Missouri State University

Graduate College

2013-14 Graduate Catalog

Preliminary Edition
published April 2013

School of Accountancy

Glass Hall, Room 439, Phone: (417) 836-5414, Fax: (417) 836-5164
Email: Accountancy@missouristate.edu
Website: http://www.missouristate.edu/SOA
Director: John R. Williams

Graduate faculty

Professor:  David B. Byrd, Sandra D. Byrd, Sidney R. Ewer, Olen L. Greer, Lester E. Heitger, James C. Lampe, Debra H. Oden, Stevan K. Olson, George Schmelzle

Associate Professor:  Phillip D. Harsha, Anthony C. Keller, Carl E. Keller, Jr., Geanie W. Margavio, John R. Williams

Assistant Professor:  Paul A. Ashcroft

Emeritus Professor:  Ronald R. Bottin, Kenneth W. Brown, Radie G. Bunn, Michael J. Cerullo, Margaret Virginia Cerullo, Kurt E. Chaloupecky, Jon R. Nance, Richard L. Nichols

Programs

Master of Accountancy

Kerri Tassin, MAcc Program Director
Glass Hall, Room 443 Phone (417) 836-6689
KerriTassin@missouristate.edu

Mission Statement of the School of Accountancy

The School of Accountancy (SOA) cultivates a comprehensive, high quality accounting environment, serving graduate and undergraduate accounting majors, business majors, and other interested persons.  Student development is the School’s top priority, and the primary responsibility of a full-time faculty engaged with its students.  Accordingly, the faculty encourages interaction with students in the classroom, during office visits and through other school, college and university programs.  Faculty members are also engaged in productive scholarship and meaningful service and interaction with the accounting profession, the University, and the larger community.  The SOA acknowledges that the teaching, research, and service are integrated, complementary activities.  These scholarly endeavors advance knowledge, foster an attitude of inquiry, meet the needs of society and contribute to student learning.

Program Description 

The Master of Accountancy (MAcc) is intended to articulate with the undergraduate program to provide an integrated five-year educational experience, with the objective of preparing the graduate for a successful career in public, private, or governmental accounting, or for pursuing a doctoral degree.  It also meets the “150-hour” education requirement to sit for the CPA examination and for membership in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

An accelerated option is available for eligible Missouri State University undergraduate accounting majors.  Students must apply during the second semester of their junior year.  If accepted, up to 6 hours of 600-700 level accounting courses may be counted toward both the undergraduate and graduate degrees.  This option allows Missouri State University accounting majors to obtain both the Bachelor of Science and MAcc degrees in five years with a total of 152 semester hours rather than the normal 158 hours.

The MAcc program is accredited by AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

Admission - To apply for admission, go to the Graduate College website and apply online.
XF Policy

High standards of professional conduct are required for admission to the accounting profession and to obtain and retain professional accounting certifications (CPA, CMA, CIA, CFE, etc).  Prospective graduate students who have been assigned a grade of XF (failure due to academic dishonestly) at Missouri State University (MSU), or the equivalent at another institution of higher education, may be denied acceptance to any graduate program offered by the School of Accountancy (SOA) including the Master of Accountancy, and Certificates in Forensic Accounting and Tax Accounting.  Students who have been assigned a grade of XF at MSU, or the equivalent at another institution of higher education, are required to inform the SOA Graduate Program Director of such grade at the time of application, even if the X was subsequently removed.  Failure to inform the SOA Graduate Program Director of this previous XF or equivalent grade will result in removal from the program.  A student assigned a grade of XF while studying toward completion of one or more of the previously listed graduate programs or certificates will be immediately removed from the program(s).

Admission - Traditional MAcc
  1. The student must have received an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
  2. The student must have attained a GPA of at least 3.20 for the last 60 hours of academic work and must have attained a GPA of at least 3.20 in upper-division accounting courses. 

Undergraduate accounting courses must either have been successfully completed within the five years prior to entry to the MAcc Program, or the student must provide other evidence of current knowledge in undergraduate core topics.  Otherwise, applicants may be required to repeat selected courses.

  1. The student must achieve a minimum composite score of 500 on the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT), and a minimum score of at least the 30th percentile for both the verbal and the quantitative components of the GMAT.  With the approval of the Director of the MAcc program, recent scores from other standardized tests for graduate study, such as the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or the Law School Aptitude Test (LSAT), may be deemed equivalent.  This GMAT requirement may be waived for students having a GPA of 3.20 or better on their last 60 semester hours at an AACSB accredited school. 
  2. Students who do not meet the normal admission requirement, but who show an indication of high promise, will be considered for probationary admission.
  3. All other University and Graduate College requirements for admission to a degree program will also apply.
Admission - Accelerated MAcc
  1. Completion of ACC 301, 302, 311, 321 and 341 with a GPA of 3.20 or better.
  2. An overall GPA of 3.20 or better.
  3. The student must achieve a minimum composite score of 500 on the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT), and a minimum score of at least the 30th percentile for both the verbal and the quantitative components of the GMAT.  With the approval of the Director of the MAcc program, recent scores from other standardized tests for graduate study, such as the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or the Law School Aptitude Test (LSAT), may be deemed equivalent. If a student has a GPA of 3.20 or better for the last 30 hours of academic work, the GMAT may be waived.
  4. For a courses to be designated as Mixed Credit, the graduate advisor, undergraduate department head, and Graduate College Dean must approve by signing the Permission for Mixed Credit form.  This form must be obtained prior to registering for the courses.

Qualified applicants may enter the program at the beginning of any semester.  Arrangement for taking the GMAT can be made by calling Pearson GMAT Registration Center at 1-800-717-4628 or by writing to Graduate Management Admissions Test, Educational Testing Service, PO Box 6000, Princeton, NJ  08541.  Application booklets are also available in the Counseling and Testing Center, Carrington Hall 311.

Applicants from foreign countries whose native language is not English are required to submit scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).  Normally scores of 600 on the paper-based or a comparable score of 253 on the computer-based TOEFL are required for admission.

Prerequisite Courses 

The MAcc can accommodate students without undergraduate degrees in accounting.  Deficiencies in a student’s undergraduate business or accounting education must be removed by taking appropriate prerequisite courses.  Those courses add to the number of hours required to complete the program.  To determine the extent of deficiencies, students should contact the MAcc Program Director for a transcript analysis.

By completion of the MAcc Program, the student is expected to meet the common body of knowledge requirements of the AACSB International.  These requirements involve course work in economics, statistics, computer information systems, finance, business law, management and marketing that is essentially equivalent to that required of Missouri State University undergraduate accounting majors.

Degree Requirements                   Total     33 hrs

The Master of Accountancy degree requires a minimum of 33 hours of graduate credit.  At least 24 of the 33 hours must be taken at the 700 level.  Specific course and credit hour requirements follow. 

  1. Accounting Core                                                           9 hrs
    ACC 703, 790 and one from ACC 705, 613
  2. Accounting Electives                                                 15 hrs
    With advisor approval, elect five accounting courses, with at least one course from each of the following four functional areas:
    a,  Financial (ACC 604, 606, 632, 705)
    b.  Managerial/Cost (ACC 613, 712, 715)
    c.  Tax (ACC 624, 625, 721, 722, 723)
    d.  Auditing/Systems (ACC 655, 656, 741, 750, 751, 752, 754)
  3. Additional Electives                                                     9 hrs
    With advisor approval, elect three courses.  Note:  No more than a total of 3 credit hours from ACC 695, 794, or 796 may be applied to the MAcc degree.
  4. Research
    Research projects may be required in any graduate accounting course. ACC 703 will have a significant professional research component.
Academic Standing 

A student who fails to attain a 3.00 GPA after completing the approved program may enroll for additional course work not to exceed 6 semester hours to raise the GPA.  The course work will be approved by the MAcc Program Director.

The maximum class load for a full-time student is normally 12 hours per semester.  An overload is permitted only after students have demonstrated their ability to achieve an outstanding graduate record at this university.  Students employed on a full-time job should not enroll for more than 6 semester hours.

All University and Graduate College requirements governing grading and attendance will apply.  To enroll in graduate courses in the College of Business, a student must satisfy one of the following two conditions:

  1. be admitted to a graduate program in the College of Business, or
  2. have permission to enroll from the College of Business Program Director.

Students who do not meet one of these two conditions may be dropped from the course(s) at any time during the session involved.

Forensic Accounting Graduate Certificate Program

Program Description

The Forensic Accounting Certificate program provides a 12 hours graduate-level experience in the forensic accounting field.  The program involves in depth study of forensic accounting and information technology topics, including fraud examination, litigation support, financial expert witnessing, business valuation, investigative data mining and others.  Contact the Director of the School of Accountancy or the MAcc Program Director for additional information.

Entrance Criteria

Candidates for the certificate program must be admitted to the University as a graduate student.  The candidate should have a bachelor’s degree in accounting and meet minimum admission criteria for the Master of Accountancy program.  All course work must be approved by the MAcc Program Director.

Required Courses   (12 hrs)
Course CodeCourse Title Credit Hours
ACC 754 Forensic Accounting: Litigation Support and Expert Witnessing 3 hrs
ACC 752 Fraud Examination 3 hrs
ACC 751 Information Systems Auditing 3 hrs
Select one of the following:
ACC 741 Advanced Accounting and Management Information Systems 3 hrs
ACC 750 Advanced Auditing 3 hrs
ACC 794 Internship (Forensic Accounting related) 3 hrs
ACC 796 Independent Study (Forensic Accounting related) 3 hrs
GPA Requirement

Students must have a B or better grade in each course.

Graduate Certificate in Tax Accounting

Program Description 

The Tax Accounting Graduate Certificate program provides a 12 hours graduate-level experience in the tax accounting field.  The program involves in depth study of tax accounting topics, including individual taxation, corporate taxation, tax planning, applied tax problems and others.  Contact the Director of the School of Accountancy or the MAcc Program Director for additional information.

Entrance Criteria

Candidates for the certificate program must be admitted to the University as a graduate student.  The candidate should have a bachelor’s degree in accounting and meet minimum admission criteria for the Master of Accountancy program.  All course work must be approved by the MAcc Program Director.

Required Courses  (12 hrs)
Course CodeCourse Title Credit Hours 
ACC 721 Advanced Tax Accounting 3 hrs
ACC 722 Public Service Tax Accounting 3 hrs
ACC 723 Tax Considerations for Decision Makers  3 hrs
Select one of the following:
ACC 625 Individual Income Tax Assistance 3 hrs
FIN 638 Introduction to Estate Planning 3 hrs
ACC 794 Internship (Tax Accounting related) 3 hrs
ACC 796 Independent Study (Tax Accounting related) 3 hrs
GPA Requirement

Students must have a B or better grade in each course.

Accounting Courses

ACC 600 Accounting Concepts for Managers

Prerequisite: permission of a director of a College of Business graduate program or the director of the MS in Administrative Studies program. Comprehensive study of the fundamentals of financial and managerial accounting. Designed for graduate students who have not had an undergraduate course in accounting. Will not be counted in the hours required for a College of Business graduate degree.

ACC 604 Advanced Accounting

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 302; and admitted to the MACC Program. Study of accounting for pensions, deferred taxes, business combinations, partnerships, and certain multicurrency accounting issues. May be taught concurrently with ACC 504. Cannot receive credit for both ACC 504 and ACC 604.

ACC 606 International Accounting

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 302; and admitted to the MACC Program. Accounting practices in different nations; multi-national corporation and selected accounting problems. May be taught concurrently with ACC 506. Cannot receive credit for both ACC 506 and ACC 606.

ACC 613 Managerial Cost Accounting II

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 311 and admitted to the MACC Program. A continuation of the topics examined in ACC 311. Specific topics covered include activity-based costing, strategic cost management, activity- and strategic-based responsibility accounting, quality costing, measurement and control of productivity, environmental cost management, cost-volume-profit analysis, activity resource usage, relevant costing, pricing and profitability analysis, capital investment decisions, and inventory management topics such as economic order quantity, just-in-time, and the theory of constraints. May be taught concurrently with ACC 513. Cannot receive credit for both ACC 513 and ACC 613.

ACC 624 Tax Accounting II

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 321; and admitted to the MACC Program. Principles of federal tax accounting; research in income tax problems of partnerships and corporations; estate and gift tax problems of individuals. May be taught concurrently with ACC 524. Cannot receive credit for both ACC 524 and ACC 624.

ACC 625 Individual Income Tax Assistance

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 321; and permission of instructor; and admitted to the MACC Program. To provide students with an opportunity to integrate intermediate tax accounting skills, critical thinking skills, communication skills, and research skills with community service. This course provides service-learning experience in the preparation and review of actual individual income tax returns (both federal and state) as well as the social and ethical issues inherent in US tax policy. May be taught concurrently with ACC 525. Cannot receive credit for both ACC 525 and ACC 625.

ACC 632 Governmental and Not-For-Profit Organizational Accounting

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 301; and admitted to the MACC Program. Governmental and not-for-profit organizational accounting records and funds, budgeting, budget control, analysis and interpretation of financial statements. May be taught concurrently with ACC 532. Cannot receive credit for both ACC 532 and ACC 632.

ACC 653 Auditing

Prerequisite: grades of "C" or better in ACC 301 and ACC 302 and ACC 311 and ACC 321 and ACC 341 and ACC 470; and admitted to the MACC Program. Kinds of audits, the duties and obligations of the auditor, principles and procedures to be followed in conducting an audit. A grade of "C" or better is required in this course in order to take ACC 703, 750, 751, 752, 754 and 790. This course has a required assessment component. May be taught concurrently with ACC 553. Cannot receive credit for both ACC 553 and ACC 653.

ACC 655 Internal Auditing

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 341; and admitted to the MACC Program. Functions of internal audit, financial audit, and operations audit; importance of the changing professional status of the internal auditor. May be taught concurrently with ACC 555. Cannot receive credit for both ACC 555 and ACC 655.

ACC 656 Operational Auditing

Prerequisite: admitted to MACC Program. Primarily a case study approach covering nonfinancial audits of efficient and effective resource utilization, accomplishment of operational goals, adherence to laws and regulations, fraud prevention and detection, integrity and security of computer systems, and achievement of program goals. May be taught concurrently with ACC 556. Cannot receive credit for both ACC 556 and ACC 656.

ACC 688 Healthcare Accounting Concepts

The role of accounting in the financial and operational management of healthcare organizations is approached via an introduction to healthcare financial and managerial accounting principles. This course addresses the definition of financial accounting; external reporting; development and use of the income statement, balance sheet and statement of cash flows. The course also addresses the managerial accounting topics of cost behavior and allocation; accounting data for pricing and service decisions; planning and budgeting in healthcare organizations; analysis of financial condition; and selected topics in ethics. The course is a core requirement for Master of Health Administration students and may be of interest to students in other graduate programs. Note that ACC 688 cannot be substituted for ACC 711 in the MBA program and cannot be counted in the 33 semester hours required for the MAcc degree.

ACC 695 Research Issues and Problems: Accounting

Prerequisite: permission of the School of Accountancy Director; and admitted to the MACC Program. Research issues and projects growing from particular needs which may require additional depth or breadth of study. Outline of study must be approved prior to enrolling. May be repeated to a total of 3 hours. May be taught concurrently with ACC 596. Cannot receive credit for both ACC 596 and ACC 695.

ACC 703 Seminar in Accounting Theory

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 653 or ACC 553; and admitted to the MACC Program. Critical evaluation and interpretation of accounting theory. Completion of a significant research project.

ACC 705 Advanced Financial Accounting Problems

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 302; and grade of "C" or better in ACC 504 or ACC 604 or concurrent enrollment in ACC 504 or ACC 604; and admitted to MACC program. Case studies of the application of major authoritative financial accounting pronouncements to integrated financial accounting problems; emphasis on the impact of accounting pronouncements on financial reporting, the changing trend in accounting theory and the possible future development of accounting pronouncements.

ACC 711 Managerial Accounting

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 211 or ACC 206 or ACC 600; and admitted to MBA or MHA program. Role of accounting in improving the practice of business management; budgeting, accounting analysis, the behavior of costs, accounting control. This course will not be counted in the 33 semester hours required for the MACC degree.

ACC 712 Controllership and Communication

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 311 or in ACC 711; and admitted to the MACC Program. An in-depth examination of the leadership and communication challenges associated with being a controller and/or professional accountant. The written and oral communication skills required for success as a professional accountant will be developed.

ACC 715 Advanced Cost Accounting

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 613 or in ACC 513; and admitted to the MACC Program. An in-depth study of problems and contemporary issues in cost accounting. An introduction to selected quantitative techniques used by accountants to solve cost accounting problems.

ACC 721 Advanced Tax Accounting

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 321; and grade of "C" or better in ACC 624 or in ACC 524; and admitted to MACC program. Case study approach to develop tax research, analytical, and communication skills. Incorporated into the case studies are ethical and legal constraints within which tax practitioners are obligated to operate.

ACC 722 Public Service Tax Accounting

Prerequisite: permission of instructor; and admitted to MACC program. Students will learn theoretical foundations in public service tax accounting topics and develop skills; which will apply to practical situations that will help students be better citizens and employees. Students will assist low-income, elderly, and English as Second Language taxpayers in the community in identifying and meeting their tax rights and responsibilities.

ACC 723 Tax Considerations for Decision Makers

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 624 or in ACC 524; and admitted to MACC program. Tax course with emphasis on recognizing and understanding the importance of tax considerations in the process of making decisions in business and personal matters; developing a tax institution to anticipate and understand the effect of prospective tax law changes; examining U.S. tax policy issues; and motivating students to a lifetime of learning by engaging them in independent study.

ACC 731 Control of Non-Profit Organizations

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 311 or in ACC 711; and admitted to MACC program. Case study approach to financial control in non-profit organizations. Special emphasis is on governmental and health care organizations, although other non-profit organizations are also studied.

ACC 741 Advanced Accounting and Management Information Systems

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 341; and admitted to MACC program. Application of the concepts of systems design and implementation. Study of the attributes of accounting information systems and their relationship with management information systems. Functions of accounting information systems including data collection and transmission, internal controls, data organizations and storage, processing data, and information retrieval and display. Characteristics and applications of both manual and automated information systems.

ACC 750 Advanced Auditing

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 653 or in ACC 553; and admitted to MACC program. External auditing procedures; implementing auditing standards; verifying adherence to generally accepted accounting principles; importance of the auditor's attest function.

ACC 751 Computer Forensics and IT Auditing

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 653 or in ACC 553; and admitted to MACC program. A study of information systems controls; auditing around, through, and with the computer; auditing advanced computer systems, spreadsheets and other fourth generation language applications. Hands-on computer auditing projects will be integrated into the course.

ACC 752 Fraud Examination

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 653 or in ACC 553; and admitted to MACC program. An in-depth study of the fraud examination process, including fraud prevention, detection, investigation, and management and employee fraud, and the legal aspects of fraud. Case studies are used extensively throughout the course.

ACC 754 Forensic Accounting: Litigation Support and Expert Witnessing

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 653 or ACC 553; and admitted to MACC program. This course explores one of the major areas of practice in forensic accounting. The course provides an in-depth investigation into the world of accounting litigation support and financial expert witnessing. The course requires students to actively participate in case analysis, development of expert reports, deposition testimony, and trial testimony. Students are exposed to the legal issues that impact on their role as an expert witness.

ACC 790 Seminar in Accounting

Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in ACC 653 or ACC 553; and admitted to MACC program. Critical evaluation and interpretation of the current research and professional literature in accounting. Study of ethical and institutional features of the accounting environment. Completion of a significant research project.

ACC 794 Internship: Accounting

Prerequisite: 12 graduate credit hours of accounting courses; and permission of instructor; and admitted to MACC program. In consultation with the coordinating professor, the student is engaged in first-hand experience with a business, organization, or other professional entity. A portfolio of assigned work shall be collected, examined, and evaluated during the semester.

ACC 796 Independent Study-Accounting

Prerequisite: permission of instructor; and admitted to the MACC program. In consultation with coordinating professor, student selects for intensive study of a specific area of concern related to the student's program, with emphasis on research.

ACC 797 Special Topics in Accounting

Prerequisite: 9 graduate hours of accounting courses; and admitted to the MACC program. In-depth study of contemporary topics in accounting. Each offering concerns a single topic. May be repeated with departmental permission to a total of 9 hours.

ACC 799 Thesis

Prerequisite: permission of instructor; and admitted to the MACC program. Independent research and study connected with preparation of thesis.