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ACC 201 Project Guidelines and Rubric
Competencies
In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competencies:
- Record and present financial information by applying the appropriate framework and guidelines of accounting for business transactions
- Determine asset accounts and their disclosure in the financial statements
- Determine liability and equity accounts and their disclosure in the financial statements
Scenario
You were recently hired as an entry-level bookkeeper for a service business that recently opened. This is the first month in operation for the business and your first task is to record business transactions for their first month using the source documents and transaction data the owner will provide to you. Because this is a small business that does not use computerized accounting, you will apply the accounting cycle in Excel to record transactions and generate financial reporting results for the owner.
Directions
- Company Accounting Workbook
Use accepted accounting principles to follow and record your business transactions for a one-month period from the first step of the accounting cycle through the reporting process. You will build on the workbook you created in Milestones One and Two, or you may start over with the blank Company Accounting Workbook Template (linked below in the
What to Submit
section), incorporating instructor feedback where applicable. After you complete your workbook, you will prepare a summary report of your work.
Your completed accounting workbook will consist of journal entries for each transaction and postings of transactions to account ledgers. You will develop a trial balance from the ledger balances, and use these balances to prepare the income statement, statement of owner’s equity, and the balance sheet. After the preparation of the financial statements, closing entries will be entered to transfer earnings to equity and prepare temporary accounts for the new accounting period.
Use the instructions below to complete your workbook. Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
Record Financial Data: Use accepted accounting principles to accurately capture business transactions for the month using the data provided in the accounting data appendix (linked in the
Supporting Materials
section). You will need to address the following:Accuracy: Prepare entries that are accurate in that they fully reflect the appropriate information.Completeness: Prepare entries that are complete for the month, including transferring posted entries to T accounts.Unadjusted Trial Balance: Prepare the unadjusted trial balance portion of the “Trial Balance” tab of the company accounting workbook, ensuring that the total debits and credits match.
- Summary Report
After you have finished preparing all the financial statements, analyze the statements and write a short report summarizing your findings. Use the template provided in the What to Submit section to complete your report. There is also a
Final Project Walkthrough
video available in Supporting Materials that will provide guidance for completing your template. In addition to the financial statement results, the owners have requested that you provide them with additional information as further growth is anticipated. They would like more input from you to support the best possible decisions for the business.
In addition, the owners are requesting that you provide them with some suggestions on simple internal controls they can integrate to ensure protection of company assets, and accuracy in the company’s financial data. The owners are also considering acquiring more long-term/fixed assets, such as vehicles, equipment, buildings, and so on. They would like your input on the different options available for depreciation of these costs. Adding sales of product is also a consideration for expansion. The owners want to know what accounting considerations will be involved with this change.
- Summary: Write a summary of what the financial statements indicate about the company’s financial health and performance.Purpose: Discuss the accounting process and the resulting financial statements as they relate to meeting the informational needs of the user.Process: Explain the process used to produce accurate account balances and financial statements from the individual transaction data.Consider what is being communicated through each of the financial statements you prepared (income statement, statement of equity and balance sheet) and how this information will be used in business decision making and planning.Analysis: Explain the company’s cash position, its net income as a percentage of sales, and its current liabilities to current assets position.Results: Discuss the results regarding profitability of the first month of operations.Consider how well the company is positioned to meet current liabilities.Be sure to include the percentage of revenues that result in profit/net income and the current ratio when discussing profitability and liquidity based on the recorded month’s results.Consider key points in your observations of results: is the company operating profitably (what percent of revenues result in profit/net income)? How well-poised are they to meet liabilities (discuss liquidity and current ratio)?Recommendations: Recommend a simple system of controls that can be implemented to ensure protection of company assets and the accuracy and integrity of their financial data as they anticipate further growth.Consider additional controls that will support the potential for adding merchandise and additional assets with business growth/expansion.Asset Valuation: Discuss the treatment of current and long-term assets on the balance sheet.Discuss at least two different methods of depreciation. Consider how the methods of depreciation will be determined.Discuss how LIFO, FIFO, and average methods will differ and provide examples of types of applicable merchandising.Consider how accounting will change with the addition of merchandise inventory.
What to Submit
To complete this project, you must submit the following:
Company Accounting WorkbookYour workbook should be completed and submitted as a Microsoft Excel file based on the template provided.
Project Summary Report
Use this template to submit a 1- to 2-page Word document summarizing the financial statements you created.
Supporting Materials
The following resources support your work on the project:
Resource:
Accounting Data Appendix
This resource includes all the existing financial information needed to complete your project.
Tutorial:
Excel Basics Office 36
(2019)
This tutorial from Infobase provides helpful information on how to use the basic features of Microsoft Excel. Use the table of contents to select the tutorials that best suit your needs.
Video: Final Project Walkthrough (7:48)This video walkthrough is available if you need additional assistance completing your project. The video uses a sample data set for illustrative purposes.
A video transcript is available:
Transcript for ACC 201 Final Project Walkthrough
Project Rubric
| Criteria | Exemplary ( | 10 | Proficient (85%) | Needs Improvement (55%) | Not Evident (0%) | Value | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prepares accurate entries with no errors | Prepares accurate entries with minimal errors | Prepares entries that have significant inaccuracies | Does not attempt criterion | |||||||||||||
| Prepares entries that are complete for the month, including transferring posted entries to T accounts, with no errors | Prepares entries that are complete for each month, including transferring posted entries to T accounts, with minimal errors | Prepares entries that are complete for each month, including transferring posted entries to T accounts, with significant errors | ||||||||||||||
| Prepares the unadjusted trial balance accurately, ensuring the total debits and credits match with no errors | Prepares the unadjusted trial balance with minimal errors | Prepares the unadjusted trial balance with significant errors | ||||||||||||||
| Prepares the income statement using the adjusted trial balance with no errors | Prepares the income statement using the adjusted trial balance with minimal errors | Prepares the income statement using the adjusted trial balance with significant errors | ||||||||||||||
| Prepares the statement of owner’s equity using the adjusted trial balance with no errors | Prepares the statement of owner’s equity using the adjusted trial balance with minimal errors | Prepares the statement of owner’s equity using the adjusted trial balance with significant errors | ||||||||||||||
| Prepares the balance sheet assets using the adjusted trial balance with no errors | Prepares the balance sheet assets using the adjusted trial balance with minimal errors | Prepares the balance sheet assets using the adjusted trial balance with significant errors | ||||||||||||||
| Prepares the balance sheet liabilities using the adjusted trial balance with no errors | Prepares the balance sheet liabilities using the adjusted trial balance with minimal errors | Prepares the balance sheet liabilities using the adjusted trial balance with significant errors | ||||||||||||||
| Completes closing entries by closing all temporary income statement amounts to create closing entries with no errors | Completes closing entries by closing all temporary income statement amounts to create closing entries with minimal errors | Completes closing entries by closing all temporary income statement amounts to create closing entries, but there are significant errors | ||||||||||||||
| Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Discusses the accounting process and the resulting financial statements as they relate to meeting the informational needs of the user | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include errors in the description of the accounting process or how the financial statements relate to the needs of the user | ||||||||||||||
| Explains the process used to produce accurate account balances and financial statements from the individual transaction data | Shows progress toward proficiency but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include missing relevant details about the account balance and financial statement process | |||||||||||||||
| Explains the company’s cash position, its net income as a percentage of sales, and its current liabilities to current assets position | Shows progress toward proficiency but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include missing relevant details about the company’s cash position, its net income as a percentage of sales, and its current liabilities to current assets position | |||||||||||||||
| Discusses the results regarding profitability of the first month of operations | Shows progress toward proficiency but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include insufficient explanation of current liabilities or missing explanations of profitability and liquidity | |||||||||||||||
| Recommends a simple system of controls that can be implemented to ensure protection of company assets, and the accuracy and integrity in their financial data as they anticipate further growth | Shows progress toward proficiency but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include omission of controls related to company assets or the accuracy and integrity of financial data | |||||||||||||||
| Discusses the treatment of current and long-term assets on the balance sheet | Shows progress toward proficiency but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include missing methods of depreciation, how long-term asset methods will differ, or how accounting might change with the addition of inventory | |||||||||||||||
| Total: | 100% |
This chart of accounts should help you identify
the appropriate accounts to record to as you are
analyzing and journaling transactions for this
workbook. There is nothing to complete on this
page; this is simply a resource for you.
Asset Accounts
Acct #
Cash
Accounts Receivable
Prepaid Rent
Prepaid Insurance
Office Supplies
Vehicle
Accumulated Depreciation (contra asset)
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
Liability Accounts
Acct #
Notes Payable
Accounts Payable
Wages Payable
201
202
203
Equity Accounts
Acct #
Owner’s Capital
Owner Draws
301
302
Revenue Accounts
Acct #
Service Revenue
401
Expense Accounts
Acct #
Rent expense
Business License Expense
Telephone expense
Repairs and Maintenance
Advertising Expense
Wages Expense
Depreciation Expense
501
502
503
504
506
507
508
A Company
General Journal Entries
Date
Accounts
Debit
Credit
Total
–
–
Journal Entry Tips
The debited account is recorded first, credited account recorded second.
Debits and credits must always equal!
There can be compound entries in which two accounts receive a debt to an equivalent credited amount to on
Be sure to use your chart of accounts (the first page of this workbook).
Each account you will record to is already listed and organized by classification of the account.
If Red, this means your debits and credits do not equal. Be sure to review for errors.
$
$
Assets
Liabilities
Cash
Notes Payable
–
$
–
$
Accounts Rec.
$
$
–
$
–
$
–
–
$
–
$
–
$
$
–
Wages Payable
–
Prepaid Insurance
$
$
$
Accounts Payable
Prepaid Rent
$
$
–
–
$
–
$
$
–
$
Office Supplies
$
$
–
$
–
Vehicle
$
$
–
$
–
Accumulated Depreciation
$
–
$
$
–
ies
$
Payable
Equity
Revenue
Owner’s Capital
Service Revenue
–
$
$
–
$
–
–
$
–
Owner Draws
$
$
–
$
Posting to the ledger/t accounts
Don’t overthink it!
You are just posting each debit and credit from the journal entries to the account you identified in the
These accounts are set to calculate your balances for you.
Please be careful not to delete the running totals as those will calculate the ending balance.
The ending balance will transfer to the Trial Balance sheet.
If you have posted all entries and your trial balance is not in balance (total debits = total credits),
this means that there is an error.
Revenue
Expenses
Service Revenue
Rent Expense
$
$
–
$
$
–
$
–
Business License Expense
$
–
$
$
–
$
–
Telephone Expense
account you identified in the entry.
he ending balance.
l debits = total credits),
$
$
–
$
–
Repairs & Maint.
$
–
$
–
$
Advertising Expense
$
$
–
$
–
Wages Expense
$
$
–
$
–
Depreciation Expense
$
$
–
$
–
Trial Balance
As of 06/30/20XX
Unadjusted trial balance
Account
Cash
Accounts Receivable
Prepaid Rent
Prepaid Insurance
Vehicle
Office Supplies
Accumulated Depreciation
Notes Payable
Accounts Payable
Wages Payable
Owner’s Capital
Owner Draws
Service Revenue
Rent Expense
Business License Expense
Telephone Expense
Repairs and Maintenance Expense
Advertising Expense
Wages Expense
Depreciation Expense
Total:
Debit
Credit
–
Debits should equal credits
`
–
Trial Balance
Balances from the t accounts will autofill your trial balance.
If total debits do not equal total credits in the trial balance, you know you have an error.
These are the balances that will be used to prepare the financial statements.
Be sure to implement feedback provided by your instructor for this Milestone One submission!
A Company
Income Statement
For Month ending 06/30/20XX
Revenues
Total Revenues
$
–
Operating Expenses:
Total Operating Expenses:
–
Net Income
–
Company Name
Statement of Owner’s Equity
Period Ending 06/30/20XX
Beginning Capital on 6/01/20XX
Increases to capital
Net income/loss:
Owner Contributions
Subtotal:
$
–
$
–
$
–
Decreases to capital
Owner Draws
Ending Equity as of 06/30/20XX
A Company
Balance Sheet
As of June 30, 20XX
Assets
Current Assets:
Total Current Assets
–
Non-Current Assets:
Total Non Current/Fixed Assets
–
Total Assets:
–
Liabilities and Owners’ Equity
Current Liabilities:
Total Current Liabilities
Long Term Liabilities:
–
Total Long Term Liabilities:
–
Total Liabilities:
–
Owner’s Equity
Total Equity
–
Total Liabilities & Equity
–
