ACCT 351: Taxation and Managerial Decision Making Master Syllabus
Course Instructor:
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Course Materials:
Course Website Canvas
Required Text
McGraw-Hill’s Taxation of Individuals and Business Entities, YEAR edition. Spilker, Ayers, Barrick, Outslay, Robinson, Weaver, Worsham. Note: Some instructors (although not all) may require use of McGraw Hill’s Connect as well. See the particular section’s syllabus to evaluate whether it is also required. Additionally, in instances where instructors do not use/require Connect, they may allow students to use the ebook (without Connect) for a cost saving opportunity over the hard copy text. However, make sure to check with your instructor for whether this is allowed. For instance, if the exams allow a textbook, they may only allow hard copy version (or printed sections of the ebook) as opposed to a laptop with the ebook to be accessed during the exam. Alternatively, some instructors may not allow use of the textbook on the exams where the form of the textbook may not matter.
Course Introduction and Objectives
George Mason University Catalog Description
Introduction to fundamental topics in taxation using a business-entities approach. Specific topics include gross income, deductions, losses, and property transactions. The course emphasizes the identification of planning and compliance issues and the application of tax law to resolve those issues. Both tax and non-tax factors affecting decision making are considered.
Grades
A ≥ 90
B ≥ 80
C ≥ 70
D ≥ 60
F < 60
Grading Breakdown
Each instructor provides a grade breakdown of the categories of graded work (e.g., quizzes, assignments, exams, etc.) and the corresponding % of the overall course grade that corresponds with that category. While all instructors include exams as part of the grade, some instructors may use both quizzes and assignments while others may only include assignments or assignments with (an) additional project(s).
The specific instructor’s syllabus will also include in the syllabi or another attachment (like a separate summary word or excel document) a list of graded work categories and the expectations for those individual categories.
Midterms Exams
See the course policies below regarding make-up exams.. Accommodations can be made for students who have more than two exams on the same day or have a specific academic conflict but will not be made for recreational or convenience purposes (like “I planned to go on vacation the same weekend as the 2nd midterm” for some reason or another). It is your responsibility to be aware of the dates provided in the syllabus and the quiz/assignment due date schedule. Different instructors (and section modes) may use online or hard copy exams. Individual instructors will provide details on the mode of the exam and the materials allowed/disallowed on the exam in advance of the test.
Final Exam
See the course policies below regarding make-up exams. Accommodations can be made for students who have more than two exams on the same day or have a specific academic conflict, but will not be made for recreational or convenience purposes (like “this is my last exam of the week, and I would like to go on vacation earlier than the day of the final” for some reason or another). It is your responsibility to be aware of the dates provided in the syllabus and the quiz/assignment due date schedule. Different instructors (and section modes) may use online or hard copy exams. Individual instructors will provide details on the mode of the exam and the materials allowed/disallowed on the exam in advance of the test.
Some instructors may incorporate +s/-s based on their grading scale breakout while others may not use +s/- s. However, each individual instructor’s syllabi will make it clear whether and to what extent +s/-s are used for his/her individual section.
Course Policies
Attendance
For online asynchronous classes, this policy may not be included on an instructor’s syllabi. For online synchronous sections or in-person sections, it may be included. See you specific instructor’s syllabus for how this will be treated.
General Make-Up and Extra Credit Policy
As a general policy, there will be no make-up quizzes, assignments, or exams. Individual instructors may incorporate policies (e.g., dropping the lowest grade of a category or one/multiple extra credit projects) to incorporate the expectation that there may be a single graded item (small number of grade items) in a category for reasons that do not require documentation for the related circumstances (e.g., for a job interview, a single sick day without documentation like a 24 hour stomach bug, attending a wedding, etc.). However, it is not required that an instructor incorporate these opportunities. In the event of serious illness that goes beyond a 48 hour period or with extenuating circumstances, different instructors will outline how this will be handled in terms of potential withdrawal policy, etc.
George Mason E-mail and Canvas
Students are expected to check their George Mason e-mail and Canvas on a daily basis. This is especially important with the online format of our class. In order to comply with student privacy laws, students must use their Mason email account to receive important University information, including messages related to this class, and when corresponding with me or fellow students for our class.
Course information and supporting materials will be available through Canvas. I will disseminate course information using both outlets, including announcements, course content, grades, and (possibly) class cancellations. If you have any questions or problems about accessing these, please see me or IT.
Sample Course Schedule
| Date | Topic Description |
| Week 1 | Syllabus, Introductions, History of the U.S. tax system Chapter 1 An Introduction to Tax |
| Week 2 | Chapter 2 Tax Compliance, the IRS, and Tax Authorities Chapter 4 Individual Overview, Dependents, and Filing Status |
| Week 3 | Chapter 5 Gross Income and Exclusions |
| Week 4 | Chapter 6 Individual Deductions |
| Week 5 | Will hold a review for the first exam using a review posted to Canvas Will discuss Tax Return Software Project 1. Midterm 1 (Ch. 1, 4, 5, and 6).** |
| Week 6 | Tax Analytics Project 1 Tax Return Software Project 1 – Form 1040 |
| Week 7 | Chapter 7 Investments |
| Week 8 | Tax Analytics Project 2 – Stata Graphics*** |
| Week 9 | Chapter 9 Business Income for Individuals |
| Week 10 | Chapter 10 Property Acquisition and Cost Recovery |
| Week 11 | Chapter 11 Property Dispositions |
| Week 12 | Chapter 16 Corporate Operations Will release Review Sheet for Midterm 2 Midterm 2 (Ch. 7, 9, 10, and 11).** |
| Week 13 | Chapter 17 Accounting for Income Taxes |
| Week 14 | Tax Analytics Project 3 – Alteryx Workflow*** |
| Week 15 | Chapter 20 Forming and Operating Partnerships |
| Final Exam | Final Exam (Ch. 16, 17, and 20).** |
* The instructor reserves the right to make any necessary changes to the syllabus and course schedule with appropriate announcements in class and on Canvas. While all ACCT 351 sections test on the same chapters, different instructors order chapters differently and may align chapters with a different exam than the above exam coverage breakout. Additionally, different terms (e.g., fall vs. spring) may have different holiday breaks that shift chapter coverage to an alternative week than what is outlined above.
** The instructor reserves the right to hold exams on a different day of the week (or during class time or the standardized final exam week scheduled time) as long as appropriate announcements and notice are given in class and/or Canvas.
***The instructor may use alternative projects for data analytics skills and schedule them at different points in a term where he/she thinks best.
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