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ACCT 253 is a three-credit beginner’s financial accounting course designed for those who wish to major in a Financial Accounting major or would like to gain knowledge about accounting. The course itself does not have any pre-requisites and is also offered as a challenge for credit option.
Who and Why You Should Take This Course
This course is a beginner course designed for anyone who wants to gain general financial skills or pursue a career in financial accounting. If you are someone who works with the budget at work, requires analysis of financial data, or would like to pursue a career in financial accounting, then this course is for you!
Even if you may not be directly looking to pursue a career in financial accounting, this course may be beneficial. For example, at my current job, I am not a financial analyst of any sort, however, I work on preparing our financial quarterly reports, reconciliate our finances, and plan financial summaries and budget proposals. I certainly think this course would benefit my work and will consider taking it in the near future.
Course, Assignment, Midterm and Final Exam Details
Students who complete the course can expect that they will be able to analyze and prepare a set of basic financial statements, examine accounting cycle of a corporation in a service sector, and understand how financial transactions are processed for specific periods. In addition, students will learn about internal controls and cash, accounts receivable, property/plant and equipment assets, and short-and long-term liabilities. The course is composed of thirteen chapters including Introduction to Financial Account and Financial Statements including Accounting Processes, Financial Accounting/Adjusting Entries, Debt Financing: Current and Long-Term Liabilities and ending off with Proprietorships and Partnerships. These are just some examples of topics.
The course grade is composed of three quizzes each worth five percent each, and a LIFA Case Study worth five percent. Labs are worth twenty percent of the course. There is no midterm, but there is an online final exam for the course which is worth sixty percent. Students must achieve at least fifty percent on the final exam, and an average of eighty percent on the online LIFA labs and an overall mark of fifty percent or higher to pass the class.
How to Be Successful in the Course, Assignment Preparations and How to Study for Exams
Tips from Course Coordinator and TAs
Dr. Tilly Jensen (B.Comm., CPA, CMA, M.Ed., Ed. D) is the Course Professor for ACCT 253 (Introduction to Financial Accounting) along with ACCT 351/352 (Intermediate Financial Accounting I and II). Dr. Jensen’s research interests are enhancing critical thinking skills in online accounting courses using/creating online tools. Dr. Jensen has worked closely with Lyryx Learning Inc of Calgary for the past 20 years to produce a tool that helps students learn and practice accounting in a low risk/high reward online environment.
When we asked Dr. Jensen what her suggestion for ACCT 253 was, she said “Learning financial accounting is like learning a new language … so to be a successful learner, it takes a lot of practice. To that end, we’ve set up online assignments/quizzes/case studies for students that are auto-graded and provide instant feedback. It’s critical to do all of these online assessments prior to attempting the final exam. To maximize the benefit of the assignments, students should ask themselves ‘why this is the answer’ and ‘what accounting rule says this is the correct approach’ … doing this is hard at first but will, in the end, lead to a deep understanding of financial accounting that can be transferred/used in other business courses. Based on my experience, there are three challenging areas in this course. First, learning debits and credits. Second, adjusting entries, and third, the statement of cash flows.”
Thank you to Dr. Jensen for her valuable feedback!
Questions?
If you have any further questions regarding the course, please do not hesitate to contact the Course Coordinator at Faculty of Business Student Support at business-support@athabascau.ca. Happy studying!
