2013-2014 University Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2013-2014 University Catalog archived

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ACCT 297 - Spring-Term Topics in Accounting


Credits: 4
Planned Offering: Spring



Prerequisites: ACCT 201 and others which may vary by topic. Intensive study of specific accounting issues in significant detail. Pedagogy depends on the specific topic but generally emphasizes discussion, research, fieldwork, projects, or case analysis rather than lecture. Specific course content changes from term to term, and is announced prior to preregistration. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

Spring 2014 topics:

ACCT 297A: The Anatomy of a Fraud (4). Prerequisite: ACCT 201. Preference given to First-Years. Not open to seniors. The purpose of this course is to take a deep dive into the phenomena of financial statement fraud and to “dissect it” from a number of angles. Drawing on historical cases of financial statement fraud as well as the first-hand experience of the instructor, a trained forensic accountant, we search for the answers to questions such as: What causes executives to “cook the books”? What factors contribute to collusion in the fraud? What can be done to prevent and detect it? Hess.

ACCT 297B: Accounting and Corporate Financial Distress (4). Prerequisites: Open to sophomores with ACCT 201 and 202 and others with instructor consent. We examine the connection between financial reporting and individual company financial distress; using the financial statements of one of the companies that have recently experienced financial distress (e.g., Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, AIG, Circuit City, Chrysler, GM, Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia). Our analysis includes an intensive examination of financial accounting principles, regulatory structures, and standard setting relevant to the company in question. Wiest.





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