This course aims to raise awareness of the existence and importance of fundamental issues that are often ignored or by-passed in contemporary discussion of financial accounting. We will explore some issues that underlie the discipline of financial accounting, as well as some practical consequences of these issues. Related fields of study, particularly economics and finance, are drawn on to their implications for financial reporting, applications of the present value model in accounting, the accounting standard setting process, and the economic consequences of accounting decisions.
The primary objective of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the development of accounting standards and the related implications for current and future accounting practices. Specifically, students will examine and evaluate the process of accounting theory development, its implementation, and current application.
The second objective of this course is to enable students to develop a broader set of professional skills, whereby these skills will be integrated with working knowledge of accounting. These skills will include the ability to critically analyze accounting issues, and to more effectively communicate your analysis and points of view in both verbal and written formats.