Essay Instructions: Simulation 1
In this simulation you will prepare an article for a company newsletter explaining, in general terms, several GAAP principles. You will also research the FASB documents, including the online codification, to insure you are relying on authoritative sources; textbooks are not an authoritative source. You are to prepare a professional product which reflects your understanding of the subject matter.
Prepare the required worksheet and memo. Remember to use the FASB code log in effect 9/4/2012:
Student Access
username - AAA51829
password - mxtWuXv
Submit completed file through the file exchange. If you cannot complete the assignment on time you must submit what you have completed before class. Let me knowif you want more time and I will extend the deadline.. There may be a penalty for the late submission.
Role: The stipulated role establishes the identity of the writer or speaker for purposes of the assignment.
In this case assume the role of a consultant hired by White Pharmaceuticals.
Audience: The audience is the person or group that the student, in role, is addressing. The audience and the role are a matched set.
The target audience are mid- level non-financial managers and executives who have extensive business experience but no formal accounting education. Simply cutting and pasting from FASB statements or direct quotes from an accounting textbook will not be suitable for this audience. You need to explain the technical accounting jargon in a manner a typical business manager can understand.
Task: The task is the specific assignment. Defining task involves not only what content is expected, but also the behavior, organization, form, format, and personnel required to accomplish it.
Walt White wishes to train the non-financial managers through an article in the company newsletter about the requirements of GAAP for revenue recognition and matching principles. The company is concerned by the controversy over certain transactions involving accrual transactions. Some managers in the production department do not understand why their profit centers are charged for expenses before cash is paid. Managers in the sales department are confused as to why cash advances from customers are not book as revenue when the cash advance is received. You have not been asked for an opinion on aspecific transaction but a report on general GAAP principles.
You should use the recommendations from Effective Writing ? Handbook for Accountants for writing an article that are presented on page 248 . For research should include Statement of Financial Concepts #6 and the FASB ASC. You can obtain SFAC-6 on the portal or at the FASB.org. An access instruction for the FASB ASC is also available on the portal.
You should summarize your research in a clear concise manner. Mr. White is a very tech savvy fellow; he has informed you that he will pay you nothing - or worse - if you plagiarize!
Required:
1. Explain to the managers how the principals of revenue recognition and matching affect the timing of recognition of revenue and expenses.
2. Describe the four approaches used to implement the matching principle.
3. In your article the company wants you to generally address which of the four matching approach should be used to recognize the cost as expense for each type of transaction.
a. The cost of labor & material used in producing a product.
b. The cost of research & development.
c. The cost of lab equipment used to make products.
d. The cost of office equipment used in the human resources area.
e. The cost of monthly rent on a warehouse building.
f. The commission salary of a sales employee.
Grading
You are expected to follow the following guidance from the writing guide:
Tips for the effective writer:
1. Content: Be sure that the accounting content is correct and complete. Have you addressed all relevant accounting issues?
2. Critical Thinking: Think carefully and critically about the issues with which you?re dealing. Anticipate questions and objections your audiences may raise.
3. Appropriate for reader: Write the document with a particular audience in mind. Check that issues are discussed on a level that the audience can understand. For this assignment it is better to focus on practical, explicit advice related to the case you are discussing, rather than general accounting theory.
4. Conciseness: Write as concisely as possible, given the audience?s needs and the issues to be addressed.
5. Clarity: Develop a style that is clear and readable. Choose words that the audience will understand, and construct sentences that convey your meaning with precision and clarity.
6. Coherence: Structure the document so that it is coherent. The organization should be logical and the train of thought easy to follow. Summarize main ideas near the beginning of the document, and begin each paragraph with a topic sentence.
7. Revision: Revise the document so that it is polished and professional. It should be free of all spelling errors and typos; grammatical errors should not detract from the message.
case example:
Mary Contrary
Wolf Company
Tallahassee, FL
Dear Ms. Contrary,
As we discussed in our phone conversation, I am providing you authoritative basis for our firm?s position regarding when rental income must be recognized. Your position is the revenue should be recorded when received. We established that there are many instances when the rent received includes payments for months beyond the end of a fiscal year.
Generally Accepted Accounting Principals (see FASC 605-10-25-1) require the use of the realization principle when recording revenue. The realization principle requires that two criteria be satisfied before revenue can be recognized:
? The earnings process is judged to be complete or virtually complete
? There is reasonable certainty as to the collectibility of the asset to be received
Obviously, collectability is not at issue; it is just the first criterion that is at issue. Since the tenants are entitled to occupy the premises through the last day for the payment made, the earnings process is not complete until that day passes. Since revenue cannot be recognized on the date the payment is received, the corresponding account to cash must be a liability account recognizing the unearned revenue. As the rental period expires you, will reduce the liability and increase rental revenue.
Recording rental revenue as you currently do is allowable for income tax purposes and is acceptable under the cash basis of accounting. However, since you wish to have an audited set of financial statements issued, Generally Accepted Accounting Principals (see FASC cite above) require the use of the accrual method.
Therefore, it is our firm?s position that you must alter your accounting treatment of rent collections to comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principals. Please feel free to contact me for any other clarification or additional issues.
Yours Truly,
Student Name
Tips for the effective writer:
1. Content: Be sure that the accounting content is correct and complete. Have you addressed all relevant accounting issues?
2. Critical Thinking: Think carefully and critically about the issues with which you?re dealing. Anticipate questions and objections your audiences may raise.
3. Write the document with a particular audience in mind. Check that issues are discussed on a level that the audience can understand. For most documents, it is better to focus on practical, explicit advice related to the case you are discussing, rather than general accounting theory.
4. Write as concisely as possible, given the audience?s needs and the issues to be addressed.
5. Develop a style that is clear and readable. Choose words that the audience will understand, and construct sentences that convey your meaning with precision and clarity.
6. Structure the document so that it is coherent. The organization should be logical and the train of thought easy to follow. Summarize main ideas near the beginning of the document, and begin each paragraph with a topic sentence.
7. Revise the document so that it is polished and professional. It should be free of all spelling errors and typos; grammatical errors should not detract from the message.
The following grading points will be used to score this assignment.
worth 125 points
30 pts Define revenue and matching principles. Source referenced is authoratative
30 pts Gives the four methods for matching:
7 The cost of labor & material used in producing a product
8 The cost of reseach & development
8 The cost of manfacturing equipment used to make products
8 The cost of office equipment used in the human resources area
7 The cost of monthly rent on the warehouse building
7 The commission salary of a sales employee
the rest of pts effective writing for accountants with tone to audience, organiztion, introduction that gets audience attention,states purpose & preview of main point