Online CPA Prep. Certificate Program | Northwestern SPS - Northwestern School of Professional Studies

The content of the course is designed to provide students with a firm understanding of the financial accounting process, and to include identifying, recording and communicating accounting information to external users. The course will discuss Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and explain how their framework fosters the relevance and reliability of financial statements. Students can expect an introduction to the techniques of accounting and the accounting profession with an emphasis on organizing information for decision making and the information needs of creditors and equity holders. Topics include financial statements, transaction analysis, accrual accounting, cash management, inventories, receivables, long-term and intangible assets, liabilities, stockholders' equity, cash flow statements, and financial statement analysis.

This course is conducted completely online. A technology fee will be added to tuition.

A continuation of the introduction to accounting, with emphasis on providing relevant and timely accounting information and analysis to managers for use in planning, decision making, and controlling strategic operational objectives. Topics include the classifications of costs and different ways of reporting and analyzing those costs; the operating budgeting process; capital budgeting; and job-order, standard, process, and activity-based costing systems. Prerequisite: While there is not a formal prerequisite for this course, it is helpful for students to have a basic understanding of algebra and statistics, especially concepts such as standard deviation, correlation, covariance and regression. Also, some knowledge of accounting is helpful, such as familiarity with balance sheets, cash flow statements, and income statements.

This course is conducted completely online. A technology fee will be added to tuition.

Introduction to the field of taxation, with attention to individual income taxation. Gross income, capital gains, deductions, and alternate tax methods. IRS forms used. Prerequisite: ACCOUNT 202.

This course is conducted completely online. A technology fee will be added to tuition.

Accounting theory and concepts; analysis of special problems that arise in applying these underlying concepts to financial accounting. Accounting information as a basis for decisions by management, stockholders, creditors, and other users of financial and accounting reports. Prerequisite: ACCOUNT 202.

This course is conducted completely online. A technology fee will be added to tuition.

This course covers the accounting problems of a corporation's valuation, cost allocation, stockholder equity, and long-term debt; leases, pension plans, and income tax allocations; financial statement construction, effect of errors, cash and other funds, and issues relating to the analysis of financial statements; the present-value concept. Prerequisite: ACCOUNT 210.

This course is conducted completely online. A technology fee will be added to tuition.

This course is a continuation in the field of taxation with particular attention to the field of corporate and business taxation at the Federal level. Corporate formation and capital structure, corporate income tax, other corporate levies, consolidated tax returns, partnerships, and S-corporations are among the topics covered. Some IRS forms will be used, but the emphasis will be upon a deeper understanding of federal tax law. Prerequisite: ACCOUNT 208 (Income Tax I).

This course is conducted completely online. A technology fee will be added to tuition.

Managerial uses of cost data in planning, controlling, and evaluating organizational activities and in making business decisions. Topics include discussion of activity-based costing, standard costs, inventory costing, and review of cost allocation techniques. In addition, contemporary topics, including pricing decisions, balanced scorecard, and capital budgeting techniques will be discussed, along with ethical and behavioral issues addressing both manufacturing and service sectors. Prerequisite: ACCOUNT 202.

This course is conducted completely online. A technology fee will be added to tuition.

Auditing Principles and Procedures provides the foundational concepts of balance sheet audits, allowing students to exercise the role of an external auditor, identifying audit risks, determining appropriate audit techniques and evidencing, and executing audits of primary financial areas present at most companies. Students will be confronted with common ethical issues faced by auditors, issues of auditor independence, fraud risks, and audits of key accounting cycles such as cash, accounts receivable, inventories, accounts payable, debt and capital. By the end of this course, students will be proficient in recognizing audit risks at both, the client and financial statement line level, writing engagement letters, and communicating results to auditees. Students will join group discussions, complete online homework assignments, research and write papers on various topics, and complete online quizzes and examinations. Students are highly encouraged to share articles and their own experiences related to auditing and auditors as part of their assignments.

This course is conducted completely online. A technology fee will be added to tuition.

Auditing II builds on foundational audit concepts and applies them to real-life situations including the understanding and analysis of company financial statements. The course also introduces a number of internal control frameworks and standards, explores alternatives to the traditional financial statement audit, compares and contrasts the roles of the external and internal auditor, and considers whether auditors can be truly independent. By the end of this course, students will be proficient in analyzing financial statements, including understanding a company’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as whether a company presents a good investment opportunity. Students will also be able to design audit procedures to prevent or detect fraud and will have an understanding of the differences between IT controls and manual controls. Students will join group discussions, complete online homework assignments, research and write papers on various topics, participate in group projects and complete online quizzes and examinations. Students are highly encouraged to share articles and their own experiences related to auditing and auditors as part of their assignments.

This course is conducted completely online. A technology fee will be added to tuition.

This course covers accounting issues uniquely confronted by companies involved in international business. The primary focus of the course is to provide an overview of international accounting by drawing on real business problems, economies, and finance in order to understand what is contained in and how to develop and interpret financial reports. The course includes fundamental financial accounting concepts and methods across countries.

This course is conducted completely online. A technology fee will be added to tuition.

CPAs are required to conduct research when performing tax, accounting, and auditing services. The successful accountant will not only be able to access and utilize online databases but also concisely convey their findings to clients and third parties using proper grammar and punctuation. This course introduces the type of research the professional will encounter in their practice and covers the available research databases and steps to conduct such research. Also covered are communication techniques, grammar, and punctuation.

This course is conducted completely online. A technology fee will be added to tuition

This course is designed for students who wish to explore the forensic accounting profession. Since most students have been or will be affected by fraud on a personal and/or professional level, this course is also designed for students who simply wish to know more about forensic accounting so that they are in a much better position to recognize fraud and know how to respond. Students completing this course will have a basic understanding of forensic accounting opportunities and career possibilities in this field. Students will apply accounting, research, and investigative skills and become knowledgeable about areas of the law relating to fraud examination and litigation services. These skills, when combined with this knowledge, will enable students to collect, analyze, and evaluate evidential matter and to interpret and communicate their findings.

This course is conducted completely online. A technology fee will be added to tuition.