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Alverno College Management Accounting Major
MGA487 - Managing the Accounting Environment

Course Description

This course introduces students in the management accounting major to the roles, responsibilities, professional standards and relationships that exist between management and an organization’ s external and internal auditors and other assurance providers. To effectively manage the accounting environment, management accountants need a clear understanding of the systems, methods and controls that ensure the integrity of information used for planning, decision making and financial reporting. This course uses a variety of frameworks to develop that understanding, examine the professional accountant's responsibilities and ethics, and explore issues related to accounting/information system design.

Management Accounting Major and Course Outcomes

The following management accounting major outcomes focus all of your coursework in accounting and reflect the integration of the advanced levels of analysis, problem solving, valuing and social interaction.
At the conclusion of this course, you will be able to:

• Integrate principles from accounting and management theory with liberal arts learning to interpret and analyze business situations and to effectively communicate with others in a variety of professional contexts by:
  • Independently selecting, evaluating, and applying appropriate internal control concepts and theories to analyze, evaluate, and report on the design, integrity, and effectiveness of accounting information and management control systems.
  • Using appropriate oral and written communication skills to effectively communicate analyses and recommendations related to accounting and management systems.
    
    
• Use accounting frameworks to initiate and implement problem solving and process improvement in organizational contexts by:
  • Identifying and applying appropriate computer and quantitative methods as audit tools in organizational settings.
  • Using a systems approach for the evaluation of accounting and management systems.
    
    
• Use management theory to interact effectively in professional contexts that require leadership of groups or other types of interpersonal interactions by:
  • Understanding and effectively communicating the role of information systems and assurance services in the organizational and external environments in order to respond to emerging issues.
  • Independently identifying and applying appropriate interpersonal and team skills to gather, synthesize, and report information for decision making.
  • Acting in a manner consistent with the professional code of conduct.
    
    
• Respond to management and accounting issues in a manner consistent with personal and professional codes of conduct by:
  • Using a professional code of conduct to identify and resolve ethical and professional issues.