Introduction to accounting theory.pptVIP

An introduction to financial accounting theory Learning Objectives Appreciate what is meant by ‘accounting theory’ and the purpose it has served over time Explain the importance of understanding ‘accounting theories’ Requirements The course includes seminal-type discussion of the assigned papers. The class will be assigned into groups separately and will be asked to make a 45-minute presentation of one paper in the reading list. For each presentation, the group in charge has to present the paper using PowerPoint for 30 minutes. Then we open for discussion in the remaining 15 minutes. Especially, each member in the group is randomly designated as the presenter at the beginning of the presentation. For the final examination, each student is required to complete a short “term paper” (3000 to 5000 words) in the style of a completely paper. The structure of this paper must be formally completed, e.g., some issues such as research questions, key assumptions, sample selection, variable definition, structured model, and empirical results have to be explicitly spelled out. This paper can be written in English or Chinese. Grading The purpose of grading is twofold. One is the usual evaluation of your performance of academic purposes. The second is to encourage active discussion in the classroom. In line with these objections, your grade will be determined as follows: Class participation 15% Group presentation 40% Exanimate paper 45% What is a theory? Webster defines theory as: “Systematically organized knowledge, applicable in a relatively wide variety of circumstances, a system of assumptions, accepted principles and rules of procedure to analyze, predict or otherwise explain the nature of behavior of a specified set of phenomena.” A theory is a conceptual model of the relationships among the several factors that are an important part of the problem that we’ve identified. What is a theory? ‘a coherent set of hypothetical, conce