I.

Project 2: Is a Reported Goodwill Impairment Loss Really a Goodwill Impairment Loss? A Financial Reporting Case on Evaluating the Efficacy of Authoritative Guidance

II. Introduction:

You did such a great job on Project I that Ashanti, your company’s controller (the professor) now feels confident you can conduct professional accounting research using the FASB Accounting Standards Codification. Specifically, Ashanti is interested in accounting issues that need to be addressed regarding the treatment of goodwill at AM Enterprises and its purchase of ZD Corporation and Hope Industries. She encourages you to use your critical thinking skills to make effective decisions regarding the treatment of goodwill and goodwill impairment.

In addition, Ashanti who started her career at NTL in Washington, DC is a strong believer in the benefits of creating diverse multicultural teams for generating out-of-the-box solutions and the most effective and efficient decisions. She has added you to a team along with a few of your colleagues (students). Introduce yourself to the other team members in the online Study Group (under Discussions). You and your team should share your research and brainstorm the case issues in the Study Group. Further, all team members must demonstrate evidence of participation by discussing the case issues and collaboratively deciding in the Study Group how to account for the goodwill issues presented in the case. To fully capture all unique ideas, Ashanti insists on receiving reports from each individual team member. Ashanti warns that non-participatory team members are rarely successful.

Eager to prove you’re a born researcher with the writing skills of Charles Dickens, you begin planning the process you’ll use to impress your team and ultimately Ashanti. Knowing that Ashanti earned a graduate degree in English before becoming a CPA, you wisely plan to submit a draft of your report to the editing department (graduate writing tutors) before delivering your final work to her.

III. Steps to Completion:
Step 1 – Read the case study and review the requirements for Using the Codification to Research a Complex Accounting Issue: The Case of Goodwill Impairment at AM Enterprises, which is posted in: Content/Course Resources/Projects & Rubrics/Project 2 Case Review.

· Case Citation:

· McNellis, C.J. & Teets, W.R. (2019) Is a Reported Goodwill Impairment Loss Really a Goodwill Impairment Loss? A Financial Reporting Case on Evaluating the Efficacy of Authoritative Guidance. Issues in Accounting Education: August 2019, Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 56-69.

Step 2 – Conduct accounting research using the FASB Codification

· Introduce yourself to your team in the online Study Group discussion and begin discussing how you plan to work collaboratively to research the case issues and make decisions, which you will use to write your individual report. The case is complex and requires colleagues of diverse backgrounds to contribute to making the correct determination.

· Login credentials to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) and the link are provided in Course Resources section in the classroom in the FASB’s ASC, GARS and COSO
module
.

· Research FASB ASC 350 for guidance on goodwill accounting issues.

· Brainstorm with your colleagues in the online Study Group discussions to enhance your final deliverable.

· To deepen your understanding of the FASB ASC topics related to case issues, read the appropriate sections in Wiley GAAP 2018: Interpretation & Application of GAAP.

· Research the UMUC library to find current articles in academic journals related to the case issues.

Step 3 – Complete case requirements

· Complete Case Requirement numbers 1 – 3.

IV. Deliverables:

· Report for Ashanti, Controller

· Use APA style formatting

· Approximate length of the report using APA style is 6 – 8 pages excluding the cover page and reference list

· Correct spelling is mandatory

· English grammar must be clear, correct, and concise

V. Hints and Tips:

· As your professor, please note that I have very little interest in reading what others in the field have written. It is fine to quote sources to illustrate or support your own thoughts, however, every graded assessment in graduate accounting courses will be based on the content you have thought about and you have written in your own words. To properly guide you, I need to read your thoughts and interpretations and observe you making presentations which demonstrate your comprehension of the learning goals and ability to perform the competencies.

· Read the grading rubric before beginning the project to fully understand the requirements; ask questions about the requirements if needed.

· Review and refresh your memory of APA style formatting 3-4 weeks before the assignment is due. The resources may be helpful:

· Writing a research paper:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/658/01/

· APA:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/

· Developing your graduate level writing skills:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/2/

· What Constitutes Graduate Level Writing; source unknown. In LEO, Content, Course Resources, Project 2.

· Demonstrate through your writing that you have gained a/an:

· deeper understanding of the FASB ASC guidelines for the development of internal-use software to be marketed and sold to external users,

· applied judgment and decision-making skills to the complex scenario described in the case study and have enhanced your professional research skills using the UMUC library, FASB ASC, and other academic resources.

· Ask a classmate, friend, or family member to read your report before submitting it to the Graduate Writing Tutors.

· Use the Graduate Writing Tutors:

· Submit your draft to the Graduate Writing Tutors at least 1 week before the project is due. This FREE resource can be accessed in your LEO classroom.

· Make edits to your report after reviewing feedback from the writing tutors.

· Note: Failure to submit your document to the Graduate Writing Tutors and or failure to improve your document based on guidance from the writing tutors, before submitting the final version is extremely unwise.

· Submit the deliverable on or before the due date.

· Review the penalty for late submissions, which is posted in the syllabus.

· Ask your professor questions as needed.

VI. Rubric:

You will find the rubric in LEO under Contents>Course Resources>Projects & Rubrics

VII. Core Competencies:
Communication:

· Organize document or presentation clearly in a manner that promotes understanding and meets the requirements of the assignment.
· Develop coherent paragraphs or points to be internally unified and function as part of the whole document or presentation.

· Provide sufficient, correctly cited support that substantiates the writer’s ideas.
· Tailor communications to the audience.
· Tailor Use sentence structure appropriate to the task, message and audience.
· Follow conventions of Standard Written English.
· Create neat and professional looking documents appropriate for the project or presentation.

Critical thinking:

· Identify and clearly explain the issue, question, or problem under critical consideration.

· Locate and access sufficient information to investigate the issue or problem.

· Evaluate the information in a logical and organized manner to determine its value and relevance.

· Consider and analyze information in context to the issue or problem.

· Develop well-reasoned ideas, conclusions or decisions, checking them against relevant criteria and benchmarks.

Accounting Competencies:
· Reporting
Identify the appropriate content and communicate clearly and objectively to the intended audience the work performed and the results as governed by professional standards, required by law or dictated by the business environment.
· Research
Identify, access, and apply relevant professional frameworks, standards and guidance, as well as other information for analysis and to make informed decisions.
Business Competencies:

· Governance perspective
Understand the legal and regulatory environments affecting an organization and their effects on an organization’s operations, internal controls and enterprise risk management. Recognize an organization’s social and environmental responsibilities.

Professional Competencies:

· Professional behavior
Practice in a manner that is consistent with the character and high standards set by the AICPA, the accounting profession, and TGS Accounting degree programs. Demonstrate a work ethic and respect for diversity, as well as a commitment to continuously acquire new personal and professional skills and knowledge.
· Decision making
Objectively identify and critically assess issues and use professional judgment to develop appropriate decision models, identify and analyze the costs and benefits of alternative courses of action and recommend optimal solutions.

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