CAROLYN CALLAHAN, PhD
Director & PhD Program Coordinator
Room 200, Fogelman Admin Building
(901) 678-4569
cmcllhan@memphis.edu

DAVID SPICELAND, PhD
Master’s Program Coordinator
Room 230, Fogelman Admin Building
(901) 678-2441
dspice@memphis.edu

http://fcbeold.memphis.edu/modules/general/mastershandbook.pdf

I. Objectives

In the School of Accountancy, qualified students may work toward the following graduate degrees: Master of Science with a concentration in Accounting, Accounting Systems, or Taxation; or PhD in Business Administration.

Program objectives are: (1) An understanding of the general context of business in society, the ethical issues relevant to the accounting profession, and an appropriate knowledge base for professional exams in accounting; (2) effective analytical, interpersonal, and communication skills; (3) acquisition of technical accounting knowledge and skills and related computer technology; and (4) ability to make significant professional contributions by application of accounting knowledge and skills in profit and not-for-profit organizations.

NOTE: Every graduate student must comply with the general requirements of the Graduate School (see Admissions Regulations, Academic Regulations, and Minimum Degree Requirements) and the program requirements of the degree being pursued.

II. General Admission for Master of Science Program

Admission to the Master of Science degree program is granted to graduates of accredited colleges and universities who show high promise of success in graduate business study. Qualified candidates may enter the program at the beginning of any semester. The admission requirements include satisfactory performance on undergraduate course work and a recent (five years or less) GMAT admissions examination score. The GMAT is waived for candidates who have received an undergraduate business degree with a grade point average of 3.5 or higher from an AACSB-accredited university (or from Christian Brothers University, Lemoyne-Owen College, or Rhodes College) within five years prior to registering for the University of Memphis Master’s program.

Five-year Professional Accounting Program. The GMAT is waived for University of Memphis accounting majors who, when applying to the master of science program, have: (1) 30 hours or fewer remaining toward the accounting degree (or who have graduated within the previous five years) and (2) have an undergraduate grade point average of 3.25 or higher. See the School of Accountancy Master’s Program Coordinator for details.

III. Master of Science Degree

The 30-hour master’s program provides students with a corporate governance perspective that emphasizes accounting in a service-oriented economy. Three concentrations within the major are offered: accounting, accounting systems, and taxation.

The Master of Science degree requires:

1. Prerequisites of ACCT 2010, Financial Accounting; 3011 Business Law; ACCT 3110 and 3120, Intermediate Accounting; ACCT 3310, Cost Accounting; ACCT 3510, Individual Taxation; ACCT 4240, Auditing; and Economics.
2. A minimum of 30 semester hours of approved graduate courses. The 30 graduate credits must include 21 hours in Accounting, with no more than 9 hours of 6000 level courses.

B. Concentrations

Specialization Core: 12 hours

Supporting Courses: 6 hours
Select 2 courses from the following:

Communication: 3 hours

^*Elective courses must be selected in consultation with the Masters Program Advisor and must support the degree plan. For non-accounting electives, students should normally expect to select graduate courses in the Fogelman College numbered above 6100/7100. Students are not permitted to take ACCT 6241, 6520 or 6211 if they took the course at the undergraduate level and should consult with the MS program advisor regarding an appropriate substitute accounting course(s).
^**The ACCT 7626 and 7627 must be taken during the same semester. You must be within 200 days of completing 150 credit hours. There is an additional fee for Becker materials.
^***Communication courses are selected in consultation with Masters Program Advisor and are normally chosen from the following courses: COMM 7110, Communication/Leadership; MGMT 7173, Executive Communication, ENGL 7807, Workshop: Government and Corporate Writing or other course(s) approved by the MS Program Advisor.

IV. PhD Program

The goal of the Ph.D. concentration in Accounting is to develop the next generation of committed scholars and excellent teachers by providing an active and stimulating intellectual environment.  The Accounting Ph.D. program  prepares doctoral students for research-oriented academic positions at well-regarded universities and colleges that demand solid teaching skills. We train doctoral students in classroom management and the development of solid teaching skills.  Research in the School of Accountancy focuses on economic based issues of importance to the accounting and business community such as the impact of accounting information on capital market participants as well as other firm stakeholders. 

Reflecting the research orientation of the faculty, development of research and academic writing skills is continually emphasized throughout the Ph.D. program. The faculty goal for matriculation is four years.  In seminars, doctoral students are encouraged to start working on the framework for the dissertation early in the first year aligned with research experts in the field.  In the first two years, students focus on their coursework, are involved in a research workshop, and work closely with faculty on a research project. Students complete their comprehensive examinations at the end of the second year. In their third and fourth years of study, students develop and present their thesis proposal, then complete and defend the dissertation.

A major strength of the Ph.D. program in accounting is that its graduate faculty members are student-oriented.  Research with faculty is encouraged and fostered in a highly collegial environment.  We emphasize a close faculty-doctoral student interaction. Only a few students are admitted into the doctoral program each year and they are encouraged to work closely as a team cohort.    Doctoral students are involved in all phases of faculty research, including co-authorship of research papers and presentations at professional meetings. Most of the current doctoral students are CPAs with business experience at the most prestigious corporate accounting and public accounting firms.

The PhD coordinator and director of the School of Accountancy is on the editorial board of The Accounting Review, one of the top three academic  accounting journals.  Our graduate faculty members have received academic honors that include chaired professorships.  The accounting faculty publish their research in the top tiered accounting journals such as The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting Research, Contemporary Accounting Research , Journal of Accounting and Economics as well as the highly regarded journals of the American Accounting Association in sub-discipline fields, among others.

For admission, prerequisites, and program information, see the college website at: www.memphis.edu/fcbephd/

ACCOUNTANCY (ACCT)

NOTE: Students taking Business courses will be charged an additional $30 per credit hour.

ACCT 6211 - Adv Financial Reporting (3)
Business combinations and consolidated financial statements, accounting for foreign currency transactions, translation of foreign subsidiary financial statements, and partnership accounting. PREREQUISITE: ACCT 3120.

ACCT 6241 - Advanced Auditing (3)
(0551). Auditing of computer-based accounting systems; emphasis on audit software and computer auditing techniques used to evaluate accounting system controls and test accounting data integrity; nature and use of expert systems in accounting with emphasis on their use as an audit tool. PREREQUISITE: ACCT 3120; PREREQUISITE OR COREQUISITE: ACCT 4240.

ACCT 6520 - Taxation/Bus Entities (3)
Introduction to the federal income taxation of corporations, partnerships, estates, and trusts. PREPREQUISITE: ACCT 3510 or permission of instructor.

ACCT 7000 - Fundamentals Of Acct (3)
(7001). Accelerated and in-depth introduction to the conceptual foundations of accounting as a dynamic information system for measuring and communicating economic and financial data for planning and control purposes. Primarily for non-business students but is acceptable to remove accounting prerequisites for the MBA and MS programs.

ACCT 7040 - Legal Concepts Business (3)
A survey of the legal, social, and political factors that affect business operations; prerequisite for MBA Core Knowledge and Skills.

ACCT 7050 - Corp Governance/Bus Ethics (2)
Detailed analysis of the role of corporate governance in the free enterprise system and capital markets; focused consideration of moral principles, ethical standards, and corporate code of business ethics.

ACCT 7080 - Financial/Managerial Acct Mgrs (3)
Use of accounting information by an organization's investors, creditors, regulatory authorities and managers; develops financial credit analysis skills useful in business decision making; analysis of accounting information useful for monitoring efficiency, quality, and timeliness of an operation; pricing and costing of products and services; planning and performance measurement.

ACCT 7110 - Acct for Decision Making (3)
(7010). Financial reporting from a decision-maker's perspective, managerial use of accounting information; includes case studies and research projects. NOTE: Not open to students who have received credit for ACCT 3310 or a similar course. PREREQUISITE: ACCT 7000 or equivalent.

ACCT 7120 - Strategic Accounting (3)
Theoretical aspects of financial reporting focusing on the quality of accounting reports and contemporary accounting controversies; case studies and research projects. PREREQUISITE: ACCT 3120

ACCT 7140 - Financial Statement Analysis (3)
Examining fmancial statements in the context of identifying the financial information available to analysts as well as techniques useful in transforming this basic information into forms more useful for analysis. PREREQUISITE: ACCT 2010 or ACCT 7110.

ACCT 7172 - Global Acct Policies (3)
Accelerated and in-depth introduction to conceptual foundations of financial and managerial accounting; selected tax topics. Restricted to students enrolled in IMBA concentration.

ACCT 7241 - Internal Auditing (3)
Authoritative internal audit standards, ethics of internal auditors, techniques of efficiency and effectiveness audits. PREREQUISITE: ACCT 4240.

ACCT 7310 - Adv Cost Accounting (3)
Budgets, determination of standards, variances and their functions, cost reports, profit projecting, direct costing, gross profit and breakeven analysis, cost-profit volume analysis, capital expenditure control, comparative cost analysis. PREREQUISITE: ACCT 3310 or ACCT 7110.

ACCT 7320 - Controllership (3)
Controllership function; evolution of management accounting; conceptual framework of management accounting compared and contrasted with financial accounting; functional tools used by controllers; emphasis on research, and written and oral communication skills in context of management accounting. PREREQUISITE: ACCT 3310.

ACCT 7412 - Legal/Acctg Aspects Entrep (3)
Prepares students to understand the regulatory framework for establishing a firm, legal forms of a business such as sole proprietorship, partnership, S corporation, and LLC; study of federal securities regulations, accounting, auditing, taxes, financial reporting, and uses of accounting data. The course also covers contract law, cyber law, copyrights and patents, ethics and social entrepreneurship.

ACCT 7420 - Acct Databases/Systems (3)
Accounting systems analysis and design; advanced system analysis tools; integrating accounting and computer controls; ACCESS; queries; forms and reports; achieving database normalization; development of working accounting model; project; lab environment. PREREQUISITE: ACCT 3110.

ACCT 7510 - Tax Research & Theory (3)
Advanced study of federal taxation with emphasis on tax research methodology and various theoretical precepts; integration of basic tax knowledge with skillful tax research to accomplish desired ethical tax objectives. PREREQUISITE: ACCT 6520.

ACCT 7511 - Tax- Partnships/Prtnrs (3)
Tax law organization, operation, and liquidation of partnerships; general overview of Subchapter K, acquisitions of partnership interests, basis of partner's partnership interest, taxation of partnership operations, transfers of partnership interests, partnership distributions, death or retirement of partner, adjustments to basis of partnership assets. PREREQUISITE: ACCT 7510 or permission of the instructor.

ACCT 7512 - Tax-Corp/Shrhldrs (3)
Tax law: organization, operation, and liquidation of corporations; organization of corporation under Code Section 351 and related problems; corporation's capital structure; corporate income tax; corporate elections under Subchapter S; stock redemptions and partial liquidations; and corporate reorganizations and liquidations. PREREQUISITE: ACCT 7510 or permission of the instructor.

ACCT 7514 - Estate And Gift Tax (3)
Transfer taxes (gift tax, estate tax, generation-skipping transfer taxes; all taxes on transfer of property accumulated after imposition of income tax); federal gift and death taxes with emphasis on tax planning. PREREQUISITE: ACCT 7510 or permission of the instructor.

ACCT 7518 - Selected Topics/Taxatn (3)
Special tax considerations of individuals, partnership, corporations, estates, trusts, exempt organizations, and governmental entities. PREREQUISITE: ACCT 7510 or permission of the instructor.

ACCT 7610 - Acct Issues/Servc Econ (3)
This culminating experience integrates financial, managerial, accounting information systems, auditing and tax knowledge and skills developed in core courses of the MS in accounting. PREREQUISITE: 15 hours of graduate-level accounting courses and permission of either Director of School of Accountancy or accounting masters advisor.

ACCT 7626 - Financial Report/Audit Stand (3)
Theory and practice of financial accounting and reporting for profit and non-profit entities, including governments; auditing and attestation standards and procedures. PREREQUISITE: permission of the School of Accountancy.

ACCT 7627 - Regulatory/Business Envrnmnt (3)
Theory and practice of regulatory and business environments; nature and types of common business structures; technology in business environment; business laws and regulatory issues; taxation of businesses; individuals and property transactions. PREREQUISITE: permission of the School of Accountancy.

ACCT 7910 - Problems In Acct (1-3)
Directed independent reading and research projects in an area selected by the student with the approval of the supervising faculty member and Faculty Director. Proposed plan of study must be approved prior to enrollment. PREREQUISITE: Permission of the director. Grades of A-F, or IP will be given.

ACCT 7911 - Intrnshp Accounting (1-6)
Internship in business organization to gain on-the-job experience and to develop writing, organizational, and applied performance skills. Projects approved and supervised by area of Accountancy. NOTE: Credit not applicable to accounting master's degrees. PREREQUISITE: Graduate standing and permission of College Internship Director. Grades of A-F, or IP will be given.

ACCT 7996 - Thesis (3-6)
Grades of S, U, or IP will be given.

ACCT 8000 - Indep Accounting Research (1-6)
Research problem related to student's specialty field of concentration under direction of a faculty member documented with guided reading list and student learnings objectives specified. Proposed plan of study must be approved prior to enrollment. Grades of A-F, or IP will be given.

ACCT 8610 - Seminar/Audit Research (3)
Research techniques and critical analysis of reported research findings related to various phases of the audit; applications of quantitative methods in audit; auditor and audit client behavior studied and evaluated, including analytical, empirical, and archival research methodologies.

ACCT 8621 - Agency and Fin Econ Theory Sem (3)
Scientific philosophy and method of empirical research that tests economic theories of accounting. This seminar will include analytical and empirical examinations of fundamrntal agency theory, managerial incentives and stakeholder conflicts in accounting research. Extensive readings from research literature in accounting and related fields (economics and finance).

ACCT 8710 - Acct Research Sem/Adv Cap Mkts (3)
In-depth study of existing body of accounting literature in various areas of economics-based empirical research; emphasis on research design and methodology; design and development of individual research projects; applying various research methods in accounting literature; and experience in presenting research, refereeing papers, and publishing research projects.

ACCT 8720 - Acct Research Judgmt/Decision (3)
(8210). Research on judgment and decision-making behavior in accounting; theories and empirical evidence on how professional accountants make judgments and how users are affected by accounting information; extensive readings from research literature in accounting and related fields; alternative methods for conducting empirical research. Will include an examination of the impact of behavioral science on budgeting techniques and managerial control systems.

ACCT 8731 - Seminar/Mgmt Accounting (3)
Presents theoretical foundations and empirical tests (including experiments, survey and field studies, and statistical tests of archival data) of current management accounting issues.

ACCT 8740 - Introductory Research Seminar (3)
Review, analysis, and integration of scholarly research in financial and managerial accounting as well as auditing research; development of critical thinking and communication skills for designing, executing, and evaluating scholarly accounting research.