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Master of Science in Accountancy Course Descriptions

30 Total Credit Hours

Foundation Courses 

(Required for all students entering without a prior Accounting degree – 9 additional credits)
  • BUS 570 – Intermediate Accounting Survey 5 credits. This course presents the foundational content of Financial and Managerial Accounting along with an in-depth presentation of Accounting Intermediate I and Accounting Intermediate II. 
  • BUS 572 – Audit Accounting Survey 2 credits. This course presents the tenets of Auditing from an accounting systems perspective. 
  • BUS 574 – Management and Cost Accounting  2 credits. This course presents the key components of the work of accounting including budgeting and costing.

Required Courses

  • BUS 616 – Business Ethics 3 credits. This interdisciplinary course explores and implements the critical thinking and managerial and ethical decision-making skills necessary for developing ethical organizations and an ethical society. The objective of this course is to design ethical organizations and create organizations of high integrity. Students explore real-life ethical dilemmas and benchmark their organization’s performance with the best practices in business ethics.
  • BUS 714A – Management Accounting & Controls 3 credits. Covering concepts useful to management using the analysis of accounting data for the purposes of costing and income determination, decision-making, and control of various organizational activities.
  • BUS 723 – Business Law II 3 credits. This course builds upon the content from Business Law I, presenting topics such as commercial paper, real property, secured transactions, bankruptcy, partnerships, corporations, wills and trusts through a case study approach. The presented content reinforces (1) an understanding of how the law affects business operations; (2) an understanding of the principle of “stare decisis” and the ability to apply the rule of precedent to case studies; (3) skills to use current technology in completing a legal research project involving a current ethical issue; and (4) a thorough understanding of business law principles.
  • BUS 725A – Accounting Information Systems 3 credits. This course provides an understanding of design, implementation, operation, control, and audit techniques of accounting information systems.
  • BUS 726A – Advanced Financial Reporting 3 credits. This course provides an understanding of financial reporting issues related to business combinations, intercorporate investments, consolidated financial statements, and corporate restructurings.  The course further focuses on understanding the economic substance and impact these issues have on the financial statements and its importance for professional accountants and financial analysts.
  • BUS 727 – Governmental & Not-For-Profit Accounting 3 credits. A study of advanced accounting topics including accounting for governments and not-for-profit organizations. Topics include the analysis of organizational structure, strategy decision-making and reporting. Practical application includes governmental CAFRs and not-for-profit financial and tax compliance reporting.
  • BUS 729 – International Accounting Issues 3 credits. This course focuses on international transactions and operations as well as understanding key topics related to IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) and the impact of IFRS on multinational corporations.  The course includes an introduction and examinations of accounting issues unique to multinational enterprises and international business activity.
  • BUS 756 – Fraud & Forensic Accounting 3 credits. Detecting and deterring occupational fraud are key elements of an organization’s risk management plan. Topics included in this course include the impact of fraud on auditing and financial reporting, the recognition of weaknesses in business processes and control systems, the measures organizations can take to prevent fraud, and the ways allegations of fraud should be investigated and resolved.

Students should select one (1) concentration from the following. 

Business Analysis and Reporting Concentration

  • BUS 706A – Data Analytics for Accountants 3 credits. This course presents applications of data analytics concepts and techniques for professional accountants with real world applications in audit, assurance, and advisory settings.
  • BUS 706B – Auditing Analytics 3 credits. This course focuses on the basics of the application of analytics in the internal and external audit processes in current, ubiquitous, computer-based information systems and their application in organizations.  The course will have an emphasis on the usage of statistics and the interpretation of results rather than the mathematics of specific tools and techniques.

Tax Compliance and Strategy Concentration

  • BUS 709A – Advanced Income Tax Accounting 3 credits. This course presents federal income tax treatment of corporations, partnerships, and profit and loss distributions to shareholders, partners, and beneficiaries.
  • BUS 709B – Corporate Tax Strategy 3 credits. This course focuses on the importance of tax considerations in business decisions and provides a framework for understanding how taxes affect business strategy and financing decisions in a wide variety of settings.

Information Systems and Controls Concentration 

  • BUS 728A – Control & Audit of Information Syst 3 credits. This course focuses on the control, audit, and security of information systems. Content presented is aimed at enhancing the ability of accounting professionals to deal with complex computer-based accounting systems as auditors of these systems.  Topics include general and application controls, audit software, and e-commerce security.
  • BUS 728B – Digital Accounting Topics 3 credits. This course details the evolution of accounting information in the changing digital environment.  It explores the requirements for accountants in the changing digital world and emerging technologies that will impact the future of accounting, reporting, and auditing.