Honors Theses
Date of Award
2017
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Accountancy
First Advisor
Victoria Dickinson
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
The United States Accounting Standards Codification is the source of the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP, that all publically traded U.S. companies and many private companies adhere to. This thesis concerns the United States Accounting Codification and how it is applied to real-life scenarios derived from various business activities. These different scenarios were provided by Dr. Victoria Dickinson in a series of twelve different case studies and covered numerous areas of financial reporting. This thesis is the compilation of the solutions to those case studies and has been verified to be in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Numerous benefits were realized upon completion of every case study. These include enhanced knowledge of financial reporting topics, technical skills, theoretical concepts, exceptional research processing ability, and a critical thinking approach to constructing solutions to contextualized problems. A different financial reporting topic was chosen each week, with the difficulty increasing as more knowledge was gained regarding the Codification and GAAP. These topics include financial statement preparation and consultation, systems evaluation and fraud prevention, inventory recognition, asset capitalization, accounting for termination benefits and relocation costs, market shares and treasury stock, stock options and stock-based compensation, revenue recognition, deferred tax assets and liabilities, and accounting for lease transactions. Mastering these topics mandated also the mastery of technical skills such as the infinite uses of Microsoft Excel and Word. Without these, financial statement preparation or analysis would be near impossible. Perhaps the most beneficial skill and ability acquired during these case studies was the ability to take a critical thinking approach to a real-life case where an obvious answer was not immediately transparent. This included contextualizing the problem in the case, knowing the accounting area that applied to the problem, and having the ability to research the U.S. Accounting Codification to find which accounting principle applied depending on the scenario. The knowledge and skills gained from these case studies will be invaluable in my future career as a public accountant. While I still have much to learn, the experience acquired in this course left me with not only tangible skills, but also the confidence of knowing that this course has prepared me well for challenges or problems I may face in my professional career. Interning at a large firm immediately following graduation, I know that this course will give me a distinct advantage over my colleagues that have not taken the course and completed these case studies.
Recommended Citation
Durham, Parker, "The Practical Application of the United States Accounting Codification" (2017). Honors Theses. 747.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/747
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