ACCT 665: Advanced Accounting Analytics II Master Syllabus
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This course presents advanced topics in analytics used in the accounting and finance professions. The course focuses on the development of skills required to analyze data captured in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems – the type of data most often used by accountants – and the exploration and presentation of data for decision making. The topics include data visualization and analysis, robotic process automation, data automation, and an introduction to predictive analytics and blockchain technology.
Course Learning Goals
- Students will be able to understand the purpose of different types of data analytics techniques and learn which techniques are appropriate for decision making related to the accounting profession.
- Students will gain expertise with data analytics tools and be able to apply these tools to analyze accounting information.
- Students will be able to interpret and communicate results with stakeholders.
- Students will increase their awareness of the impact of technology on the accounting profession.
Course Materials and Fees
Instructional materials are provided or are available for free on-line. These materials will be described in the weekly learning modules on Canvas. You will be expected to complete examinations to earn certifications or diplomas in various technologies. These costs are estimated below. Every attempt has been made to minimize these costs. As a student in this course, you will need to pay the exam fees listed. The required costs do not exceed the textbook costs in other courses. In addition, you may earn extra credit for completing one additional certification.
| Required Certifications | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tableau Desktop Specialist Certification | $80 |
| UiPath RPA Starter Diploma | Free |
| UiPath Business Analyst Diploma | Free |
| Alteryx Designer Core Certification | Free |
| Extra Credit Certifications (max of one) | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tableau Business Analyst | $225 |
| UiPath RPA Associate | $150 |
| Alteryx Designer Advanced | Free |
Course Site
The Canvas course will be updated at the start of each week along with an announcement describing the update. The course site will be used for file storage and retrieval, videos and other media, administering quizzes, facilitating discussions, and for student grading. Ignorance of course changes due to failure to access the site or participate in the weekly lessons is not an acceptable excuse for missing deliverable due dates.
Course Schedule
A topic schedule is provided below. A detailed schedule will be released for each weekly learning module at 7:00 am on the Sunday of the learning module week.
| Week | Topic |
|---|---|
| 0 | Course prep and introduction |
| 1 | Data visualization basics Extract, transform, and load (ETL) –I |
| 2 | Extract, transform, and load (ETL) –II Advanced data visualization - I |
| 3 | Robotic process automation (RPA) - I Advanced data visualization – II Advanced ETL |
| 4 | Advanced data visualization – III Robotic process automation (RPA) - II |
| 5 | Data automation – I Data automation – II |
| 6 | Data automation – III Data automation – IV |
| 7 | Data automation using Tableau Prep and Trifacta Introduction to blockchain technology |
| 8 | Conclusion and final assignment |
Each week will include two learning modules with two lesson plans each. The first learning module of each week will describe activities and deliverables due by 7pm on Tuesday of that week. The second learning module will describe activities and deliverables that are due by 11:59 pm on the subsequent Saturday. You may complete the activities and deliverables earlier than the due dates, but you will not receive credit for late submissions.
To do well, you should plan on spending a minimum of 18 to 20 hours a week on this course. If you are attending the MSA program on a full-time basis, this means that you are taking two courses each module and devoting 40 hours a week on the program (i.e., fulltime). Every effort has been made to distribute the hours evenly during the learning module week. Plan your time accordingly. Expect to devote approximately seven to eight hours on this course from Sunday morning to the start of class on Tuesday; 2 ½ hours in class; and eight to nine hours from Wednesday to Saturday. Time management skills are important to your success.
Learning technology is time intensive, and you cannot learn simply by reading a book or watching videos. You will be expected to learn by doing and to learn independently with guidance from Dr. Karen. You need to work your schedule to incorporate the time necessary to complete lesson activities and deliverables on time. Many of you have experiences where everything that can go wrong while working on a computer goes wrong. Do not put off completing course requirements until the last minute. You are expected to actively participate in all aspects of this course. The amount of effort you put into the lesson activities before attempting to complete the deliverables will determine the quality of how much you learn about the course topics.
Major Grade Components
The following are the major grading components for the course. The examinations to earn the certifications or diplomas, which are administered by the software companies, are the only examinations in this course.
| Components | Points |
|---|---|
| Certifications and diplomas | 490 |
| Blackboard quizzes | 125 |
| Assignments and cases | 385 |
| 1,000 |
Grades will be determined using a straight scale as follows. Any discussions regarding your grade must be done via a virtual meeting and not through email. Keep in mind that the grade “A” is reserved for work of excellent quality.
| Points | Grade |
|---|---|
| 960 - 1000 | A+ |
| 910 - 959 | A |
| 900 - 909 | A- |
| 870 - 899 | B+ |
| 810 - 869 | B |
| 800 - 809 | B- |
| 700 - 799 | C |
| Below 700 | F |
Deliverables
What you gain from this course will depend on your effort and enthusiasm in completing the course deliverables as well as actively participating in the weekly learning module activities. Instructions and schedules for the activities, assignments, quizzes, and certifications will be made available throughout the module. All deliverables in this course are due by the assigned due date and will not be accepted late. Please review the instructions for each deliverable carefully.
Quizzes
You can expect quizzes to be scheduled in each learning module which will test whether you completed the activities in the lessons. The quizzes can be completed in Canvas at any time prior to the due date. The quizzes are timed. This means that once you begin a quiz, you will be required to complete it within the time allocated. There are no makeup quizzes.
Assignments
The grading for the assignments is provided below. The due dates for the assignments will be announced on Blackboard at the beginning of each week. Late submissions will not be graded. In general, you can expect two assignments or one assignment and one examination every week of the module.
| Assignments/Cases | Points |
|---|---|
| A1 - Viz - Audit Case | 25 |
| A2 - ETL - Assignment | 20 |
| A3 - DATA Act Case (ETL) | 25 |
| A4 - DATA Act Case (Viz) | 25 |
| A5 – Advanced Data Viz | 20 |
| A6 - RPA Assignment | 25 |
| A7 - DATA Act Case (RPA 1) | 30 |
| A8 - Alteryx Challenge | 30 |
| A9 - Tableau Prep Challenge | 30 |
| A10 - Blockchain Assignment | 20 |
| A11 - DATA Act Case (RPA 2) | 25 |
| A12 - Interactive Resume | 25 |
| 300 |
Certifications/Diplomas
As part of the course, various certifications and diplomas will be required. The grading for the certifications/diplomas is provided below. A link to upload your certificate or diploma and the grade you received on the exam will be located in the learning module for the week the exam is to be taken. If you receive the certification, you will receive the full points listed below. If you do not pass the exam, you will receive the percentage grade earned on the exam itself. You will have the opportunity to repeat the exam to earn the certification and will receive the full grade for that component. For the RPA diplomas, you will receive full credit when you complete the diploma.
| Certifications/Diplomas | Points |
|---|---|
| C1 - RPA Starter Training | 15 |
| C2 - Tableau Desktop Specialist | 250 |
| C3 - UiPath Business Analyst | 20 |
| C4 - Alteryx Designer Core | 250 |
| 535 |
At any point during the module and up until the Saturday of Week 8, you can complete one of the extra credit certifications and earn 100 extra credit points.
Communication
George Mason policy requires faculty to communicate exclusively through the George Mason email system. This means that I can respond to email from your George Mason account only and cannot respond to emails you send from your personal or work email. I will answer emails and questions posted to the discussion forums within 12 hours during the work week (Monday through Friday) and 24 hours over the weekend and holidays.
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