Department or Program: Accounting

Course Number: 471 and 571

Semester Hours: 3

Frequency of Offering: Every semester

Course Title: Auditing I

Catalog Description: Auditing I covers the basic processes and procedures of financial statement auditing, including practical application. Auditing standards, ethics, and legal liability are covered.

Is this an existing course previously approved by A2C2? Yes

Is this a new course approval? No

University Studies Approval is requested in: Writing Flag.

Department Contact Person: Pam Murphy, pmurphy@winona.edu, 457-5180 (or Department Chair Jim Hurley, jhurley@winona.edu, 457-5172).

Attachments: A copy of a syllabus is attached. This is the current syllabus being used for the course, with the additional explanation of the writing flag outcomes and, specifically, where each outcome is addressed.

The purpose of the Writing Flag requirement is to reinforce the outcomes specified for the basic skills area of writing. These courses are intended to provide contexts, opportunities, and feedback for students writing with discipline-specific texts, tools, and strategies. These courses should emphasize writing as essential to academic learning and intellectual development.

Courses can merit the Writing Flag by demonstrating that section enrollment will allow for clear guidance, criteria, and feedback for the writing assignments; that the course will require a significant amount of writing to be distributed throughout the semester; that writing will comprise a significant portion of the students’ final course grade; and that students will have opportunities to incorporate readers’ critiques of their writing.

These courses must include requirements and learning activities that promote students'

abilities to...

1. practice the processes and procedures for creating and completing successful writing in their fields;

The process students have to follow in this class is:

Working in teams of three or four, students perform a simulated audit during the semester, in a series of eight assignments, in which they gather evidence, create working papers, and form conclusions, in writing, with solid support for those conclusions. Some working papers are in the form of spreadsheets, others are in the form of memos summarizing discussions, observations, or other procedures. The conclusions, in the form of written memos, must be succinct, easy to understand, and supported by reasonable evidence. Each member of each team is required to individually write at least one, but usually two or three, conclusions (evidenced by their initials on each page). Their writing is then reviewed by at least one other member of the team before being handed in. The professor then reviews each assignment, grades it, and provides feedback within two days. The simulated audit represents 30% of each student’s grade. In addition, four exams are given during the semester (each 15% of a student’s grade) in which each student is asked a series of short answer / essay questions (roughly half the exam points). Questions often test the student’s ability to explain various auditing concepts in their own words. Exam grades are partially based on writing skills (grammar, style, and ability to communicate effectively).

Working papers have a specific format that must be followed. A working papers book is useless unless another accountant can pick it up and understand what the auditors did, what they concluded, and why. Given the enormity of possible evidence, this is a daunting challenge. Students must keep this in mind as they write their conclusions for each assignment. With prompt feedback after each assignment, students have the chance to improve as they proceed.

Writing in the field of auditing must be succinct. Students must be able to identify what elements of evidence are important and what are not. It is easy to write too much. Auditors are balancing audit effectiveness with audit efficiency. Students’ writing must reflect that understanding.

The simulated audit requires students to utilize special audit software common to the industry. They also must use Microsoft Excel for spreadsheets, Microsoft Word for written memos and conclusions, and they perform research using the Internet.

Working papers represent the conventions of evidence, format, usage, and documentation in the accounting field. Students are well aware of what constitutes quality working papers by the end of the simulated audit.

 

Auditing I is considered, in essence, to be the accounting capstone course. Every accounting major must complete this course with at least a "C". Most Auditing I classes have approximately 12 to 20 students. Each student’s final grade consists of the following:

* The percentages sometimes change as requirements of the profession change.

Working in groups of two to four, students perform an audit of the revenue cycle of a fictitious company. Each team is required to create a working papers book. The term "working papers" has specific meaning within the accounting profession, with many requirements for good form. Throughout the course, each team performs various audit procedures in a series of assignments, documenting every step, concluding with their "opinion" of the revenue accounts of that company. Their working paper book includes:

Each team is graded on ability to follow audit procedures, conciseness, use of "professional judgment", and ability to thoroughly document their work and findings using the form required of the auditing profession. The team’s final grade on the simulated audit constitutes 30% of each student’s final grade.

Each member of each team must individually write the conclusion to at least one assignment. The other members of the team review it. This ensures that everyone does some significant writing, and it is evidenced by the person’s initials in the top corner of the working paper. In addition to the simulated audit, each exam includes roughly half short answer / essay questions. Questions often test the student’s ability to explain various auditing concepts in their own words.

Final grade based on 90 – 100% = A, 80 – 89% = B, 70 - 79% = C, etc.

University Studies Program. The course includes requirements and learning activities

that promote students' abilities to...

a. practice the processes and procedures for creating and completing successful writing in their fields;

b. understand the main features and uses of writing in their fields;

c. adapt their writing to the general expectations of readers in their fields;

d. make use of the technologies commonly used for research and writing in their fields; and

e. learn the conventions of evidence, format, usage, and documentation in their fields.

Each specific outcome above is listed by its corresponding letter ("a" through "e") for each assignment and / or exam.

Tuesday, 4/30 at 10:30 Chapters 17, 18, 19, 20 (outcomes a, b, c, d, e)

Exams: In terms of grading, each exam is roughly 1/2 multiple choice questions and 1/2 short answer / essay questions. No student has the RIGHT to take a make-up exam. I will make decisions regarding make-up exams on an individual basis. It is a privilege granted on rare occasion. Basically, if you haven’t been coming to class or participating much, you will NOT be allowed to take a make-up exam even if you have an excuse.

Simulated Teams of 3 to 4 people will be assigned in the first week of the semester.

Audit: Each team will work together on various in-class discussion questions, and a simulated audit (SCAD). Generally, all members of the team will receive the same grade for their audit (30% of your term grade). Exceptions may exist for a team member whose participation is significantly different from the others.

Attendance and Participation:

The learning experience is greatly enhanced by regular attendance and active participation. You will be graded on your attendance, participation, and preparation for each class. Don’t be worried about always having the "right" answer in class, but show me that you are prepared and have thought through the topic. You will also be graded at the end of the semester by each of your teammates on your level of participation in your simulated audit and in-class team discussion questions.