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BUS/503

Accounting and Financial Decision Making

3 credits

Total credits

6 weeks

Course length

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Take this course on its own, or as part of a degree or certificate program.

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Please Note: Attendance and participation are mandatory in all University courses, and specific requirements may differ by course. If attendance requirements are not met, a student may be removed from the course. Please review the Course Attendance Policy in the Catalog for more information.

University of Phoenix reserves the right to modify courses. While widely available, not all programs are available to residents of all states. Please check with a University Enrollment Representative.

Course level: Graduate

This course provides students with the basic theories, concepts, terminology, and uses of economics, accounting, and business finance. Students learn practical applications for economics, accounting, and business finance in their professional lives through the integration of fundamental concepts and the analysis of actual business events.

Please Note: Attendance and participation are mandatory in all University courses, and specific requirements may differ by course. If attendance requirements are not met, a student may be removed from the course. Please review the Course Attendance Policy in the Catalog for more information.

University of Phoenix reserves the right to modify courses. While widely available, not all programs are available to residents of all states. Please check with a University Enrollment Representative.

What you'll learn

Course skills and outcomes

  • Define economic principles.
  • Differentiate between microeconomics and macroeconomics.
  • Analyze the impact of changes in supply and demand on the equilibrium price and quantity in a market.
  • Investigate the role of government in economic markets.

  • Explain the elements of the accounting equation.
  • Differentiate between accrual basis and cash basis accounting.
  • Identify the four basic financial statements.
  • Record transactions from journals to ledgers.
  • Prepare an adjusted trial balance.

  • Prepare journal entries to account for transactions related to accounts receivable and bad debt using the income statement and the balance sheet methods.
  • Identify the journal entries associated with acquisition, disposal, and sales of plant assets.
  • Distinguish between operational and capital expenditures, and the entries associated with each.
  • Describe LIFO (Last-In, First-Out), FIFO (First-In, First-Out), LCM (Lower Cost of Market), and average cost methods.
  • Analyze the impact of inventory methods on net income or loss.

  • Differentiate among accounts payable, notes payable, and accrued expenses.
  • Record the issuance of bonds, the periodic interest, and amortization of bond premiums and discounts.

  • Prepare closing entries, reversing entries, and a post-closing trial balance.
  • Prepare a classified income statement, retained earnings statement, and balance sheet.
  • Evaluate the need for financial statement oversight.
  • Describe the impact of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) on U.S. financial reporting.

  • Prepare a statement of cash flows using the indirect method.
  • Prepare a bank reconciliation.
  • Apply ratio, vertical, and horizontal analyses to financial statements.

Why UOPX

Why take courses at University of Phoenix

Accreditation that matters

We’ve been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org) for more than 40 years.

Real-world instructors

Learn from instructors who bring an average of 25 years of working experience to the classroom.

Affordable and potentially reimbursable

Our tuition and fees are competitive and fixed. Also, check to see if your employer will cover you for this course.

Next Steps

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Transfer Credits

Credit Transfer

Need to transfer credits to another college or university?

Before you enroll in a course, check with your school of choice to make sure they will accept our transfer credits and to understand any requirements or limitations. Then you can complete your course, and request your official transcript be sent to your school. That’s it!

How to request your transcripts

Transferability of credit is at the discretion of the receiving institution. It is the student’s responsibility to confirm whether or not credits earned at University of Phoenix will be accepted by another institution of the student’s choice. If you have a question contact us at (866) 354-1800.

The University of Phoenix reserves the right to modify courses. Although our continuing teacher education courses are accepted by some state agencies in the United States toward teacher certifications and endorsements, this may not be the case in all states or foreign jurisdictions. If you plan to use courses for certification or endorsement, please check with your own state agency and your school district for applicability. Continuing teacher education courses are not eligible to apply to degree programs at University of Phoenix. These courses are not eligible for federal financial aid. Transferability of credit is at the discretion of the receiving institution. It is the student’s responsibility to confirm whether or not credits earned at University of Phoenix will be accepted by another institution of the student’s choice. While widely available, not all programs are available to residents of all states. Please check with a University Enrollment Representative. If you have a question contact us at (866) 354-1800.