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B.S. in Accounting: Curriculum

Curriculum Details

120 Total Credits Required

To receive a bachelor’s degree from Concordia University, St. Paul, all undergraduate students must complete the general education requirements. The online bachelor’s degree in accounting also requires 69 credit hours of coursework covering business fundamentals, marketing principles, financial accounting, advanced accounting, auditing, and more.

The program core can be completed in just over five semesters, although your transfer credits and general education coursework will vary the time it takes you to finish.

Required Core Courses

Credits

This course aims to help students unpack the importance of diversity in the modern workplace, and how to leverage the diverse experiences, cultures, and perspectives of their employees as leaders. The course will encourage students to continuously incorporate diversity into their leadership roles and use it to enhance organizational effectiveness.
This course is designed to learn the highly sought-after skill of project management. The course will focus on key skills such as managing time and human resources, as well as working within budget constraints. Students will learn how to initiate, execute, plan, and close a project. By the end of this class, students will have a strong foundation in the principles of project management and be well-equipped to handle projects in their professional careers.

This course will provide key leadership development skills, including how to effectively resolve conflicts among employees, providing a needed competitive edge. The tools and knowledge needed to excel in leadership roles will be integrated to mimic current situations within various settings. Having a strong foundation in the principles of leadership will prepare students to lead in a variety of settings.

This course enhances students’ business communication skills through the creation of a podcast. A key focus will be on how to effectively use words and images to create impactful and meaningful communications. The course will also cover the core pillars of social media marketing, including strategy, planning, and publishing, listening and engagement, analytics and reporting, and advertising.
This course will develop students’ abilities in modern marketing techniques and technologies. The Google Digital Marketing & E-Commerce Certification is a required aspect that is integrated within the course. The certificate of completion will be a testament to the knowledge and skills of current marketing practices.
This course provides students with knowledge of advanced principles and practices in human resource management. Building upon foundational knowledge, students will explore key topics and develop skills necessary to effectively align HR strategies with business goals. Students will develop knowledge and skills to manage advanced HR challenges, make informed decisions, and contribute effectively to the success of organizations in an ever-evolving business landscape.
This course is designed to develop skills in basic financial accounting practices and the ability to create accounting reports. Students will learn how to use financial information to make data-informed decisions for the future strategy of an organization. The course will cover topics such as the accounting cycle, interpreting financial statements, analyzing accounting principles, and using historical data from prior year accounting reports to create projections for growth strategy and budgeting.
This course utilizes the use of financial statements and how to use data to manage risk in areas such as investing, borrowing, lending, budgeting, forecasting, and cash management. The course will cover topics such as the frameworks of financial reporting, analyzing financial performance using real-life examples, examining income statements and cash reporting to project risk, and using digital tools to support successful business decision-making, communication, operations, and customer relations. Students will also learn how to critique financial strategy and generate innovative and organizational change strategies using multiple approaches.
Deriving insights from data and communicating findings has become an increasingly important part of virtually every profession. This Specialization prepares you for this data-driven transformation by teaching you the core principles of data analysis and visualization and by giving you the tools and hands-on practice to communicate the results of your data discoveries effectively. You will be introduced to the modern data ecosystem. You will learn the skills required to successfully start data analysis tasks by becoming familiar with spreadsheets like Excel. You will examine different data sets, load them into the spreadsheet, and employ techniques like summarization, sorting, filtering, & creating pivot tables. Creating stunning visualizations is a critical part of communicating your data analysis results. You will use Excel spreadsheets to create the many different types of data visualizations such as line plots, bar charts, pie charts. You will also create advanced visualizations such as tree maps, scatter charts & map charts. You will then build interactive dashboards.
This course provides students with the ability to make informed decisions that balance ethical business practices and social responsibility with the legal implication of decisions. Students will be able to apply principles of law to contractual agreements, comparing principles of law with social responsibility and ethical values, examine administrative and common law regulations of business, and analyze ethical issues that confront business practitioners from divergent viewpoints.

Required Major Courses

Credits

Students are introduced to the principles of financial accounting. Topics explored include the accounting cycle, transaction analysis, journal entries, adjustments, financial statement preparation and analysis, and closing entries. Students learn the basics of common financial statement accounts, including current assets, fixed assets, current liabilities, long-term debt, equity, revenue, and expense are covered. (Students must earn a minimum grade of C in order to progress to ACC 202 and ACC 311

Students dive into the role managerial accounting plays in planning, directing, and controlling operations. Topics include cost classifications and cost behavior, cost/volume/profit analysis, responsibility accounting, allocation methodologies, budgets, cash flow, and time value of money for capital budgeting decisions. Students must earn a minimum grade of C in order to progress to ACC 413 Cost Accounting. (Prerequisite: CSC 210 and minimum grade of C in ACC 201)

This foundational course introduces students to the fundamental concepts and modern practices of financial accounting. Students will learn the accounting cycle, financial statement preparation, and basic accounting principles while utilizing contemporary accounting software and digital tools. The course emphasizes both traditional accounting foundations and emerging technological applications to prepare students for the evolving accounting profession.

Intermediate Accounting I builds on the foundation of the ACC205 Principles course to scaffold the student up into higher levels of understanding of financial accounting and reporting. Intermediate I begins the student’s journey to deeper learning required for the Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) section of the CPA exam. Students analyze complex financial accounting and reporting issues, apply financial accounting measurements to revenue and expense, inventory valuation, fixed and intangible assets, as well as a more in-depth study of the income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows.

This upper-division undergraduate course bridges traditional accounting principles with modern automation technologies, preparing students for the evolving landscape of digital accounting. Students will gain hands-on experience with industry-standard automation tools while learning to optimize accounting workflows, implement controls, and leverage artificial intelligence in financial processes.

Continuing the learning from Intermediate I, students engage in deeper learning of the asset, liability, and equity section of the balance sheet. Additional learning focuses on revenue recognition, pension expense and liability, leases, error correction, and the direct and indirect methods of preparing the statement of cash flows. (Prerequisite: CSC 210 and minimum grade of C in ACC 311)

Students work extensively with business ownership scenarios, including cases which require use of the equity and acquisition method of accounting. Students practice using consolidation worksheets, along with consolidation entries to create consolidated financial statements for two or more entities given various ownership patterns. Accounting for the creation, operation, and dissolution of partnerships, as well as estate and trust accounting is covered. (Prerequisite: CSC 210 and minimum grade of C in ACC 311)

Students learn the ethical and legal responsibilities of the auditor and explore the topics of the preparation of the audit program and working papers for the audit of the financial statements in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS). (Prerequisite: CSC 210 and minimum grade of C in ACC 311)

Cost Accounting builds on the foundation of ACC 202 and introduces students to intermediate and advanced scenarios and case studies for managerial decision-making, creating “what if” scenarios, and using Excel modeling to quantify various outcomes. Cost Accounting provides an extended study of budgeting and the budgeting process. Students prepare, measure, and analyze capital budgeting projects using Excel. (Prerequisite: CSC 210 and minimum grade of C in ACC 202)

This course provides a comprehensive overview of federal tax principles as they apply to individual taxpayers. Students will explore topics such as income recognition, deductions, credits, and filing requirements. Through practical case studies and hands-on exercises, participants will learn to prepare individual tax returns, navigate tax regulations, and identify tax-saving strategies. Emphasis will be placed on the ethical considerations in tax planning and compliance. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the skills necessary to effectively manage individual tax obligations and make informed financial decisions.

This course focuses on the federal tax implications for various business entities, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations. Students will delve into topics such as taxable income, deductions, credits, and the intricacies of corporate tax structures. Through case studies and real-world scenarios, participants will learn to prepare business tax returns and develop effective tax strategies. Emphasis will be placed on compliance with tax laws and understanding the ethical responsibilities of tax professionals. By the course’s conclusion, students will be prepared to navigate the complexities of federal business taxation and optimize tax outcomes for organizations.
This advanced undergraduate course integrates traditional forensic accounting principles with modern digital investigation techniques and cybersecurity practices. Students will develop skills in detecting financial fraud, conducting digital investigations, and implementing security measures using cutting-edge forensic tools and technologies. The course emphasizes hands-on experience with real-world case studies and industry-standard investigative software.
This cutting-edge course focuses on the architecture, implementation, and integration of modern financial systems. Students will learn to design and manage complex financial technology ecosystems, implement APIs for financial data exchange, and develop automated reporting solutions. The course emphasizes hands-on experience with enterprise-level financial software, cloud platforms, and integration tools, preparing students for the future of financial technology.

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