Curriculum | Master of Accountancy in Accounting and Analytics*

This course is designed to strengthen the ability to correctly interpret financial statements and their accompanying disclosures and use them to assess a company's value. Emphasis will be placed on interpreting financial and business communications and operating and financial leverage.

This course is primarily concerned with providing the foundation of knowledge necessary to build the skills needed to operate in the world envisioned by the AICPA when they adopted the Electronic Business Strategic Initiative. Accounting is defined by the AICPA as "a service activity whose function is to provide quantitative information, primarily financial in nature, about an organization that is intended to be useful in making ... decisions." Accounting Information Systems (AIS) encompasses those systems, manual and automated, that collect, store, manipulate, disseminate, and present that information to the decision-maker. The course adds to the knowledge of future accounting and auditing professionals who have taken the prerequisite course, Auditing Concepts, by becoming familiar with the technologies use in Accounting Information System and related IT audit methodology. The emphasis of this course is to assist students in: (1) obtaining an understanding of the risks associated with key aspects of information systems including: operating systems security, databases, networks, and systems development; and the audit role of Computer Assisted Audit Tools and Techniques (CAATTs); and (2) having a working command of ACL in performing standard attest function tests and fraud detection. It is expected that at the end of this course students will be comfortable using the information technology that has become common in supporting accounting applications. Further, it is hoped that when a student encounters new technology in the future, they will be able to use the foundation learned in this course to master that technology as well.

This course provides the student with the evolution of accounting information to the digital economy. It explores the migration of the economy to a real-time economy and the digitalization of the business as well as the globalization of business. Enabling and emerging technologies provides the student with an awareness of the future of accounting, reporting, and auditing in the digital age. Technologies and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act provide an understanding about future methodologies that address compliance with the act.

This course covers the tax research environment including rules and ethics in tax practice. Emphasis is on learning how to research tax problems by locating, understanding, and analyzing source materials such as the Internal Revenue Code, IRS regulations, and court cases.

The goal of this course is to give students the opportunity to develop research skills and to apply those skills to current issues in accounting and business. To achieve this goal, students work in teams to complete the course project. You will submit your team's findings and the following week's plans at weekly team meetings, At the end of the semester, each project team will present the results of their research to the class and submit a comprehensive report. There will also be a take-home final exam in which students will apply their understanding of the role of accounting in business to a real-world situation.

This course brings together the concepts introduced in Audit Analytics, Special Topics in Audit Analytics, and Information Risk Management for completion of the four-course certificate program in Audit Analytics. Students will be assigned a project that integrates the concepts to address increased effectiveness in audit planning and engagement management.

One of auditors' primary responsibilities is to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of organizations' risk management. Integrating information systems in the audit process can provide better assistance for the auditors to monitor and assess organizations' risk. The goal of this course is to introduce the advanced applications of audit automation, such as continuous auditing and monitoring, and related risk management issues. Specifically, this course aims to facilitate students to (1) recognize the future of audit process involving advanced technologies, (2) understand various of risks existing in an organization and how an enterprise risk management system works, (3) master some widely used audit automation/analytics tools, such as CaseWare electronic working papers and IDEA.

This course is primarily concerned with providing the foundation of knowledge necessary to build the skills needed to operate in the world envisioned by the AICPA when they adopted the Electronic Business Strategic Initiative. Accounting is defined by the AICPA as "a service activity whose function is to provide quantitative information, primarily financial in nature, about an organization that is intended to be useful in making ... decisions." Accounting Information Systems (AIS) encompasses those systems, manual and automated, that collect, store, manipulate, disseminate, and present that information to the decision-maker. The course adds to the knowledge of future accounting and auditing professionals who have taken the prerequisite course, Auditing Concepts, by becoming familiar with the technologies use in Accounting Information System and related IT audit methodology.

The emphasis of this course is to assist students in: (1) obtaining an understanding of the risks associated with key aspects of information systems including: operating systems security, databases, networks, and systems development; and the audit role of Computer Assisted Audit Tools and Techniques (CAATTs); and (2) having a working command of ACL in performing standard attest function tests and fraud detection. It is expected that at the end of this course students will be comfortable using the information technology that has become common in supporting accounting applications. Further, it is hoped that when a student encounters new technology in the future, they will be able to use the foundation learned in this course to master that technology as well

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the ability of machines to seemingly think for themselves. Converging technologies along with Big Data and the Internet of Things (IoT) are driving the growth of AI. This course will provide the theory and application of AI. We will explore the concepts of AI and machine learning as they apply to accounting and auditing in modern organizations. Secondly, this course is designed to enable the students to understand how developments in AI, such as deep learning, are fundamentally transforming the way the data is understood in accounting, auditing, and other business activities. A key machine learning software, R, will be introduced and tutorials will be provided to demonstrate how to use machine learning techniques to analyze real world datasets. Additionally, students will gain hands-on experience on AI software used for auditing.

The course aims to further improve students' analytic skills and to promote changes in the profession toward realizing a modern audit approach suited to the current business environment.

This course is designed for business school students, especially accounting students, to learn the emerging technology Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and its application in accounting and auditing. In this course, students will learn how to build RPA robots for different use cases in accounting and auditing. Besides learning RPA, students will also learn the basics of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how AI can be integrated with RPA to achieve Intelligent Process Automation (IPA). The objective of this course is to prepare accounting students for the changing work environment in which technologies and automation are playing an increasingly important role. This course is also suitable for working professionals in organizations that are undergoing digital transformations.

This course seeks to equip students with foundational knowledge and essential skills enabling them not only to understand cybersecurity risks, controls, and governance, but also to provide assurance on cybersecurity. The course provides an understanding of cybersecurity concepts that can be used to facilitate integrated audit efforts within organizations. The course also examines preventive, detective, and corrective controls, and how to apply the audit process to a cloud environment. Students will also be exposed to the mobile environment and cyber standards, as well as learn how to audit common security solutions.

This course provides a broad overview of the essential concepts of blockchain technology to lay the foundation necessary for applying it to accounting. It also includes the benefits, values, and opportunities of blockchain in accounting, and the risks and challenges of implementing this technology in accounting.

In recent years, audit analytics has drawn great attention in the accounting profession due to the increase in demand for enhancing audit quality by regulators, creditors, and investors. Many audit firms and internal auditors have applied audit analytics to their audit processes. In response to this trend, this course aims at introducing our students to the concept of audit analytics, the basic audit analytical tools, and the application of various analytical methods in both internal and external audit processes. Please note that this course mainly emphasizes the usage of statistics and the interpretation of results rather than the mathematics of specific tools or techniques; in other words, this course does not primarily focus on the technical aspects of analytical methods.

Covers such topics as free markets and regulation, moral responsibility of senior managers, corporate strategy and stockholder relations, the environment, product safety, employee rights, corporate culture and group think, racial and sexual discrimination, affirmative action, the responsibilities of American companies abroad, and leveraged buyouts. Text, articles, case studies, and fictional works will be employed.

The basic principles of fund accounting are covered, including the analysis of financial management systems applicable to local government units. This course also introduces students to major pronouncements of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). An introduction to government auditing is also provided, including a review of Government Auditing Standards, promulgated by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO). The Single Audit requirements for state and local governments are also covered.

This course will expose students to practical litigation concepts and issues relating to calculating economic damages and lost profits, marital distributions, deposition, and trial testimony techniques, providing bankruptcy services to attorneys and trustees, and models used in preparing various related reports. This course is intended to provide students with an understanding of the various roles an accountant, economist, or other financial-related individual may have in the litigation arena.

This course covers the means, motives, and opportunities that gives rise to fraud. It specifically covers fraud examiner ethics, motivations to commit fraud, the symptoms of fraud, and the means of detecting fraud committed against both organizations and individuals. Fraud types discussed include financial statement, revenue, and inventory frauds as well as bankruptcy and divorce frauds.

Presents the most common accounting and control programs in nonprofit organizations. The course is heavily case oriented to get students to consider accounting and control problems in specific nonprofit organizations including hospitals, governmental units, colleges and universities, and federal and state agencies

An introduction to financial statement analysis which builds on the fundamentals of accounting, including understanding the accounting equation and its application in building the balance sheet, the income statement, and the statement of cash flows. Basic accounting concepts, accounting principles, and the audit report are presented. Students work in teams to analyze corporate financial statements.

The relationship of economic value to accounting measurement is explored together with factors influencing management choices among competing valuation principles. Theory is applied to the valuation of the asset, liability, and owners' equity accounts. Emphasizes the heavy reliance on estimates in constructing financial statements and how management can use such estimates to strategically manage its reporting responsibilities.

This course provides the student with the evolution of accounting information to the digital economy. It explores the migration of the economy to a real-time economy and the digitalization of the business as well as the globalization of business. Enabling and emerging technologies provides the student with an awareness of the future of accounting, reporting, and auditing in the digital age. Technologies and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act provide an understanding about future methodologies that address compliance with the act.

Discusses many of the problems in financial reporting, accounting theory and practice. Instills an appreciation for the challenges and limitations of accounting. Prepares students for advanced study, professional examinations, and successful pursuit of accounting careers. Covers all critical Intermediate Accounting topics including current and long-term assets and liabilities, stockholders' equity, dilutive securities, earnings per share, investments, share—based compensation, accounting for income taxes, cash flows, leases, and accounting changes. Refers to pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission. International Financial Reporting Standards are discussed when they differ significantly from US GAAP.

*22:010:628: Contemporary Problems in Accounting Theory is not open to students who have completed Intermediate Accounting I (22:835:501) and Intermediate Accounting II (22:835:502)

This graduate-level tax course is designed for students to develop an understanding of the fundamentals of federal income tax. This course is not intended for students in graduate taxation programs. Rather, this course combines basics of income taxation that are in multiple graduate-level courses thus giving student the accounting student broad coverage into individual as well as entity taxation. This course will help students develop skills in applying the tax law to client situations as well as analyzing the tax ramifications of business transactions. These skills are essential of graduates entering the workforce

*22:010:603: Income Taxation can be completed in place of 22:010:638: Income Tax Accounting

As a key course in our foundation area, the student will learn to (1) prepare and use accounting information for planning and control purposes, and (2) master the essential tools and skills, including different types of data analytics, to make business decisions using accounting information. Different cost classifications (by value chain function, by directness, by cost behavior into variable and fixed, by relevance for short-term decision-making) are studied and applied for cost control, cost planning, and cost analysis. Important analytical tools such as cost-volume-profit analysis and variance analysis are studied in depth. The course will also cover techniques for compiling, organizing, and analyzing cost data using statistics to determine cost behavior and derive insights for managerial decision-making. The course makes extensive use of real-world cases that require application and synthesis of concepts. 

Learn the role of financial statement audits in organizations and financial markets. Gain a comprehensive understanding of the processes involved in planning and executing audits, along with effectively communicating the findings. Develop the attitude, knowledge, and skills required to meet ethical and auditing standards. Obtain critical insights into leveraging data analysis techniques to enhance audit efficiency and effectiveness.

This course brings together the concepts introduced in Audit Analytics, Special Topics in Audit Analytics, and Information Risk Management for completion of the four-course certificate program in Audit Analytics. Students will be assigned a project that integrates the concepts to address increased effectiveness in audit planning and engagement management.

One of auditors' primary responsibilities is to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of organizations' risk management. Integrating information systems in the audit process can provide better assistance for the auditors to monitor and assess organizations' risk. The goal of this course is to introduce the advanced applications of audit automation, such as continuous auditing and monitoring, and related risk management issues. Specifically, this course aims to facilitate students to (1) recognize the future of audit process involving advanced technologies, (2) understand various of risks existing in an organization and how an enterprise risk management system works, (3) master some widely used audit automation/analytics tools, such as CaseWare electronic working papers and IDEA.

This course is primarily concerned with providing the foundation of knowledge necessary to build the skills needed to operate in the world envisioned by the AICPA when they adopted the Electronic Business Strategic Initiative. Accounting is defined by the AICPA as "a service activity whose function is to provide quantitative information, primarily financial in nature, about an organization that is intended to be useful in making ... decisions." Accounting Information Systems (AIS) encompasses those systems, manual and automated, that collect, store, manipulate, disseminate, and present that information to the decision-maker.

The course adds to the knowledge of future accounting and auditing professionals who have taken the prerequisite course, Auditing Concepts, by becoming familiar with the technologies use in Accounting Information System and related IT audit methodology. The emphasis of this course is to assist students in: (1) obtaining an understanding of the risks associated with key aspects of information systems including: operating systems security, databases, networks, and systems development; and the audit role of Computer Assisted Audit Tools and Techniques (CAATTs); and (2) having a working command of ACL in performing standard attest function tests and fraud detection. It is expected that at the end of this course students will be comfortable using the information technology that has become common in supporting accounting applications. Further, it is hoped that when a student encounters new technology in the future, they will be able to use the foundation learned in this course to master that technology as well

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the ability of machines to seemingly think for themselves. Converging technologies along with Big Data and the Internet of Things (IoT) are driving the growth of AI. This course will provide the theory and application of AI. We will explore the concepts of AI and machine learning as they apply to accounting and auditing in modern organizations. Secondly, this course is designed to enable the students to understand how developments in AI, such as deep learning, are fundamentally transforming the way the data is understood in accounting, auditing, and other business activities. A key machine learning software, R, will be introduced and tutorials will be provided to demonstrate how to use machine learning techniques to analyze real world datasets. Additionally, students will gain hands-on experience on AI software used for auditing.

The course aims to further improve students' analytic skills and to promote changes in the profession toward realizing a modern audit approach suited to the current business environment.

This course is designed for business school students, especially accounting students, to learn the emerging technology Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and its application in accounting and auditing. In this course, students will learn how to build RPA robots for different use cases in accounting and auditing. Besides learning RPA, students will also learn the basics of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how AI can be integrated with RPA to achieve Intelligent Process Automation (IPA). The objective of this course is to prepare accounting students for the changing work environment in which technologies and automation are playing an increasingly important role. This course is also suitable for working professionals in organizations that are undergoing digital transformations.

This course seeks to equip students with foundational knowledge and essential skills enabling them not only to understand cybersecurity risks, controls, and governance, but also to provide assurance on cybersecurity. The course provides an understanding of cybersecurity concepts that can be used to facilitate integrated audit efforts within organizations. The course also examines preventive, detective, and corrective controls, and how to apply the audit process to a cloud environment. Students will also be exposed to the mobile environment and cyber standards, as well as learn how to audit common security solutions.

This course provides a broad overview of the essential concepts of blockchain technology to lay the foundation necessary for applying it to accounting. It also includes the benefits, values, and opportunities of blockchain in accounting, and the risks and challenges of implementing this technology in accounting.

In recent years, audit analytics has drawn great attention in the accounting profession due to the increase in demand for enhancing audit quality by regulators, creditors, and investors. Many audit firms and internal auditors have applied audit analytics to their audit processes. In response to this trend, this course aims at introducing our students to the concept of audit analytics, the basic audit analytical tools, and the application of various analytical methods in both internal and external audit processes. Please note that this course mainly emphasizes the usage of statistics and the interpretation of results rather than the mathematics of specific tools or techniques; in other words, this course does not primarily focus on the technical aspects of analytical methods.

Provides an overview of the American legal system and regulatory framework with an emphasis on government regulation of business. Topics include contracts (including common law and UCC sale/lease of goods), negotiable instruments, agency law, torts, and property law. Principles of business organizations and operations as well as CPA professional responsibility and liability are also covered. Focus on social responsibility of business, particularly Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) compliance, in making decisions.

Covers such topics as free markets and regulation, moral responsibility of senior managers, corporate strategy and stockholder relations, the environment, product safety, employee rights, corporate culture and group think, racial and sexual discrimination, affirmative action, the responsibilities of American companies abroad, and leveraged buyouts. Text, articles, case studies, and fictional works will be employed.

Designed for both accounting and finance majors, this course combines a study of the theory, rationale, and objectives of corporate financial reporting with an examination of current reporting principles. The aim is to develop a realistic understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of corporate financial reporting, particularly from the viewpoint of the consumer of such financial information. Emphasis is placed on the analysis and understanding of publicly available financial information, rather than on the mechanics of construction of financial statements. Nevertheless, there is still a great deal of mechanics and problem-solving in this course.

***Not open to students who completed 22:010:628: Contemporary Problems in Accounting Theory

Discusses many of the problems in financial accounting theory and practice. Instills an appreciation for the challenges and limitations of accounting. Prepares students for advanced study, professional examinations, and successful pursuit of accounting careers. Covers current and long-term liabilities, stockholders' equity, dilutive securities, investments, accounting for income taxes, pension costs and leases, and accounting changes and error analysis. Refers to pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board

***Not open to students who completed 22:010:628: Contemporary Problems in Accounting Theory

The basic principles of fund accounting are covered, including the analysis of financial management systems applicable to local government units. This course also introduces students to major pronouncements of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). An introduction to government auditing is also provided, including a review of Government Auditing Standards, promulgated by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO). The Single Audit requirements for state and local governments are also covered.

In-depth study of the theoretical and practical problems of accounting for partnerships, intercorporate equity investments, business combinations, foreign currency transactions, translation of foreign currency financial statements, and accounting for non-for-profit organizations, including governmental entities.

This course will expose students to practical litigation concepts and issues relating to calculating economic damages and lost profits, marital distributions, deposition, and trial testimony techniques, providing bankruptcy services to attorneys and trustees, and models used in preparing various related reports. This course is intended to provide students with an understanding of the various roles an accountant, economist, or other financial-related individual may have in the litigation arena.

This course covers the means, motives, and opportunities that gives rise to fraud. It specifically covers fraud examiner ethics, motivations to commit fraud, the symptoms of fraud, and the means of detecting fraud committed against both organizations and individuals. Fraud types discussed include financial statement, revenue, and inventory frauds as well as bankruptcy and divorce frauds.

Presents the most common accounting and control programs in nonprofit organizations. The course is heavily case oriented to get students to consider accounting and control problems in specific nonprofit organizations including hospitals, governmental units, colleges and universities, and federal and state agencies