response coefficient and the six factors,
  • accounting information being public goods, and
  • the use of measurement approach.
October 22, 2012
We went through the following topics today:
  • presentation of the Ball & Brown and Krishnaswami & Subramaniam research papers,
  • low R square of the explanatory power of accounting information towards share price,
  • behavior finance,
  • clean surplus theory, and biased and unbiased accounting, and
  • conditional and unconditional conservatism
October 29, 2012
We went through the following topics today:
  • presentation of the Frankel & Lee research papers,
  • summary of chapters 1 to 6,
  • clean surplus theory,and
  • concept of economic consequence and ESOP.
November 5, 2012
We went through the following topics today:
  • presentation of the Dichev & Skinner research papers,
  • concept of economic consequence and ESOP,,
  • positive accounting theory,
  • bonus plan, debt covenant, and political cost hypothesis,
  • opportunistic and efficient contracting versions of PAT,
  • introduction to game theory, and
  • Nash equilibrium.
November 12, 2012
We went through the following topics today:
  • three presentations on the topics of manager bonus scheme, incentive plan, and earnings management, and
  • a summary overview of Chapter 9.
November 19, 2012
We went through the following topics today:
  • game theory, cooperative and uncooperative behavior, and Nash equilibrium,
  • using the concept of game theory to determine the optimal level of bonus to motivate managers,
  • showed that better quality net income and accounting information will improve contracting efficiency of managerial labor contract,
  • the relevation principle and its problems,
  • Holmstrom¡¦s agency model to use more than one variable as manager's performance measure,
  • trading off between sensitivity and precision for performance measures,
  • contract incompleteness and rigidity means accounting policies matters while market still efficient,
  • how to improve the precision of net income as performance measure,
  • the congruence of performance measures to payoff of firm,
  • manager's compensation risk and how can shareholders manage this compensation risk,
  • whether executive compensation too high, and
  • the power theory of exective compensation.
November 26, 2012
We went through the following topics today:
  • trading off between sensitivity and precision for performance measures,
  • contract incompleteness and rigidity means accounting policies matters while market still efficient,
  • how to improve the precision of net income as performance measure,
  • the congruence of performance measures to payoff of firm,
  • manager's compensation risk and how can shareholders manage this compensation risk,
  • whether executive compensation too high,
  • the power theory of exective compensation,
  • patterns of earnings management,
  • evidence of earnings management with bonus, debt convenants, political heat, and investor expectation motivations,
  • investor-based and contractual-based arguments for good side of earnings management,
  • other methods for earnings management other than accruals,
  • contracting and financial reporting perspective to bad side of earnings management, and
  • use of standard setting and disclosure to reduce bad earnings management.
December 3, 2012
We went through the following topics today:
  • proprietary versus non-proprietary information,
  • sources of reguations in financial reporting,
  • ways to characterize information production,
  • social benefits and social costs of information production,
  • contractual incentives for information production,
  • the Coase theorem,
  • market based incentives for information production,
  • the disclosure principle,
  • signalling,
  • diversification of estimation risk, and
  • decentralized regulation.
December 17, 2012
We went through the following topics today:
  • public interest theory and interest group theory,
  • criteria for standard setting,
  • the regulator's information asymmetry,
  • the Laffont and Tirole model and the Dessein model,
  • review of course purpose and flow of material,
  • review of chapters and major points.

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COURSE OUTLINE AND LECTURE NOTES Back to top || Updates || Course Outline and Lecture Notes || Lecture Review || Course Details || Assessment Information

This course outline is tentative and subject to change based on our progress. Please check the UPDATES section and table below for latest information.

Lecture 1
Introduction: Overview of financial accounting theory, Reading: Scott Chapter 1
September 10, 2012
 
Lecture 2
Accounting under ideal conditions, Reading: Scott Chapter 2
September 17, 2012
 
Lecture 3
The decision usefulness approach to financial reporting, Reading: Scott Chapter 3
September 24, 2012
 
Lecture 4
Efficient securities markets, Reading: Scott Chapter 4
October 8, 2012
   
October 12, 2012
Mid-term test for all sessions on Friday October 12, 2012 from 5:15pm to 6:00pm. Class 1 and Class 2 at B301.
 
Lecture 5
The information approach to decision usefulness, Reading: Scott Chapter 5
October 15, 2012
 
Lecture 6
The information approach to decision usefulness, Reading: Scott Chapter 5
October 22, 2012
 
 
Lecture 7
The measurement approach to decision usefulness, Reading: Scott Chapter 6
October 29, 2012
 
 
Lecture 8
Economic consequences and positive accounting, Reading: Scott Chapter 8
November 5, 2012
 
 
 
Lecture 9
An analysis of conflict, Reading: Scott Chapter 9
November 12, 2012
[Download: lecture 9 slides]
 
 
 
Lecture 10
Executive compensation, Reading: Scott Chapter 10
November 19, 2012
[Download: lecture 10 slides]
 
   
Lecture 11
Earnings management, Reading: Scott Chapter 11
November 26, 2012
[Download: lecture 11 slides]
 
 
Lecture 12
Standard setting and economic issues, Reading: Scott Chapter 12
December 3, 2012
 
Lecture 13
Standard setting and political issues, Reading: Scott Chapter 13
December 10, 2012
[Download: lecture 13 slides]
 
TBA
Final Examination

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COURSE DETAILS Back to top || Updates || Course Outline and Lecture Notes || Lecture Review || Course Details || Assessment Information

Course
Financial Accounting Theory (ACCT 4030), Semester I (2012-2013)
 
Course outline can be downloaded here.
 
Prerequisites
Intermediate Accounting I and II
 
Time and Location
 
Instructor
Dr. Thomas Wu
Office
C129
Office hours
By appointment
Email
thomaswu@uic.edu.hk
Website
http://www.drthomaswu.com (all information for this course can be found here)
 
Teaching Assistant
Ms. Alice Zhu
Office
Email
alicezhu@uic.edu.hk
Telephone
 
Course Content / Description
This subject deals with the following issues:
 
(a) backgrounds and role of accounting theory,
 
(b) decision usefulness approach to financial reporting,
 
(c) information and measurement perspectives on decision usefulness,
 
(d) characteristics of earnings,
 
(e) earnings management, and
 
(f) firm valuation.
 
Course Objectives
This course is designed to provide students with knowledge on financial accounting theory forming the foundation of accounting standards and practice. During the course, students will study and discuss contemporary and controversial issues in the financial accounting area. In addition, this course will introduce to students the mainstream of accounting research and some accounting research methodologies.
 
Learning Outcomes
(a) Knowledge
 
Students should be able to understand the issues covered during class.
 
(b) Skills
 
Students should be able to understand the basic concepts and implications of accounting theory and apply them to accounting tasks.
 
(c) Attitude
 
Students should be able to understand various perspectives on accounting theory and standards.
 
Suggested Textbook
Financial Accounting Theory, W.R. Scott, 6th Edition, 2011, Prentice Hall
   
Research Papers
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Suggested Reference

Positive Accounting Theory, R. Watts and J. Zimmerman, 1986, Prentice Hall

 

Financial Statement Analysis and Security Valuation, S.H. Penman, 4th Edition, 2009, McGraw Hill

 

Earnings Quality, P. Dechow and C. Schrand, Research Foundation of CFA Institute

 

Accounting Theory: Conceptual Issues in a Political and Economic Environment, Wolk, Dodd, Rozycki, 7th Edition, 2007, Sage Publications, Inc.

   
Teaching Method
The course consists of class lectures and tutorials. Students should attend all lectures and tutorials. Attendence will be taken and there is a required minimum attendence level. Students should have read and be familiar with assigned readings and related materials before class. Students should also work through practice questions and be familiar with the use of a financial calculator.
 
Grading Policy
All university policies concerning acceptable student behavior apply for this course. In particular, unscholarly actions prohibited by the university should be avoided to prevent regretable results from these actions.
 
Calculator Policy

For this course, a general purpose non-financial calcuator can be used. Students who do not have ready access to a financial calculator should be able to perform all the required analysis and calculations using a general purpose non-financial calculator for the tutorials, assignments, mid-term test, and final examination.

You can also use a non-programmable financial calculator for the tutorials, assignment, mid-term test, and final examination. Common financial calculators are HP12c and TI BAII PLUS. User manual in simplified chinese and a tutorial for the HP12c can be found here and a simple tutorial for the HP12c can be found here. User manual for the TI BAII can be found here.

 

Regardless of the types of calculators used for this course, students are responsible for their own equipment and they cannot be shared in a quiz, test, or examination situation. As a result, students MUST bring their own calculators to each class. In addition, each student must be proficient in the use of their own equipment.

Electronic translators CANNOT be used for quiz, test, or examination situations, but they can be used during class (only with volume off) and your own study time.

 
Financial Terms

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