Course Syllabus
Download the syllabus
Dr. Ashley Davis, Assistant Professor
For a full list of course activities and due dates, please scroll to the bottom of this page.
Prerequisites
Introductory financial and managerial accounting courses
Course Materials
Textbook: Accounting Information Systems, 14th Ed., Romney & Steinbart, 2018.
Software: Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel will be required for some homework
App: Scanning app* so you can upload notes, flowcharts, etc. to exam.
More information about these materials (and how to access them) will be provided on the RESOURCES page in the Getting Started Module.
Grades
Breakdown
| Activity | Breakdown | Total Points |
| Participation |
Pre-Session Questions (2 pts ea.) - 24 Zoom Participation (2 pts ea.) - 26 |
50 |
| Homework | 10 pts ea. (ACCESS homework = 20 pts) | 80 |
| Projects |
The Excel Project - individual (100 pts) The Merger Project - group (75 pts) The Ark Project - group (75 pts) |
250 |
| Exams |
Exam 1 - 90 minutes (152 pts) Exam 2 - 90 minutes (152 pts) Technical Quiz - 90 minutes (76 pts) Final Exam - 2 hours (222 pts) |
602 |
|
Performance Review |
Either (a) Peer review survey or (b) Self-reflection essay | 18 |
| TOTAL | 1000 |
**You will have a chance to earn up to 20 points of extra credit. " 1 point for completing the "A little bit about me " exercise. More details about the other 20 are listed below.
Scale
Scale:A = 900 -1000 points; B = 800-899 points; C = 700-799; D = 600-699; F = 599 points or less.
The following interpretation of this grading scale will be used:
A = Excellent work. Assigned work is clearly presented, thoughtful, insightful, and creative. The student has demonstrated that the course material has been thoroughly learned. The student has demonstrated the creative application of the course material to novel situations.
B = Good work. Assigned work is clearly presented and thoughtful. The student has clearly demonstrated that the course material has been learned.
C = Acceptable work. Assigned work is completed and the course standards are met. The student has clearly demonstrated that much of the course material has been learned.
D = Marginally acceptable work. Most of the assigned work is completed in a way that meets the course standards or all of the assigned work is completed in a way that almost meets the course standards. The student has clearly demonstrated that some of the course material has been learned.
F = Unacceptable work. The student has not demonstrated that a significant portion of the course material has been learned.
Course Components
Participation
For the design of this class to work, you must be actively engaged. "Active engagement" consists of two main activities: (1) reading and thinking about material before coming to class; and (2) participating in the virtual Live Sessions.
You will demonstrate that you have read and thought about the material by submitting two original questions you would like me to address during the Live Session each week. These questions should be related to the week's reading assignment.
There are two ways in which you can earn participation points for the Live Session: (1) Participate in real time and self-report your attendance by logging in through Canvas or if you are unable to join the session you can (2) watch a recording of the Live Session and submit a make-up activity.
Homework
Homework assignments for this course are designed to encourage you to work actively with the course material and thereby master course materials. Further, homework enables you and the instructor to recognize any points that are not yet fully understood. You are encouraged to seriously attempt each of the homework problems. If you get seriously stuck on a problem, make a note (on the homework) the specific difficulty you are having and move on.
You may discuss the homework problems and approaches to answering them with your classmates. However, you are expected to work independently in the actual writing up of your work. For instance, if two (or more) homework answers have the same typos, it will be assumed that work was not done independently and therefore represents an honor code violation. In such cases, I will take appropriate action and report the violation. More importantly, it is essential that you understand the homework assignments in order to do well on the exams.
Homework will be graded 100%, 50%, or 0. A zero will be given if an assignment is not turned in on time. A 100% will be given to students who complete 80% of the assignment correctly. If you made a good attempt, 50% will be given.
Projects
Two of the three projects are group projects. The goals of the group project are: (1) to integrate and apply what you learn in this class; (2) to give you experience working in team situations; and (3) to enhance your communication and presentation skills. Teams, created before the first group project is explained, will consist of three or four students. These projects’ grades will be based on the team’s completion of a project and a final written report. “The Ark” will enable you to apply the control frameworks and documentation techniques learned during the semester to a real life scenario where a small organization is struggling with business processes. “The Merger” entails about 2.5 million payroll register records that you will be asked to analyze utilizing Access and Excel. Much like many accounting firms today, you will be given several flat files and a scenario and asked to answer several questions about the data. Pivot tables in Excel are required to analyze this data for this project. Other analytic tools like Tableau and Lumira are available if you would like to compare the ease of use of such tools.
If your schedule prevents you from fully participating in a group project, you may opt to work alone as a group of one. Please let me know if you would prefer this option.
Performance Review
Peer Review: During the term, you will be asked to provide feedback on your own and your team members’ commitment and contribution to the project (a link to peer evaluation will be posted on Canvas). The objective of this peer evaluation is to encourage 100% commitment and performance from each team member throughout the semester. Failure to complete peer evaluation will be reflected in your project grade. Your group’s work should be of professional quality. This means you should be proud to share it with business people or other faculty members.
Self-reflection essay: If you choose to work alone, you will submit a short paper reflecting on your work, process and performance.
Exams
There will be three exams and one technical quiz in the course. The midterm exams will cover material from the first half of the semester and will consist of questions and problems in multiple formats (multiple choice, short answer problems, etc.). The final exam will cover the final modules, which build on previous knowledge). You will be allowed to use one 8.5×11 note sheet, front-and-back, which may be either hand-written or printed out. You will need to scan and upload your notes as part of the exam.
In the Technical Quiz, you will work a few problems, writing out your answers with the technical tools you have learned (SQL, Excel, Segregation of duties, Flowcharting and Data Flow Diagramming).
Extra Credit (earn up to 20 points)
Current Events: It’s important for accountants to understand issues in Info Tech, which changes at a fast pace. Students seeking extra credit will summarize an IT current event on a graded discussion board. You must provide a complete and thorough summary along with a link to the article (newspaper, magazine, online, journal). A written two-paragraph summary is required with the article. No duplicate articles will be accepted. The submission must be an individual effort. After you post, you must respond to two other students’ post. (3 points for initial post, 1 point per response to another student).
Course Policies
Communication
- If you have general questions about the class (assignments, class logistics, due dates, etc.), post a question in the HELP BOARD in the “Start Here” module. You can post questions about the course here throughout the semester.
- If you have a personal question (grades, feedback, requests for special accommodation, etc.) please send me an email (adavis@ou.edu). In some cases, it might be helpful if you could send a screenshot of the issue. During the work week (Monday-Friday), you can expect a response from me within 48 hours. If I haven't responded to you during that time frame, it is possible that I have not received your email.
- If you have general tech questions, please contact OU IT at needhelp@ou.edu
All email sent by your professors will be sent to the email registered in your name at the University of Oklahoma. I prefer that you email me directly from your ou.edu account (rather than through Canvas).
Late Policy/Missed Exam Policy
Late work will not be accepted. If you have obligations that conflict with exam or assignment due dates, you should make arrangements with me as soon as possible.
Make-up exams will be given only in extraordinary circumstances. If you expect to miss an exam or to be unable to meet another requirement, please discuss this with the instructor before the scheduled date.
Score/Grade Appeals
Students wishing to appeal a grade must submit the appeal to the instructor in writing within 48 hours of receiving the graded work. Score changes are at the discretion of the instructor. It is important to understand that your score may go up or down based upon a complete review of the work in question. It is usually the case that changing a few points on an assignment rarely makes a difference in the final grade. As such, student (and instructor) time is generally much better spent discussing and clarifying the information content presented in the course.
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
ACADEMIC POLICIES AND STUDENT SUPPORT
Catalog
Please familiarize yourself with the student catalog: http://catalog.ou.edu/courses/courses.htm
Online Library
Students in the MAcc program can use the University of Oklahoma library by visiting:
Academic Misconduct
In addition to the course conduct policies outlined by your professor in the Course Syllabus in the online classroom, please review the Graduate Student Handbook.
It is the responsibility of each student to be familiar with the definitions, policies, and procedures concerning academic misconduct. The Student Code is available from the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, and is contained in the Student's Guide to Academic Integrity, available at http://integrity.ou.edu/students_guide.html
This site also defines misconduct, provides examples of prohibited conduct, and explains the sanctions available for those found guilty of misconduct.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the most common form of academic misconduct at OU. There is basically no college-level assignment that can be satisfactorily completed by copying. OU's basic assumption about writing is that all written assignments show the student's own understanding in the student's own words. That means all writing assignments, in class or out, are assumed to be composed entirely of words generated (not simply found) by the student, except where words written by someone else are specifically marked as such with proper citation. Including other people's words in your paper is helpful when you do it honestly and correctly. When you don't, it's plagiarism.
Go to http://integrity.ou.edu/students_guide.html to learn more about the rules for avoiding plagiarism. Watch this video and then test your skills in avoiding plagiarism by taking this plagiarism tutorial and quiz.
Reasonable Accommodation for Disabilities
The University of Oklahoma is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for all students with disabilities. Students with disabilities who require accommodations in this course should contact their professor as early in the semester as possible.
Students with disabilities must be registered with the Disability Resource Center prior to receiving accommodations in this course.
If you have a disability and you would like to make a request for reasonable accommodation, please see the Graduate Student Handbook or visit the Disability Resource Center and other disability services at OU at: http://drc.ou.edu/
Adjustments for Pregnancy/Childbirth Related Issues
Should you need modifications or adjustments to your course requirements because of documented pregnancy-related or childbirth-related issues, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss your options. Generally, modifications will be made where medically necessary and similar in scope to accommodations based on temporary disability. Please see www.ou.edu/content/eoo/faqs/pregnancy-faqs.html for commonly asked questions.
Title IX Resources
For any concerns regarding gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking, or intimate partner violence, the University offers a variety of resources, including advocates on-call 24.7, counseling services, mutual no contact orders, scheduling adjustments, and disciplinary sanctions against the perpetrator. Please contact the Sexual Misconduct Office 405-325-2215 (8-5, M-F) or OU Advocates 405-615-0013 (24/7) to learn more or to report an incident.
Religious Holidays
It is the policy of the University to excuse absences of students that result from religious observances and to provide for the rescheduling of examinations and additional required classwork that may fall on religious holidays without penalty. It is the responsibility of the student to make alternate arrangements with the instructor at least one week prior to the actual date of the religious holiday.
Copyright Policy
It is illegal to download, upload, reproduce, or distribute any copyrighted material, in any form and in any fashion, without permission from the copyright holder or his/her authorized agent. The University of Oklahoma expects all members of its community to comply fully with federal copyright laws. If such laws appear to have been violated by any user, the university reserves the right (1) to terminate that user’s access to some or all of the university’s computer systems and information resources and (2) to take additional disciplinary actions as deemed necessary or appropriate. Repeat offenders will be sanctioned and their privileges terminated.
Registration and Withdrawal
If you choose to withdraw from this course, you must complete the appropriate University form and turn the form in before the deadline. If you stop attending the course and doing the coursework without doing the required paperwork, your grade will be calculated with missed homework and examination grades entered as zero. This could result in receiving a grade of F in the course. Deadlines are shown in the Academic Calendar, which is available from the Office of Admissions and Records or online at http://www.ou.edu/admissions/home/academic_calendar.html
Student Grievances
In addition to any policies outlined related to submitting an informal or formal grievance by your professor in the Course Syllabus in the online classroom, please review the Graduate Student Handbook for more information about the process of submitting a formal grievance.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|