Spring 2006 Student Projects in ACCT 5341
Accounting Theory
Bob Jensen at Trinity University
Last Revised on January 23, 2006

Key Links

Team 1 (Ausaf, Dai, Devins)

Interpretation 46
Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities—an interpretation of ARB No. 51
(Issue Date 1/03)
[Full Text] [Summary] [Status]

Also note http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory/00overview/speOverview.htm

Team 2 (Donohue, Gutirrez, Heinkel)

Statement No. 148
Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation—Transition and Disclosure—an amendment of FASB Statement No. 123
(Issue Date 12/02)
[Full Text] [Summary] [Status]

Also note http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory/sfas123/jensen01.htm

Team 3 (Hobbs, Hoffman, Ifrah)

SEC to propose overhaul of Rules on Executive Pay Disclosures --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudConclusion.htm#OutrageousCompensation

Discuss the pros and cons of increased disclosure of CEO compensation for various conceivable types of compensation.

Present some illustrations of actual disclosures of CEO compensation in SEC filings such as the Coca Cola filing analyzed by Dennis Beresford.

Team 4 (Johnson, Lee, Mechaca)

Pensions and Post-Retirement Benefit Accounting Controversies --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen//theory/00overview/theory01.htm#Pensions

Team 5 (Nguyen, Poppe, Ramirez)

Accounting for Intangibles

     http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen//theory/00overview/theory01.htm#TheoryDisputes

     http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen//theory/00overview/theory01.htm#IntangiblesValuation

     http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen//theory/00overview/theory01.htm#Paradox

Statement No. 142
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
(Issue Date 6/01)
[Full Text] [Summary] [Status]

Also see http://www.fasb.org/fasb_staff_positions/fsp_sop94-6-1.pdf 

Team 6 (Roberts, Vogtsberger)

 Debt, Equity, Insurance, and Re-insurance Controversies --

http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen//theory/00overview/theory01.htm#Insurance

http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen//theory/00overview/theory01.htm#FAS150
 

Statement No. 150
Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Characteristics of both Liabilities and Equity
(Issue Date 5/03)
[Full Text] [Summary] [Status]
Also note http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory/00overview/theory01.htm#FAS150

Statement No. 140
Accounting for Transfers and Servicing of Financial Assets and Extinguishments of Liabilities-a replacement of FASB Statement No. 125
(Issue Date 9/00)
[Full Text] [Summary] [Status]

Also discuss defeasance
Scroll down at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/acct5341/speakers/133glosf.htm#D-Terms

Team 7 (Sandoval, Thompson, White)

Lease Accounting --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen//theory/00overview/theory01.htm#Leases

Statement No. 98
Accounting for Leases: Sale-Leaseback Transactions Involving Real Estate, Sales-Type Leases of Real Estate, Definition of the Lease Term, and Initial Direct Costs of Direct Financing Leases—an amendment of FASB Statements No. 13, 66, and 91 and a rescission of FASB Statement No. 26 and Technical Bulletin No. 79-11
(Issue Date 5/88)
[Full Text] [Summary] [Status]

Statement No. 27
Classification of Renewals or Extensions of Existing Sales-Type or Direct Financing Leases—an amendment of FASB Statement No. 13
(Issue Date 5/79)
[Full Text] [Summary] [Status]

Statement No. 23
Inception of the Lease—an amendment of FASB Statement
No. 13
(Issue Date 8/78)
[Full Text] [Summary] [Status]

Statement No. 13
Accounting for Leases
(Issue Date 11/76)
[Full Text] [Summary] [Status]
Also note http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory/00overview/theory01.htm#Leases

Spring 2006 Project Assignment

Group Task:  Team Presentation
Each project team will make one class presentation on an assigned module above.  Members of the team are to work jointly in developing a presentation on the strengths and weaknesses of the FASB standard or interpretations assigned to their team.  Presentation dates are assigned in the syllabus at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/acct5341/acct5341.htm

Individual Task :  Student Module in an Excel File
Students in a team are expected to develop one paper with innovative questions and answers in an Excel file that might be submitted to NASBA for the CPA examination.  Please use a separate spreadsheet for each module.  Each module is to focus on the same topic that is assigned for the team presentation.  Each student within a team is to write five independently-generated and high quality "modules."  A "module" is a multiple choice question or problem accompanied by a detailed solution and explanation to each part of to the question or problem.   A module may have sub-questions or sub-problems accompanied by solutions to each part.  For example, a broad question asking to list the four main criteria for a capital lease, may have a sub-question or sub-problem on each criterion.

When writing these five modules, students are not to consult any other student, including members of their team.  Each module is to have the author's name and a module identifier code.  For example, module identifier codes for Michelle Roberts might be RobertsModule01, RobertsModule02, etc.

Prior to your team's presentation, you are to send your modules to Professor Jensen in an Excel file attached to an email message. 

Send that email message to Professor Jensen and to every student enrolled in ACCT 5341. This way your work will be shared with the class.

 

The Academic Honor Code at Trinity University is in effect for this project --- http://www.trinity.edu/departments/academic_affairs/honor_code/index.htm

On the front page of the submitted course project, students are required to provide the statement “On my honor, I have neither given nor received any unauthorized assistance on this work” or simply write “pledged” along with their signature to all academic work.

 

Project grades are determined subjectively by Professor Jensen.  Grading criteria include the quality of the team's presentation and the quality of the five modules submitted by each member of the team.  In most cases the team score will be the same for each team member.  Points added on to the team score may vary.  For example, suppose Team 1 and Team 2 scores are 85 and 95 respectively.  Student A on Team 1 may get a total score of 180 whereas Student B on Team 2 gets a 175.  The reason would be that Student A got an added 95 points for higher quality modules than Student B who only got 80 points for submitted modules.