Accounting and Information Systems

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.

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, Real Estate, or Systems and Operations Management. Accountancy and Finance 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 a “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.

Enrollment Requirements for ACCT 350

A predetermined number of students are approved each semester to enroll in ACCT 350 through a competitive application process. 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, ECON 160, ECON 161, IS 212, MATH 103, and SOM 120 (or MATH 140) with a grade of “C” or higher in each.
3. An overall and CSUN GPA of 3.2 or higher for continuing CSUN students or an overall GPA of 3.2 or higher for first-semester transfer students. A minimum GPA of 3.0 shall satisfy this requirement if seats are available.
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 completion of ACCT 350 with a grade of “C” or higher, students are eligible to apply for admission to the Accountancy major. At the time of application, students must have successfully completed the Pre-Accountancy portion of the major and maintained both an overall 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 497A or BUS 497B Capstone (3)
FIN 303 Financial Management (3)
MGT 360 Management and Organizational Behavior (3)
MKT 304 Marketing Management (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 Managers (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. Professional Accountancy Option (12 units)

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)*
JS 318 Applied Jewish 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)

*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 or JS 318 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. IS 212 satisfies the GE Subject Explorations requirement in Lifelong Learning and counts as one of the two courses required for Information Competence (IC).

Total Units in the Major: 90

General Education Units: 30

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