Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

This is the first term of the traditional accounting principles sequence. The course emphasizes the theoretical foundations of accounting and analytical skills needed by business and accounting students. Those with financial record-keeping responsibilities in their current employment will find it essential.

An understanding of accounting is necessary to examine the performance and financial health of business. For this reason, accounting is often referred to as the ‘language of business’. This course is the ideal way for students to acquire a valuable skill as well as begin to develop an appreciation of the role of accounting in the evaluation and management of a business. Accordingly, it is recommended as a course both for students interested in business generally, and for those planning a career in accounting.

Upon completion of the course students will be able to:

• Use debit and credit accounting to record and adjust basic business transactions.
• Prepare multi-step income statements, classified balance sheets, and statements of retained earnings.
• Use basic financial statement ratio analysis to evaluate financial performance.
• Demonstrate knowledge of each step in the accounting cycle.
• Know and apply organizational internal control components.  
• Use Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to record common business transactions involving merchandise inventory, cash, and accounts receivable transactions.  

The objectives of assessment should include demonstrated mastery of accounting theory and procedures:

Assessment methods may include the following:  

• Objective examinations such as multiple choices, short answer, etc.  
• Exercise and problem test items.  
• Problem assignments that demonstrate the application of appropriate accounting procedures.  
• Written assignments.

In addition, assessment choices may also include:

• Attendance and participation in class activities.
• Any combination of other methods, including quizzes, group activities, presentations, practice sets, case studies or research assignments.

At the beginning of the course, the instructor will detail the methods used to evaluate student progress and the criteria for assigning a course grade.

• Purpose of accounting
• Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
• Ethics
• Accounting equation
• Transaction analysis
• Double-entry bookkeeping and debits and credits
• Documentation, journals and ledgers
• Accounting cycle
• Adjusting the accounts
• Financial statements
• Closing entries
• Accounting for merchandising businesses
• Inventory systems
• Inventory cost flow assumptions
• Internal control principles
• Bank reconciliations
• Petty cash
• Accounts receivable
• Notes receivable
• Accounting assumptions, principles and constraints
• Financial statement analysis

COMPENTENCIES AND SKILLS

• Analyze business transactions using accrual basis accounting according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
• Manually prepare journal entries and post to ledger accounts using double-entry accounting procedures.
• Perform the steps in the accounting cycle to include the preparation of: adjustments, financial statements, closing entries and trial balances.
• Prepare a bank reconciliation and related journal entries.
• Identify the principles of internal control.
• Use accounting assumptions, principles and constraints to explain accounting practices.
• Record transactions using both the perpetual and periodic inventory systems.
• Calculate inventory using accepted inventory cost flow assumptions.
• Account for receivables, to include their recognition, disposal and valuation.