COMM 450 - Financial Accounting - Intermediate II

COMM 450 is the second in a sequence of two courses in corporate financial reporting. In COMM 353 you learnt about the conceptual basis of accounting and focused on accounting for assets. The emphasis in COMM 450 will be on liabilities and equities. In COMM 450 you will further your understanding of: (i) the methods and procedures used in financial reports, (ii) the conceptual bases for those methods, and (iii) the extent to which the accounting treatment captures economic events. Students are expected to attain a level of understanding equal to that of a professional accountant.

No one set of accounting rules can provide accounting numbers that are ideal for all applications. Professional accountants’ expertise rests with their ability to apply professional judgement: making reasoned choices between available alternatives and understanding the limitations of those alternatives. Through this course, each student is expected to work toward developing his or her ability to assess and to choose among competing accounting methods.

Learning objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

• recognize events that lead to the creation, or change in, liabilities or equity and prepare their accounting recognition.
• discuss how the current accounting practice for these items differs from their economic reality.

Prerequisite: COMM 353.