devrt acct540 foll course [ all discussion all assignment full course project and all weeks On Site Activity Points

Objectives

The objective of this accounting research project is to help you transfer the concepts and research techniques that you learn from the course to a case study example.

case 3

You have been hired as a consultant for ABC Investment Group. ABC incorporated in 1999 and manages investment portfolios for small to medium size companies. The Director of the company is not up to speed on how unrealized gains and losses as well as realized gains and losses on bonds should be accounted for. The Director has been told that under certain conditions unrealized gains and losses can be accounted for in the income statement and accounted for as part of other comprehensive income under other conditions. The Director is also unclear as to how to determine whether a security is impaired and how to determine the amount that is required to be written down. You have been asked to look into these issues and determine the proper accounting treatment for bonds.

Guidelines

• The Research Memorandum (due in Week 7) must conform to APA format and be at least 3-5 pages in length, not including references.
• PowerPoint Presentation (due in Week 8) must be at least 8-10 pages. The presentation will not be presented live. Please include notes as your presentation narration.
• Spend no more than one page describing the situation.
• Paper and presentation must cite authoritative bodies.

Submit your assignment to the Dropbox located on the silver tab at the top of this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read thesestep-by-step instructionsor watch this Dropbox Tutorial.

See the Syllabus section "Due Dates for Assignments & Exams" for due date information.

Milestones

Grading Rubrics

• Rubric for the Research Memorandum

• Rubric for the PowerPoint Presentation

Access the FASB website by clicking on the FASB Codification Access link under Course Home. Click the log in screen linkhttp://aaahq.org/ascLogin.cfm. Enter your Username and Password provided by your professor and click the FASB Accounting Standards Codification link. Find and click the Pre-Codification Standards/FASB Pronouncements and EITF Abstracts link on the bottom left side of the landing page. Thoroughly read the last four standards issued. Describe each standard and what it added to the existing authoritative accounting literature. Please write 1 page (12-point, double spaced) on each standard.

Submit your assignment to the Dropbox located on the silver tab at the top of this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read thesestep-by-step instructions or watch this Dropbox Tutorial.

See the Syllabus section "Due Dates for Assignments & Exams" for due date information.

week 2

Please complete the below problems and submit your answers in a Word document.

1. Go to the SEC's website (www.sec.gov) and click on "search for company filings" under "filings and forms."
2. On the next page, click "Company or fund name, ticker symbol, CIK (Central Index Key), file number, state, country, or SIC (Standard Industrial Classification)" to search for a company.
3. On the next page, search for Starbucks by using their ticker symbol "SBUX."
4. Scroll down on the next page until you see their 10-K filing and click on "Documents."
5. Click on the first document's link: "d10k.htm."
6. Retrieve Item 7 – their "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" (MD&A).
7. In a 2–3 page paper (12-point, double spaced), summarize their MD&A and critique it based on the SEC.

Submit your assignment to the Dropbox located on the silver tab at the top of this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read thesestep-by-step instructions or watc

week 3

Click here to download the Week 3 Homework Assignment Instruction. (The instruction can also be found in the Doc Sharing area.)

Submit your assignment to the Dropbox located on the silver tab at the top of this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read thesestep-by-step instructions or watch this Dropbox Tutorial.

week 4

Access the IASB and IFRS Foundation website (www.ifrs.org). Click on the "Standards Development" tab and then "Work Plan for IFRSs." In 2–3 pages (12-point, double spaced), describe three projects in the Work Plan.

Submit your assignment to the Dropbox located on the silver tab at the top of this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read thesestep-by-step instructions or watch this Dropbox Tutorial.

week 5

Read Appendix A, Sample Brief Memorandum, which starts on page 189 of our textbook. In 2–3 pages (12-point font, double spaced), critique the memorandum based on what we've learned so far in the course. For example, does the memorandum use the SEC's plain English concepts and cite authoritative sources?

Submit your assignment to the Dropbox located on the silver tab at the top of this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read thesestep-by-step instructions or watch t

week 6

Go to the AICPA's Website (www.aicpa.org). Under the "Research" tab, click on "Standards." On the Standards page, click the "Code of Professional Conduct" link. Click the on the Revised Online Code of Professional Conduct link then expand the topic by clicking the icon. Click on the blue link Code of Professional Conduct. Search for rules 1.700.001 (formerly 301.01) and 1.510.001 (formerly 302.01). Summarize each of these rules in 2–3 pages (12-point, double spaced) and give an example of when a contingent fee would be permitted and another example of when a contingent fee would not be permitted under this rule. Please give different examples than the ones in the rule!

Submit your assignment to the Dropbox located on the silver tab at the top of this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read thesestep-by-step instructions or watch this Dropbox Tutorial.

week 7

Access the "Litigation" section of the SEC's website at www.sec.gov/litigation.shtml. Click on "Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases." Click on "AAER-3234" filed January 20, 2011. Read the release and the related SEC Complaint. Summarize the release and complaint in 2-3 pages (12-point, double spaced).

Submit your assignment to the Dropbox located on the silver tab at the top of this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read thesestep-by-step instructions or watch this Dropbo

week 1

Week 1: Accounting Research - On Site Activity Points

Week One Class Activity

1. Explain how the research process adds value to the services offered by an accounting firm.

2. What consequences are considered in the standard-setting process?

3. Explain the importance of identifying keywords when identifying relevant facts and issues.

4. Explain the five basic steps involved in the research process.

5. Discuss how research can support or refute a biased alternative.

6. Explain what is meant by problem distillation and its importance in the research process.

7. What skills are important and tested on the CPA exam?

Week 2: Problem Identification and Research Questions - On Site Activity Points

Rewrite the following sentences into shorter, more concise sentences while maintaining the main points of the sentence.

• a. For good reasons, the secretary may grant extensions of time in 30-day increments for filing of the lease and all required bonds, provided that additional extensions requests are submitted and approved before the expiration of the original 30 days or the previously granted extension.
• b. If the State agency finds that an individual has received a payment to which the individual was not entitled, whether or not the payment was due to the individual’s fault or misrepresentation, the individual shall be liable to repay to the State the total sum of the payment to which the individual was not entitled.
• c. Universities differ greatly in style, with some being located on out of town campuses in parkland, others having buildings scattered about parts of city centers and others being at various points between these two extremes.

Week 3: Identification of Key Search Criteria - On Site Activity Points

: Standard Setting, Income Statement, and Reporting Requirements

Professor Abner

7/24/2014 2:43:23 PM

Go to www.online.becker.com and complete F1: Standard Setting, Income Statement, and Reporting Requirements

What are the implications of GAAP and authoritative support to the researcher?


1.
To conduct efficient research, where should one start in reviewing the accounting literature in search of a solution to a problem?


2.
How can the promulgation of an accounting standard impact economic behavior? Discuss a specific example.


3.
Distinguish between primary authoritative support and secondary authoritative support.EXERCISES

Week 4: Gathering Data - On Site Activity Points

1.
Access the IASB Web site (www.iasb.org) and list three of its active projects.


2.
Access the SEC Web site (www.sec.gov), click International Affairs, International Enforcement Assistance, and list the four types of enforcement cases.


3.
Access the AICPA IFRS resource page (www.IFRS.com). What are two featured IFRS news items?


4.
Access the IOSCO Web site (www.IOSCO.org), click the About IOSCO section, and list the working committees.

Week 5: Organizing Your Research and Additional Research Tools - On Site Activity Points

Week Five Class Activity

1.What are the advantages of S&P’s NetAdvantage?

2.When would one use Mergent Online?

3.What does the Thomson Research database cover?4

4.When would one use the Factiva database

5.What insight is offered by the Business and Company Resource database?

Week 6: Tax and Auditing Research, Recommendations, and Conclusions - On Site Activity Points

1.Explain the difference between tax evasion, tax avoidance, and abusive tax avoidance.
2.Identify tax research goals.
3.Identify and explain the basic steps of the tax research process.
4.Discuss the challenges in tax research.
5.Distinguish between tax compliance and tax planning.
6.Identify the differences between a Treasury Regulation and a Revenue Ruling.
7. Explain the meaning of the term precedent for tax research.
8. What does it mean when the IRS announces a nonacquiescence?

Week 7: Communicating Your Research - On Site Activity Points

Devry University-

Keller Graduate School of Management

AC540 - Accounting Research

Class ActivityTest

1.Explain two ways to collect evidence.

2. How are keywords used to evaluate and collect evidence?