Online Master of Accountancy

A deeper examination of the conceptual issues impacting the information needs of managers in performing their planning, decisions-making, and performance evaluation functions. Concepts from financial accounting, economics, statistics and organizational behavior are interwoven throughout the course.

An examination of the nature of assurance services with an emphasis on evaluating the quality of information. Contemporary auditing techniques are explored with a focus on the entity's control systems. Course covers advanced issues which arise in audit practice including audit reporting issues, fraud detection and reporting, attestation engagements, special reporting issues, compilation and review engagements, scope of services issues, and other new issues which have a significant impact in audit practice.

This course is designed to help students apply their accounting, auditing, information systems and
communication skills to detect financial fraud and unauthorized reporting acts and to prepare and present a fraud case for criminal proceedings or civil litigation. These skills are highly valued in the rapidly growing field of forensic accounting. Upon completion of this course, students will understand the role of forensic accountants in examining financial records for fraud and detecting insurance fraud; in providing litigation support; and in capturing digital evidence. This course requires a working knowledge of accounting principles and auditing standards.

This course examines the foundations and applications of accounting theory as it relates to financial accounting and reporting. The course draws upon existing research which provides evidence about the applicability of accounting theory to the financial reporting process for business enterprises which prepares financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

Federal income tax impact of corporations, partnerships, estates, trusts and their beneficial owners. Examination and use of the administrative, legislative, and judicial sources of current tax laws and regulations; tax planning and study of the effects of taxation on the managerial decision process. Emphasis on research techniques in finding competent and professional conclusions to tax problems. Includes the study of tax policy issues inherent in individual and corporate income taxes, consumption taxes, wealth, and wealth transfer taxes. Focus is placed on the purposes of taxation and the development of a “good” tax system.

An examination of various ethical theories; identifying and resolving ethical dilemmas; the potential civil and criminal liability of accountants under both statutes and common law; civil and criminal liability in accounting practice; ethical issues and cases in accounting practice; issues and cases involving the Code of Professional Conduct. In addition, this course provides students theory and practice in oral and written communication involving practicing accountants.

Culminating Experience: Students will apply their learning from the MAcc program in the Contemporary Topics course. Comprehensive cases will be utilized throughout this course to allow students to apply the knowledge gained from the other courses in this program to solve unstructured “real-world” accounting and business issues

Data analysis is rapidly becoming a required skill set for today’s managers in competitive environments. As a decision-maker in business, you are likely to be asked to conduct your own analysis of data or to interpret a report that has been derived by others. In this course, you will have the opportunity to learn how to summarize, visualize, and manage data within software environments that are commonly used in business today. Additionally, techniques that help decision-makers reduce risk and identify opportunities that would provide an individual or a company with a competitive advantage will be reviewed.

Some refer to analytics as the new science of winning. It refers to a commitment by top management to the extensive use of data, statistical and quantitative analysis, explanatory and predictive models and fact-based management to drive decisions and actions. This course provides an introduction to analytics and covers spreadsheet modeling for decision-making. It employs techniques from the classical disciplines of statistics and operations research, as well as more recently developed methodologies: data mining, executive information systems, digital dashboards, and online analytical processing. You will be expected to master, at an introductory level, techniques that are at the heart of the competitive posture of many successful organizations.

Predictive analytics encompasses a variety of statistical and machine learning techniques and applications within a business environment. The primary goal of predictive analytics is to discover and apply relationships found within historic datasets to make predictions about the future or otherwise unknown events. In this hands-on course, students will be introduced to concepts related to constructing, testing, and applying quantitative models in various business settings. From this perspective, students will utilize major software tools to conduct an analysis of continuous, classification, and clustering models. Upon completion of this course, students will gain insight into how models are constructed and how predictive models can improve business.