Blue Raider Adventure Park Accounting: What the College Case Really Covers

Introduction

Blue Raider Adventure Park Accounting refers to an accounting-cycle case connected with Middle Tennessee State University’s ACTG 2110 Principles of Accounting I coursework. It is presented as a classroom business scenario rather than a verified public adventure park.

That distinction matters.

Someone searching the name may expect ticket prices, rides, opening times, or visitor reviews. That is not what the available material shows. Instead, Blue Raider Adventure Park, often shortened to BRAP in the exercise, gives accounting students a small business they can use to record transactions and prepare financial statements.

The case is practical. Very practical.

Students start with basic business events. Then they journalize transactions, post accounts, prepare trial balances, make adjustments, calculate income, close temporary accounts, and check whether the books balance correctly.

Quick Facts

Detail	Information
Name used in case	Blue Raider Adventure Park
Short name	BRAP
Type	Accounting education case
Course	ACTG 2110 – Principles of Accounting I
University connection	Middle Tennessee State University
Business format in the case	Sole proprietorship
Owner in scenario	Matt Lapinski
Main accounting period	August and September
Park opening in scenario	September 1
Fiscal year-end used	September 30
Main topic	Accounting cycle
Published check figure for net income	$1,024
Published check figure for total assets	$18,354
Public attraction status	Not verified as a real operating park

What Is Blue Raider Adventure Park Accounting?

Blue Raider Adventure Park Accounting is a classroom accounting problem built around a made-up small business.

The setup is simple.

Matt Lapinski is presented as an MTSU student who wants work that fits better around college. His grandfather lets him use land outside Murfreesboro without rent. Matt then creates an adventure-park business on the property.

The scenario mentions existing features such as a pond, cave, nature trail, and barn. Matt adds activity areas such as an obstacle course and zipline course.

The barn works as the ticket and equipment area.

From there, the accounting work starts.

Students do not simply read about the business. They record what happens financially.

Cash comes in.

Bills arrive.

Equipment is bought.

Customers sometimes pay later.

Expenses build up.

Some payments cover future periods.

That gives students enough activity to work through a full accounting cycle.

Why the Case Uses an Adventure Park

A service-style adventure park makes the accounting examples easy to follow.

Ticket sales create revenue.

Supplies create assets and later expenses.

Insurance starts as a prepaid asset.

Equipment needs depreciation.

Credit sales create accounts receivable.

Unpaid wages create liabilities.

A loan creates notes payable and interest expense.

The business is small enough to understand, but there are enough transactions to test several basic accounting rules at once.

That is the main idea.

Who Is Matt Lapinski in the Exercise?

Matt Lapinski is the owner used inside the accounting scenario.

The available case material presents him as an MTSU student. He starts Blue Raider Adventure Park as a sole proprietorship.

That business structure affects the accounts.

Instead of shareholder equity accounts, the exercise uses owner-based accounts such as:

• M. Lapinski, Capital
• M. Lapinski, Withdrawals

Capital tracks the owner’s investment and accumulated equity.

Withdrawals record money Matt takes from the business for personal use.

That withdrawal is not a normal business expense.

This catches students sometimes.

It reduces owner’s equity instead.

How the Business Starts

The indexed version of the exercise begins with Matt investing $7,000 of his own money into the business.

His grandfather then lends the business $10,000.

The note carries a 6% interest rate and is due in two years.

So the business starts with both owner financing and borrowed money.

Those are different.

The $7,000 investment increases cash and owner’s capital.

The $10,000 loan increases cash and notes payable.

That difference sits near the heart of basic accounting.

Main Blue Raider Adventure Park Transactions

The available version includes several transactions during August and September.

Matt buys used park equipment for $2,100 cash.

A park sign costs $650 on account.

Advertising and flyers cost $250.

The activity courses, including obstacle and zipline facilities, cost $5,650.

The business also buys a four-month liability insurance policy for $660.

That insurance payment should not all become an expense immediately.

Part of it covers future months.

So it begins in Prepaid Insurance.

Later, one month’s portion moves into Insurance Expense.

Supplies and Accounts Payable

On September 7, the business purchases $420 of supplies on account.

That means BRAP receives the supplies before paying the supplier.

The basic entry creates:

Debit: Supplies

Credit: Accounts Payable

At the end of September, only $132 of supplies remain.

That means supplies worth $288 were used.

So the adjustment records $288 as Supplies Expense and reduces the Supplies asset by the same amount.

Simple entry. Big lesson.

Students must separate what was bought from what was actually consumed.

Ticket Revenue

Revenue comes mainly from ticket sales.

On September 10, BRAP sells 60 tickets at $15 each.

That produces:

60 × $15 = $900

The payment is received immediately, so Cash increases and Ticket Revenue increases.

A later sale works differently.

On September 17, the business sells 90 tickets at $11 each to a Boys & Girls Club.

The sale totals:

90 × $11 = $990

But the money is not collected immediately.

So the business records Accounts Receivable rather than Cash.

Later, $325 is collected from that receivable.

The collection does not create new revenue.

The revenue was already recorded when the tickets were sold.

That is another point students have to get right.

Cash Ticket Sales Later in September

On September 22, BRAP sells another 45 tickets at $15 each.

The calculation is:

45 × $15 = $675

Because cash is received at the time of sale, both Cash and Ticket Revenue increase.

Across the accounting period, the case reaches $2,565 in Ticket Revenue.

That amount feeds into the income statement.

Unearned Revenue Example

One of the better teaching examples arrives on September 30.

A teacher pays $360 in advance for an October 3 field trip.

BRAP has the cash.

But the service has not happened yet.

So the $360 should not be counted as September Ticket Revenue.

It goes to Unearned Revenue, which is a liability.

Why?

Because the business still owes the customer a future service.

Once that service is provided, the amount can move from Unearned Revenue into revenue.

This part tests whether students understand the difference between receiving cash and actually earning revenue.

They are not always the same thing.

Wages and Other Expenses

BRAP also records several operating expenses.

Grass mowing costs $60.

Employees or helpers receive $380 in wages during September.

At September 30, another $150 of wages has been earned by workers but has not yet been paid.

That amount must still be recorded.

So the business recognizes:

Debit: Wages Expense $150

Credit: Wages Payable $150

No cash leaves the business during that adjustment.

The expense still belongs to September.

That is the point.

Prepaid Insurance Adjustment

The business pays $660 for four months of insurance.

Monthly insurance cost is:

$660 ÷ 4 = $165

By September 30, one month has expired.

So the business records:

Insurance Expense: $165

The remaining prepaid balance becomes:

$660 – $165 = $495

That $495 stays on the balance sheet as an asset because it covers future insurance periods.

Interest Expense

The $10,000 loan carries 6% annual interest.

The case calls for accrued interest through September 30.

Using two months:

$10,000 × 6% × 2/12 = $100

So BRAP recognizes $100 of Interest Expense and $100 of Interest Payable.

Again, cash does not need to move for an expense to exist under accrual accounting.

That idea shows up several times in the exercise.

Depreciation in the Case

Long-term operating assets are not normally charged fully to expense in the period they are purchased.

Instead, the case records depreciation.

The available adjustment figures are:

Asset	Depreciation
Equipment	$36
Sign	$12
Activity courses	$100
Total depreciation	$148

The $148 becomes Depreciation Expense.

Separate accumulated depreciation accounts reduce the assets’ carrying amounts on the balance sheet.

Accounts Used in the Exercise

The case includes a standard small-business chart of accounts.

Assets

The main asset accounts include:

• Cash
• Accounts Receivable
• Supplies
• Prepaid Insurance
• Equipment
• Sign
• Activity Courses

Accumulated depreciation accounts are also used for depreciable property.

Liabilities

Liability accounts include:

• Accounts Payable
• Wages Payable
• Unearned Revenue
• Interest Payable
• Notes Payable

Owner’s Equity

The equity section uses:

• M. Lapinski, Capital
• M. Lapinski, Withdrawals

Revenue

The main revenue account is:

• Ticket Revenue

Expenses

Expense accounts include:

• Advertising Expense
• Depreciation Expense
• Insurance Expense
• Interest Expense
• Mowing Expense
• Supplies Expense
• Wages Expense

An Income Summary account is used during the closing process.

Blue Raider Adventure Park Accounting Cycle

The exercise walks students through the accounting cycle.

At first, each transaction must be checked.

Which accounts changed?

Was each account increased or decreased?

Is the account an asset, liability, equity, revenue, or expense?

Then comes journalizing.

After that, entries are posted into the ledger.

The balances are pulled into an unadjusted trial balance.

Adjustments follow.

Then students prepare the adjusted trial balance and financial statements.

Temporary accounts are closed.

A post-closing trial balance checks the remaining permanent accounts.

So one fictional business connects many accounting topics that students may have previously learned separately.

Unadjusted Trial Balance

The publicly indexed packet gives an unadjusted trial balance check figure of:

Debit total: $20,345

Credit total: $20,345

Both sides must agree.

Matching totals do not prove every entry is correct, but they help catch certain posting and arithmetic errors.

If the two totals differ, something needs checking.

Adjusted Trial Balance

Once the insurance, supplies, depreciation, wages, and interest adjustments are recorded, the account balances change.

Using the available figures, the adjusted trial balance totals:

Debits: $20,743

Credits: $20,743

These adjusted balances feed into the financial statements.

Blue Raider Adventure Park Income Statement

The reconstructed income statement from the indexed version looks like this:

Item	Amount
Ticket Revenue	$2,565
Advertising Expense	$250
Depreciation Expense	$148
Insurance Expense	$165
Interest Expense	$100
Mowing Expense	$60
Supplies Expense	$288
Wages Expense	$530
Total Expenses	$1,541
Net Income	$1,024

The published check figure for net income is $1,024.

That provides a useful checkpoint.

If a student’s income statement gives another result, the journal entries, posting, or adjustments should be checked again.

Owner’s Equity Calculation

Matt originally contributes:

$7,000

The business earns:

$1,024 net income

Matt withdraws:

$700

So ending owner’s capital becomes:

$7,000 + $1,024 – $700 = $7,324

That ending capital amount moves to the balance sheet.

Balance Sheet

The adjusted asset balances can be reconstructed as follows:

Asset	Amount
Cash	$8,810
Accounts Receivable	$665
Supplies	$132
Prepaid Insurance	$495
Equipment, net	$2,064
Sign, net	$638
Activity Courses, net	$5,550
Total Assets	$18,354

The case’s published check figure for total assets is also $18,354.

Now look at the other side.

Liabilities and Equity	Amount
Accounts Payable	$420
Wages Payable	$150
Unearned Revenue	$360
Interest Payable	$100
Notes Payable	$10,000
Total Liabilities	$11,030
M. Lapinski, Capital	$7,324
Total Liabilities + Equity	$18,354

The accounting equation works:

Assets $18,354 = Liabilities $11,030 + Owner’s Equity $7,324

Everything balances.

Closing the Accounts

Revenue and expense accounts are temporary.

They do not carry their balances forever.

At the end of the accounting period, they are closed so the next period begins with zero balances in those temporary accounts.

Withdrawals are also closed into the owner’s capital account.

Permanent accounts remain open.

These include assets, liabilities, and ending capital.

The publicly indexed exercise gives a post-closing trial balance total of:

Debits: $18,502

Credits: $18,502

That figure acts as another checkpoint for students.

What Students Can Learn From the Case

Blue Raider Adventure Park Accounting packs several basic accounting ideas into one business story.

Students see how cash differs from revenue.

They see why an unpaid cost can still be an expense.

They learn why a customer payment may create a liability.

They work with receivables.

They record depreciation.

They calculate accrued interest.

They track withdrawals separately from expenses.

And most importantly, they see how one transaction can later affect several reports.

That connection matters.

The income statement feeds the owner’s equity calculation.

Ending capital then appears on the balance sheet.

One mistake near the start can carry through several later steps.

Is Blue Raider Adventure Park a Real Park?

There is no strong public evidence showing that the Blue Raider Adventure Park in this accounting exercise operates as a real commercial attraction.

The available material points toward a teaching scenario connected with accounting coursework.

So readers should be careful with websites that describe it like an actual tourist attraction.

Claims about its public address, operating hours, customer ratings, current admission prices, employees, or present ownership should not be added without reliable evidence.

The safest description is simple:

Blue Raider Adventure Park is the fictional business used in an accounting-cycle exercise associated with MTSU’s ACTG 2110 course.

Why Searchers May Find Confusing Results

The keyword looks like a business name.

That creates confusion.

Someone may search for Blue Raider Adventure Park and expect a normal company profile.

But indexed results often lead to homework-help pages, accounting questions, or course-related copies of the assignment.

Some versions may also come from different semesters.

That means numbers should be checked against the exact packet a student has been given.

A transaction amount from one version should not automatically be treated as correct for every ACTG 2110 class.

Final Thought

Blue Raider Adventure Park Accounting is best understood as an accounting-cycle exercise rather than a normal park profile.

The fictional business gives students a realistic set of transactions without making the company structure too complicated.

Cash sales look easy.

Credit sales change things.

Advance payments add another issue.

Then wages, insurance, supplies, depreciation, and loan interest start affecting the books.

By the end, students can see how journal entries turn into trial balances, financial statements, closing entries, and a balanced accounting equation.

That is what makes the case useful.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Blue Raider Adventure Park Accounting?

It is an accounting-cycle case associated with MTSU’s ACTG 2110 Principles of Accounting I coursework. The exercise uses Blue Raider Adventure Park as a fictional small business.

Is Blue Raider Adventure Park a real business?

The available evidence does not verify it as an operating public adventure park. The name is mainly found in accounting-course materials.

Who owns Blue Raider Adventure Park in the accounting case?

Matt Lapinski is presented as the owner in the case. The business is structured as a sole proprietorship.

What does BRAP mean?

BRAP is the shortened name used for Blue Raider Adventure Park in the accounting exercise.

What is the net income in the available case version?

The published check figure is $1,024 in net income.

What are total assets in the case?

The published total-assets check figure is $18,354.

Why is the $360 advance payment unearned revenue?

The money is received before the October field-trip service is provided. Until that service occurs, the business still owes something to the customer, so the amount is recorded as a liability.

What does the case teach?

It covers journal entries, ledger posting, trial balances, adjusting entries, accrual accounting, financial statements, depreciation, receivables, liabilities, owner’s equity, closing entries, and the post-closing trial balance.

Central idea