Advanced Financial Accounting
DETAILS: The paper will be due on *time*. It can be turned in early if you complete it earlier.
TOPICS: This course is broken into three primary topics: (1) business combinations/
consolidations, (2) foreign currency transactions and translations of foreign
currency financial statements, and (3) accounting for partnerships – creation,
operation, and liquidation. A fourth topic that I will consider is International
Financial Reporting Standards vs. U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles, i.e., IFRS vs. U.S. GAAP. Each chapter of your textbook includes a
brief section on how IFRS compares with U.S. GAAP. [I tell you this information
only because after nearly three decades of teaching, I realize that students rarely,
if ever, read the textbook!]
You are free to choose any of the above topics for your paper. However, you must
send me an email requesting approval of your chosen topic.
You can choose to explore the history of accounting for business combinations,
the history of accounting for foreign currency transactions or translations of
foreign currency financial statements. You may choose to compare IFRS with
U.S. GAAP, focusing on similarities or differences. For instance, do you consider
IFRS more conservative and restrictive compared with U.S. GAAP or is just the
opposite the case? Why do you think so?
REQUIREMENTS:
- Maximum of 2,000 words for the body of the paper. In addition, you may add an appendix, graphs, tables, etc., as appropriate. Also, the word count does not include the cover sheet or your bibliography (or works cited).
- You will need to narrow the focus of your paper so that you stay within the 2,000-word parameter noted above. For instance, perhaps you limit the comparison of IFRS and U.S. GAAP to asset comparisons only, or to income statement differences only.
- The body of the paper should be double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12-point type.
- Include a cover page that has the following information: your name, title of paper, course title and number, and the date of submission.
- Your paper must include an introductory paragraph or section that introduces the topic of the paper to the reader.
- Your paper must include a summary or concluding section as well.
- Your paper must include a bibliography paper (or works cited) page.
- Your paper must include a minimum of 4 sources and your textbook may be one of those sources. In a separate email, I will provide you with login information to the FASB’s Accounting Standards Codification. I also suggest you consider using the FASB’s website (www.FASB.org) to access discussion memoranda if your paper addresses historical changes in U.S. GAAP.
- I don’t really care whether you use APA or MLA style for your paper. Use whichever style that suits your tastes. But, REMEMBER, if you include in your paper a thought or comment that is NOT YOURS, you must cite the source of that information.
- Personally, I prefer in-text citations because they provide the reader with important information without requiring the reader to interrupt reading the paper and look to the bottom of the page for a footnote or the end of the paper for an endnote.
CITATION
EXAMPLES
- In May 2012, JPMorgan Chase reported a trading loss that at the time was estimated at up to $9 billion (JPMorgan Chase & Co., 2012).
- During a Senate Banking Committee hearing, JPMorgan’s chief executive officer, Jamie Dimon, was grilled over the obvious failure of the bank’s risk management system (Goldfarb, 2012).
- In their widely cited work on boards of directors and corporate financial performance, Zahra and Pearce (1989) indicate that much of that research has been guided by four distinct theoretical perspectives: the resource dependence view, the legalistic perspective, the class hegemony view, and agency theory.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions regarding the paper or its requirements.
