ACT 6651 Financial Accounting ResearchAbout your paper…Choosing a TopicYour paper/project can be about any financial a...

ACT 6651 Financial Accounting Research

About your paper…

Choosing a Topic

Your paper/project can be about any financial accounting topic in which you are interested. Your topic can address a specific accounting standard and how that standard affects business entities. Or, your topic may be about a particular problem which has been addressed by the FASB. For example, you may want to write about how the new lease standard will/has affect/affected business entities. This would be an example of a specific accounting standard. Or, you may want to address how fair value measurement vs. historical cost is affecting financial accounting. This would be an example of a specific accounting issue or problem.

You should try to choose something that interests you. Or, a topic about which you want to know more. You shouldnot choose your topic because you think it will be “easy.”

Make your topic as current as possible. A good place to start looking for a topic would be www.fasb.org. You might also look in the accounting section of the SEC (www.sec.gov).

Of course the Wall Street Journal and other popular press outlets are good sources for topics of current interest.

Paper Guidelines

P aper/project guidelines:

• Length:
  • The body of the paper should be between 5 and 10 pages. You will find it very difficult to adequately address most issues in less than 5 pages. You will find that you need “filler” material if you attempt to go beyond 10 pages. The objective is to cover background, issue, etc. as clearly and concisely as possible. You do not earn points by the word. On the other hand, you will not earn points if you do not address important issues.
  • The length above is for the “body” of the paper. Appendices, bibliographies, cover-sheets, and other supplemental material are not part of the “body.”
• Format:
  • You may use any type-style you like (e.g., Times New Roman, Sans Serif), but the style must be 10pt. You will find that 10pt Times New Roman this looks like this while 10pt Arial looks like this. You may choose what you like best. Just be sure it is 10 point.
  • Double-spacing
  • Standard margins (1”, 1”, 1”, 1”)
  • Numbered pages (in the footer, on the right-hand side). Don’t number your coversheet, if you have one.
• Style Manual
  • You may use any style manual (APA, MLA, etc.) you prefer. Just be consistent throughout your paper. I prefer APA.
  • You must have a bibliography.
  • NOTE: I know that if you look in some style manuals, you are told you can copy the URL for a paper/article you find online in the body of your paper as the cite reference. Please ignore that advice. Do not use the URL in the body of your paper (although you may include it in the bibliography). Use the reference from the article you are copying. You will have an author, publication name, etc. right in front of you. The URL is simply where you found your source. [I consider it rather illogical to say that you should copy the place where you “found” your source material into your paper. I am assuming that most of you would not type “troyuniversitylibrary.secondfloor.aisle3.deweydecimal.0135as46” as a reference source, although this is exactly the same as copying a URL for an online article.
  • Note: If your online article does not have an author or a publication name, consider that the source may not be acceptable!
• Mechanics
  • A paper is neither complete nor acceptable if it contains grammatical errors.
  • A paper is neither complete nor acceptable if it contains spelling errors.
  • A paper is neither complete nor acceptable if it contains errors of sentence structure.
  • A paper should flow properly—transition sentences, headers and section names, etc.

Presentation Guidelines

You will present your paper to the class. There will be a ten-minute time limit. You cannotexceed this limit. I will set a timer and stop your presentation at ten minutes. If you are not finished, I will score your presentation accordingly.

While you cannot exceed the time limit, you must present all of the important components and points in your paper. You must also allow appropriate time for a question/answer session. Your presentation will receive a lower grade if you do not cover all important points.

You must use powerpoint or another presentation software to ensure that your audience is able to follow your presentation easily.

Having a time limit and a requirement to present every major component of your paper suggests that you will need to carefully plan your presentation. Do not simply make powerpoint slides that mimic your paper—decide what you want to say about what you learned and make powerpoint slides that illustrate that knowledge.

During your presentation you cannot “read from the powerpoint” slides or note cards. Make sure you understand your topic before your presentation begins!