Master of Science in Accounting

AC 501: FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING (4 Credits)

This course provides a comprehensive, international perspective on accounting and financial reporting systems. Financial accounting and reporting issues are viewed from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Topics include, but are not limited to, the factors that managers and executives must consider as they confront complex and important financial accounting and reporting issues including traditional issues, such as revenue recognition, valuation allowances, and leases, and contemporary issues, such as pensions, stock options, and financial derivatives.

AC 502: REGULATION (4 Credits)

This course will advance the student's knowledge of business law as it applies to accounting. Students will be introduced to the major legal requirements that will be encountered by the professional accountant. Topics include, but are not limited to, the Uniform Commercial Code, contracts, and the legal liability and responsibilities of agencies and accountants.

AC 503: ADVANCED AUDITING (4 Credits)

This course addresses the examination of financial statements and systems from the viewpoint of an independent auditor. Emphasis is on the application of auditing techniques and the professional standards that direct audit performance and reporting. Topics include, but are not limited to, external audit services, audit reports, auditor and management responsibilities, professional standards of external auditors, and how information technologies enhance internal control and procedures used to audit through a computerized system.

AC 504: ETHICAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTING (4 Credits)

This course examines moral development and ethical choices within the framework of business and accounting. Psychological, social, and other theories used to predict human choices are introduced and applied to the current practice and environments of public and corporate accounting. The dilemmas commonly encountered by accounting professionals and their accepted solutions are examined.

AC 505: ADVANCED MANAGERIAL/COST ACCOUNTING (4 Credits)

This course focuses on the role of cost accounting as a tool for managerial decision making and the application of these skills to the overall operation of a business. Topics include, but are not limited to: budgeting, cost volume-profit analysis, job order costing, absorption costing, differential analysis, and capital budgeting.

AC 507: CORPORATE TAX DECISIONS AND STRATEGIES (4 Credits)

This course will emphasize the effect of the federal income tax on business, the federal income tax structure, and the concept of taxable income as it relates to business. Business transactions are influenced by the rules of taxation. Examples of particular interest include, but are not limited to: buying and selling business assets, mortgages, liquidating or reorganizing a business, and transactions between a business and an employee.

GB 512: BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS (4 Credits)

Business Communications focuses on effective communication strategies for various stakeholders using oral and written formats for different purposes, including one-on-one communication and engagement with larger audiences.

GB 540: ECONOMICS FOR GLOBAL DECISION MAKERS (4 Credits)

This course covers micro- and macroeconomic principles with an emphasis on decision making and strategic applications. Microeconomic topics include scarcity, supply and demand, elasticity, utility, profit maximization, cost structures, economic systems, labor markets, and entrepreneurship. Macroeconomic topics include international trade, national income accounting, exchange rates, money and banking, economic growth, and fiscal policy.

ACCOUNTING ELECTIVES (8 Credits)

SPECIALIZATION COURSES (12 Credits)

AC 550: ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS (4 Credits)

This course is focused on the development, design, and implementation of accounting information systems with an emphasis on internal control. Students will examine how to develop new information systems or modify existing systems. Identifying and using controls to uncover security strengths and weaknesses will be a major emphasis.

AC 555: FRAUD EXAMINATION (4 Credits)

This course provides an overview of fraud examination, which includes the introduction of techniques for obtaining documentary evidence, interviewing witnesses and potential suspects, writing investigative reports, testifying to findings, and forensic document examination. Students will learn to apply prevention, detection, and investigative strategies to determine why and how occupational fraud is committed. Students will analyze human behaviors such as greed, deception, and cheating.

AC 557: INTERNAL CONTROL ASSESSMENT AND DESIGN (4 Credits)

This course prepares students to design and assess the internal control system or process. Students will become familiar with risk assessment and management, and compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and COSO. Control concepts introduced will include control types, the cost/ benefit of control, control responsibilities, the plan-do-check-act concepts, and the control responsibilities and standards issued by the FASB, SEC, New York Stock Exchange, AICPA, and other similar organizations

AC 551: ACCOUNTING RESEARCH (4 Credits)

This course focuses on research methods used to assess the impact of accounting information on business and business decision making. In this survey of research on accounting theory, students learn how to assess empirical studies and initiate and develop research projects through research paper discussions and replicating and extending existing research studies. This course is devoted to the analysis of current financial reporting issues.

AC 554: ENTERPRISE RISK ANALYSIS AND PLANNING (4 Credits)

This course explores the evolving nature of risk, expectations about its management, and the pressure it has placed on previous working practices. Risk management has traditionally been segmented and carried out in silos. Enterprise risk management (ERM) is a response to the sense of inadequacy caused by using a silo-based approach to manage increasingly interdependent risks. Students will gain an understanding of the interdependencies between risks and how risks in one business area may increase the impact of risks in another business area.

AC 558: INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS AND GLOBAL FINANCIAL REPORTING (4 Credits)

This course focuses on the relationship between international accounting and global business and investment decisions. The influences of cultural, political, and economic variation within the practice of international business are examined. Topics include, but are not limited to, managerial decision making, the evaluation of foreign financial statement information, and the impact of culture and political practices on capital formation

AC 550: ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS (4 Credits)

This course is focused on the development, design, and implementation of accounting information systems with an emphasis on internal control. Students will examine how to develop new information systems or modify existing systems. Identifying and using controls to uncover security strengths and weaknesses will be a major emphasis.

AC 556: GOVERNMENT AND NOT-FOR-PROFIT ACCOUNTING (4 Credits)

This course examines the financial and managerial accounting concepts peculiar to the planning and administration of public and quasi-public organizations, such as governmental units, educational institutions, and charitable organizations. Topics include, but are not limited to, budgeting, financial reporting, and governmental auditing standards.

AC 557: INTERNAL CONTROL ASSESSMENT AND DESIGN (4 Credits)

This course prepares students to design and assess the internal control system or process. Students will become familiar with risk assessment and management, and compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and COSO. Control concepts introduced will include control types, the cost/ benefit of control, control responsibilities, the plan-do-check-act concepts, and the control responsibilities and standards issued by the FASB, SEC, New York Stock Exchange, AICPA, and other similar organizations

AC 559: INTERNATIONAL TAX PLANNING AND ISSUES (4 Credits)

This course focuses on U.S. income tax on foreign-earned income and the taxation methods of other countries. The effect of U.S. taxation on international transactions and its impact on multinational businesses will be examined and discussed. The tax laws of other countries will be surveyed with emphasis on the treatment of capital gains, dividends, and depreciation. Various tax treaties will be identified and discussed.

AC 560: TAX RESEARCH AND THE IRS (4 Credits)

This course introduces students to the concepts, processes, and information sources relevant to tax research. The Internal Revenue Code, treasury regulations, and federal and state tax cases are examined. Topics include, but are not limited to, interpretations of the tax code, ethical considerations, sources for research, and appropriate presentation of results.

AC 561: TAXATION OF ESTATES AND TRUSTS (4 Credits)

This course is a study of the federal estate and gift taxes, and the impact of income tax. Topics will include an introduction to interstate succession, the drafting and enforcement of wills, living trusts, gifts, marital property, and the avoidance of probate. The course covers the preparation of fiduciary income tax returns with an emphasis on unique tax issues such as income of a descendent, distributable net income, and fiduciary accounting.