02 Jan Above is a comparative

Ashford ACC205 Week 1 Discussion 1 & 2

Week 1 – Discussion 1

Accounting Equation

As you have learned in this week’s readings, the Accounting Equation is Assets = Liabilities + Owners’ Equity. Is the accounting equation true in all instances? Provide sample transactions from your own experiences to demonstrate the validity of the Accounting Equation.

Guided Response:

Review several of your peers’ posts and identify some core components that you feel should be included in every transaction. Respond to at least two of your peers and provide recommendations to extend their thinking. Challenge your peers by asking a question that may cause them to reevaluate or add components to their transactions.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

Week 1 – Discussion 2

Accounts

What does the term account mean? What are the different classifications of accounts? How do the rules for debits and credits impact accounts? Please provide an example of how debits and credits impact accounts.

Guided Response:

Analyze several of your peers’ posts. Let at least two of your peers know if this knowledge could be used in their everyday lives. Is so, how? If not, why not?

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

Ashford ACC205 Week 2 Discussion 1 & 2

Week 2 – Discussion 1

Accounting Cycle

Financial statements are a product of the accounting cycle. Think about two different companies: a manufacturing company, and a retail company. Why would different companies have different accounting cycles? Would you expect the steps of the accounting cycle to be the same for each company? Why, or why not?

Guided Response:

Review several of your peers’ posts and identify what steps of the accounting cycle that you feel are the most critical. Respond to at least two of your peers and provide recommendations to extend their thinking. Challenge your peers by asking a question that may cause them to reevaluate their positions on the accounting cycle.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

Week 2 – Discussion 2

Bank Reconciliation

What is the purpose of a bank reconciliation? What are the reasons for differences between the cash reported in the accounting records, and the cash balance in the bank statements?

Analyze several of your peers’ posts. Let at least two of your peers know what happens to the discrepancies between the book balance and the bank balance. Could these differences just be written off?

Guided Response:

A bank reconciliation reconciles the bank account balance per the books to the actual bank balance. Outstanding checks, deposits in transit, and bank errors are reasons there are differences between the cash reported in the accounting records and the cash balance in the bank statements.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

Ashford ACC205 Week 3 Discussion 1 & 2

Week 3 – Discussion 1

LIFO vs. FIFO

The controller of Sagehen Enterprises believes that the company should switch from the LIFO method to the FIFO method. The controller’s bonus is based on the next income. It is the controller’s belief that the switch in inventory methods would increase the net income of the company. What are the differences between the LIFO and FIFO methods?

Guided Response:

Analyze several of your peers’ posts. Let at least two of your peers know if a company is better off if it switches from a LIFO method to a FIFO method. Explain your reasoning.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

Week 3 – Discussion 2

Depreciation

A variety of depreciation methods are used to allocate the cost of an asset to all of the accounting periods benefited by the use of the asset. Your client has just purchased a piece of equipment for $100,000. Explain the concept of depreciation. Which of the following depreciation methods would you recommend: straight-line depreciation, double declining balance method, or an alternative method?

Guided Response:

Let at least two of your peers know if a company would use an accelerated depreciation method for their financial statements or their tax returns. Why do you believe this would be the case?

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

Ashford ACC205 Week 4 Discussion 1 & 2

Week 4 – Discussion 1

Current Liability

What is a current liability? From the perspective of a user of financial statements, why do you believe current liabilities are separated from long-term liabilities? Based on your current experience as well as any additional research you may have done, provide two examples of situations where businesses collect monies from customers and employees and report these amounts as a current liability.

Guided Response:

Review several of your peers’ posts and identify the core components of a current liability. Respond to at least two of your peers and provide recommendations to extend their thinking. Challenge your peers by asking a question that may cause them to reevaluate if their example is a current liability.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

Week 4 – Discussion 2

Client Recommendations

A client comes to you thinking about starting a consulting business. Your client is specifically interested in what type of entity should be created for this new business. Based on your readings, or any additional research you may have done, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the following: sole proprietorship, partnership, and corporation. Based on these advantages and disadvantages, provide a clear recommendation to your client.

Guided Response:

Let at least two of your peers know if an alternative choice of entity would be possible. What would be the benefits of this new entity choice? Would there be any disadvantages associated with this new entity selection?

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

Ashford ACC205 Week 5 Discussion 1 & 2

Week 5 – Discussion 1

Ratios

Ratios provide the users of financial statements with a great deal of information about the entity. Do ratios tell the whole story? How could liquidity ratios be used by investors to determine whether or not to invest in a company?

Guided Response:

Let at least two of your peers know how debt service ratios can be used by a lender in determining whether or not to lend money to a company.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

Week 5 – Discussion 2

Profit Margin

Year Ending December 2012

Year Ending December 2011

Year Ending December 2010

Revenues

40,000

35,000

33,000

Operating Expenses

Salaries

15,000

10,000

9,000

Maintenance and Repairs

6,000

9,000

10,000

Rental Expense

2,500

2,500

2,500

Depreciation

2,000

2,000

2,000

Fuel

4,000

3,500

2,500

Total Operating Expenses

29,500

27,000

26,000

Operating Income

10,500

8,000

7,000

Sales and Administrative Expenses

6,000

4,000

3,000

Interest Expense

2,500

2,000

1,000

Net Income

2,000

2,000

3,000

Above is a comparative income statement for Cecil, Inc. for the years 2010, 2011, and 2012. Calculate the net-profit margin for each of these years. Comment on the profit margin trend.

Guided Response:

Let at least two of your peers know what you changes you would recommend to improve the net margin of the company.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.