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.

Students in this course will recommend the ethical and professional action in potentially unethical situations, assess the impact of potentially unethical client behavior on the services being performed, and demonstrate the importance of identifying and adhering to requirements, rules, and standards. Students will relate ethics and business law to the accuracy and fairness of financial statements. 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. Real-world problems and applications will be incorporated to maximize the development of skills valued by the market place. A biblical worldview and the Virtuous Business Model will be integrated into all aspects of accounting, financial reporting, and decision-making.

Students in this course will integrate financial theory into the practice of financial reporting using the FASB Accounting Standards Codification; evaluate 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; evaluate financial statement reports to determine compliance with regulatory requirements; and determine appropriate accounting treatment for new or unusual transactions. Real-world problems and applications will be incorporated to maximize the development of skills valued by the market place. 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. Real-world problems and applications will be incorporated to maximize the development of skills valued by the market place. A biblical worldview will be integrated throughout the entire course. Students will also be introduced to various Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet procedures for protecting, analyzing, and presenting financial information.

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 computeraided audit techniques, and create audit reports that fairly and accurately represent the financial status of an organization. Real-world problems and applications will be incorporated to maximize the development of skills valued by the market place. 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. Real-world problems and applications will be incorporated to maximize the development of skills valued by the market place. 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 potentially fraudulent activities. Real-world problems and applications will be incorporated to maximize the development of skills valued by the market place. 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. Real-world problems and applications will be incorporated to maximize the development of skills valued by the market place. 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. Real-world problems and applications will be incorporated to maximize the development of skills valued by the market place. Biblical and ethical principles will be integrated throughout the course.

Students in this course will evaluate and interpret the financial statement treatment for different types of non-profit organizations. Students will research non-profit financial statements and compare their format and footnotes with Not-For-Profit Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Students will also analyze the financial health of a non-profit organization and explain the meaning of the footnotes. A biblical framework will be integrated throughout the course.

Students in this course will examine financial statements to understand key differences in the nature of firms' operations, and how those operations are financed. Students will explain the major sources and uses of cash reported on the statement of cash flows. Students will also interpret the shareholder's equity section of the balance sheet, and assess the importance of credit risk assessment in lending decisions and how credit ratings are determined. Real-world problems and applications will be incorporated to maximize the development of skills valued by the market place. A Biblical framework will be integrated throughout the course.

Students in this course will analyze past CPA exam questions to prepare for the Financial Accounting section of the CPA exam. Students will study accounting theory and practice related to financial accounting, cost/managerial accounting, and governmental and non-profit accounting. Also covered is the structure of the Financial Accounting & Reporting section. Students will devise strategies to study and pass this section of the CPA exam.

Students in this course will analyze past CPA exam questions to prepare for the Auditing & Attestation Section of the CPA exam. Students will study ethics, professional responsibilities, and general principles, assessing risk and developing a planned response, performing further procedures and obtaining evidence, and forming conclusions and reporting. Also covered is the structure of the Auditing & Attestation section, along with strategies for passing this section of the CPA exam.

Students in this course will analyze past CPA exam questions to prepare for the Business & Concepts section of the CPA exam. Students will study corporate governance, economic concepts and analysis, financial management, information technology, and operations management. Also covered is the structure of the Business & Concepts section. Students will devise strategies to study for this section of the CPA exam.

Students in this course will analyze past CPA exam questions to prepare for the Regulation section of the CPA exam. Students will study ethics, professional responsibilities and federal tax procedures, business law, federal taxation of property transactions, federal taxation of individuals, and the federal taxation of entities. Also covered is the structure of the Regulation section, along with devising strategies to study and pass this section of the CPA exam.

Students in this course will analyze past CMA exam questions to prepare for Part 1A of the CMA exam. Students will study external financial reporting, planning, budgeting, forecasting, and performance management. Also covered is the structure of Part 1A of the CMA exam. Students will devise strategies to study for the CMA exam.

Students in this course will analyze past CMA exam questions to prepare for Part 1B of the CMA exam. Students will study cost management, internal controls, technology, and analytics. Also covered is the structure of Part 1B of the CMA exam. Students will devise strategies to study and pass this part of the CMA exam.

Students in this course will analyze past CMA exam questions to prepare for the Part 2A of the CMA exam. Students will study financial statement analysis, corporate finance, and decision analysis. Also covered is the structure of the Part 2A of the CMA exam, along with strategies for passing this part of the CMA exam.

Students in this course will analyze past CMA exam questions to prepare for Part 2B of the CMA exam. Students will study risk management, investment decisions, and professional ethics. Also covered is the structure of Part 2B of the CMA exam, along with strategies for passing this part of the CMA exam.

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. Real-world problems and applications will be incorporated to maximize the development of skills valued by the market place. A biblical framework will be integrated throughout the course.

In this course, students will evaluate financial reporting methodologies that solve financial reporting problems suitable for the changing global marketplace using new applications of theory or changes in standards and their impact on financial reporting. Students will justify the practice of financial reporting and related technical issues, evaluate sustainability accounting and reporting, and create a personal code of ethics in reporting that is in alignment with the Virtuous Business Model.

In this course, students will interpret accounting standards across the global workplace and analyze new applications of theory or changes in standards and their impact on international accounting. Students will assess the convergence of international standards on the U.S. GAAP and corporations, evaluate the implications of convergence between the major accounting standards, and evaluate the impact of the Virtuous Business Model upon present international accounting standards.

In this course, students will integrate advanced topics of accounting into applications usable within the global workplace and formulate transfer-pricing policy to meet organizational needs while being in alignment with the Virtuous Business Model. Students will critique the elements of strategic management accounting, assess risk and uncertainty factors in capital project appraisals, and incorporate nonfinancial performance measurements into financial reports.

In this course, students will synthesize theoretical models and their implications to the practice of accounting and evaluate the underlying theoretical approaches to setting standards. Students will critique the conceptual frameworks for the FASB and IFRS, assess the economic consequences of accounting standards using the Virtuous Business Model, and analyze the significance of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other U.S. and international legislation and regulations in accounting.

This is the culminating course of the DBA program in which students will defend their doctoral project. Students in this course will integrate forward-thinking virtuous leadership into global team-based business practice, create ethical change management solutions and strategies for complex business problems, and evaluate new applications of theory or changes in standards and their impact on accounting. Students will synthesize advanced research in education, consulting, or business leadership into their doctoral practice in order to create new accounting knowledge for application in the global workplace. Students will integrate a virtuous worldview into both their personal and professional lives. Prerequisite: Completion of all other required courses.