Accounting Principles

Accounting Principles --- This course covers both financial and managerial accounting with an emphasis on an external or a user perspective of accounting. The course is designed for students who seek to gain an understanding of how accounting information is used by organizations (businesses and nonprofit organizations) and by investors. The course is designed to answer questions such as: "What types of information are included in financial statements?" "As a manager, how can accounting information help me operate my organization more effectively?" "As a business owner, how can I use this information to run my operations more profitably? "As a borrower, how will my banker use my accounting information when evaluating a loan request for my business?" and "as an investor, how can I use a company's financial information to make better investment decisions?" Students will learn the basic rules that companies must follow when preparing their financial statements. The course also highlights some of the differences between U.S. accounting rules and the general rules that non-U.S. companies follow. The financial statements of actual companies will be used frequently during the semester. Also, breaking headlines in financial news will often be discussed in class.