ACCT 20000

Intro Accounting

Accounting is a doing subject. Reading the notes packet feels like studying and mostly isn't — the points come from working problems with your hand, then checking.

Exam 2 · 20% of your grade

4 days away

When: Tuesday 27 October, 8:00–9:00 PM
Where: WTHR 200
Covers: Chapters 4–7 (Module 2)

Where you stand

Exam 2 is worth 20%, more than Exam 1's 15% — and Exam 3 is another 25%. Most of the exam weight in this course is still ahead of you.

Dr. Bokrand's review worksheet gives the exact shape of the paper: 40 questions, exactly 10 from each chapter. No chapter is worth more than another, so there is nothing to skip and nothing to over-invest in.

Chapters 1–3 were the accounting cycle itself. Chapters 4–7 are four new topics, but every one of them is tested *through* journal entries. Whatever cost points last time will show up again unless it gets fixed first — which is why day one is a mechanics check, not new material.

The single highest-value hour this week is getting Exam 1 back and finding out exactly which questions you lost. Guessing at it is much slower than asking.

Ranked by questions per minute, highest first. Work down the list and stop when you run out of time — whatever you reach will be the most valuable thing left.

Everything here together is 25 of the 40 questions in about 2.8 hours. None of it needs a journal entry, and most of it needs no calculation at all.

Internal control: the definitions and the components

The biggest single topic on the paper and pure memorisation — no calculation, no entries. Ch. 4 packet.

questions

20m

Inventory method effects in rising prices

One rule covers both questions: FIFO gives higher ending inventory and higher net income, LIFO gives higher COGS and lower tax.

questions

10m

Which intangible is which, and which one never amortizes

Patent, copyright, trademark, franchise, goodwill. Flashcard material — goodwill is the one that doesn't amortize.

questions

15m

Capitalize or expense a subsequent expenditure

One rule: extends life, adds capacity, or gets it ready to use → capitalize. Routine upkeep → expense.

questions

15m

Depreciation: straight-line and double-declining balance

Two formulas. SL subtracts residual first, DDB ignores it. Units-of-production is not on the blueprint.

questions

20m

Bank reconciliation: which side, and which needs an entry

Bank side: deposits outstanding, checks outstanding, bank errors — no entry ever. Book side: service charges, NSF, collections, interest, your own errors — entry always.

questions

20m

Net receivables, net revenues, cash and equivalents

Three subtractions. Drill tab → Statement figures.

questions

15m

Gain or loss on a disposal

Cash received against BOOK VALUE, never cost. Depreciate to the sale date first.

question

10m

Notes receivable interest

Principal × rate × months/12. The rate is always annual.

question

Lump-sum purchase allocation

Split by relative fair value. One percentage, one multiplication.

question

10m

Which inventory method suits which business, FOB terms, merchandisers

Definitions. FOB shipping point means title passes when it leaves the seller.

questions

10m

What the allowance account is, and what a write-off does

Contra-asset, credit balance. A write-off changes neither net receivables nor net income.

questions

10m

Executives certify the statements; cash appears on two statements

Two facts, two questions.

questions

The other 15

Not padding — this is nearly 40% of the paper. It is left until second because every item needs either a journal entry or multi-step arithmetic, so each question costs several times the study time of the ones above. Together they take around 4 hours.

Compute COGS or ending inventory under FIFO or LIFO

Layer-by-layer arithmetic under time pressure. Worth doing once the list above is solid — Drill → New exam each time generates these endlessly.

questions

45m

Multi-step income statement subtotals

Net sales → gross profit → operating income → net income, in order. Drill → Statement figures.

questions

30m

Record the purchase and sale of inventory

Perpetual sales are two entries, and forgetting the second is the usual slip.

questions

30m

Record credit sales, with and without discounts

Needs the entry, and needs you to count the days to see whether the discount applies.

questions

30m

Calculate bad debt expense from the allowance balance

Adjust TO the target, not BY it, and watch whether the opening balance is a debit.

question

20m

Calculate bad debt expense using the aging method

The hardest single thing in Ch. 5, and your practice exam never asks it. Problems tab has a full worked one.

question

25m

Record customer returns

Sales Returns and Allowances is contra-revenue, so it takes a debit.

question

15m

Lower of cost and net realizable value

Only ever writes inventory down, and the write-down goes to COGS.

question

15m

Record petty cash expenditures

The Petty Cash account itself doesn't move when you replenish.

question

15m

Accounting for different forms of customer payment

Credit card fees are an expense; revenue is still recorded at the full amount.

question

15m

Calculate amortization and the carrying value of an intangible

Shorter of legal and service life, and usually a part-year. Problems tab has Dr. Bokrand's own example.

question

20m

What's on it

Ch. 4 Cash and Internal Controls

10 questions

Ten questions, same as every other chapter — and three of them are on the definitions and components of internal control, the single biggest topic on the paper.

What Dr. Bokrand says is on it

Role of corporate executives regarding the financial statementsNothing like this on the practice paper. Your note says it: their role is to certify the financial statements.	1
Definitions and components of internal control	3
Accounting treatment of different forms of customer payment	1
Controls over cash receipts	1
Reconcile the bank side and book side of the cash balance	2
Record petty cash expenditures	1
Reporting cash in the financial statementsNot on the practice paper. Your note: balance sheet, and statement of cash flows.	1

Must know

Bank reconciliation: which items adjust the bank side, which adjust the book side
Journal entries from a reconciliation
Petty cash: establishing, replenishing, over/short
Internal control principles and their limitations

Easy to get wrong

Only book-side items produce journal entries. Outstanding checks and deposits in transit never do.
An NSF check reduces the book balance — it is not a bank error.

Ch. 5 Receivables and Revenues

10 questions

Ten questions. Four of them are allowance-method mechanics, and one of those is the aging method, which the practice paper never asks.

What Dr. Bokrand says is on it

Record credit sales with and without sales discounts	2
Record customer returns	1
Determine net revenues	1
Account characteristics of the Allowance for Uncollectible Accounts	1
Determine net accounts receivable	1
Effect of bad debt write-offs on the accounting equation	1
Calculate bad debt expense with given allowance information	1
Calculate bad debt expense using the aging methodThe practice paper never asks this, and it is the hardest thing in the chapter. Work Example 7 and Activity 2 from the review packet.	1
Compute notes receivable interest revenue	1

Must know

Allowance method: percentage-of-receivables vs percentage-of-sales
Aging schedules
Writing off an account, and recovering one previously written off
Notes receivable: interest = principal × rate × time
Net realizable value of receivables

Easy to get wrong

Percentage-of-receivables adjusts TO a target balance; percentage-of-sales adjusts BY an amount. Mixing these up is the classic error.
A write-off has no effect on total assets and no effect on net income — the expense was already recorded when the allowance was estimated.
Check whether the unadjusted allowance balance is a debit or a credit before computing the adjustment.

Ch. 6 Inventory and Cost of Goods Sold

10 questions

Ten questions, and eight of them are computational — the chapter where the clock costs people the most.

What Dr. Bokrand says is on it

Compute subtotals in a multi-step income statement	2
When to use different inventory methods	1
Compute COGS or ending inventory using FIFO or LIFONote what this says: FIFO or LIFO. Weighted average is not named anywhere on the blueprint, though the practice paper has one.	2
Financial and tax effects of different inventory methods	2
Record purchase and sale of inventory	2
Understand lower of cost and net realizable value	1

Must know

FIFO, LIFO and weighted average — periodic and perpetual
Cost of goods available for sale = beginning inventory + purchases
Lower of cost and net realizable value
Inventory turnover and days in inventory
Effects of an inventory error on this year and next

Easy to get wrong

In rising prices: FIFO gives higher ending inventory and higher net income; LIFO gives higher COGS and lower tax.
Weighted average is recomputed per purchase under perpetual, once for the period under periodic.

Ch. 7 Long-Term Assets

10 questions

Ten questions spread over seven different objectives — the widest chapter on the paper, so nothing here can be skipped.

What Dr. Bokrand says is on it

Record purchase of tangible assets	1
Record a lump-sum purchase	1
Characteristics of different intangible assets	2
Accounting treatment of subsequent expendituresTwo questions on capitalize-versus-expense, and the practice paper barely touches it.	2
Calculate depreciation or accumulated depreciation, straight-line or DDB	2
Calculate amortization expense and the carrying value of an intangibleThe practice paper only asks which intangible does not amortize — never asks you to compute one.	1
Determine gain or loss on sale of an asset	1

Must know

Capitalize vs expense
Straight-line, double-declining-balance, activity-based depreciation
Partial-year depreciation
Disposals: gain or loss against book value
Intangibles and amortization; goodwill is not amortized

Easy to get wrong

Double-declining-balance ignores salvage value in the formula, but you stop once book value reaches salvage.
On a disposal, compare cash received to BOOK VALUE, never to original cost — and update depreciation to the disposal date first.

Where to get help

All of this is free and already paid for by your tuition.

SI with Nyree Ruiz

Tue & Thu 4:30–5:20 PM, SCHM 116. Bring your ID, notes and questions.

Nyree's office hours

Tuesdays 9:00–10:00 AM, WILY C215 (Academic Success Center).

Dr. Bokrand's office hours

Wed 11:00 AM–12:30 PM in KRAN 428 or virtual; Thu 2:00–4:00 PM virtual only. Book via Calendly.

Piazza

The fastest route to a homework answer, per the syllabus.

Connect SmartBook

Re-runnable practice on every chapter — the closest thing to the exam's question style.

Everything here is built from your syllabus. See the full grade breakdown.