This course will address a specific area of study in accounting not already covered by other course offerings.
The Business Environments and Concepts class reviews business concepts and the associated skills required of a professional accountant. The class focuses on understanding the business environment and its impact on an entity's business strategy. Concepts considered include corporate governance; information technology; operations management; economic concepts and analysis, and financial management. From the knowledge students develop, they will prepare case analyses needed for sound, ethical decision-making. Open to MSA students only.
Further study of financial accounting and reporting. Emphasis on reporting and disclosure, particularly in the context of contemporary issues such as stock options, pensions, investments, deferred taxes, and international accounting. Includes research and preparation of financial statement notes using guidance from the accounting standards codification.
Advanced cost and managerial accounting explores the need for accounting information by managers in planning, controlling, and making decisions. Special emphasis is given to determining, analyzing and controlling costs, the application of cost, volume profit analysis, management of aggregate costing through linear programming, and a survey of the methods of cost and inventory accounting. Open to MSA students only.
This course focuses on accounting and budgeting concepts applied to the management of government and not-for-profit organizations. Key areas of inquiry include fund accounting, the modified accrual method, legislative and board of trustee processes, appropriation and approval of expenditures, and the role of financial statements and audits in public entities. Students will be exposed to accounting standards promulgated by the Government Accounting Standards Board and the "Yellow Book" auditing standards and explore the differences between such standards and those used by commercial enterprises. Open to MSA students only.
A study of the flow of accounting information through accounting systems and other information systems. The course integrates student knowledge of the various branches of accounting with computerized information systems. Special emphasis will be given to the analysis, design, and auditing of computerized accounting information systems. This course is intended to be an interactive learning experience with students making liberal use of the accounting information laboratory. Open to MSA students only.
Course provides a foundation in assurance, attestation, and auditing fundamentals for future financial, managerial, systems, and tax professionals. The emphasis of this course is on conceptual, theoretical and practical aspects of auditing financial statements. Key topics include application of generally accepted auditing standards, the role of regulation I auditing, the basis and choice of various audit opinions. This course will assist professional accountants, as clients of assurance service providers, to prepare for and manage audits and other attestation and assurance engagements.
The object of this course is to provide students with instruction in the essential theory and practice of federal income tax compliance for businesses. Students successfully completing the course are expected to be sufficiently grounded in tax codes, research resources, the vast array of income, deduction, exemption, dependencies and credit options to correctly and efficiently prepare the vast majority of federal business income tax returns.
A study of the legal issues relative to the practice of public accounting and auditing. Chief among topics explored will be securities laws, commercial paper, uniform commercial code, bankruptcy, business organizations, debt regulation and selected government regulations. Students will also become acquainted with the ethical standards of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Open to MSA students only.
A study of positive and negative examples of accounting practice. This case-based course is intended to impress upon students the serious responsibility of accountants and the ways in which failure to properly execute professional responsibility can impact society. It also emphasizes the need for and technique of accounting research in making informed accounting decisions. The key concepts of the course include judgment, materiality, conservatism, valuation, disclosure, tangible vs. intangible balance sheet captions, contingencies, and the nature of the accountant/client relationship. The Seminar in Professional Accounting Practice is intended to assist students make a transition of the theoretical accounting construct of the educational institution to their practice as professionals.
This course will address a specific area of study in accounting not already covered by other course offerings.
The purpose of the graduate Accounting Internship is to enable Aurora University students to apply course concepts in a real world, applied. This experience is designed to expand on the learning experience and to integrate and reinforce skills and concepts learned in the classroom. The graduate Accounting Internship provides a practical experience in a structured accounting-related context. Permission of the instructor required.