Accounting Capstone Course

Course Description

This course is an exercise in practical, professional management decision-making and analysis and is intended to re-emphasize to the student the challenges faced by managers who must balance the needs of customers, shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders with ethical and legal considerations. The course requires the student to synthesize and integrate the theory and practice learned from all of the courses in the accounting curriculum and apply them toward the development of recommended solutions for specific managerial situations found within organizations in the business environment.

Topics and Objectives

Integration of all Accounting Course Knowledge Including Financial, Managerial, Information Systems, Ethics, Critical Thinking, and Strategic Applications

• Apply Financial, Managerial, Information Systems, Ethics, Critical Thinking, and Strategic applications theories to business situations.
• Formulate appropriate uses for strategic planning, organizational behavior, management, and quantitative theories and concepts.
• Apply critical-thinking skills and ethical behavior to problem solving and decision making.

Strategic Focus on Long-Range and Financial Planning

• Relate the Controller's role in the achievement of the organization's goals and objectives.
• Analyze the relevance of the mission statement.
• Formulate and align the financial goals with the organization's strategic plan.
• Differentiate between strategic and tactical goals.
• Explain the relationship of the implementation of tactical goals in the annual operating budget.

Integration of Information Systems with Financial Applications

• Review information systems tools.
• Explain the strategies for integration of financial software applications.
• Utilize Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) as a financial business strategy.
• Apply the appropriate use of Client Server technologies to business strategies.
• Analyze the various applications for information sharing.

Transaction Analysis and Presentation

• Define sales standards.
• Relate direct sales distribution costs to the sales budget.
• Demonstrate the application of metrics to establish prime cost standards.
• Relate the appropriate production overhead allocation method to the business environment.
• Compare and contrast categories of discretionary and necessary spending and their respective relationships to strategic goals.
• Identify cash management techniques.
• Identify optimum levels of receivables and inventory.
• Apply capital budgeting techniques and constraints.
• Relate appropriate leverage strategies to organizational goals.
• Discuss the benefits of the timely presentation of financial information.
• Apply internal control concepts to safeguard the organization.

Financial Evaluation and Risk Management

• Evaluate the performance of the organization using ratio and trend analysis.
• Evaluate the need for risk management.

Application of Written and Oral Presentation Skill at an Executive Level

• Conduct in-depth research utilizing the LRC and Internet search engines.
• Prepare and deliver a comprehensive written and oral presentation utilizing appropriate software and presentation tools suitable for delivery to senior management.
• Critique class presentations for depth of content, accuracy and relevance to business situations analyzed.