Overview

The Accountancy program is a very demanding, competitive and rigorous course of study that develops skills in critical thinking, problem solving, written and oral communication, and decision making, in addition to developing the necessary tools to engage in lifelong learning after graduation. The program also develops an understanding of accounting theory, technical procedures, and the professional standards and ethics essential to becoming a successful professional in public, industry, government and not-for-profit accounting.

To successfully major in accountancy, students are expected to possess a high level of maturity, motivation and self-discipline. Students are admitted to the accountancy program based on their level of preparation and performance. To enter the accountancy program, students are admitted to the University as Pre-Accountancy majors or, if already attending CSUN, students must file for a change of major to Pre-Accountancy. Successful completion of the Pre-Accountancy major is required to become an Accountancy major. Students must obtain a grade of “C” or higher in each required Upper Division course in order to graduate.

Program Requirements

Business Majors

A Business major is any student majoring in Accountancy; Finance; Information Systems; Management; Marketing; or Business Administration with an Option in either Business Law, Global Supply Chain Management, Insurance and Financial Services, Real Estate, or Systems and Operations Management. Accountancy, Finance, and Insurance and Financial Services are impacted majors with additional admission requirements. All Business majors share 27 units of common Lower Division core courses and 19 units of common Upper Division core courses.

Double Major Requirements

Students seeking a double major in the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics must have at least a 3.0 overall GPA and be able to complete both majors within a maximum of 140 units.

Transfer Course Requirements

Students should be aware that no grade lower than “C” will be accepted on transfer from another institution to satisfy Department or David Nazarian College of Business and Economics requirements.

Residency Requirement

At least 50 percent of the business and economics course credit units and 50 percent of the specialized major credit units required for the Bachelor of Science degrees in Accountancy, Business Administration, Finance, Information Systems, Management, Marketing and the Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics must be completed in residence at CSUN.

Special Enrollment Requirements for ACCT 350

A pre-determined number of students are approved each semester to enroll in ACCT 350 through a competitive application process based on the number of available openings in the accountancy program. The application and instructions are available on the Department of Accounting and Information Systems website. To obtain approval from the Admissions Committee to enroll in ACCT 350, students must first satisfy the following requirements:

1. Completion of ENGL 205 and ACCT 220 with a grade of “B” or higher in each.
2. Completion of ACCT 230, BLAW 280, COMP 100, and ECON 160 and ECON 161 with a grade of “C” or higher in each.
3. A total GPA and CSUN GPA of 3.0 or higher (first semester transfer students will not have a CSUN GPA).
4. Declared as a Pre-Accountancy major.
5. Completion of a minimum of 60 units of college work (junior class standing). For transfer students, the units must be CSU transferable.

Admission to the Accountancy Major

Upon successful completion of ACCT 350, students may apply for admission to the Accountancy major. At the time of application, students must have successfully completed the Pre-Accountancy portion of the major with a grade of “C” or higher in each class and maintained both a total and CSUN GPA of 3.0 or higher. The program application and instructions are available on the Department of Accounting and Information Systems website.

Course Requirements

1. Common Lower Division Business Core (27 units)

Pre-Accountancy Major

2. Upper Division Business Core (19 units)

The successful completion of the Upper Division Writing Proficiency Exam (UDWPE) with a score of 8 or higher is a prerequisite for enrollment in all 400-level accounting and business courses.

BUS 302 The Gateway Experience (3)
BUS 302L The Gateway Experience Laboratory (1)
BUS 497 A or B Capstone (3)
FIN 303 Financial Management (3)
MKT 304 Marketing Management (3)
MGT 360 Management and Organizational Behavior (3)
SOM 306 Operations Management (3)

3. Other Required Business Courses (6 units)

BLAW 308 Business Law II (3)
IS 312 Information Systems for Business (3)

4. Required Accounting Courses (26 units)

ACCT 350 Intermediate Financial Accounting I (3)
ACCT 351 Intermediate Financial Accounting II (3)
ACCT 351COM Communication for Accountants (2)
ACCT 352 Intermediate Financial Accounting III (3)
ACCT 380 Cost Measurement and Analysis (3)
ACCT 440 Income Tax I (3)
ACCT 460 Auditing Principles (3)
COMS 356 Intercultural Communication (3)*
RS 361 Contemporary Ethical Issues (3)*

5. Accountancy Program Options (12 units)

Select one of the following options:

Professional Accountancy Option

ACCT 441 Income Tax II (3)
ACCT 450 Advanced Financial Accounting (3)

Select one of the following courses:

BLAW 368 Law, Business and Ethics (3)*
PHIL 305 Business Ethics (3)*

Select one of the following courses:

ACCT 425 Senior Seminar in Accounting (3)
ACCT 442 Advanced Studies in Taxation-Special Topics (3)
ACCT 470 Strategic Cost and Profit Management (3)
ACCT 497A-Z Special Topics in Accounting (3)
ACCT 498C Accounting-Field Assignments and Reports (3)
ACCT 542 Introduction to Federal Tax Procedures (3)

Information Systems Option

IS 431 Systems Analysis and Design (3)
IS 435 Business Data Communications and Networking (3)
IS 441 Database Management Systems (3)
IS 451 Systems Development Project (3)

*Courses that are also Upper Division GE.

6. General Education (48 units)

Undergraduate students must complete 48 units of General Education as described in this Catalog.
Of the 48 units of required General Education, 12 units are satisfied by the Lower Division Business Core and 6 units by the Upper Division GE required in the major. MATH 103 satisfies the 3-unit Mathematics requirement in Basic Skills. ECON 160 and ECON 161 satisfy the 6 units of Social Sciences. BLAW 280 satisfies 3 units of Lifelong Learning. COMS 356, RS 361, and BLAW 368 or PHIL 305 satisfy all 9 units of the Upper Division GE requirement. Of those 9 units, 6 can be used to satisfy the 48-unit GE requirement; COMS 356 satisfies 3 units in Comparative Cultural Studies and RS 361 satisfies 3 units in Arts and Humanities. COMP 100 satisfies the Subject Explorations Information Competence (IC) requirement.

Total Units in the Major: 90

General Education Units: 29-32

Additional Units: 0-1

Total Units Required for the B.S. Degree: 120