Degree Requirements

All courses listed below are the required courses for the MS Accounting degree. Courses are scheduled on a hybrid schedule. On campus sessions are scheduled on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 7 pm to 10 pm PST. All graduate students must earn a cumulative GPA of 3.0 with no courses with a letter grade of C- or less to meet degree requirements

Course Listings & Descriptions

ACC 502 | Advanced Cost Management and Related Accounting (3)

This course focuses on the use of accounting data in the management of an organization. More specifically, it is concerned with the development and use of financial and non‐financial information to assist organizations in planning, controlling, and performance evaluation. Case/problem analysis on an individual and group basis with written presentation.

ACC 510 | Research of Accounting Principles (3)

This course will develop a student's ability to conduct accounting research employing the FASB Codification of U.S. GAAP, U.S. tax laws, international, auditing, and governmental standards and guidance. Research will culminate in written reports on accounting issues. 

ACC 520 | Accounting Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility (3)

The business scandals of recent years have highlighted the importance of ethical behavior in the accounting profession as well as the essentiality of business engaging in corporate social responsibility (CSR). This course covers both areas. The first half of the course covers accounting ethics, which include the elements necessary to make proper ethical decisions by defining ethics and identifying the questions that need to be asked in everyday business practices. Key ethical standards specific to the accounting profession are explored, highlighting the unique role of the accountant both as "trusted advisor" to his/her client and the (often conflicting) role of "reporter" of financial information to the marketplace and governmental agencies. Students will be introduced both to models of business ethics and the ethical principles through the professional requirements of the AICPA-American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Code of Professional Conduct, IMA Institute of Management Accountants Statement of Ethical Professional Practice, and other regulatory agencies.

The second half of the course introduces students to the concept of CSR, which involves an examination of whether organizations should expand their focus from serving stockholders to also considering the impact of the firm's activities on diverse stakeholders, who, in this more and more transparent world, shape the rules and expectations that businesses are expected to fulfill. The course presents a range of CSR‐related issues, including the obligation business to the societies, the challenges to implementing CSR practices, the companies benefiting from engaging in CSR related activities, the alignment of interests of a corporation and its outside stakeholders through CSR practices.

Instruction includes writing assignments and discussions based on assigned readings. Students leave the course with a better overall understanding of the challenges of ethical business practices and CSR.

ACC 530 | Forensic Accounting and Cyber Security (3)

This course explores the forensic accountant's role in today's economy. Topics covered include fraud detection and fraud investigation techniques, cyber security, valuation of closely held businesses, lost profits analyses, and various types of litigation support services. Fundamental legal concepts governing expert witness testimony are also examined, and students are required to quantify economic damages in cases.

ACC 540 | Advanced Accounting (3)

Concepts and principles of partnerships, business combination, accounting for multinational enterprises, and introduction to governmental and nonprofit accounting.

ACC 550 | Advanced Auditing (3)

Welcome to ACC 550, Advanced Auditing. This course is a masters-level course designed to enhance students’ understanding of the following: (1) fundamental auditing concepts, (2) the application of auditing standards to real-world cases, (3) a risk-management approach to handling client acceptance and continuance issues, and (4) ethical issues faced by auditors. Topics covered in class will be related to areas such as auditor independence, internal controls, materiality, audit risk, the auditor’s responsibility to detect fraud, client acceptance decisions, and litigation against auditors.

ACC 560 | Accounting Information Systems and Associated Internal Control Frameworks (3)

The course focuses on both conceptual models and physical implementation of accounting

information systems. Topics include the nature and relevance of accounting internal controls, as well as various Internal Control Frameworks, the relationship of accounting systems to the functional areas of accounting, and contemporary information technology.

ACC 570 | Financial Statement Analysis and Valuation (3)

This course is designed to prepare students to interpret and analyze financial statements for tasks such as credit and security analyses, lending and investment decisions, and other decisions that rely on financial data. This course explores in greater depth financial reporting from the perspective of financial statement users.

ACC 580 | Strategic Tax Planning (3)

This course provides a comprehensive understanding of tax-planning framework as it relates to business transactions of all parties, considerations of implicit and explicit taxes as well considerations of various costs and nontax issues of business entities. Topics covered in this course include different types of tax planning, organizational form for optimal tax planning, implicit and explicit taxes, nontax issues of tax planning, compensation and retirement aspects of tax planning, multinational tax considerations and tax treatments of C corporation vs S corporation. Students should be able to prepare a report on any of these topics and give a oral presentation at the end of the semester.

ACC 590 | Advanced Capstone Governmental & Non-Profit Accounting (3)

This course is a capstone course with the prerequisite of ACC 540 Advanced Accounting. The course covers Governmental and Non-Profit Accounting, which includes the nature of fund accounting systems used by governments and nonprofit entities. Topics include principles underlying fund accounting, budgeting procedures, discussion of types of funds used.  It also includes analysis of financial statements to improve decision-making.  Additionally, it will cover Accounting for Not-for-Profit Organizations-Colleges/Universities, and Health Care Organizations.  The course requirement will include a CAFR research project as well. 

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