Accounting Courses

Purpose

This page is meant to show you connections between sustainability and core courses in a particular business major. In some cases, these connections may not yet be a part of the course. We are working on that! If you are a student, you can ask for these connections to be a part of the course. If you are a faculty member, you can integrate them in as you see fit.

Course descriptions are adapted from the Penn State University Bulletin. This is not a comprehensive list of courses in the major. Learn more about this major at Penn State Smeal Undergraduate Education. Penn State students can meet with who teach and do research in sustainability.

ACCTG 211: Financial & Managerial Accounting

An introductory course that provides a foundational understanding of financial and managerial accounting, focusing on how accounting information guides the decision-making process for capital market participants and internal business management.

Sustainability accounting questions to consider:

• How is the information in sustainability reports used by various decision makers in their resource allocation decisions?

• What are the sustainability aspects adjacent to the traditional aspects within each of the five activity dimensions of accounting?

• How are information analysis techniques, such as return on investment and net present value, impacted by sustainability information?

ACCTG 403W: Auditing

An overview course that offers insight into fundamental auditing concepts, including financial, compliance, internal, and operational audits. It examines auditing standards, sampling methods, and the influence of technology on the audit process, while emphasizing risk assessment, internal controls, and the application of audit procedures through written analysis.

Sustainability accounting questions to consider:

• What would an audit opinion look like for an integrated or sustainability report?

• Determining materiality is a key step in planning the audit and assessing the risk of material misstatement. Think about how the materiality of sustainability would be incorporated into this process as the field of sustainable assurance continues to advance.

• How would traditional audit procedures differ or remain the same when providing assurance on sustainability information?

ACCTG 404: Managerial Accounting: Economic Perspective

An emphasis course on accounting information focused on internal uses, in contrast to the external disclosure emphasis of financial accounting. It explores the vocabulary and mechanics of cost accounting, as well as the design of management accounting systems used for planning, controlling operations, and motivating personnel.

Sustainability accounting questions to consider:

• List some operational non-financial measures of the social and environmental impacts of the business.

• In developing organizational and individual accountability scorecards, how can the inclusion of financial and non-financial measures (social and environmental impacts) be applied in the firm’s supply/value chain?

• Does the management information system capture both financial and non-financial measures of a firm's impact on people and the environment?

ACCTG 405: Principles of Taxation

A core course that offers a foundational understanding of key concepts, terminology, and decision-making skills within the discipline of taxation, specifically preparing students for careers in accounting. While it surveys various forms of taxation found in industrialized societies, the primary focus is on federal income taxation of individuals.

Sustainability accounting questions to consider:

• Do tax deductions or credit incentives alter the financial evaluation of investments in socially and environmentally preferable alternatives (e.g. clean energy) significantly enough to meet firm hurdle rates of return for capital investment?

• Does the tax deduction or credit incentive (or disincentive) for environmental remediation costs incurred or accrued facilitate company sustainability objectives?

• How might transfer pricing be used to optimize the tax efficiency and country sustainable development goals?

ACCTG 471: Intermediate Financial Accounting I

This course introduces the principles and procedures of intermediate financial accounting, with an emphasis on applying generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the preparation and analysis of financial statements. Topics include revenue recognition, asset measurement, and transaction analysis. Students will explore the accounting cycle in depth and evaluate alternative accounting treatments to understand their impact on external reporting.

Sustainability accounting questions to consider:

• As companies implement sustainability accounting policies under frameworks that differ from GAAP, what considerations must be evaluated to ensure proper application of GAAP for traditional financial reporting?

• Identify 2-3 instances where sustainability accounting frameworks differ from GAAP and what the reporting implications would be to a company.

• How can accountants revisit traditional GAAP reporting framework limitations (rules based) in favor of sustainability-centric framework reporting? What would be the risks to the capital markets and investor confidence in reporting in cases where, for example, a new framework allows for too much management subjectivity and thus increases the risk of reporting bias?

ACCTG 472: Intermediate Financial Accounting II

This course focuses on off-balance-sheet financing and related issues in cost capitalization, liabilities, and equities, as well as matching, funds flow statements, statement analysis, and inflation accounting.

Sustainability accounting questions to consider:

• What components of pension plan accounting might be impacted by investment in sustainability and how could this benefit both the companies providing the plans and the employees participating in the plans?

• Think about how the sustainability performance of a subsidiary company could affect the reporting of the parent company using the traditional investment methods (cost method, equity method, consolidations) and the valuation of goodwill.

• How could sustainability information be used alongside financial information in basic financial statements, and in what form could this information appear?

Explore More Sustainability-Focused Courses

Curious about how sustainability fits into your academic journey? Browse at Smeal and Penn State that highlight sustainability in business, society, and the environment.