Course descriptions

A foundation course designed to provide a basic understanding of the theory and practice of accounting, with emphasis upon how the accountant processes and presents the information and include exposure to recording transactions, adjusting balances and preparing financial statements for service and merchandise firms according to established rules and procedures. The course also examines major elements of the statements such as cash, receivables, inventory, long-term assets and current liabilities.

A foundation course designed to provide a basic understanding of the theory and practice of accounting, with emphasis upon basic principles, concepts and controls in relation to internal reporting and decision making. The course introduces a business management approach to the development and use of accounting information. Major topics include: cost behavior, cost volume profit analysis profit planning and budgeting, standard costs and variance analysis, segment reporting and transfer pricing, relevant costs, capital budgeting, and the cash budget.

This is the first of three in-depth financial accounting courses. In this course the theory, the conceptual framework, the development of generally accepted accounting principles (IFRS), and by solving appropriate problems the applications of IFRS are stressed. The course provides a comprehensive review of the accounting process that was initially discussed in Financial Accounting and expanded on in this course. Topics include the comprehensive income statement, the statement of cash flows with emphasis on conversion of accrual basis of income to cash basis, and the balance sheet. Other topics covered in this course include, accounting and the time value of money, cash and receivables, and valuation of inventories.

This course is the second in a three-course sequence of Intermediate Accounting. Theory, concepts and applications involving the process of identifying, measuring, recording and reporting financial information are stressed. The course provides a comprehensive review of the accounting process involving the acquisition and disposition of property, plant, and equipment, the disposition and the impairment of intangible assets, special problems related to current liabilities and contingencies, accounting for bonds transactions, accounting for leases, and accounting for pensions and postretirement benefits.

This course is the third in a three course sequence of Intermediate Accounting. The course presents general financial theory and practice mostly related to the equity section of the balance sheet. The course provides a comprehensive review of the stockholder's equity, earning per share, measurement of enterprise income, accounting changes and error corrections, statement of cash flows, and presentation and disclosure in financial reporting.

This course discusses various technical aspects related to the business activities of the Islamic Financial Institutions including Islamic Banks, Islamic Investment Companies, Islamic Investment Funds, Takaful Insurance Companies. These aspects include regulations and technical processes, how these institutions are managing their assets and liabilities, how to read financial statements and how they treat risk within the context of the share’ah rulings. The course also provides an overview of financial accounting within the framework of Islamic thought. It will cover financial accounting in Islamic institutions with an emphasis on the additional financial reporting required of Islamic banks and financial institutions.

The study of data analytics and its applications in accounting contexts with an emphasis on data preparation, modeling, analysis and interpretation, and visualization. Students apply data analytics tools and techniques and accounting knowledge to solve accounting and business problems. A variety of accounting cases and models are included.

The course is designed to provide in great depth and detail the important aspects of cost accounting. It introduces the concepts, techniques and analytical procedures necessary for the generation of cost information and its uses in planning, control and decision-making. Main topics include: a study of cost terms, concepts, and classifications, job-costing systems, process-costing systems, and activity based costing, cost behavior: analysis and use, variable costing vs. absorption costing, flexible budgets and overhead analysis, and the allocation process of support departments and joint cost.

This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of how information systems are used in accounting and how they can be used to support decision-making in organizations. The course also incorporates a practical component using an integrated accounting software package.

Principles of fund accounting and financial reporting for governmental and not for profit entities. This course includes an emphasis on unstructured case problem solving skills, communication skills, and interpersonal skills.

The objective of this course to equip students with the fundamentals of income taxation. Topics include taxable entities, income, deductions, tax accounting methods, tax basis, at both the conceptual and operation levels. It also covers international taxation and transfers pricing, IAS 12 (Taxation), and tax regulations in Kuwait.

The objective of this course is to equip students with the terminology, techniques and procedures of financial and managerial accounting issues which are being practiced in business entities. The course will enhance students with the necessary skills knowledge in terms of performing the accounting cycle steps including the financial statements preparation and corporate accounting. With respect to the managerial accounting, the course will equip students' capability in business decision-making process. This course also contains a variety of quantitative and communication practices to enhance essential professional related skills.

The objective of this course is to equip students with the terminology, techniques and procedures of financial and managerial accounting issues which are being practiced in business entities. The course will enhance students with the necessary skills knowledge in terms of performing the accounting cycle steps including the financial statements preparation and corporate accounting. With respect to the managerial accounting, the course will equip students' capability in business decision-making process. This course also contains a variety of quantitative and communication practices to enhance essential professional related skills.

This course consists of an in-depth examination of the accounting for and financial reporting of business combinations. The primary goals of this course are to develop technical competence in accounting for business combinations and to develop your ability to understand the logic of the International Financial Standards related to business combinations so that you can assess the relative merit of competing accounting methods and theories. Following a comprehensive examination of M&A related topics, we will discuss the recording of foreign currency transactions and the translation of financial statements using both the temporal and closing rate method.

This is the second part of the advanced course in financial accounting. The course will cover the specialized problems related to Intra-Entity Debt transactions between parents and subsidiaries, Consolidated Cash Flows, consolidation when indirect control is present, and other issues such as segment reporting. The course also prepares students to manage accounting and reporting issues such as those related to Principles of fund accounting and financial reporting for the governmental and not for profit entities.

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) that state how particular types of transactions and other events should be reported in the financial statements. IFRSs are required for all listed companies, financial institutions, and other companies that fall under the purview of the Kuwait Commercial Companies Law. Topics covered in this course include the conceptual framework of the IASB, the presentation of financial statements, financial disclosure, ethical implications for accountants, income and asset value measurement accounting for price-level changes, revenue recognition and construction contracts, borrowing costs, share capital, distributable profits and reduction of capital, agriculture, government grants, extractive industries, investment properties, earnings per share. Digital reporting corporate governance, sustainability, environmental and social Index, Interim and segment reporting, and taxation in company accounts.

This course is an introduction to analyzing financial statements. It provides in-depth coverage of accounting analysis of financial activities and reporting. The course emphasizes the analysis and interpretation of the end result of financial reporting-financial statements. This course covers current practices in corporate financial reporting and fundamental issues relating to asset valuation and income determination. Topics covered in this course are mostly the financial statement analysis and interpretation of financial disclosures to help improve risk assessment, forecasting, and decision making.

This course is to help students to deal with the accounting issues unique to multinational corporations, especially with respect to foreign operations, and also acquire basic knowledge about the various functional areas of accounting in many countries of the world. In the course, students will learn the different features of the world's major accounting systems, and develop the skills to use accounting information from foreign sources to make various economic decisions in multinational companies.

Professional Accounting Research

This course explains the role of governance in managing companies and how corporate governance theories contribute to business development. The course also explores the pillars and elements of corporate governance and how they involve all stakeholders and control managerial and financial activities. In addition, the course analyzes the characteristics of an effective board of directors and how they enhance the value of the firm.

The course is designed to provide in great depth and detail understanding of generally accepted auditing standards and procedures followed in the examination of financial statements and operating control reviews. Topics include evaluation and analysis of internal control and control risk, nature of and procedures for gathering audit evidence, audit planning and audit program, analytical procedures, fraud auditing, audit sampling for tests of controls and substantive test of transactions, and audit sampling for tests of details of balances.

This course explains how and why occupational fraud is committed, how fraudulent conduct can be deterred and how allegations of fraud should be investigated and resolved. Emphasis will be placed on forensic accounting, specifically, how lost accounting information is recovered; how fraud is documented and how forensic accounting can be used to assist investigators in criminal and civil prosecutions of perpetrators of fraud.

This is an advanced course to complement and build on acquired knowledge in specific areas of accounting to be determined on need basis. Special topics include but are not limited to gas and oil accounting, hotel operations, publishers and publishing companies.

This course guides the student in dealing with a variety of accounting-related topics including financial accounting and business consulting, management accounting practices, financial statement analysis, and forensic accounting. The course requires students to confront and resolve techniques acquired in previous courses. It is focused on the application of the concepts, techniques, and methodologies learned in different courses at different levels with a varied degree of practical aspects. This course provides the opportunity to students to demonstrate their understanding and knowledge applied to real cases drawn from the Kuwaiti business environment. This capstone course offers you the opportunity to apply your academic experience to conduct an experiential learning project in a designated field and apply them in a practical manner. You work in teams where you will read a case to analyze an existing business or engage in a business simulation. This experience will allow you to gain a better understanding of everything you have learned through hands-on experience so that you can be better prepared for the workforce.

Accounting Internship

This course provides an introduction to accounting, with emphasis on preparation of financial statements for external parties (financial accounting) and accumulation of cost information to aid internal planning and control (managerial accounting). Topics covered include measurement of assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses, the accounting cycle, financial statements, financial statement analysis, cost terminology, product costing, cost behavior, cost-volume-profit analysis and capital investment decisions.

This course builds on the foundations covered in BA 5400, emphasizing in-depth analysis of published financial statements. The course begins with discussion of the role of financial accounting information in capital markets and contracting, and continues with examination of a number of specific accounting issues. Students are encouraged to look behind the numbers to better understand the economics of the underlying transactions, and properly interpret what the reported numbers mean about a firm's future prospects.

The course is designed to provide in great depth and detail understanding of generally accepted auditing and assurance standards and procedures followed in the examination of financial statements and operating control reviews. Topics include evaluation and analysis of internal control and control risk, nature of and procedures for gathering audit evidence, audit planning and audit program, analytical procedures, fraud auditing, audit sampling for tests of controls and substantive test of transactions, and audit sampling for tests of details of balances.

This course explains how and why occupational fraud is committed, how fraudulent conduct can be deterred and how allegations of fraud should be investigated and resolved. Emphasis will be placed on forensic accounting, specifically, how lost accounting information is recovered; how fraud is documented and how forensic accounting can be used to assist investigators in criminal and civil prosecutions of perpetrators of fraud.

This course provides students with an in-depth study of the principles and objectives of the techniques and theories used in management accounting, planning and control. Topics such as budgeting, standard costing & variance analysis, cost allocation, product costing methods, capital budgeting, performance measurement & responsibility accounting, and quantitative techniques for planning and control will be discussed. The strategic and behavioral implications and impacts of planning and control will form the context for study.

This course focuses on the use of accounting information for making operating, investment and strategic business decisions. Topics include understanding corporate annual reports, interpretation and analysis of financial statements, use of accounting information by capital market participants, cost behavior & cost- volume relationships, cost management systems & activity based-costing, relevant information for decision making with focus on pricing and operational decisions.

Corporate Governance

Advanced Topics in Accounting

This course covers the basic concepts of networked computers including the basics of file management on local and remote computers, electronic mail, internet browsers, and web page development. Students are also exposed to applications used in business for solving problems, communicating, and making informed decisions, including word processors, presentation software, and electronic spreadsheets. Students will also develop business applications using a popular programming language or database management tool. Credit cannot be granted for both CSC 101 and MIS 118 for Computer Science students.

This course provides the foundation necessary for understanding management information systems. It discusses the importance of information systems in digital age. It is concerned with how information systems are essential in business and how companies use information system (and e-business) as competitive advantages. The course also discusses the information technology (IT) infrastructure in terms of hardware and software, databases, information management, telecommunications, the Internet, wireless technology, and security of information systems. The course also discusses some issues related to decision making using information systems as well as ethical and social issues in information systems. Students will explore several MIS software relevant to the business environment.

An introductory course in object oriented programming. The fundamental concepts of programming, structured program design and object oriented programming are studied using modern programming language.

Examines the fundamental principles of developing mobile business applications for portable platforms such as iPhone or Android. It introduces the concept of mobile business and discusses the increasing power, functionality and proliferation of mobile computing devices and the associated opportunities available for business through mobile applications. Additionally, the course introduces design patterns related to the development of mobile applications, and it discusses mobile portals and m-commerce systems. Students will create their own iPhone/Android applications.

The course introduces advanced programming skills and focuses on the core concepts of object-oriented programming and design using a modern language. The course focuses on the understanding and practical mastery of object-oriented concepts such as classes, objects, data abstraction, methods overloading, inheritance and polymorphism. Moreover, the course illustrates how to handle exceptions and connections to external data sources.

System analysis and design is the art of problem solving. Systems analysis is the study of current business system and its problems, the determination and definition of business needs and information requirements, and the evaluation of alternative solutions. Techniques and philosophies of systems analysis are addressed in this course. Included are traditional versus structured design methods, computer-based tools for systems analysis, workbenches, design and analysis of database systems, maintenance of existing information systems, human/machine interfaces and security & control.

Recent advances in the production, use, and management of information present many new opportunities, but also raise ethical challenges that information professionals must confront. A study of ethics and moral philosophy as a means for providing a framework for ethically grounded decision making in the information age. Issues will be considered from the point of view of multiple ethical theories, giving students the opportunity to think critically about the issues and draw their own conclusions. In other words, this course is designed to teach you several ways of analyzing a situation so that you can identify and resolve ethical issues related to information technology using logic instead of emotion.

This course is concerned with information and communication. The effect of the Internet on communication and how the introduction of the Internet has reshaped the field of communications; This course focuses on the type of business information systems and the need for distributed data processing at the application layer. The course also extends to cover the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and the Open Systems Interconnection Protocol (OSI). The course further discusses Client/Server and Intranet Computing; Internet based applications, Ethernet and Wireless Area Networks (LAN) architecture and protocols. Wide Area Networks (WAN) such as frame relay and ATM as well as switching techniques are also discussed. The course is also concerned with computer and networks management and security as well as network planning and design. The course also touches on Internet2 (I2) as the next generation of Internet services. It is imperative that anyone dealing with business administration should have a solid understanding of the principles of data communications in order to become aware of how it can be used to gain (or not) a competitive advantage.

This course provides an introduction to the design and use of databases in meeting business information needs. Topics include database planning, conceptual design, and data administration. The concepts are studied with projects involving the use of a current database management system.

This course focuses on web page planning, design, layout and construction. Topics covered include: setting up and maintaining a web site; understanding site structure, presentation, navigation and content management. HTML/XML, CSS, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, Photoshop, data access, scripting languages, and various other technologies and tools will be discussed.

This course focuses on how knowledge is created, captured, shared, stored and reused so as to fully leverage the intellectual assets of a firm. The tools and techniques for knowledge acquisition, assessment, evaluation, management, organization and dissemination are applied to business situations. Topics include knowledge generation, knowledge coordination and codification, knowledge transfer and reuse, technologies and knowledge management strategies. The goal is to enable you to learn about this practice in the context of managing the design, development and operation of information technologies that can facilitate KM.

This course aims to provide an extensive overview of the technology of cloud computing and its practical applications. It covers several topics, including an introduction to cloud concepts, virtualization technologies, architectures, networking, cloud resource management, programming models in clouds, cloud storage systems, and security issues. The course also focuses on various cloud services, such as Infrastructure as a Service(IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS), and emphasizes the development of hands-on-skills in cloud computing technologies such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.

This course will equip you with a strong foundation in the principles and practices of data mining, allowing you to apply these techniques in a variety of real-world settings. Student will gain a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles, uses, and technical details of data mining techniques. You will also have ample opportunities for hands-on experience, allowing you to apply the concepts you learn to real-world applications. The course will cover a range of topics related to data mining, with a particular focus on decision trees, classification, clustering, and regression.

Business Intelligence is an umbrella term that combines architectures, tools, databases, analytical tools, applications and methodologies. Business Intelligence's major objective is to enable easy access to data (and model) to provide business managers with the ability to conduct analysis. Therefore, it helps to transform data into information (and knowledge), to decisions and finally to actions.

This course provides an understanding of strategies, managerial issues, and technologies pertaining to electronic commerce in organizations. Topics covered include: history, business models, the virtual value chain, electronic markets, impact on organizational strategy and industry structure, analysis of successful strategies, and other emerging issues (legal, ethical, regulatory) related to managing electronic commerce, and the technical infrastructure enabling electronic commerce.

This course is designed to familiarize students with the concepts of cybersecurity. The course will provide the students with the fundamental knowledge and skills of cybersecurity. The course is designed to provide a basic introduction to all aspects of cyber-security which include: business, policy, procedures, communication, security, information secuirty planning, and staffing functions. In addition, the course emphasizes understanding the key issues associated with protecting information assets, network security, security management, legal issues, political issues and technical issues. Students will be immersed in the cybersecurity discipline through a combination of open-ended and real-world problems and hands-on experiments.

System design, implementation, and methods of systems installation and operation are presented. A system development project is required. This course builds on the skills learned in MIS 310 and has at its core the design and development of an information system.