CEU Business School

CEU Business School

Central European University

Instructors: Anna Turner, See last page for bio sketch)

Class meets on:   Febr 1-3, Febr 29 - March 2, March 21-23, Apr 4-6, Apr 18 (exam)

Classroom:  

Office:   Room 318 at Budapest Campus

Tel:   +36-1-887-5063

Fax:   +36-1-887-5005

E-mail:  turnera@ceubusiness.org

Office hours by appointment

PREREQUISITIES

none

2. REQUIRED TEXT AND READINGS

Assigned chapters of:

Stickney&Weil: Financial Accounting, 9^th edition (the 12^th and 8^th edition is also acceptable for use)

Horngren, Foster, Datar: Cost Accounting, 10^th edition

You can find the textbooks in the the CEU Library

Handouts

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course will focus on the use of current reporting and accounting concepts in international business. I will discuss how accounting data can be used in business decisions.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Develop an understanding of concepts and procedures of corporate financial reporting and control in order to be able to effectively utilize this information and participate in its development as a corporate manager. The goal of Introduction to Accounting is to improve organizational decision-making and to align it with the organization's strategy/objectives

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

6. MAIN TOPICS

Financial Accounting: Financial Statements - features, relations, international differences

Cost Accounting: Short-term managerial decisions based on costs

break-even point analysis

relevant costs

Cost allocation systems, product costing

7. HOW THE CLASS SESSIONS WILL BE CONDUCTED

This is a problem-based course. Problems and readings are listed in the "Outline" section of the syllabus. It is advisable that you check the problems for the following class. Classes will usually start with a presentation on the assigned topic and follow with solving and discussing the problems.

To learn accounting you must learn how to solve problems, the discipline cannot be memorized. Only by doing will you acquire expertise and confidence in this subject.

I stress the value (for you) of a proper preparation for all class sessions: the better you prepare, the more you benefit from them. Some sessions in particular are critical for your ability to follow subsequent sessions without encountering severe problems. You will find that the study of accounting has much in common with learning a language. You cannot skip steps and hope to 'cram' complex ideas at the last minute.

8. POLICY ON THE AVAILABILITY OF LECTURE NOTES

Our policy is to place the presentation outline or slides on the common-access Q-drive after the class. I kindly inform you that no handouts on lecture slides or solutions will be distributed.

GRADING AND CLASS PARTICIPATION

Grading is based on:

*Each weekend homework will be assigned for 5 points. These are to be submitted via e-mail to the instructor. The deadline is the preceding Sunday of the next weekend, at 22:00. The solution has to be in MSword, bearing the name of the student.

I also welcome feedback on classes BEFORE the end of the term! If you think improvements can be made but you say nothing then nothing can be improved for you. I will assume everything is fine and will not know otherwise until it is too late to do anything for you. So, please, try to contribute to make this class as satisfying as you can for yourself and everyone else.

10. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

The Business School expects all students to adhere to the fundamental principles of academic integrity in any and all behaviors associated with their course work and otherwise, as stated in the CEU Honor Code. (See Student Handbook).

11. INTERNET LIBRARY RESOURCES

While the Internet provides access to a nearly unlimited wealth of information on most any topic, especially useful is the electronic database, Business Source Elite (BSE), subscribed to by the CEU Library and partly paid for by the Business School. BSE is the world's most comprehensive index of business journals, magazines and other sources, providing the full text of more than 3,000 periodicals as well as article abstracts for many more, covering all functional areas of business, in most cases going back at least to 1985. BSE also includes hundreds of full-text country economic reports, reference books and monographs, hundreds of industry reports and thousands of detailed company profiles.

CEU faculty and students can access BSE as follows: Go to the CEU website https:///www.ceu.hu. Click on "CEU Library", then "Databases", then "Electronic Databases." Go to "EBSCO Host Electronic Journals Service," then scroll up to and click on "Connect to EBSCO host." Scroll down to "Business Source Elite", then follow the search instructions and tips. Do take time to peruse some of the many other useful electronic databases available through EBSCO Host, such as "Econlit" and "Academic Source Elite."

The Electronic Journals Service to which the School gives you access has more up-to-date business information than any but the world's top-ranked libraries had before the Internet age. Thus, the excuse that "I could not find information on the assigned topic, industry or publicly-listed company" is no longer valid.

12. COURSE OUTLINE AND SESSION ASSIGNMENTS

Please, note that outline is subject to slight changes or realignment during the semester, which I will announce. Should you fail to attend a class, make sure, you keep yourself up-dated!

13. BRIEF BIO OF THE INSTRUCTOR

Anna Turner, Ph.D. has her MSc. in Economics; Ph.D. in Accounting from the Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration (BUESPA). She has been teaching for eight years, her courses include cost accounting, business economics and corporate finance. She has completed her PhD at BUESPA. Her dissertation deals with Maximising Shareholder Value in Eastern Europe. Her area of research is value based-measures and value-based management.