Version 1 and 2: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: describe basic accounting approaches and guidelines for assessment relating to different types of investments; explain  the fair value option for measuring and reporting investments; prepare the property, plant, and equipment section on a balance sheet; distinguish between land and land improvement costs; explain depreciation; distinguish between service life and physical life; explain cost, service life, salvage value, depreciable base, and book value; describe the operating cycle; distinguish between an employee and an independent contractor; distinguish between gross pay and net pay; record journal entries for payroll and withholdings; record the payroll taxes levied on the employer; identify the characteristics of corporations and their organizations; distinguish between common and preferred stocks, carefully detailing the rights and features of each class; compute earnings per share and book value per share; discuss the following assumptions: entity, going-concern, periodicity, monetary unit, and stable currency; differentiate between the indirect and direct methods of preparing a cash flow statement; and apply methods of horizontal and vertical analysis and use ratio analysis.