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ACCOUNTING
Mission Statement
Within UNF's Department of Accounting and Finance the Accounting program is committed to providing high-quality undergraduate instruction, with particular emphasis on accounting education that serves the needs of Northeast Florida. The faculty is committed to teaching excellence enhanced by research and interaction with accounting professionals in the broader business community. Specifically, the Accounting program seeks:
| To provide Bachelor of Business Administration degrees which prepare graduates for entry into professional and managerial positions in accounting. | ||
| To provide quality undergraduate instruction in accounting, which prepares students for lifelong learning and success. | ||
| To provide intellectual contributions that enhance the delivery of instruction to students, improve the application of existing knowledge, and provide solutions primarily to regional issues. The primary emphasis for intellectual contributions is applied research, followed by instructional research, and pure research. | ||
| To provide service which contributes to meeting the personal, professional, and life-long learning needs of our students, the University community, the business community, and alumni. | ||
| To provide internship and field experience opportunities to accounting students | ||
| To attract and retain quality faculty dedicated to teaching, research and service activities consistent with the goals of the Department, College and University. | ||
| To pursue continuous improvement in teaching, research and service, the Department and its stakeholders will regularly evaluate its mission, objectives and outcomes. |
Learning Objectives:
Pursuant to this mission, the Accounting program shares seven core learning objectives common to all majors within the Bachelor of Business Administration degree in the Coggin College of Business. These are listed below, with modifications specific to Accounting majors shown in bold.
Content/Discipline Knowledge &
Skills
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the importance and application of financial accounting concepts, standards, and reporting policies in business and financial decision-making. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the effects of transactions and events on an entity’s financial condition. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding in selecting suitable methods of accounting and financial reporting. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of events which require research and extraction of relevant resources in the professional literature. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of accounting and reporting for governmental and other nonprofit entities. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of global issues in financial accounting. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of planning and control processes. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of job and process costing. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of decision-making models. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of cost behavior. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of cost allocation to segments. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the necessity and components of internal control. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the components, design, and control of transaction flows. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of process flow as it relates to transactions. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the complete accounting cycle and its interactions with the transactions and organizational control. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of databases. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of developing an information system and establishing related controls. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of global issues in accounting information systems. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of tests of understanding and tests of controls. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of substantive testing. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of professional auditing standards. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of report generation. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of business cycles analysis. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of audit planning and procedures. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding auditing requirements under Sarbanes-Oxley. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of global issues in auditing. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of tax determination. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of inclusions and exclusions from gross income. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of deductions and losses. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of cost recovery calculations. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of nontaxable transactions. | ||
| Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of property transactions. |
Critical Thinking Skills
| Auditing | ||
| Students are required to complete a number of problems and cases during the semester which address the auditor's professional judgment in a number of different scenarios. Additionally, students are required to complete a major research effort which addresses specialized auditing engagements (Banking, manufacturing, insurance, etc. | ||
| Accounting Information Systems | ||
| Students are required to complete a comprehensive case of the accounting transaction cycles. This case reinforces a real-world case which has been adapted for educational use. The case requires students to complete daily, quarterly, and year-end accounting transactions including document preparation and compilation. Students must synthesize the entire accounting cycle, from document generation to financial statement preparation. | ||
| Federal Income Taxation - Two critical thinking projects are required: | ||
| Research Case Project: The objective of the research assignment is to provide exposure to the process of tax research. This project will develop students' skills in the areas of issue identification, the ability to read and comprehend primary tax sources, the ability to apply primary tax sources to the facts presented to arrive at a solution, and the ability to use the computer to conduct tax research. | ||
| Tax Return Project: The objective of the tax return assignment is to provide exposure to the process of tax return preparation. The project will develop students' skills in the areas of issue identification, the ability to apply course content knowledge, and the ability to read, comprehend, and apply instructions in computing tax liability. |
Communication Skills
| Auditing Information System - Two communication projects are required: | ||
| Students are required to produce, as part of a team, a 20 page research report detailing the outcome of a real company visit and related accounting system evaluation | ||
| Students must also present, in a team fashion, a one hour presentation to their classmates. Students are evaluated on their ability to convey company-specific accounting processes to their peers. | ||
| Auditing - Two communication projects are required: | ||
| Students are required to produce, as part of a team, a 10 page research paper which addressed a specific area of practical auditing knowledge. Students are evaluated on the basis of their research, grammar/spelling, and writing effort. | ||
| Students must present, as part of an auditing team, a one-half hour presentation to their classmates which addresses the topical area researched. Students are evaluated upon their ability to convey specialized audit procedures and processes to their peers. Students are also evaluated on the basis of their skills in projection, continuity, transition, eye contact, enthusiasm, etc. |
Curriculum Map
Click on the image below to see in which Accounting courses these Student Learning Outcomes are addressed:
Assessment Approaches
Oral communication (objective 1) will be assessed by the average student performance while delivering an individual speech during SPC 4064 (Public Speaking for Professionals), using a standardized, anchored grading rubric for all students.
International business knowledge (objective 3) will be assessed by the average student score on the international business assessment indicator (sub-score) of the Major Field Test in Business from the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which will be administered in each student’s last term in their program of study.
Use of technology (objective 4) will be assessed by the average student score on questions developed by Coggin College Information Systems Management (ISM) faculty, and administered at the beginning and end of the term as each student completes ISM 4011 (Introduction to Management Information Systems).
Critical thinking (objective 5) will be assessed by the average student score on a standardized critical thinking instrument (e.g., the Watson-Glazer Critical Thinking Appraisal), which will be administered as part of an upper division course required of all majors (e.g., MAN 3504 – Production / Operations & Logistics Management).
Content knowledge in the functional areas of business (objective 6) will be assessed through the Major Field Test in Business from ETS, and administered in each student’s last term. Content knowledge will be measured by the average overall student score, as well as the average student score on each of eight assessment indicators (or sub-scores), including accounting, economics, management, quantitative analysis, finance, marketing, legal / social environment, and information systems.
Knowledge specific to the major (objective 7) will be assessed by the average score of all Accounting majors graduating each term on the accounting assessment indicator (sub-score) of the Major Field Test in Business from ETS. In addition, advanced Accounting questions developed by the Coggin College Accounting faculty will be administered via course-embedded instruments in the required courses within the major, or appended to the Major Field Test in Business taken in the student’s last term. The average score on these questions will be used for assessment of knowledge specific to the major.
Additional assessment approaches are in development, and those noted above are subject to revision as deemed appropriate.
Career Opportunities
For information on the many career options available to Accounting majors, go to What Can You Do with an Accounting Major at: http://www.unf.edu/dept/cdc/majors/accounting.html
For More Information
To learn more about the UNF Accounting Department and majoring in Accounting, go to http://www.unf.edu/ccb/actfin/accounting.htm
