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Master of Accountancy: Curriculum

Curriculum Details

30 total credits required

The Master of Accountancy (MAcc) consists of 10 courses that prepare you for CPA certification and leadership positions in just two years.

The MAcc curriculum is continually updated by our Accounting Department Partnership Council (ADPC) to meet current standards. You can choose between specializations in Accounting Analytics or Forensic Accounting — or choose the customizable General option by selecting five electives that best fit your professional goals.

Students with a non-accounting bachelor’s degree are encouraged to apply for the MAcc program through the MAcc Bridge option. The accounting bridge prerequisite courses are available online to provide the core accounting knowledge you need to be successful in the Master’s program. The MAcc Bridge courses are typically composed of ACC 505, ACC 506, and ACC 507 (9 credits). ACC 502 may be waived for students with a non-accounting business major (e.g., Finance, Management, Marketing, Economics) degree because completing foundational accounting course(s) is generally part of an undergraduate curriculum. The MAcc program core courses are ACC 536, ACC 538, ACC 539, and ACC 550 (capstone course). MAcc Bridge students select four elective courses. Therefore, 36 total credits (12 courses) are usually required (39 credits if ACC 502 is not waived).

This top-ranked program is housed within the AACSB-accredited Kania School of Management and founded on Jesuit principles, to ensure you receive a rigorous education based on integrity and ethics.

Foundation Courses

Advanced study of the use of accounting information in the decision-making necessary for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling a firm’s operations, including budgeting, performance evaluation, statistical analysis, and transfer pricing. The behavioral implications of the processes discussed will be addressed throughout the course. This course is not open to those students who have received credit for ACC 462.

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This course is designed to enhance the students’ communication skills as applied to accounting-related situations. Course activities include presentations, written assignments and projects in various areas of accounting such as financial reporting, cost management, business evaluation and assurance services (Not open to students who have received credit for ACC 465).

This course is designed to provide a student with an understanding of the critical role that ethics plays in the accounting profession and will advance his/her ability to effectively navigate ethical dilemmas commonly faced by professional accountants. In addition, the student will gain an understanding of current codes of ethics and ethical pitfalls to avoid during his/her career.

This course presents the student with an in-depth analysis of several financial accounting topics of an advanced nature. The student critiques each reading assignment and, in doing so, assesses both the strengths and shortcomings of various accounting standards (both U.S. GAAP and IFRS).

Advanced Electives

An intensive study of the problems of value and costs, including demand theory, empirical demand analysis, production theory, cost theory linear programming applications in resource allocation and cost analysis, empirical cost analysis, market structure and pricing theory, pricing practice and the role of government in the private economy.

Principles of policy formation in the modern corporation; the institutions, instruments and customary procedures that influence the determination of corporate policy; and the reasons for choices in seeking solutions to specific financial problems. A case approach will be utilized to cover problems of working capital management, capital budgeting, and capital structure. Computerized approaches to financial problems will be emphasized.

This course is concerned with the principles, methods, and techniques necessary for providing the reporting needs of an organization in an integrated management and information technology environment. It uses an ERP software package to demonstrate the integration of both financial and nonfinancial information systems with an organization’s operating processes to produce managerial reporting capabilities in real time. This course is not open to those students who have received credit for ERP 514.

Accounting for international business; accounting control for the multinational enterprise, global accounting theory and practice, social accounting concepts, tax aspects of foreign transactions, and international financial reporting to investors. This course is not open to those students who have received credit for ACC 475 or its equivalent.

A critical study of the major accounting pronouncements on general purpose financial statements. Research tools such as FARS will be used to analyze annual reports and SEC filings.

Internal control and auditing issues relating to EDP systems, including the organization, equipment, and applications controls; statistical sampling issues; and audit issues relating to certain operating cycles.

This course is directed at graduate students having an accounting and tax background. The course will examine tax regulations applicable to partnerships, limited-liability companies/partnerships, corporations, S corporations, and estates and trusts. The emphasis will be on tax planning.

This course examines the most common means by which financial reporting fraud is committed. A case study approach is combined with discussions of the accounting and legislative (e.g. Sarbanes-Oxley Act) issues surrounding the commission, prevention, and detection of financial reporting fraud.

This course provides the student with an understanding of the more common forms of occupational fraud and abuse, including: skimming, cash larceny, billing schemes, check tampering, payroll schemes, and expense reimbursement schemes. Special attention is given to the means by which these frauds are typically committed.

Business analytics is widely recognized as a strategic weapon in today’s competitive business environment as being merely a supporting tool. As the gateway to the MBA specialization in Business Analytics, the goal of this introductory course is to provide an overview and exposure to the areas of descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics. It will combine the study of key analytics concepts with hands-on exercises in data visualization and mining, statistical and predictive modeling, optimization and simulation.

Data mining refers to an analytic process designed to explore “big data” in search of consistent patterns and/or systematic relationships between variables, and to validate the findings by applying the detected patterns involved in a variety of phases that will involve data preparation, modeling, evaluation, and application. The instructor will provide hands-on demonstrations using a variety of data mining techniques (e.g. classification, association analysis, clustering, text mining, anomaly detection, feature selections) using widely adopted data mining software tools.

This course focuses on using the programming language R in the field of business analytics. Students will be exposed to the wealth of information in R and its packages as it relates to data visualization, regression models, regression trees, text mining, clustering, and optimization.

This course deals with the study of quantitative forecasting techniques which include exponential smoothing, classical decomposition, regression analysis and Box-Jenkins (ARIMA) methodology, as well as qualitative (judgmental) methods.

This course focuses on the use of simulation modeling as a tool to analyze various business applications in the face of risk/uncertainty. Students will gain hands-on experience in using an appropriate software to build simulation models to tackle applications in project management, inventory stocking policies, financial planning, and revenue management.

This course focuses on the overall structure of database management applications with emphasis on the relational approach. Topics covered include: database design, data dictionaries, query system, methods of storage and access, data definition and manipulation, data security and integrity, recovery and concurrence, distributed database management. Students will learn to design and implement database applications using micro and/or mainframe computers.

(Prerequisite MBA 501 C or permission of instructor) Business Intelligence (BI) systems are sophisticated analytical tools that attempt to present complex organizational and competitive information in a manner that allows decision makers to make effective decisions in a timely manner. This course will explore the capabilities and benefits of intelligence systems, data warehousing, and data mining techniques. This course will investigate business intelligence gathering techniques as well as providing hands-on experience. This course is not open to those students who have received credit for MIS 548.

Capstone

This course is designed to advance a student’s research, writing and presentation skills in accounting. In addition, the student will gain an understanding of current accounting research topics and practitioner journals.

To be eligible to enroll in the capstone, a student must have completed all other core courses and two electives for a total of 21 credits.

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Accounting Bridge Courses

The student develops a deeper understanding of accounting as the “language of business” and the ways in which it can be employed to help managers perform within their organizations. Emphasis is placed on ways to use, analyze, and interpret accounting data in planning and controlling organizational activities. Selected techniques required for analysis and managerial decision making are introduced.

This course will require the student to apply contemporary accounting theory to various balance sheet and income statement accounts. Current conceptual framework and pronouncements of accounting organizations and the Time Value of Money will be emphasized as well as the Cash, Receivables, and Intangible Asset accounts.

This course will require the student to apply contemporary accounting theory to various balance sheet and income statement accounts. Inventory, Fixed Asset, Long-Term Liability and Equity accounts will be emphasized.

This course will require the student to apply contemporary accounting theory to various balance sheet and income statement accounts. Investment, Revenue, Tax, Pension, and Lease accounts will be emphasized.

Advanced study of the use of accounting information in the decision-making necessary for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling a firm’s operations, including budgeting, performance evaluation, statistical analysis, and transfer pricing. The behavioral implications of the processes discussed will be addressed throughout the course. This course is not open to those students who have received credit for ACC 462.

View Course Abstract

You’ll improve your communication skills and learn to apply them to accounting-related situations, from financial reporting, cost management, and business evaluation, to internal auditing and assurance services.

This course is designed to provide a student with an understanding of the critical role that ethics plays in the accounting profession and will advance his/her ability to effectively navigate ethical dilemmas commonly faced by professional accountants. In addition, the student will gain an understanding of current codes of ethics and ethical pitfalls to avoid during his/her career.

Forensic Accounting Specialization

A critical study of the major accounting pronouncements on general purpose financial statements. Research tools such as FARS will be used to analyze annual reports and SEC filings.

Internal control and auditing issues relating to EDP systems, including the organization, equipment, and applications controls; statistical sampling issues; and audit issues relating to certain operating cycles.

This course examines the most common means by which financial reporting fraud is committed. A case study approach is combined with discussions of the accounting and legislative (e.g. Sarbanes-Oxley Act) issues surrounding the commission, prevention, and detection of financial reporting fraud.

This course provides the student with an understanding of the more common forms of occupational fraud and abuse, including: skimming, cash larceny, billing schemes, check tampering, payroll schemes, and expense reimbursement schemes. Special attention is given to the means by which these frauds are typically committed.

Business analytics is widely recognized as a strategic weapon in today’s competitive business environment as being merely a supporting tool. As the gateway to the MBA specialization in Business Analytics, the goal of this introductory course is to provide an overview and exposure to the areas of descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics. It will combine the study of key analytics concepts with hands-on exercises in data visualization and mining, statistical and predictive modeling, optimization and simulation.

Accounting Analytics Specialization

Business analytics is widely recognized as a strategic weapon in today’s competitive business environment as being merely a supporting tool. As the gateway to the MBA specialization in Business Analytics, the goal of this introductory course is to provide an overview and exposure to the areas of descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics. It will combine the study of key analytics concepts with hands-on exercises in data visualization and mining, statistical and predictive modeling, optimization and simulation.

Data mining refers to an analytic process designed to explore “big data” in search of consistent patterns and/or systematic relationships between variables, and to validate the findings by applying the detected patterns involved in a variety of phases that will involve data preparation, modeling, evaluation, and application. The instructor will provide hands-on demonstrations using a variety of data mining techniques (e.g. classification, association analysis, clustering, text mining, anomaly detection, feature selections) using widely adopted data mining software tools.

This course focuses on using the programming language R in the field of business analytics. Students will be exposed to the wealth of information in R and its packages as it relates to data visualization, regression models, regression trees, text mining, clustering, and optimization.

This course deals with the study of quantitative forecasting techniques which include exponential smoothing, classical decomposition, regression analysis and Box-Jenkins (ARIMA) methodology, as well as qualitative (judgmental) methods.

This course focuses on the use of simulation modeling as a tool to analyze various business applications in the face of risk/uncertainty. Students will gain hands-on experience in using an appropriate software to build simulation models to tackle applications in project management, inventory stocking policies, financial planning, and revenue management.

This course focuses on the overall structure of database management applications with emphasis on the relational approach. Topics covered include: database design, data dictionaries, query system, methods of storage and access, data definition and manipulation, data security and integrity, recovery and concurrence, distributed database management. Students will learn to design and implement database applications using micro and/or mainframe computers.

(Prerequisite MBA 501 C or permission of instructor) Business Intelligence (BI) systems are sophisticated analytical tools that attempt to present complex organizational and competitive information in a manner that allows decision makers to make effective decisions in a timely manner. This course will explore the capabilities and benefits of intelligence systems, data warehousing, and data mining techniques. This course will investigate business intelligence gathering techniques as well as providing hands-on experience. This course is not open to those students who have received credit for MIS 548.

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