Auditing Specialization

Ethics for Accountants examines standards of professional conduct and business practices required for accounting professionals. This course will discuss the necessity of applying ethical principles in the application of accounting principles, tax preparation, and attest services to clients. Moreover, the learner will explore how to apply ethical reasoning, various cognitive processes, professional skepticism and ethical decision-making related to situations involving corporate governance and moral dilemmas. Finally, this course will include discussions of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) Statements on Standards for Tax Services and the Institute of Management Accountants’ (IMA) Statement of Ethical Professional Practices.

Accounting Research and Critical Thinking provides learners the skills and knowledge to research and add validity to accounting reports, resolution of issues, and procedural arguments: critical thinking, communication, research strategies, and database resources.

Data Analytics for Accountants I introduces basic concepts and various tools and techniques used in the field of data analytics for accounting. Learners will summarize data analysis definitions and models for the accounting field, explore data mining techniques and the extract-transform-load (ETL) process and create a presentation from accounting data results. This course presents a survey of concepts that provides learners with a basic understanding of how data analytics is used in accounting.

Data Analytics for Accountants II equips students with the skills needed to analyze and present data to make reliable forecasts and propose strategies. Accountants are no longer limited to being the chroniclers of an organization’s profits and expenses; they now leverage the power of data to predict the future and advise leaders on appropriate actions. This course will emphasize auditing, managerial accounting, tax accounting and financial reporting as the learner completes a professional scenario that requires predictive analysis and presenting a course of action. As part of the Master of Accounting program, this course will cover content that appears in the data analysis portions of the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Management Accountant (CMA) exams. Data Analytics for Accountants I is a prerequisite for this course.

Advanced Auditing reviews basic auditing concepts, including (1) planning the audit: identifying, assessing, and responding to the risk of material misstatement; (2) specialized audit tools: attributes sampling, monetary unit sampling, and data analytic tools; (3) completing a quality audit; and (4) reporting on financial statement audits. The second part of the course dives into an application of auditing through (1) understanding how to audit an acquisition and payment cycle and (2) applying the knowledge learned through the acquisition and payment cycle to the revenue cycle in a performance assessment.

Internal Auditing I provides learners with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to succeed as an entry-level internal audit professional. The course introduces the fundamentals of internal auditing. It covers the importance of value proposition as well as the Institute of Internal Auditor’s (IIA) International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF), which provides authoritative guidance for the internal auditing profession, including the code of ethics and standards. The course will teach students risk management approaches for an organization, and the internal controls related to the internal auditing function. The course concludes with exploring the key elements of governance related to fraud risk management and the controls necessary to detect and prevent fraud. Topics include the foundations of internal auditing, risk management, governance and controls, and fraud. This course aligns with Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) standards. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Information Systems I is intended to provide learners with an overview of information systems and information system technology used in the world of accounting. The topics will include networks, hardware, data needs, cybersecurity, and government compliance with privacy and personal information. The course covers a range of topics that accountants may experience and be responsible for in their professional life. There are four competencies, and each competency will introduce learners to topics designed to prepare them for the high-stakes assessment.

Fraud and Forensic Accounting provides learners with an in-depth understanding of how fraud and forensic investigations are part of the accounting profession. This course covers the various types of fraud and their impact on organizations, as well as the detection, investigation, and prevention of fraud. This course also introduces the role of forensic accountants in the legal system and the use of forensic accounting techniques in financial investigations. The course will include scenarios and hands-on exercises to provide learners with practical experience in detecting and investigating fraud.

Internal Auditing II is a continuation of D560: Internal Auditing I and covers the competencies expected of an internal audit professional in the business world. This course is well aligned with the Institute of Internal Auditors’ (IIA) International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF). The course focuses on the five domains of the IPPF: the internal audit activity, planning the engagement, performing the engagement, communicating the engagement, and monitoring progress. There are no prerequisites for this course.

This course prepares students for the communication challenges in organizations. Topics examined include theories and strategies of communication, persuasion, conflict management, and ethics that enhance communication to various audiences.