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Competencies to be Attained by Accounting Majors

• Accounting majors are expected to develop the following competencies in completing their bachelor's degree. These competencies were developed as part of the College of Business's curriculum redesign project in 1995/1996.

Communication Students should be able to:

• explain in both oral and written form their analysis of numerical and written data
• read, critique, and judge the value and contribution of a written work
• listen effectively
• understand how to market professional services and to market themselves

Creative Thinking Students should be able to:

• solve diverse and unstructured problems in unfamiliar settings

Teamwork Students should be able to:

• understand interpersonal and group dynamics in business as well as be sensitive to their strengths and weaknesses in working with team members
• work effectively with diverse groups of people

Adapting to Change Students should be able to:

• stay current in the field of accounting and the business environment in which they work
• deal effectively with imposed pressures
• understand methods for managing change within organizations

Global Perspective Students should be able to:

• take a global perspective to accounting, financial management, tax, and legal issues relevant to businesses

Accounting Knowledge Students should be able to:

• understand the underlying accounting concepts, the elements of and the relationships among the primary financial statements as well as how business transactions are processed to produce financial statements
• understand the accounting cycle
• understand the types of information needed for management decision-making and how to prepare it
• set up and evaluate an accounting system.
• conduct research into generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), SEC reporting rules, auditing standards, etc., and how to interpret and apply that research
• understand the purpose of the audit function and audit standards
• understand basic computer programs and how to apply them to accounting practices
• understand basic income tax concepts and how they are applied to different entities, the differences between tax and GAAP rules, and to perform basic tax research

Fundamental Business Concepts Students should be able to:

• understand and appreciate the cultural, social, political, economic and legal forces that affect businesses
• understand how businesses are organized and managed
• understand the nature of financial markets relevant to businesses
• understand the laws that affect businesses (e.g. securities, corporate, labor, contracts, intellectual property basics)
• appreciate the ethical rules and considerations involved in accounting work and have practice in applying them
• use various techniques and information sources to analyze and solve accounting and financial problems