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Accounting Concentration MBA Courses

BACC 2060—Independent Study in Accounting—variable credits
An independent course of study in accounting may be arranged with a faculty member and a student advisor. Prerequisites: BACC 2401.
BACC 2251—Forensic Accounting—3.0 credits
Fraud is extremely costly to our society, and the costs seem to be growing. The AICPA recently called forensic accounting one of the seven hot, new, "sizzling" career areas in accounting. It is estimated that there will be a shortage of between 25,000 and 50,000 professionals working in this area in the next few years in the U.S., so there are many opportunities for students knowledgeable in fraud to work in various federal agencies (e.g. FBI), major corporations, and professional service firms.
The objectives of the forensics course are to familiarize students with several forms of fraud and the methods that fraud examiners use to prevent and detect it. Students will develop expertise in detecting financial statement fraud from the external auditor perspective, and learn how to use technology to detect fraud. They will acquire a basic understanding of how interviews are conducted in order to detect deception. The class will also provide a historical view of financial statement fraud. The tools used in the class will include interviewing, document examination, and public records searches, which will be helpful to students wanting to become consultants, auditors, tax professionals, managers, etc. The class, of course, includes an ethics component. It will help students to understand the common ethical dilemmas that they might encounter in the business world, and will help prepare them to resist pressure to commit fraud.
Prerequisites: Must have significant previous accounting coursework including an Auditing course and the approval of the MS in Accounting Program Director (Professor Don Moser).
BACC 2252—Corporate Tax Accounting and Planning—3.0 credits
The objective of this course is to help students understand how important features of the Internal Revenue Code influence decisions regarding how to organize and structure business operations and select the most appropriate form of doing business. The course begins with a comparison of the issues surrounding the choice of taxable business entity, comparing the regular corporation (C Corporation), the small business corporation (S Corporation), the partnership, and the sole proprietorship. After this, the course focuses primarily on the C Corporation and the S Corporation and the underlying principles that determine their respective tax bases and resulting tax obligations.
Tax planning is an integral part of the course. Income shifting, tax deductions, tax credits, and income exclusions are discussed in detail. The course uses case studies (including some reflecting an international tax perspective) and tax return preparation to help students to apply the theory and detail of the tax code. Course materials are updated as tax laws change.
Prerequisites: Must have completed BACC 2257, BACC 2537 or comparable course with a grade of B or better and the approval of the MS in Accounting Program Director (Professor Don Moser).
BACC 2253—International Accounting Issues—3.0 credits
This course will explore the rapid movement toward a set of internationally consistent financial reporting methods in the global marketplace. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) have formally agreed to harmonize reporting standards over time. In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is currently considering a proposed time-line for the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the US. The course will examine the substantive differences between US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) and IFRS, which have already been adopted by many other countries. The course will also provide a framework for understanding the theory and application of IFRS versus US GAAP and explore some of the ethical issues inherent in international business reporting.
Prerequisites: Must have completed BACC 2401 with a grade of B+ or better and the approval of the MS in Accounting Program Director (Professor Don Moser).
BACC 2254—Advanced Financial Accounting—3.0 credits
This course covers topics that are of particular interest to financial report preparers and auditors. Special emphasis is placed on accounting for business combinations and consolidated financial reporting. Other topics include international accounting, accounting for partnerships, and accounting by fiduciaries.
Prerequisites: Must have completed BACC 2401 or comparable graduate course with a grade of B+ or better and the approval of the MS in Accounting Program Director (Professor Don Moser). Please note: this course follows the CBA schedule - 08/31/2009 - 12/11/2009.
BACC 2257—Tax Accounting—4 credits
Tax Accounting is an intensive introduction to federal income-tax concepts, statutes, and regulations, and their use in accounting and planning of business activities of corporations, partnerships, and individual proprietorships. Also covered are federal income-tax concepts for individuals, including their use in accounting and planning of personal activities and investments.
Prerequisites: Must have completed BACC 2401 or comparable graduate course with a grade of B or better and the approval of the MS in Accounting Program Director (Professor Don Moser). Please note: this course follows the CBA schedule - 08/31/2009 - 12/11/2009.
BACC 2258—Strategic Cost Management
The quality, timeliness and credibility of the cost information used in corporate decision-making can have a significant impact on value creation. This is because cost information is important not only in strategy formulation and in the development and implementation of action plans that link strategies to value creation, but also because such data serve as measures of financial performance for products, processes, organizational sub-units and managers. In particular, product and service cost estimates have a major influence on corporate strategic decisions such as pricing, resource allocation, product development, supply chain design and customer focused management. In addition, product costs are informative signals of operational efficiency. Therefore, they constitute financial measures of the success of management actions such as continuous improvement and business process reengineering. Over-aggregate or obsolete cost systems can have a significant adverse impact on cost reduction in particular and overall corporate strategy and competitiveness in general.
The objective of this course is to develop an integrated approach to analyzing these issues. In particular, we will study (a) how product cost measurement affects strategy and resource allocation decisions; (b) how to be sophisticated users of cost feedback and how to understand the strategic distortions that are induced by flaws in cost system design; (c) the strategic role of value-driver information and the relationship between process improvement and cost reduction; (d) the use of budgetary control systems and financial measures in performance evaluation and management and (e) incentive conflicts in organizations and their mitigation through appropriate mechanisms.
Prerequisites: Must have completed BACC 2528 or comparable course with a grade of B or better and the approval of the MS in Accounting Program Director (Professor Don Moser). Please note: this course follows the CBA schedule - 08/31/2009 - 12/11/2009
BACC 2401—Financial Accounting—3.0 credits
This course enables students to understand the basic financial accounting model, as well as the structure and substance of a firm's financial reports from a user's point of view. This includes what is (and what is not) included in financial statements, how and when events affect the statements, and what users can infer from these reports. When they finish the course, students should be able to examine a set of financial statements and effectively analyze the firm's financial position, profitability, and cash generating ability.
Prerequisites: none.
BACC 2411—Information Systems—3.0 credits
This course provides an overview of information technology and its application in a business. By simultaneously examining business cases and the capabilities of relevant technologies, students will develop an understanding of how information technology is the primary enabler for improved business processes. Systems and technologies that are examined from this dual business and technology perspective include relational databases, the Internet and networks, enterprise resource planning, customer relationship mManagement, and supply chain systems. If you are concentrating in accounting, register for this section.
Prerequisites: none. (Cross-listed as BMIS 2411)
BACC 2525 - Financial Statement Analysis
Financial statement analysis focuses on the evaluation of publicly traded company financial statements and related note disclosures as well as the correlation of this historical financial data with the company's stock prices. This course helps students develop a systematic approach to analyzing reported financial data and understanding the underlying risks and possible inconsistencies across companies. Requirements of the course include interim exams and written and oral presentations of analysis.
Prerequisites: Must have completed BACC 2401 or comparable graduate course with a grade of B+ or better and the approval of the MS in Accounting Program Director (Professor Don Moser). Please note: this course follows the CBA schedule - 08/31/2009 - 12/11/2009.
BACC 2528—Managerial Accounting —1.5 credits
This course introduces students to managerial uses of cost information. Students will use cost information in decision making and understand how cost systems generate product cost information and the strategic impact of weaknesses in cost system design. They will also be introduced to basic planning and budgetary control. Finally, they will explore applications of product costing and decision making in other areas such as marketing and operations. These applications will include topics such as pricing, customer profitability and customer relationship management, the use of cost feedback in process improvement, and value creation through linking process improvement and cost reduction.
Prerequisites: BACC 2401.
BACC 2536—Financial Statement Interpretation—1.5 credits
Suggested for non-accounting majors concerned with their ability to read and understand financial statements. The course updates and extends some topics covered in BACC 2401 and introduces some more advanced financial reporting and disclosure topics. While this is not primarily a course in financial statement analysis for firm valuation or credit analysis, the course is useful for financial analysis in that it will help you make better decisions about which accounting numbers to use in your analyses by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses for numbers available in financial statements. Students who have taken BACC 2511, Financial Statement Analysis 2/Int Financial Report 2, will not be permitted to take this course.
Prerequisites: BACC 2401.
BACC 2537—Taxes and Management Decisions—1.5 credits
This course is designed as an introduction to business taxation for majors in areas such as finance or financial planning. Focuses on how managers and analysts can recognize tax problems, consequences, and opportunities associated with various business forms.
Prerequisites: BACC 2401.
BACC 2549—Strategic Cost Analysis—1.5 credits
This course is a follow-up course to Managerial Accounting. The course takes an integrated approach to value creation, focusing on decision making, performance measurement, and control along the firm's value chain, including procurement, design, production, and customer relationships. The first part of the course analyzes the use of cost information and performance measurement in supply chains. The second part of the course analyzes performance measurement and control systems in various contexts, including target costing, process improvement and cost reduction, and transfer pricing. The course will include an in-depth study of planning and budgetary control systems and control systems such as the Balanced Score Card and Economic Value Added (EVA). The course material will consist of cases, readings, and textbook material.
Prerequisites: BACC 2401 and BACC 2528 or permission of instructor. (Cross-listed as BQOM 2549.)
BACC 2557—Accounting Research and Writing—1.5 credits
This course focuses on improving students' writing, deductive reasoning, and problem-solving skills as they conduct research to make a recommendation on the accounting treatment for transactions for which no direct or clear guidance currently exists. Weekly writing assignments are evaluated on both content and the quality of the writing.
Prerequisites: Must have completed BACC 2401 or comparable graduate course with a grade of B+ or better and the approval of the MS in Accounting Program Director (Professor Don Moser).
BACC 2558—Not for Profit and Governmental Accounting—3.0 credits
This course focuses on financial reporting and disclosure for not-for-profit and governmental entities based on the standards and principles promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Students will learn how such entities prepare their financial reports and how to interpret and use such information. The course covers financial reporting for not-for-profit entities, balancing the focus on internal operations with fiduciary responsibility. In addition, the course examines the objectives of financial reporting for governmental units and the preparation and use of the financial statements for such entities. A sample of specific entities will be reviewed to illustrate the preparation and use of their financial statements. In addition, accounting software for governmental transactions will be introduced.
Prerequisites: Must have completed BACC 2401 or comparable graduate course with a grade of B or better and the approval of the MS in Accounting Program Director (Professor Don Moser).