Aerial view of campus with Williamsport, the Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Mountain as a backdrop

Accounting (ACCT)

Associate Professors: Demshock, Kremer (Chair)
Assistant Professor: Paulhamus
Instructor: Sunderland

Major: Accounting

  • Tracks: 150 Credit Accounting; 128 Credit Accounting
  • Courses required for 150 Hour Accounting: 21
  • Courses required for 128 Hour Accounting: 18.5
  • Capstone requirement: pass a Standardized Accounting achievement examination
  • Minor: Accounting

The purpose of the accounting major is to help prepare the student for a career within the accounting profession. In order to satisfy the needs of an extremely diverse profession, the major in accounting consists of two separate tracks. Track I is a 150 credit program designed to meet the model recommended by the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts and required by the Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy for those students interested in pursuing a career as a CPA. Track II is a 128 credit program designed for students who are interested in various other career opportunities in accounting, such as industry and government.

Students planning to sit for the Uniform Certified Public Accounting Examination are advised to check with their State Board of Accounting to assure that they have completed all courses required for CPA licensure.

The Department of Accounting is a member of the Institute for Management Studies. For more information, please see the Institute for Management Studies listing.

Major Requirements

Core courses required of all majors:
ACCT 110, 223, 225, 235, 236, 320, 344, 345, 436, 440, 441, 443; BUS 228, 238, 244; ECON 110 and 111; MATH 123.

Track requirements:

  1. Accounting—150 credits:
    ACCT 442, 447, 449, and one course from ACCT 438, 439, or 470-479;  and one course from SOC or PSY.
  2. Accounting—128 credits:
    One course from ACCT 438, 439, 449, 470-479.

Capstone Requirement:

  1. All accounting majors are required to pass a standardized comprehensive accounting exit exam during their final semester which is offered as the ACCT 449 final exam for those students enrolled in the course. For students in the 128 hour track who choose not to enroll in ACCT 449, the exit exam will be taken as a separate major requirement for graduation. Students who fail will be required to retake the exam. The Accounting Department may also require a student to complete a comprehensive project for those areas in which they tested unsatisfactorily.

Writing Courses

A list of courses that, when scheduled as W courses, count toward the Writing Requirement, can be found on the Registrar's website and in the GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS section of the catalog.

Minor Requirements:

A minor in the Department of Accounting consists of ACCT 110, 130 or 223, and three courses selected from the following: ACCT 225, 320, 344, 345, 441.

100
PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNING
Prepares students to make better informed financial decisions in a complicated world. A practical, relatively nontechnical course designed to help the student identify and plan to meet their financial goals.

110
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
An introductory course in recording, classifying, summarizing, and interpreting the basic business transaction. Emphasizes problems of classification and interpretation of accounts and preparation of financial statements.

130
ACCOUNTING FOR MANAGERIAL DECISION-MAKING
An introduction to the various components of managerial accounting. Emphasis is placed on managerial problem-solving techniques and the analysis of the results. Accounting systems, costing procedures, cost-volume profit relationships, managerial control processes, and the use of computers as aids to decision-making are studied. Students gain hands-on experience with various computer applications of managerial accounting. Prerequisite: ACCT 110.

223
COST AND BUDGETARY ACCOUNTING THEORY
Methods of accounting for material, labor, and factory overhead expenses consumed in manufacturing using job order, process, and standard costing techniques. Prerequisite: ACCT 110.

225
BUDGETING AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS
A study of the preparation and use of budgets. Includes study of financial data as a means of analyzing, interpreting, and using financial statements. Prerequisite: ACCT 110.

235
LEGAL PRINCIPLES
A study of the sources and principles of law in general. Focuses on the application of these principles to the law of contracts, agency, negotiable instruments, and legal associations.

236
LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES FOR ACCOUNTANTS
A study of the fundamentals of law related to the forms of business, real property, wills, and estates. Emphasizes the accountant’s legal liability and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Code of Professional Conduct.

320
ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS
An introduction to design and use of accounting information systems (AIS) and design and implementation of control systems in AIS.  Prerequisite: ACCT 110.

344
INTERMEDIATE ACCOUNTING THEORY I
An in-depth examination of the environment within which financial accounting theory exists. An examination of the basic postulates that underlie financial statements and a critique of what financial reporting means. Prerequisite: ACCT 223 or consent of instructor.

345
INTERMEDIATE ACCOUNTING THEORY II
An examination of the various accounting and reporting issues affecting assets. Prerequisite: ACCT 344 with a minimum grade of C or consent of instructor.

436
INTERMEDIATE ACCOUNTING THEORY III
An examination of the various accounting and reporting issues affecting liabilities, stockholder equity, earnings per share, cash flows, and accounting changes. Prerequisite: ACCT 345 with a minimum grade of C or consent of instructor.

438-439
PRACTICUM IN ACCOUNTING I-II
An introduction to the real world of accounting. Students are placed in Managerial and Public Accounting positions in order to effect a synthesis of the students’ academic course work and its practical applications. Specifics of the course work arranged between department, student, and sponsor. May be repeated for credit with consent of instructor when topics are different.

440
AUDITING THEORY
A study of the science or art of verifying, analyzing, and interpreting accounts and reports. Emphasizes concepts which will enable students to understand the philosophy and environment of auditing. Special attention is given to the public accounting profession, studying auditing standards, professional ethics, the legal liability inherent in the attest function, the study and evaluation of internal control, the nature of evidence, the growing use of statistical sampling, the impact of electronic data processing, and the basic approach to planning an audit. Finally, various audit reports expressing independent expert opinions on the fairness of financial statements are studied. Prerequisites: ACCT 344 and MATH 123 or consent of instructor.

441
FEDERAL INCOME TAX I
An analysis of the provisions of federal income tax law as applied to individuals. Gross income, inclusions, exclusion, deductions, losses, business expenses, depreciation, cost recovery, amortization, depletion, employee and self-employed expenses, itemized deductions, at risk rules, and passive activities are studied. Prerequisite: ACCT 344.

442
FEDERAL INCOME TAX II
An analysis of federal tax law. Tax credits, property transactions, accounting periods and methods, taxation of corporations, partnerships, and S corporations are studied. Prerequisite: ACCT 441.

443
ACCOUNTING FOR BUSINESS COMBINATIONS
Certain areas of advanced accounting theory, including business combinations and consolidated financial statements. Prerequisite: ACCT 345.  2 credits.

447
ADVANCED ACCOUNTING
An intensive study of partnerships, foreign currency transactions and translation, and segment interim reporting and fund accounting. Prerequisite: ACCT 345.  2 credits.

449
COMPREHENSIVE APPLIED ACCOUNTING
Integrates and enhances the study of accounting topics, concepts, and methods, building on the knowledge acquired from previous courses in the program. The course requires accounting majors to apply comprehensive advanced level accounting expertise, utilizing tools such as case studies, research projects, and other techniques designed to simulate real world client issues. Prerequisite: ACCT 320, 436, 441, or consent of instructor.

470-479
INTERNSHIP
Interns in accounting typically work off campus under the supervision of a public or private accountant.

N80-N89
INDEPENDENT STUDY
Typical examples of recent studies in accounting are: computer program to generate financial statements, educational core for public accountants, inventory control, and church taxation.

490-491
INDEPENDENT STUDY FOR DEPARTMENTAL HONORS