Mission
Our mission is to teach our students to use accounting information to make better financial decisions, and for our graduates to enter and thrive in the profession.
CPA Licensure
The Bachelor of Business Association (BBA) in Accounting at Woodbury University’s School of Business (WUSB) comprises 120 credit units, which allows graduates to sit for the Uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam in California. However, the state boards of accountancy require students to complete 150 academic credit units to be eligible to become a licensed CPA.
For a full list of California CPA licensure requirements, please visit This Way to CPA, California. Other states may have additional educational and/or non-educational requirements.
Before enrolling at Woodbury University, prospective students must review the Accounting Professional Licensure webpage to determine whether our program meets the educational requirements in the state(s) they wish to practice. To discuss the process of obtaining a CPA license in a particular state, please contact Admissions at admissions@woodbury.edu or 818-252-5221. For a general overview of CPA licensing requirements by U.S. state and territory, students may contact an individual state board of accountancy or visit This Way to CPA, state requirements.
Additional Learning Opportunities
Capstone
Since the primary role of professional accountants is to serve as professional advisors, Accounting majors practice this in the required capstone course taken as seniors: MGMT 483, Business Policy and Strategy is a 3-unit course that provides an opportunity to integrate the functional areas of marketing, finance, accounting, production, and management in the form of a team- based, nationally normed case competition.
The capstone course uses a computer simulation in which organizations are analyzed with respect to the effectiveness and appropriateness of strategies and goals in each of the functional areas. Also measured are the synergies of the functional areas for achieving optimal results consistent with their respective missions.
Internship
Woodbury’s Career Development Office offers a variety of programs, services, and resources to assist students in exploring careers and securing internships. The staff works with students one-on-one to develop successful internship search strategies and help students connect with employers through internship postings, résumé collections, on- and off- campus interview opportunities, alumni connections, and employer outreach.
Accounting majors without significant business experience are required to serve a 120 -hour internship. Accounting majors are encouraged to look for paid internships at CPA firms in private industry (such as Disney or Parsons), or in the public sector (such as the IRS or JPL). In addition, Accounting students who are already working concurrently with enrollment are encouraged to switch to accounting- related jobs (such as accounts payable or tax preparation). Woodbury’s Career Development Office is adept at helping students find such positions.
The required work component is satisfied by a three- unit internship or accounting work experience of at least 120 hours (non-credit). If the requirement is satisfied by non-credit work experience, an additional upper-division accounting course will be required.
Other
Accounting students are advised to focus on coursework and pursue accounting-related jobs rather than part-time jobs outside the field.
Students are encouraged to participate in case competitions (such as those offered by the Institute of Management Accountants) and to submit papers to accounting conferences (such as the annual meeting held by the Western Decision Sciences Institute).
Academic credit may be awarded for participation through ACCT 499, Independent Study.
Students are also encouraged to join professional organizations, such as the California Society of CPAs (memberships are free for Accounting students), and student organizations, such as Woodbury’s Accounting Society, Business and Professional Women of Woodbury (BPWOW), and Woodbury’s Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO). Students also can compete in CEO’s annual Business Plan Competition for substantial cash prizes.
Accounting majors are strongly encouraged to consider investing their required upper-division GE courses in law- related courses (such as POHI 337, U.S. Constitutional Law), as well as those involving ethics, journalism, social media, and the social sciences.
Technology and Computer Requirements
Students will use word processing software (such as Word), presentation software (such as PowerPoint), and spreadsheet software (such as Excel). Students also use professional research tools (such as ProQuest and Lexis/Nexis), and—in upper-division courses— specialized software (such as Lacerte for tax returns, CCH Online Tax Research NetWork, ACL, FARS, and the SEC’s EDGAR database) typical for practitioners who specialize in the accounting areas taught (i.e., general ledger programs for intermediate accounting practice sets).
Program Learning Outcomes
Since the Accounting Department provides a degree in Accounting and serves the other BBA majors, the learning outcomes are distinguished between lower-division Accounting courses and upper-division Accounting courses. Students passing the lower- division core courses in Accounting manifest the ability to apply accounting data in making business decisions. Accounting graduates demonstrate knowledge of accounting concepts required for entry-level positions in the profession in either public or private sectors.
Lower-Division Learning Outcomes
- Students will be able to identify commonly used ratios, cost-related techniques, and the qualitative characteristics of generally accepted accounting principles [knowledge].
- Students will be able to determine degrees of importance [understanding].
- Students will be able to evaluate the financial condition of an organization or investment [application].
Upper-Division Learning Outcomes
- Students will be able to identify key accounting issues under primary authorities, such as generally accepted accounting principles, generally accepted auditing standards, or federal income tax law [knowledge].
- Students will be able to determine degrees of importance [understanding].
- Students will be able to prepare advice for a client based on environmentally rich, practical, lifelike cases in which many issues are raised, not all facts are given, and insufficient space exists to allow for a thorough discussion of either [application].
Assessment Process
Placement Exam Requirements
Accounting students who have not received transfer credit for a 200-level Math course are encouraged to take the Math Placement Exam, but it is not required. See the Academic Proficiencies and Placement section of the Academic Journey chapter of this catalog for more information.
Formative Assessment Experiences
For the BBA core courses, formative assessment processes include: opportunities for students to provide structured feedback to their peers; detailed feedback from instructors on homework submissions through Moodle; Moodle forums; evaluation of students’ formal presentations; inclusion of Writing Department consultants to enhance writing skills in MGMT 326, MGMT 350, and MGMT 461; and simulation games in MGMT 336 and MGMT 483.
For Accounting major courses, formative assessment processes include: detailed feedback from instructors on homework submissions through Moodle; computer literacy requirements; field projects; internship projects; and faculty advising through mandatory one- on-one meetings.
Summative Assessment Experiences
Summative assessment processes for the BBA core courses include: research and reflection papers; formal presentations; portfolio presentations; final exams; and the capstone project.
Summative assessment processes for Accounting major courses include formal presentations, portfolio presentations, and comprehensive exams.
Program Specific Academic Standards
The Department of Accounting applies University- and Schoolwide academic standards.
Curriculum Summary
Program Major Curriculum
| Unit Type (UT) |
Number of Units (U) |
| Major (MA) |
57 |
| General Education (GE) |
55 |
| Unrestricted Electives (UE) |
5 |
| Internship (IN) |
3 |
| Minimum Total Units Required |
120 |
Suggested Sequence of Courses
First Year
Fall Semester
| MGMT 100 | Fundamentals of Business Enterprise | 3 |
| WRIT 113 | First-Year Academic Writing | 3 |
____ ___
| Interdisciplinary Elective | 3 |
| ENVT 220 | Environmental Studies | 3 |
____ ___
| Unrestricted Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Spring Semester
| MGMT 110 | Legal Environment of Business | 3 |
| MDST 120 | Public Speaking | 3 |
LSCI ___
| Information Theory and Practice | 1 |
| MATH 220 | Business Math | 3 |
| PSYC 150 | General Psychology | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 13 |
Second Year
Fall Semester
| ACCT 205 | Financial Accounting for Decision-Making | 3 |
| MGMT 326 | MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR | 3 |
| MATH 226 | Business Statistics | 3 |
ECON ___
| Macroeconomics or Microeconomics | 3 |
____ ___
| Natural Science with Lab Elective | 3 |
| PHIL 210 | Ethical Systems | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 18 |
Spring Semester
| ACCT 206 | Managerial Accounting for Decision-Making | 3 |
| MRKT 301 | Principles of Marketing | 3 |
____ ___
| Art History Elective | 3 |
| WRIT 313 | Advanced Academic Writing | 3 |
____ ___
| Unrestricted Elective | 2 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 14 |
Third Year
Fall Semester
| ACCT 304 | Intermediate Accounting I | 3 |
| ACCT 352 | Concepts of Taxation | 3 |
| MGMT 336 | MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS | 3 |
| MGMT 350 | Business Ethics | 3 |
____ 3__
| Upper Division Interdisciplinary Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Spring Semester
| ACCT 300 | Cost Accounting | 3 |
| ACCT 305 | Intermediate Accounting II | 3 |
| ACCT 360 | Accounting Ethics | 3 |
| FINA 360 | Financial Management | 3 |
____ 3__
| Upper Division General Education Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Fourth Year
Fall Semester
| ACCT 410 | Auditing | 3 |
| MGMT 400 | Operations Management | 3 |
| ACCT 403 | Government and Not-For-Profit Accounting | 3 |
ACCT 3__
| Upper Division Accounting Elective | 3 |
____ 3__
| Upper Division General Education Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Type:
ACCT 410, MGMT 400, ACCT 403, and ACCT (Upper Division Accounting Elective): MA.
Upper Division General Education Elective: GE.
Spring Semester
| ACCT 490 | Internship | 3 |
| MGMT 483 | Business Policy and Strategy | 3 |
| MGMT 461 | Leadership | 3 |
____ ___
| Art History or Humanities Elective | 3 |
____ ___
| General Education Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Program Minor Curriculum
The Production Accounting Minor is an option for people interested in working in the entertainment industry as an accountant. It is appropriate for either accounting or film students.
The minor requires a total of five classes; however, students coming from different majors will require different combinations of classes. Accounting students already take ACCT 205 and ACCT 206. Film students already take FILM 402 and an internship in the entertainment industry. All students take ACCT 353 and two production accounting electives.
The internship class must be in the entertainment industry. Accounting students can not double-count their accounting internship with this minor.
| ACCT 205 | Financial Accounting for Decision-Making | 3 |
| ACCT 206 | Managerial Accounting for Decision-Making | 3 |
| FILM 402 | Producing | 3 |
| ACCT 490 | Internship | 3 |
| ACCT 353 | Entertainment Industry Accounting | 3 |
____ ___
| Production Accounting Elective 1 | 3 |
____ ___
| Production Accounting Elective 2 | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |