LECTURE 1 INTRODUCTION & CORPORATE FINANCIAL REPORTING

Course Objective  An introduction to the role of financial accounting in the reporting of the financial performance of a business.  It examines the principles, components and uses of financial accounting and reporting from a user’s perspective.  This includes the recording of accounting transactions and events, the examination of the elements of financial statements, the preparation of the financial statements and the analysis of financial results.

Think of Accounting as a Language

Financial Statements To communicate with various parties involved, a company will prepare Financial Statements You need to understand accounting principles in order to interpret what the Financial Statements mean. To see financial statements:

Introduction  Importance of Accounting  Present in every department of a company  Allows management and investors to understand and evaluate the performance of a business  Includes financial reporting, budgeting, financial reviews  Present in your every day life: your finance & investments  Careers in Accounting  CA, CGA, CMA  Also a good basis for careers in finance

Introduction  Book  Financial Accounting – A user perspective by Hoskin, Fizzell and Cherry, 6 th edition  Detecting Earnings Management by Gary Giroux.

Introduction  Course outline  Available on WebCT  Course evaluation Pre-Class Problems (individual)10% Post-Class assignments10% Mid-term Exam30% Final exams50%

Post Class and Pre-Class Problems  Pre-Class Problems should be completed prior coming to class  Pre-Class Problems will be randomly picked up at the beginning of class  Post class assignments should be done in groups of 4 or 5.  Post class assignments will be due the following class week after the lecture on the related chapter is completed.  Post class assignments will also be randomly picked up at the beginning of class.

Mid-Term  Friday, October 21, 2011, from 12 PM to 2 PM  Location TBA  Any conflict with this date must be communicated with the instructor as soon as possible.

How to succeed in this course?  Read the chapter before coming to class  Complete the pre-class problems on time  Complete the post-class problems on time  Keep up with the material throughout the term  Ask questions!