ACCT - Accounting

Students in this course will learn the critical thinking process and its application to the decision-making that occurs as part of organizational accounting functions. Drawing on their assessment of underlying assumptions, cognitive bias, and organizational barriers, students will increase their collaborative problem-solving and analytical abilities, demonstrate effective communication practices, and explore the use of conventional and contemporary communication tools in informing decision-making in the accounting environment. Biblical principles will be integrated throughout the course.

Students in this course study the theory and application of managerial accounting by differentiating product costs as determined through job order versus process costing systems, evaluating managerial decisions using activity based costing, developing optimal sources using a variety of incremental costing and cost-volume-profit tools, and creating operating budgets that support organizational goals. Students will evaluate managerial accounting through the use of standard costing and variance analysis and will integrate Biblical principles into accounting processes and reports. Prerequisite: FINC-525

Students in this course will recommend the ethical and professional action in potentially unethical situations, assess the impact of potentially unethical behavior of clients on the services being performed, demonstrate the importance of identifying and adhering to requirements, rules, and standards, and evaluate the economic substance of client transactions through the application of business law. Students will evaluate the legal structure of an entity to determine the implications of applicable laws and regulations on how a business is organized, governed, and operated. A biblical worldview will be integrated into all aspects of accounting reporting and decision-making.

Students in this course will integrate financial theory into the practice of financial reporting using the FASB Accounting Standards Codification; prepare consolidated financial statements on the basis of GAAP and IFRS accounting principles; analyze financial statements including analysis of accounts, variances, trends, and ratios; evaluate assumptions and methods underlying estimates, including fair value measures of financial statement components; design financial statement reports in order to meet regulatory requirements; and determine appropriate accounting treatment for new or unusual transactions. A biblical worldview will be integrated throughout the accounting and financial reporting process.

Students in this course will evaluate the information systems within a business that are used to process and accumulate transactional data; assess the effectiveness of an organization's internal control systems, including system design, controls over data, transaction flow, wireless technology, and internet transmissions; evaluate whether there is appropriate segregation of duties, levels of authorization, and data security in an organization to maintain an appropriate internal control structure; assess data accumulation and information flow through the major cycles of an accounting system; and implement effective internal control systems. A biblical worldview will be integrated throughout the entire course.

Students in this course will evaluate the key requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, integrate auditor and management responsibilities with auditing procedures to meet audit objectives, evaluate internal controls for effectiveness, evaluate financial statements through comprehensive audit procedures including the use of computer aided audit techniques, and create audit reports that fairly and accurately represent the financial status of an organization. A biblical worldview will be integrated throughout all accounting and audit processes.

Students in this course will apply analytical reasoning tools to assess how taxes affect economic decisions, evaluate the impact of multijurisdictional tax issues on federal taxes, analyze information and identify data relevant for tax purposes, determine alternative tax treatments based on research and write recommendations to optimize client outcomes. A biblical worldview will be integrated into all aspects of accounting reporting and decision-making.

Students in this course will assess situations for the characteristics of fraudulent activities, evaluate the evidence to determine potential types of fraud within the organization, integrate all evidence to detect and investigate the presence of fraud, and develop the body of evidence, using forensic accounting, required to prosecute the perpetrator. Students will recommend improvements to the internal controls to reduce potential fraudulent activities. A biblical worldview will be integrated throughout the forensic accounting and fraud detection process.

Students in this course will evaluate the tax implications and create tax returns for corporations doing business in different legal structures, calculate and assess proper employer withholding taxes and file appropriate returns, and evaluate the impact of depreciation, cost recovery, amortization and depletion on tax liability for single, multi-state corporations, and international corporations. Students will evaluate estate and trust tax liability, determine the liabilities on taxable federal gifts, and assess the tax impact of partial or complete liquidation and disposal of assets. A biblical worldview will be integrated throughout the entire course.

Students in this course study the theory and application of managerial accounting by creating product costing strategies that optimize organizational performance, support internal investment decisions using capital budgeting techniques, and create sourcing and transfer pricing policies using a variety of incremental costing and cost-volume-profit tools. Students will integrate costing activities with operating and cash budgets that support organizational goals and evaluate organizational performance using balanced scorecard and other holistic methods. Biblical and ethical principles will be integrated throughout the course.

This course presents opportunities for students to demonstrate an integrated understanding of sound accounting principles, biblical and ethical standards, and best practices in management. Students will complete a previously approved project that involves a product, service, or organizational unit as the focus for development of an accounting system or resolution of an accounting problem. Working in close consultation with the course instructor, students will formulate and defend a plan of action for the identified opportunity or problem and prepare a formal presentation of the completed project. Prerequisite: successful completion of all core courses

Students in this seminar course will review selected current issues in accounting for advanced study which include the unique accounting requirements of governmental and non-profit organizations. As part of this study, students will select financial accounting and reporting methods, prepare comprehensive annual financial reports for governmental and appropriate financial statements for non-profit organizations, together with applicable notes. Students will evaluate assumptions and methods underlying estimates, including fair value measures of financial statement components and determine appropriate accounting treatment for new or unusual transactions used by governmental and non-profit organizations. A Biblical framework will be integrated throughout the course.