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Course Objectives & Description:
Instructor: Ram T. S. Ramakrishnan Required Materials:No Book. All materials posted or site-links given (e.g. SEC, FASB, AICPA) FASB Accounting Standards Codification: http://aaahq.org/ascLogin.cfm; [AAA51452; _____] Wharton Service: http://wrdsx.wharton.upenn.edu/ [a593sp12; ______________] This course is intended to serve as an integrative capstone to a professional accounting degree program and geared towards students in their graduating semester, having completed most if not all essential courses which includes the intermediate sequence, tax and auditing. SPOzWawThe class introduces you to professional and scientific research in accounting. The course will deal with research methods, issues, research appreciation and evaluation together with practice in conducting, and reporting professional research projects in accounting. It will establish the relevance of research in the context of accounting. It will also make extensive use of research on current topics in accounting to provide exposure to the importance of comprehending research for the practice of accounting. 120109 The primary emphasis of the course will be on developing skills for conducting research and comprehending research output in an applied and professional accounting context. This will be achieved through the use of a series of existing research papers in accounting that have immediate real world relevance and also use simple methodologies. Knowledge of basic statistical tools such as regression, correlation etc. will be useful though not necessary, and wherever necessary will be addressed in the class. After completing the course you will: • understand the purpose, process, and products of professional and scientific research in accounting settings • be able to identify and use common accounting research resources • understand the role of theory in research (both professional and academic) • understand the authoritative research in accounting and the structure of the US accounting standards code and the SEC reporting framework. • understand the value and limitations of applied and academic research for the professional practice of accounting. This class works best when you prepare the assigned readings and actively participate in group and class discussions. The basic tools with which we work are stating facts, ideas, and opinions, and, discussing and challenging one another’s facts, ideas, and opinions. Doing well in this class requires that you express your thoughts, defend them and gracefully criticize the misconceptions and lack of clarity in your own and other’s reasoning (when appropriate). FC Course Evaluation Group: Article reports 15%, Case Analysis 10%; ; Course Project 5% Individual: Examination I 30%; Examination II 30%, ASC reports and class participation 10% Recommended: Available in the UIC Library:• Understanding Research Methods, by M. L. Patten, (Fourth Edition); Pyrczak Publishing, 2003. • Quasi-Experimentation: Design & Analysis Issues for Field Settings, by Thomas Cook and Donald Campbell, Published by Houghton Mifflin Company . • Positive Accounting Theory, By R. L. Watts and J. L. Zimmerman, Prentice-Hall, 1986. • Empirical Research in Accounting: A Methodological Viewpoint, by A. R. Abdelkhalik and B. B. Ajinkya, American Accounting Association, Accounting Education Series, Vol. 4, 1979. • Research Designs by P. E. Spector, Sage Publications: Newbury Park, 1981. • Evaluating Research in Academic Journals, by F. Pyrczak, Pyrczak Publishing, 1999. Course Website: http://www.uic.edu/classes/actg/actg593/ |