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Courses

The Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) (BCom) Accounting major is designed for students interested in becoming a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), and for students who want to develop a strong foundation in accounting. The program provides all the courses needed to meet the requirements of the CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP). In addition to covering all the knowledge requirements for the CPA, our Accounting major places heavy emphasis on the skills and abilities needed to obtain a CPA and to be a successful professional accountant. The university’s Bachelor of Commerce Accounting major, combined with the graduate diploma in Accounting has been accredited by CPA Ontario for advanced standing in the CPA PEP. Completing the minimum requirements for the Accounting major does not make a student eligible for admission to the CPA Professional Education Program. Admission to the CPA PEP requires completion of the requirements set out by CPA Ontario.

 

Accounting Major

  • Requirements

    To be eligible for the honours Bachelor of Commerce degree, students must successfully complete 120 credit hours, including all courses outlined in the following program map.

    Students starting the program before September 2017 have different requirements and the courses required would be as follows:

    Core courses (60 percent required in each course and 65 percent GPA)

    Non-core courses (50 percent required in each course)

  • BUSI 2130U – Intermediate Financial Accounting I

    The first of a three course sequence that covers many of the nuts-and-bolts topics needed for a thorough understanding of financial accounting and reporting. Intermediate Financial Accounting I addresses the conceptual foundations of contemporary accounting and develops the technical aspects of accounting. Topics covered include the accounting environment, conceptual framework, the accounting cycle, the cash flow statement, and revenue and expense recognition. All topics are covered from the perspectives of IFRS and ASPE and from the perspectives of users and preparers of financial information. Ethical and professional responsibilities are integrated into course topics. The course also develops critical thinking and problem-solving skills using case analyses. Intermediate Accounting I is required for our university’s Accounting major and minor but is also open to students in other majors and the general BCom who would like to know more about accounting.

  • BUSI 2402U – Corporate Finance

    This course provides an advanced understanding of corporate finance with focus on financial markets. Topics covered in this course include financial securities and financial markets, understanding and measurement of risk and returns, cost of capital, financial leverage of the firm and its dividend policy. The course will also introduce students to international corporate finance and to the practice of mergers and acquisitions.

  • BUSI 3110U - Introduction to Taxation
    The basic concepts and techniques of income taxation and applications to personal tax are examined.
  • BUSI 3120U - Advanced Taxation
    The basic concepts and techniques of income taxation and applications to corporate tax are examined.
  • BUSI 3130U - Intermediate Financial Accounting II
    The second of a three-course sequence that covers many of the nuts-and-bolts topics needed for a thorough understanding of financial accounting and reporting. Topics covered include revenue and expense recognition, cash and receivables, inventory, capital assets, shareholders’ equity and restatements, and strategic investments and goodwill. All topics are covered from the perspectives of IFRS and ASPE and from the perspectives of users and preparers of financial information. Ethical and professional responsibilities are integrated into course topics. The course also develops critical thinking and problem-solving skills through the use of case analyses. Intermediate Accounting II is required for the university’s Accounting major and minor and is open only to students in the Accounting major and minor.
  • BUSI 3131U - Intermediate Financial Accounting III
    The third of a three-course sequence that covers many of the nuts-and-bolts topics needed for a thorough understanding of financial accounting and reporting. Topics covered include financial instruments, leases, pensions, and post-retirement benefits, income taxes, earnings per share, and financial statement analysis. All topics are covered from the perspectives of IFRS and ASPE and from the perspectives of users and preparers of financial information. Ethical and professional responsibilities are integrated into course topics. The course also develops critical thinking and problem-solving skills through the use of case analyses. Intermediate Accounting III is required for the university’s Accounting major and minor and is open only to students in the Accounting
  • BUSI 3170U - Auditing Standards and Applications
    This course focuses on the standards, theory and applications underlying the functions and responsibilities of external and internal auditors. The theory of audit evidence and basic techniques are used to provide an understanding of auditing methodology and procedures. The auditor’s responsibility beyond the financial audit and current developments in auditing are also examined. Review engagements are also examined. Students are expected to complete and present a research paper or project.
  • BUSI 3171U – Advanced Auditing

    This course extends students’ knowledge of auditing by examining the role of the profession in society, evaluating current concerns and issues facing auditors, and building on the understanding of the general audit framework and its essential theories. This course also examines specific audit topics such as comprehensive auditing, audit of not-for-profit entities, environmental auditing and small business audits. Students generally are expected to complete and present a research paper or project.

  • BUSI 3180U - Intermediate Managerial Accounting
    This is the first of two managerial accounting courses (BUSI 3180U and BUSI 4180U) in the Accounting major/minor that builds upon the content and skills obtained in BUSI 2180U. BUSI 3180U is a problem-solving and case course that develops the concepts, decision-making, and skills a managerial accountant needs. Students will evaluate techniques based on their relevance to specific decisions. Application of concepts and development of critical thinking skills are crucial aspects of this course.
  • BUSI 3504U – Databases, Data Warehouses and Business Intelligence

    This course is designed for information technology and business students as a first step towards becoming a data management and business intelligence professional. It focuses on three areas: databases, data warehouses and business intelligence. First, it covers the foundations of data modelling, including entity-relationship diagrams, normalization and denormalization, database management techniques and Structured Query Language (SQL). Next, it exposes students to the implementation and use of data warehouses from conceptual and practical perspectives. Finally, it covers the use of databases and data warehouses for various business intelligence tasks. Throughout the course, students will be given an opportunity to explore popular database, data warehousing and business intelligence software tools.

  • BUSI 3705U – Legal Environment of Business

    This course introduces students to elements of Canadian law that are relevant to business. In addition to providing an overview of the Canadian legal system, the course addresses areas of substantive law that shape the business risk landscape, including contracts, torts, property, and business organizations.

  • BUSI 4130U - Advanced Financial Accounting
    This course examines complex financial reporting topics. Topics covered include investments in equity securities, business combinations, consolidations, translation and consolidation of foreign operations, international accounting, and accounting for not-for-profit and government entities. All topics are covered from the perspectives of IFRS and ASPE. Ethical and professional responsibilities are integrated into course topics. The course also develops critical thinking and problem-solving skills through the use of case analyses. Advanced Financial Accounting is required for the university’s Accounting major and minor and is open only to students in the Accounting major and minor.
  • BUSI 4180U - Advanced Managerial Accounting
    This course develops problem-solving and decision-making skills for managerial accounting applications. Topics include: cost concepts and analysis; cost accumulation for product costing and variance analysis; cost analysis for decisions involving alternatives; advanced manufacturing technology and accounting concerns are addressed including activity-based costing; target costing; international approaches to cost management; quality control; benchmarking; life cycle costing; the balanced scorecard and new performance measures; business strategy and competitive positioning; the value chain and competitor analysis; generic strategies and control systems design; responsibility accounting and organizational architecture. Cases and problems are used. Students are expected to apply their quantitative tools when analyzing case and problem situations.
  • Open Elective

    One (1) open elective‡

    ‡Open elective
    An open elective can be either a general or a business elective.
    A maximum of two (6 credit hours) of any open or BUSI electives can consist of courses within one’s major.

Accounting Minor

  • Requirements

    The Accounting minor is available to students in Ontario Tech’s Bachelor of Commerce programs.The Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree with an Accounting minor requires a minimum of 18 credit hours in accounting courses. Students must complete four accounting core courses and a minimum of two accounting elective courses. The course requirements are shown below.

    Admission requirements
    Commerce students can apply to the Accounting minor in the winter semester of their second year in the program. Admission is based on performance in the program as well as previous business courses. Commerce students must have a minimum 2.3 GPA (C+ average on a 4.3 scale) to be considered.

    Academic requirements to major/minor in the Bachelor of Commerce program
    To remain in their major or minor, students must hold a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA (or 2.3 for the Accounting major or minor). Students falling below a 2.0 (or 2.3 in the case of Accounting), will be enrolled in general Commerce.

  • BUSI 1130U - Introduction to Financial Accounting
    Financial accounting is concerned with the production of information about an economic entity and communicating that information to people who want or need the information for making decisions. This course is designed to provide an understanding of the financial statements so that students can be informed and skilled users of accounting information. The course focuses on uses of accounting information for different decisions and from different stakeholder perspectives, and considers the economic and behavioural effects that accounting treatments have on users and preparers. There is an emphasis on interpreting, analyzing, and understanding information.
  • BUSI 2130U - Intermediate Financial Accounting
    The first of a three-course sequence that covers many of the nuts-and-bolts topics needed for a thorough understanding of financial accounting and reporting. Intermediate Financial Accounting I addresses the conceptual foundations of contemporary accounting and develops the technical aspects of accounting. Topics covered include the accounting environment, conceptual framework, the accounting cycle, the cash flow statement, and revenue and expense recognition. All topics are covered from the perspectives of IFRS and ASPE and from the perspectives of users and preparers of financial information. Ethical and professional responsibilities are integrated into course topics. The course also develops critical thinking and problem-solving skills through the use of case analyses. Intermediate Accounting I is required for our university’s Accounting major and minor, but is also open to students in other majors and the general BCom who would like to know more about accounting.
  • BUSI 2180U - Introduction to Managerial Accounting
    This course is an introduction to managerial accounting concepts with a focus on cost derivation and decision-making. The course is problem-solving based and stresses both a manager’s and an accountant’s perspective on accounting information. Application of techniques is stressed. Students will learn to evaluate techniques based on their appropriateness for specific decisions. Application of concepts and development of critical thinking skills are crucial aspects of the course.
  • BUSI 3130U - Intermediate Financial Accounting II
    The second of a three-course sequence that covers many of the nuts-and-bolts topics needed for a thorough understanding of financial accounting and reporting. Topics covered include revenue and expense recognition, cash and receivables, inventory, capital assets, shareholders’ equity, and restatements, and strategic investments and goodwill. All topics are covered from the perspectives of IFRS and ASPE and from the perspectives of users and preparers of financial information. Ethical and professional responsibilities are integrated into course topics. The course also develops critical thinking and problem-solving skills through the use of case analyses. Intermediate Accounting II is required for the university’s Accounting major and minor and is open only to students in the Accounting major and minor.
  • Accounting Electives (Choose two)

    Note: Accounting core courses may not be used as Accounting electives

    Financial Accounting

    Managerial Accounting

    Taxation

    Auditing

Accounting Electives

  • Elective Courses

    Students in the Accounting major must complete 10 elective courses as a part of their degree requirements. The electives are divided as follows:

    • Three general electives (9 credit hours). A general elective is considered a course outside of business (i.e., without the BUSI prefix).
    • Three business electives (9 credit hours) in business courses outside of one’s major.
    • Four open electives (12 credit hours). Open electives can be either general or business electives.

    A maximum of two (6 credit hours) of these electives can consist of courses within one’s major.