MS ACCOUNTANCY PROGRAM
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS*
Info about pre-requisites and required courses are not included.
Current course offerings are available on CougarTrail.

Accounting

ACCT 500 Financial Accounting Theory (3)
This course provides a foundation in accounting theory pertaining to financial reporting. The focus is on the historical development of accounting thought, standard setting and regulation, and fundamental accounting principles and concepts, including measurement and reporting for income, assets, liabilities, and equity. (Required)
Prerequisite: Acceptance into the M.S. Accountancy program.

ACCT 507 Accounting Information Systems (3)
This course is designed to provide the graduate accounting student with a broad conceptual and practical knowledge of accounting as an information system. The focus is information and its decision usefulness to managers, investors, creditors, and other interested parties. Particular attention is paid to human beings as information processors, the systems development life cycle, the decision process, internal control structure, and applications to the business environment.

ACCT 509 Advanced Auditing Concepts (3)
Various strategic and ethical aspects of external auditing are examined in this course. The focus is on current issues facing the auditing profession with an emphasis on the challenges facing the audit practitioner in the foreseeable future. Prerequisite: Successful completion of ACCT 409 or its equivalent.

ACCT 510 Internal Audit and Forensic Accounting (3)
This course examines current theory and practice of internal auditing viewed as a component of organizational governance. The effectiveness of various internal audit activities will be evaluated with an emphasis on the role that the internal audit function should play in detecting fraud.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of ACCT 409 or its equivalent.

ACCT 513 Financial Statement Analysis (3)
This course examines the use of information contained in financial statements with an emphasis on the impact that current issues in accounting have on statement users. Because financial statements are primarily used to predict future performance, the course features the tools of financial statement analysis: strategy assessment, accounting quality analysis and forecasting.
(Required)
Prerequisite: Successful completion of ACCT 500.

ACCT 515 History of Accounting Thought
The evolution of accounting thought from the ancient through the post-modern period is examined. Accounting as a social phenomenon is studied historically in its relevant economic and political contexts. Western and non-Western historical traditions frame the study of accounting’s role in the transformation of societies and economies and its importance in the development of social institutions.
Prerequisite: Acceptance into the M.S. Accountancy program. All required undergraduate financial accounting courses must be completed before this course is attempted.

ACCT 518 Financial Case Analysis (3)
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles-based issues that relate to real-world accounting cases are covered. The objective is to facilitate the understanding of GAAP and its application to business problems. The consequences of GAAP interpretations on the independent audit function and the interrelationships of GAAP and GAAS in the financial reporting environment are examined.
Prerequisite: Acceptance into the M.S. Accountancy program. All required undergraduate financial accounting courses must be completed before this course is attempted.

ACCT 520 Independent Study in Accounting (1-3)
Individual study of a given accounting topic to be defined by the student in consultation with the instructor.

ACCT 531 Advanced Accounting (3)
This course focuses on accounting theory applicable to business combinations. The preparation of consolidated financial statements and the accounting for inter-corporate transfers of land, depreciable assets, and inventory are examined. Foreign currency transactions, the translation of foreign entity statements, and a brief introduction to alternate business entities will be offered.
Prerequisite: Acceptance into the M.S. Accountancy program. All financial accounting undergraduate pre-requisites must be completed before this course is attempted.

ACCT 540 Research in Taxation (3)
Students learn to research relevant areas of the tax laws. Objectives include acquiring the technical skills necessary to identify tax situations, isolating the tax issues, and developing the documentary support and arguments for acceptable solutions to complex tax problems. Upon completion of the course, students are able to use the major tax services (including computerized tax information resources) in order to prepare a tax memorandum that communicates the tax issues and related primary and secondary sources of federal tax law. The procedural processes for representing a taxpayer before the Internal Revenue Service are addressed.
Prerequisites: ACCT 341 or its equivalent is required.

ACCT 542 Taxation of Pass-Through Entities (3)
Students will discuss and analyze income tax law and preparation requirements for various entities in which income tax elements and liabilities pass through to individuals’ tax returns. Ethical guidelines, including Circular 230 and Statements on Responsibilities in Tax Practice will be considered.
Prerequisites: ACCT 341 or its equivalent is required.

ACCT 543 Taxation of Corporations with Interstate and International Transactions (3)
Students will discuss and analyze income tax law and preparation requirements for corporations, including interstate and international transactions. Ethical guidelines, including Circular 230 and Statements on Responsibilities in Tax Practice will be considered.
Prerequisites: ACCT 341 or its equivalent is required.

ACCT 545 Taxation of Estate/Gift Transfers and Deferred Compensation (3)
This course introduces students to federal estate, gift and generation-skipping tax principles, as well as tax planning techniques for lifetime and testamentary dispositions of property. Topics covered will include tax planning for married couples, tax free and split-interest gifting techniques, charitable gifting techniques, valuation planning techniques, planning for family business interests and tax planning for life insurance and retirement benefits. Related tax policy issues will also be considered.
Prerequisites: ACCT 341 or its equivalent is required.

ACCT 551 Corporate Transactional Data Management (3)
This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of how to collect and manage data for purposes of preparing various reports to support various managerial decisions, auditing balances subject to high levels of judgment, financial statement consolidation and other financial reports, etc.
Prerequisites: Acceptance into the M.S. Accountancy program.

ACCT 552 Quantitative Analysis for Accountants (3)
This course is an introduction to the concept of business analytics. They will learn to analyze and exploit financial data from public sources in order to identify potentially useful patterns. Modeling skills will be taught that will enable the students to forecast future performance for publicly-held companies, identify credit-worthy business opportunities, manage risk, etc.
Prerequisite: Acceptance into the M.S. Accountancy program.

ACCT 553 Advanced Corporate Transactional Data Management (3)
This course provides students with an advanced understanding of data management in a business analytic context. Emphasis will be placed on preparing, cleaning, querying, manipulating, and reporting of corporate transactional data in order to conduct advanced business analytics. These analytical tools will be presented in a manner that will help students see their application in areas like financial reporting, tax compliance and decision support.
Prerequisite : ACCT 551 or instructor permission.

ACCT 554 Advanced Quantitative Analysis for Accountants (3)
This course provides students with advanced understanding of the business analytics methodologies. Emphasis will be placed on using these methodologies (e.g., logistic regression, neural networks, decision trees, etc) to solve real-world accounting and financial problems. Featured will be the detection of earnings management and/or fraudulent financial reporting, advanced credit scoring and forecasting of future financial performance.
Prerequisite : ACCT 552 or instructor permission.

ACCT 555 Information Technology Governance and Infrastructure Life-cycle Management (3)
This course examines systems analysis and design as well as Information Technology governance concepts for computer-based accounting information systems. Topics are taught from an Information Technology auditing perspective and include the determination of information requirements, design of information systems, feasibility study issues, project management techniques, and Information Technology governance concepts.
Prerequisite: Acceptance into the M.S. Accountancy program.

ACCT 556 Protection of Information Assets (3)
This course addresses the technology used in the accumulation, reporting and analysis of accounting data. Topics are taught from an Information Technology auditing perspective and include modern computing hardware, telecommunications and networking concepts, an overview of the environment of the data communications industry, and an introduction to information security.
Prerequisite : Acceptance into the M.S. Accountancy program.

ACCT 560 Special Topics in Accounting (3)
This elective can be customized to provide an in depth review of selected issues which may affect external (i.e., financial, tax) and internal reporting within the local, national, and international areas.

Business Law

BLAW 509 International Business Law (3)
This course will give the student a basic overview of the regulatory framework of international business. This will involve both examination of the law of the United States as it affects international business and regulations set by bodies outside of the United States .

BLAW 529 Commercial Law (3)  
This course covers selected aspects of business law including contract law, Articles 2, 2A, 3, 4, 4A, and 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) (e.g. sales, leases, negotiable instruments, banking, electronic funds transfer, and secured transactions), bankruptcy, trusts and estates, auditor liability, and real property.

BLAW 560 Special Topics in Business Law (3)
This course is designed to provide an in-depth analysis of selected legal topics, such as securities law and negotiations, which might affect accounting professionals.

Finance

FINC 560 Special Topics in Finance (3)
This course provides an in-depth analysis of selected finance issues which might affect accounting professionals.

*This is not a complete list of graduate courses that will be offered. Several Special Topics graduate courses (i.e., ACCT 560, BLAW 560, FINC 560, etc.) will be offered as sufficient student interest and faculty availability dictates. Also, graduate courses may be offered by other departments (i.e., ECON, FINC, MGMT, MKTG, etc.) as sufficient student interest and faculty availability dictates.