AUDITING

Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting

ACT 290

Breyer State University
Instructor: Kathleen Hargiss Ph.D., MBA, MA, BS

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to Act 290, a Bachelor’s Level course in the curriculum for the Degree of Accounting. I am pleased to offer you this course, which will serve as a foundational course in your bachelor studies program. This is an exciting course. The course introduces a practical approach to auditing. The main focus is on the systematic process to include situations that you will experience in the real world.

Auditing differs from other accounting courses in that there are very few rules. Auditors rely on their professional judgment when assessing.

1). The risk of fraud.
2). Evaluation of reliability of evidence.
3). The determination of the materiality of misstatements.

This is what makes auditing extremely fascinating and at the same time quite frustrating. Due to the nature of auditing, little time will be spent on memorizing the rules but instead on a more difficult task and that is developing sound judgment.

The emphasis in this course will be in three sections:

1). Fundamental audit concepts including materiality, risk, internal control evaluation and audit evidence.
2). How audit concepts are applied in financial statement audits.
3). Controversies and challenges facing the accounting profession that include statement fraud, auditor independence, auditors’ legal liability, criticisms of auditors, and the future of the profession.

The course will focus on Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS). You will be given a comprehensive look at the audit process. This class will walk you through the audit process and present important elements such as documenting a client’s system of internal control, performing tests of compliance, and applying substantive test procedure to account balances.

I know you will enjoy this course. Please learn as much as you can as you progress through the course. Remember that you will not only look at the audit process but will learn services performed by CPA firms. This information is key when working for a corporation or firm.

TIME FRAME: This is an eight-semester hour course. This course is allotted ten weeks of time. You must complete all of the requirements for the course successfully by the end of the tenth-week. The first day of week one will begin the day that you register for the course, of the day which you notify me that your text book has arrived and you are ready to begin your studies. Please be aware of the time frame. It is unusual that extensions of time are permitted, unless you have good justification. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be awarded eight semester hours of credit.

TEXTBOOK: There is one primary text for this course.

Book 1: Implementing and Auditing the Internal Control System. D.N. Chorofas. Palgrave Macmillan Pub: 2001. ISBN # 0333929365.

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Suggested Readings:

1). The Journal of Accountancy.
2). The New York Times.
3). The Wall Street Journal.
4). Fortune.
5). Forbes.
6). Business.

Suggested Web Sites:

1). IMA (Institute of Management Accountants).
2). ILA (Institute of Internal Auditors).
3). AICPA's (American Institute of CPAs).

EXAMINATION: There will be a final examination to be completed before the end of the tenth week. The examination format will be brief essays and will cover all pertinent material in the required text.

There will be a final examination to be completed before the end of the tenth week. This examination will cover all pertinent material in the required text.

The examination will be programmed and located in the classroom for this course. The examination is an “open book” objective format. You will have three days to complete your exam, once you have access it from the classroom. To access the exam, you must send me an e-mail and request to have access to the exam. I will then program your access in. You will receive an e-mail back from me informing you that you are now authorized to go ahead and access your exam. You will need your User ID and PASSWORD to access the exam. The exam will appear on your screen. Once you access the exam, you have three days to submit your answers. The program provides me the date and exact time that you accessed the exam. The program also notifies me of the exact date and that you submit your answers. Thus, the program is timing you. When you are ready, go back into the classroom and click in your responses and then click submit. In a short time following you will receive the exam in your e-mail box with your computed score. You will also know what questions, if any, that you missed, and the correct answer(s). I will receive a copy of your exam and your score.

GRADING SCALE:

90–100%    = A
80-89%      = B
70–79%     = C
60-69%      = D
Below 60% = Fail

COMMUNICATION: You are encouraged to communicate with me. I am available as a teacher, coach, and mentor to assist you in achieving your goals for this course. Primarily, communication is through e-mail. However, I am also available for conversation by telephone. Our classroom for this course has a “chat” room. I am also very willing to meet with you one-on-0ne in the chat room at your request. From time to time, depending on how many students are enrolled in this course at a particular time, we will have some scheduled group chats. You will receive more detailed information at the time such chat sessions are scheduled. Please keep my e-mail address in a convenient place so that you can contact me at any time. If during your time in this course you change your e-mail address, please be sure to notify me immediately.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT: This course requires a (25-30 page) written submission. You will be given a list of topics. Next you will research and find current articles on the topics and write a brief analysis of each article. These will make up your paper.

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR: Kathleen M. Hargiss, Ph.D., M.B.A., M.A.

Formally, Dr. Hargiss was the Associate Dean and Chair for the Graduate School of Business at Florida Metropolitan University located in Florida. She is presently instructing as an e-professor for several virtual universities while conducting ongoing research.

Dr. Hargiss is formerly affiliated with Strategic Resource Consulting (SRC). SRC is a Tampa, Florida-based enterprise that provides consulting services to start up, emerging and established firms in a variety of sectors with a concentration in biotechnology, medical device, information technology, and e-business. The firm also engages in providing business and organizational assessments to venture capital firms and accredited investors as a basis for investment consideration. Prior to her affiliation with SRC, Dr. Hargiss was a professor at both the University of South Florida and the University of Tampa. At USF she taught several health and wellness related courses through the University’s department of Physical Education, Wellness, Sport Studies and the department of Adult Education and Human Resource Development. She also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Tampa, teaching a course in wellness industry dynamics. Her instructional expertise includes the design and implementation of courses for Wellness, Exercise Science, and Management degree programs encompassing communications, personality identifiers, learning styles, programming, and adult education principles.

Dr. Hargiss was the former director of an exclusive health spa in Houston, Texas. Responsibilities included management of a staff of twenty fitness and facility employees, advertising and public relations, accounting, budgets, marketing plans and forecasts, supervision of housekeeping and food preparation, and the design of fitness programs which included aerobic, weight training, stretching, and aquatics. She designed and conducted one-day spa programs, generating a new source of revenues while maximizing utilization of the physical plant.

Dr. Hargiss received a Ph.D. from the University of South Florida, an M.B.A. from the University of Miami (FL) with a specialization in International Business, an M.A. from Northwestern University (where she instructed for several years), a B.A. from the University of Illinois-Chicago, and has completed Post Graduate studies in Stockholm, Sweden. She also earned a private pilot license, EMT license, and a 2nd degree Black belt with national weapon awards in the martial arts.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

1). Understand and evaluate audits and the auditor’s reports.
2). Identify auditing regulations and services.
3). Substantiate testing account balances.
4). Understand legal issues related to auditor independence.
5). Identify and document internal controls.

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