Schedule of Classes

The course covers financial and managerial accounting topics that will assist non-business students in understanding financial statements and key accounting decision-making tools and techniques.

Accounting as a system of communicating to owners, creditors, governmental bodies, and others the financial results of the operation of business entities. Concepts, theories, and conventions underlying measurement, processing of business activities, and reporting of the financial results of those activities.

An introduction to cost and management accounting concepts, practices and techniques needed to assist in decision making for typical business problems relating to planning, operating, and control. Key topics include: cost behavior, cost-volume-profit analysis, contribution margin analysis, relevant costs, standard and job costing concepts, fundamentals of budgeting, and related variance analysis.

Procedures and systems of modern accounting through case studies.

Investigate the basic ethical frameworks from which business decisions can be made. Application of the frameworks to practical problems which arise in normal business activities.

The purpose of the course is to develop student awareness of career opportunities in the accounting profession. The course develops a comprehensive framework through exposure to talented accounting professionals and experienced fellow students. The course enables students to explore and better understand career opportunities that may be pursued through an internship and full-time employment; gain perspective on career opportunities for long-term planning purposes; improve their professionalism.

Theory and practice of accounting, emphasizing need for and use of accounting information in measuring and evaluating entity's business income and financial status.

Theory and practice of accounting, emphasizing need for and use of accounting information in measuring and evaluating entity's business income and financial status.

Use of accounting data to: identify cost/managerial accounting concepts; explain cost functions, cost classifications, relevant costs, cost-volume profit analysis, and cost allocations. The use of accounting data for cost control, profit planning, operational and capital budgeting, performance evaluation, and managerial decision making.

Principles and procedures of external auditing. Auditing standards, ethics of the profession, risk assessment, internal control evaluation and testing, substantive testing, reporting. A simulated audit experience case performed by student teams.

This course will provide students with an understanding of data analytics terminology as well as hands-on experience with data analytics tools and techniques. Data analytics in accounting explores how data can be used to interpret and predict financial performance. Students should leave this course with the skills necessary to use data to translate accounting and business problems to management for enhanced decision making. While there will be use of software tools in this course, the focus is on business and accounting concepts, not algorithms or statistical math.

Integration of intermediate accounting transactions into the procedures and systems related to the production and analysis of financial statements. The course will include case studies and accounting simulations. Pass/Fail.

Principles of federal income taxation, based upon the Internal Revenue Code. Measurement and reporting of taxable income of tax entities, including corporations, partnerships, and individuals.

Tax laws as they apply to aspects of the formation, distributions, and liquidation of partnerships and corporations. Also the laws of gift, estate, and trust taxation, and other advanced tax issues.

Personal tax planning strategies. Characteristics of retirement planning accounts and taxation of estates.

Prepares international students for employment in the U.S. upon completion of an accounting STEM program. This includes research of career opportunities and development of a systematic approach to employment planning. Other topics include professionalism and business communications.

Cooperative education or internship assignment. Credit applies to Department of Accounting MSA electives. Pass/Fail. Repeatable to a combined total of three credit hours. Internships registered for ATG 605 credit may not also be registered for BUS 301 credit.

Techniques in effective tax research, planning and communication. Also includes a discussion of tax policy.

In-depth study of selected topics in financial statement analysis and reporting, including financial statement ratios, non-GAAP measures of performance, prospective analysis, business combinations and consolidated financial statements; foreign currency transactions and consolidation of foreign affiliates; derivatives and hedge accounting; SEC reporting requirements; and selected FASB standards.

Preparation for and completion of the comprehensive assessment required for the Master of Science in Accounting. Pass/Fail.