Chair: Joan Myers

Associate Professors: Collins, Krause, Myers

Assistant Professors: Kawa

Adjunct Faculty: Ernst, Kosko, Mahalick

Emeritus: Fernandez

The accounting program's objective is to provide an education with a foundation in the liberal arts, a body of knowledge in general business and an extensive preparation in accounting. This education prepares the student for a wide range of employment in public accounting, industry, finance, government and non-profit institutions.

The program has been structured to qualify students for graduate study or to provide them with a comprehensive outlook that will prepare them for entry into the business world. Students take 62 hours in business and accounting courses and 60 hours in liberal arts and science courses.

The accounting program is registered with the New York State Department of Education and meets the educational requirements for admission to the CPA examination and, in general, to corresponding examinations in other states.

A registered undergraduate curriculum in accountancy shall offer courses distributed as to subject matter of no fewer than the following semester hours or their equivalent: 24 semester hours of accounting principles, cost accounting, tax accounting and auditing; six semester hours of commercial law; six semester hours of finance; three semester hours of business statistics; 21 semester hours of business and accounting electives; and 60 semester hours of liberal arts and science courses.

The total of 122 semester hours must include at least six semester hours of economic principles which may be used to satisfy either the business electives or liberal arts requirements.

Students majoring in accounting are required to enroll in the following courses:

*Note: Accounting/business electives may not be taken pass/fail.

ACT 201-202. Introductory Accounting (3) and (3).

A study of the basic concepts and principles of accounting and of the theory on which they are based. The topics covered are the steps in the accounting cycle for the accumulation of financial information for the preparation of financial statements; valuation procedures for assets and liabilities; the special problems of proprietorship, partnership and corporate accounting, and the use, evaluation and interpretation of accounting information.

ACT 203. Financial Accounting (3).

An introduction to the fundamentals of financial accounting involving the communication of relevant financial information to external parties. Includes interpretation and effective use of financial statements through study of accounting model, the measurement processes, data classification and terminology. Discussions emphasize concepts, standards and generally accepted accounting principles as the rationale for accounting procedures.

ACT 204. Managerial Accounting (3).

An introduction to the fundamentals of management accounting emphasizing the use of accounting information in decision-making processes of managers with responsibilities inside the organization. Includes relationship of cost accounting to generally accepted accounting principles, the managerial approach and responsibility accounting concerning assets, revenues and costs. Prerequisite: ACT 203.

ACT 301. Intermediate Accounting (4).

An extension of study of accounting theory applied to corporate accounting and the preparation and interpretation of financial statements. Topics include a review of the accounting process; structure and content of the basic financial statements; and coverage of theory, practice and procedures related to current assets, current liabilities and long-lived assets, tangible and intangible. Prerequisites: ACT 201 or 203.

ACT 302. Intermediate Accounting (4).

A continuation of coverage of theory, practice and procedure relative to long-term liabilities and equities. Additional topics are income and revenue recognition, accounting for leases, pensions and income taxes, price-level accounting, statement of cash flow and analysis of financial statements. Prerequisite: ACT 301.

ACT 303. Cost Accounting (3).

Basic cost accounting concepts and the cost accumulation process are presented. These are related to the process of inventory valuation and internal use for planning and control. Topics include cost accumulation, budgets, standards, responsibility accounting, relevant costing, direct costing and cost-volume-profit analysis. Prerequisites: ACT 201-202.

ACT 304. Advanced Cost

Accounting (3).

Cost concepts and cost information systems are presented in relation to managerial decision making and control. The course emphasizes the internal use of cost information and procedures for developing this information. Topics covered are cost for pricing control, inventory policy and control, transfer pricing, performance measures, capital budgeting and application of probability and statistical concepts

to problems in cost control and analysis. Prerequisite: ACT 303.

ACT 310. Federal Income Tax (3).

Provides instruction by application of federal income tax laws to incomes of individuals. Various tax returns are prepared. Includes a comprehensive explanation of the federal tax structure and training in the application of tax principles to specific problems. Prerequisite: ACT 201 or 203.

ACT 390-399. Independent Study (1-6).

A student who wishes to pursue an independent study project for academic credit must submit, prior to registration, a proposed plan of study that includes the topic to be studied and the goal to be achieved, the methodology to be followed, schedule of supervision, end product, evaluation procedure and number of credits sought. The proposal must be approved by the supervising faculty member, the department chair and the assistant academic vice president. It will be kept on file in the academic dean's office. Credit and hours by arrangement.

ACT 401. Advanced Accounting (3).

A study of the advanced phases of partnership accounting and extended application of fundamental theory to specialized fields and activities. Among the topics covered are partnership and joint venture accounting; agency and branch accounting; mergers, consolidations; parent and subsidiary relations; foreign operations; governmental and fiduciary accounting. Prerequisites: ACT 301-302.

ACT 402 (ECO 402/IRL 403/PSC 402/SOC 402). Program Evaluation Research Methodology & Policy Analysis (3).

The goal of this course is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the use of behavioral science research methods and theories for program and intervention evaluations. Topics given special emphasis include: measurement strategies and problems, needs assessment, experimental and quasi-experimental field designs, qualitative methods, benefit-cost analysis, statistical approaches to modeling bias and the use of evaluation results in the policy process. Prerequisites: SOC 201 or PSY 201 or PSC 202 or IRL 441-442 or ECO 325 and STA 201-202 or MTH 111-112 or permission of instructor.

ACT 405. Auditing (3).

Course covers the principles, procedures and function of auditing. Problem solving involves the application of auditing principles, which can be studied, analyzed and worked on by the students in order to acquire, within limits, a basic understanding of auditing practices, procedures and responsibilities. A computer simulation is used to illustrate statistical sampling techniques. Prerequisites: ACT 301-302.

ACT 410. Advanced Federal Income Tax I (3)

Provides instruction by application of federal tax laws to incomes of corporations. Tax returns are prepared. Emphasizes research and analysis. Prerequisite:

ACT 310.

ACT 420. Advanced Federal Income Tax II (3).

Provides instruction by applying federal income tax laws to incomes of partnerships, subchapter S corporations, trusts and estates. Extensive tax research and analysis is required in each of these areas. Prerequisites: ACT 310, 410.

ACT 480-489. Special Topics in Accounting (3).

Courses in this series offer an in-depth exploration of specific issues within the field of accounting, as well as topics of current interest to the instructor and students. Prerequisite: junior or senior standing, permission of the instructor.