Acct 546 – Auditing and Assurance Services
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My expectations for your performance on exams are as follows. Exams will include brief essay questions, most of which will require recall of material, and longer essay questions, most of which will require analysis of presented material using your acquired knowledge. For questions requiring recall, the expectation is that you will recall the material accurately, precisely, and completely. For questions requiring analysis, the expectation is that you will appropriately apply the (correct) knowledge to the question so as to arrive at an accurate, precise, and complete analysis. Preparing for exams is facilitated by keeping up with the work in class, and by practicing with the old exams that I will post on Blackboard. Also, prior to each exam, I will provide you with an outline of the materials we have covered. These outlines also will contain information about additional office hours that I hold prior to exams. The first midterm, which will be held on Tuesday, September 22 (in class), will cover the material presented from August 25 through September 17. The second midterm, which will be held on Thursday, October 29 (in class), will cover the material presented from September 24 through October 27. The final exam, which is scheduled for Thursday, December 10, 11:00 – 1:00, will cover the material presented from November 3 through December 3. In other words, the final exam will not be cumulative. My expectations for your performance on cases are that you will exert a great deal of, and thoughtful, effort, so that there is a high probability of arriving at accurate, complete, and precise responses. I also expect that your written responses to cases will appropriately document your effort and thought processes. Whether you complete your cases individually or in a group is YOUR CHOICE. Either choice is fine as long as groups contain no more than 5 members. You may work with students in the other section of 546; however, if you choose to do this, the case will be due at the beginning of the 9:30 class irrespective of how many 11:00 section members are in the group. Also, if you choose to work in a group, everyone in the group will receive the same grade on the case. Perhaps most important, if you choose to work in a group, I expect that you will resolve any group-related issues. Finally, with regard to class participation, I expect that you will be prepared each day to provide quality contributions to class. “Quality” contributions reflect many factors. For example, thoughtful comments and questions that reflect effort are of higher quality than are continual comments and questions that do not reflect effort. I will grade participation each day on a scale of 0-6, and there will be 25 days of graded participation (all class periods except the first and the day of the speech by Tim Griffy). Thus, you do not have to have “perfect” participation every day to obtain the maximum participation points. However, you may not obtain more than 100 points for class participation. It is to your advantage to attend class every day, be well prepared, and act professionally (including being on time). This is true for at least four reasons. First, and most significant, the material we cover in class is what is considered most important for the course and, therefore, will be the material tested on exams. Second, class starts promptly at 9:30 or 11:00, not 9:30-ish or 11:00-ish. Third, participation is part of your grade. Obviously, you cannot participate if you are not there and it may be more difficult to participate appropriately if you are late and miss the first part of what is discussed that day. Fourth, it is in your best interest to act professionally because I reserve the right to decrease your final letter grade by 1/3 for continued unprofessional conduct. Unprofessional conduct includes, but is not limited to, coming to class late; interrupting class with talking, texting, emailing (except when asked to engage in these behaviors as part of class); engaging in activities related to other classes; and so forth. If I have a concern about unprofessional conduct, I will talk with you individually first. If the conduct continues, I will lower your grade. So, for example, if your total points from exams, cases, and participation would earn you a B-, I reserve the right to lower your grade to a C+. Policy for Making up Exams It is to your advantage to take the exams at the time they are given. With regard to exams, the policy of the Leventhal School of Accounting is that you should not miss exams unless there is a very serious emergency AND you can properly document this emergency. Also, to the extent possible, you must inform me of the emergency prior to the exam (I understand that this is not always possible). If you miss an exam for something other than a serious emergency and/or you cannot provide documentation, you will receive a grade of -0- on the exam. If there is a serious emergency and you can provide proper documentation and, where possible, notify me of the situation prior to the exam, I will not give a makeup exam. Instead, I will determine your grade from the remaining course requirements. That is, I will “gross up” the points from the other components of your grade so that it is as if you are operating on a 1000-point scale. This policy works to your advantage (which is why I have implemented it) for two reasons. First, it is virtually impossible to create makeup exams that are of the same level of difficulty as the original exam; thus, I tend to err on the side of more difficult when creating the makeup one. Second, if you have experienced an emergency, your performance on an exam shortly thereafter likely would be compromised. Finally, you must take the final exam at the scheduled time unless an incomplete contract has previously been approved according to the Leventhal School of Accounting standards (or, of course, unless there is an emergency, as above). Please see the LSOA standards attached to the end of the syllabus for further information. Policy for Regrading Cases and Exams All of your cases and exams will be returned to you, along with a solution (except that no solution will be provided for the final exam). The solution sheet will show the point breakdown used for grading the case or exam, along with the correct answers. If you believe that your case or exam has been graded in error, I am happy to regrade your paper if you do the following. For a simple mistake, such as an addition error, please just show me the error. For a more complicated issue such as a debate about an essay answer, please put your concern in writing. You must explain why you believe your answer is correct, where “correct” is defined by the solution sheet. NOTE: For either type of issue, you must contact me within 10 days of receiving the case or exam. If I do not receive a request for regarding within 10 days of your receipt of the case or exam, the grade will be considered final. Additionally, I reserve the right to regrade the entire case or exam. ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES Retention of Graded Coursework I return all cases and exams to you after they are graded. If you are not present on the day a case or exam is returned, I will continue to bring it to class for one week after the initial return attempt. After that, I will maintain items in my office for you to pick up during office hours. Any items not picked up will be shredded at the end of the 2015 spring semester. Technology Policy Laptop and Internet usage is not permitted during academic or professional sessions, except when required by the instructor. The same is true for the use of other personal communication devices, such as cell phones. ANY e-devices (cell phones, laptops, Ipods, tablets, etc.) must be completely turned off during class time unless the professor instructs you to the contrary. Videotaping faculty lectures is not permitted due to copyright infringement regulations. Audiotaping may be permitted if approved by me. Use of any recorded or distributed material is reserved exclusively for the USC students registered in this class. Support Systems Students whose primary language is not English should check with the American Language Institute http://dornsife.usc.edu/ali, which sponsors courses and workshops specifically for international graduate students. The Office of Disability Services and Programs. http://sait.usc.edu/academicsupport/centerprograms/dsp/home_index.html provides certification for students with disabilities and helps arrange the relevant accommodations. If an officially declared emergency makes travel to campus infeasible, USC Emergency Information http://emergency.usc.edu/ will provide safety and other updates, including ways in which instruction will be continued by means of blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technology. Discrimination, sexual assault, and harassment are not tolerated by the university. You are encouraged to report any incidents to the Office of Equity and Diversity http://equity.usc.edu/ or to the Department of Public Safety, http://capsnet.usc.edu/department/department-public-safety/online-forms/contact-us. This is important for the safety of the whole USC community. Another member of the university community – such as a friend, classmate, advisor, or faculty member – can help initiate the report or can initiate the report on behalf of another person. The Center for Women and Men http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/cwm/ provides 24/7 confidential support, and the sexual assault resource center webpage https://sarc.usc.edu/reporting-options/ describes reporting options and other resources.
USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. SCampus, the Student Guidebook, (www.usc.edu/scampus or http://scampus.usc.edu) contains the University Student Conduct Code (see University Governance, Section 11.00), while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A. Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/ . Failure to adhere to the academic conduct standards set forth by these guidelines and our programs will not be tolerated by the USC Marshall community and can lead to dismissal. Students enrolled in any class offered by the Leventhal School of Accounting are expected to uphold and adhere to the standards of academic integrity established by the Leventhal School of Accounting Student Honor Code. Students are responsible for obtaining, reading, and understanding the Honor Code System handbook. Students who are found to have violated the Code will be subject to disciplinary action as described in the handbook. For more specific information, please refer to the Student Honor Code System handbook, available from the receptionist in ACC 101. Plagiarism – presenting someone else’s ideas as your own, either verbatim or recast in your own words – is a serious academic offense with serious consequences. Please familiarize yourself with the discussion of plagiarism in SCampus in Section 11 Behavior Violating University Standards https://scampus.usc.edu/1100-behavior-violating-university-standards-and-appropriate-sanctions/. Other forms of academic dishonesty are equally unacceptable. See additional information in SCampus and university policies on scientific misconduct, http://policy.usc.edu/scientific-misconduct/. Class Notes and Recording Policy Notes or recordings made by students based on a university class or lecture may only be made for purposes of individual or group study, or for other non-commercial purposes that reasonably arise from the student’s membership in the class or attendance at the university. This restriction also applies to any information distributed, disseminated or in any way displayed for use in relationship to the class, whether obtained in class, via email or otherwise on the Internet, or via any other medium. Actions in violation of this policy constitute a violation of the Student Conduct Code, and may subject an individual or entity to university discipline and/or legal proceedings. No recording and copyright notice. No student may record any lecture, class discussion or meeting with me without my prior express written permission. The word “record” or the act of recording includes, but is not limited to, any and all means by which sound or visual images can be stored, duplicated or retransmitted whether by an electro-mechanical, analog, digital, wire, electronic or other device or any other means of signal encoding. I reserve all rights, including copyright, to my lectures, course syllabi and related materials, including summaries, PowerPoints, prior exams, answer keys, and all supplementary course materials available to the students enrolled in my class whether posted on Blackboard or otherwise. They may not be reproduced, distributed, copied, or disseminated in any media or in any form, including but not limited to all course note-sharing websites. Exceptions are made for students who have made prior arrangements with DSP and me. EMERGENCY INFORMATION USC Emergencies: 213-740-4321 USC Public Safety—Non-Emergencies: 213-740-6000 USC Emergency Information Line 740-9233 USC Information Line 740-2311 KUSC Radio 91.5 Course Calendar (REVISED AS OF 9/16/15) Key Dates Thurs., 9/24 – Midterm 1 (in class) Friday, 10/9 – Talk by Carson Block, Muddy Waters (2:30 PM) Monday, 10/12 – Case 1 due (by 5:00) Thurs., 10/29 – Case 2 due (before class) Thurs., 10/29 – Talk by Clark Hudgins, Confirmation.com (in class) Tues., 11/3 – Midterm 2 (in class) Thurs., 11/19 – Case 3 due (before class) Friday, 11/20 – Talk by Tim Griffy, EY (10:00 AM) Tues., 12/1 – Case 4 due (before class) Thurs., 12/10 – Final Exam (location TBD) Key to reading assignment abbreviations: JGR = Johnstone, Gramling, and Rittenberg, Auditing: A Risk-Based Approach … (10th ed.) BBGP = Beasley, Buckless, Gramling, and Prawitt, Auditing Cases… (6th ed.)
Reference List Class 2 Bonner, S.E., “Notes on Anecdotal and Empirical Evidence,” 2014. Rapoport, M., “PWC Settles with MF Global Investors,” Wall Street Journal (April 18-19, 2015), p. B2. Class 3 Ernst & Young, The Sarbanes Oxley Act at 10: Enhancing the Reliability of Financial Reporting and Audit Quality (2012), http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/The_Sarbanes-Oxley_Act_at_10_-Enhancing_the_reliability_of_financial_reporting_and_audit_quality/$FILE/JJ0003.pdf Zeff, S.A., “How the U.S. Accounting Profession Got Where It Is Today: Part II,” Accounting Horizons (December 2003), 267-286. Class 4 Center for Audit Quality, “Guide to PCAOB Inspections,” 2012. Cullinan, C.P., C.E. Earley, and P.B. Roush, “Multiple Auditing Standards and Standard Setting: Implications for Practice and Education,” Current Issues in Auditing (2013), C1-C10. Lindberg, D.L., and D. L. Seifert, “A Comparison of U.S. Auditing Standards with International Standards on Auditing,” The CPA Journal (April 2011), 17-21. Class 5 Arel, B., R.G. Brody, and K. Pany, “Audit Firm Rotation and Audit Quality,” The CPA Journal (January 2005), 36-39. Greenstone, M., “See Red Flags, Hear Red Flags,” The New York Times (December 6, 2013), ?? Hermanson, D.R., “How Consulting Services Could Kill Private-Sector Auditing,” The CPA Journal (January 2009), 6-9. Herrick, T. and A. Barrionuevo, “Were Auditor and Client Too Close-Knit?” The Wall Street Journal (January 21, 2002), C1. Kowsman, P., D. Enrich, and M. Patrick, “KPMG Faces Criticism for Espirito Santo Audit Work,” The Wall Street Journal (August 28, 2014), ?? PCAOB, “Auditor Independence and Audit Firm Rotation,” PCAOB Concept Release, 2011. Class 7 Eilifsen, A., and W.F. Messier, Jr., “Materiality Guidance of the Major Public Accounting Firms,” Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory (May 2015), 3-26, selected excerpts. Levitt, A., Jr., “The Numbers Game,” The CPA Journal (December 1998), 14-18. Class 8 Eilifsen, A., and W.F. Messier, Jr., “Materiality Guidance of the Major Public Accounting Firms,” Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory (May 2015), 3-26, selected excerpts. Class 11 Duncan, J.R., “Twenty Pressures to Manage Earnings,” The CPA Journal (July 2001), 32-37. Elkind, P. “The Confessions of Andy Fastow,” Fortune (July 1, 2013). Class 12 Boyle, D.M., J.F. Boyle, and B.W. Carpenter, “Insights into the SEC’s Accounting Quality Model,” The CPA Journal (May 2015), 16-21. Hitzig, N.B., “The Hidden Risk in Analytical Procedures: What WorldCom Revealed,” The CPA Journal (February 2004), 32-35. Class 13 COSO (Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission), Internal Control-Integrated Framework, Executive Summary, May 2013. Lightle, S.S., B. Baker, and J.F. Castellano, “Assessment of Tone at the Top: The Psychology of Control Risk Assessment,” The CPA Journal (June 2015), 50-55. Class 15 Seipp, E., and D. L. Lindberg, “A Guide to Effective Audit Interviews,” The CPA Journal (April 2012), 26-31. Class 16 Hall, T.W., A.W. Higson, B.J. Pierce, K.H. Price, and C.J. Skousen, “Haphazard Sampling: Selection Biases and the Estimation Consequences of These Biases,” Current Issues in Auditing (No. 2, 2013), P16-P22. Class 19 KPMG, “Audit Documentation,” 2014. Class 22 McConnell, D.K., Jr., C.H. Schweiger, and S.C. McConnell, “The External Confirmation Process,” The CPA Journal (January 2014), 40-43. Class 25 Carmichael, D.R., “Double-Entry, Nonstandard Entries, and Fraud,” The CPA Journal (October 2010), 62-65. Clikeman, P.M., Introduction and Chapter 1, Called to Account: Financial Frauds that Shaped the Accounting Profession. New York, NY: Routledge, 2013. Mohrweis, L.C., “Lessons from the Baptist Foundation Fraud,” The CPA Journal (July 2003), 50-51. Class 30 KPMG (UK), Audit Committees’ and Auditors’ Reports: A Survey of December Year-Ends under the New Reporting, May 2014. Directory: digitalmeasures digitalmeasures -> Using Abstract Language Signals Power digitalmeasures -> Bringing Japanese Management Systems to the U. S.: Transplantation or Transformation? by Download 218.03 Kb. Share with your friends:
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