Accountancy and Management Information Systems

MBA Concentrations

The DePaul MBA is respected throughout Chicago, the U.S. and the world. Our programs are accredited by AACSB International (the premier accreditation body for business schools), and U.S. News and World Report has ranked the evening MBA program in the Top Ten for over a decade. The curriculum allows student to design a flexible, career-centered experience that focuses on the skills one needs to achieve career goals. The majority of DePaul's MBA students are working professionals who complete their degrees on a part-time basis. Part-time students can complete the program at any pace; there are no minimum course requirements per quarter. Most students complete the degrees within two to three years, but one has six years to complete all degree requirements.

Core Courses: The DePaul MBA is built around our career-focused curriculum with 12 core courses that provide you with the pragmatic knowledge you need to integrate the various functional areas of business as you maximize your decision-making effectiveness in the context of your career.

The career-focused curriculum also features six electives which you can use to select the concentration(s) that best fit your specific current and future career plans. The School of Accountancy and Management Information Systems offers four concentrations that can be used to fulfill elective courses within the MBA program.

Management Accounting

The strategic importance of management accounting and management accounting information is increasingly recognized in a fast-paced and globally competitive business environment. The information is used extensively as key decision-making criteria in leading organizations. The Management Accounting concentration focuses on contemporary management accounting and financial decision-making. The program includes theory and concepts, advanced technical knowledge and skills, and familiarization with the increasingly sophisticated tools and methodologies of the management accountant. DePaul's tools for learning include: extensive case use, as well as computerized cases and computer simulation, supplement lectures and intense class discussion. Visiting lecturers and guest speakers from the corporate world and consulting practices blend knowledgeable and current practitioners with the highly skilled scholars and teachers of the DePaul full-time faculty.

The specific objectives of the program are to provide the students with knowledge of accounting and with insights into the nature, strategic uses and value of management accounting and cost management information. The program is flexible enough to accommodate persons with previous accounting or business backgrounds as well as persons with non-business backgrounds. Topics included in the management accounting concentration are those most prominent in today's fast-paced and dynamically changing management environment: activity based management, total quality improvement, continuous quality improvement, business process reengineering, strategic cost management, value adding processes, benchmarking, financial process reengineering, strategic uses of IT, and performance measurement. Students in the program are encouraged to apply for the CMA (Certified Management Accountant) examination.

In addition to the Core MBA Program Requirements, student must also complete three courses for a concentration in Management Accounting:

  • ACC 502 Advanced Management Accounting
  • ACC 599 Graduate Seminar in Management Accounting
  • One elective course, chosen from:
    • ACC 501 Financial Reporting
    • ACC 503 Accounting Information Systems and Auditing
    • ACC 533 Corporate Planning
    • ACC 535 Accounting Systems
    • ACC 576 Valuation Practices
    • ACC 584 Income Tax and Business Decisions
    • ACC 586 The Role of the Chief Financial Executive
    • ACC 587 Accounting Information for Capital Markets
    • ACC 798 Special Topics (Based on current course offerings.)

Prerequisites apply to some courses, and course substitutions are available with prior coursework. Specific courses within the Financial Management and Control concentration may be waived and an elective course substituted, with the approval of the program advisor.

Program Advisor

Dr. Mark L. Frigo
Email: mfrigo@depaul.edu
Phone: 312/362-8784 

Financial Management and Control

Consistent with the trends in the corporate sector toward the integration of finance and management accounting, the Financial Management and Control concentration  focuses on and integrates new concepts and techniques in management accounting, finance and information technology, providing a cutting-edge specialization within the larger context of an MBA degree program. DePaul’s tools for learning include extensive case use, computerized cases and computer simulation, lectures and intense class discussion. DePaul’s substantial investment in technology makes available to M.B.A. students state-of-the-art computer and system learning tools, making Information Systems (IS) and Accounting IS coverage similar to what would be found in real-world environments. Inviting lecturers and guest speakers from the corporate world and consulting practices provides knowledgeable and current practitioners in addition to the highly skilled scholars and teachers of the DePaul full-time faculty.

The Financial Management and Control concentration encompasses elements of "The New Finance," in which the strategic use of accounting and financial information by decision-makers is paramount. The program includes theory and concepts, advanced technical knowledge and skills, and familiarization with the tools and methodologies of contemporary management accounting: activity based, strategic performance measurement, and strategic uses of information technology. The concentration further provides background for the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) exam or the Certified in Financial Management (CFM) exam, leading to these prestigious designations.

In addition to the Core MBA Program Requirements, student must also complete the following four courses for a concentration in Financial Management and Control:

  • ACC 502 Advanced Management Accounting
  • ACC 599 Graduate Seminar in Management Accounting
  • FIN 523 Investment Analysis
  • One elective course, chosen from:
    • FIN 524 Financial Statement and Security Analysis
    • FIN 551 Problems in Corporate Financial Policy

Prerequisites apply to some courses, and course substitutions are available with prior coursework. Specific courses within the Financial Management and Control concentration may be waived and an elective course substituted, with the approval of the program advisor.

Program Advisor

Mark L. Frigo
Email: mfrigo@depaul.edu
Phone: 312/362-8784 

Management Information Systems

The Management Information Systems concentration is designed to provide a comprehensive knowledge of business and economic environments and of all major business functions which information systems are developed to support, develop proficiency in the communications and other human relations skills considered vital to successful technology implementation and dissemination, develop mastery of basic and advanced information systems approaches, methods and techniques and their application in various business situations. The degree program is designed for students either with or without previous coursework or experience in management information systems.

Flexibility is built into the program's curriculum in order to serve its two basic constituencies: practicing computer professionals who want to progress in their careers to managerial and executive positions, and students new to the information systems discipline. Thus program requirements will vary from student to student, and are determined personally for each degree candidate depending on experience, previous education and preferred career path. Technological currency is achieved through close interaction with practice, and DePaul's traditional responsiveness to student and industry needs. The information discipline is constantly evolving, and DePaul maintains mechanisms to capture and transfer technological advances to the classroom. Our program also benefits from our location; Chicago has one of the highest concentrations of information technology and related expertise in the world. Industry experts not only advise but participate in the program as adjunct faculty and guest speakers. The program's currency complements its flexibility in that requirements and curriculum respond to advances in the discipline as they emerge.

The broad business education provided by the M.B.A. core includes the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the functional areas of business. For information systems professionals, it provides the background necessary to work with systems users and teams, to participate in business process reengineering efforts, develop and implement systems, and develop and implement information technology strategies.

In addition to the Core MBA Program Requirements, student must also complete four courses from the list below for a concentration in Financial Management and Control:

  • MIS 663 E-Business Seminar
  • MIS 673 Data Management*
  • MIS 674 Systems Analysis and Design*
  • MIS 676 Systems Planning and Implementation
  • MIS 677 Information Systems Project Management*
  • MIS 680 Electronic Business
  • MIS 681 E-Business Strategies
  • MIS 682 E-Business Interface Design
  • MIS 683 Information Technology Strategy and Architecture
  • MIS 684 Ethical and Social Issues of Information Technology
  • MIS 686 Telecommunications Management*
  • MIS 798 Special Topics (Based on current course offerings)
  • MIS 799 Independent Study

*Recommended courses.

Students in this program are required to have some experience in computer programming. Students wishing to take courses other than those offered above must have their concentration courses approved by the program advisor. If not approved, credit may not count toward degree requirements.

Program Advisor
Sasha Dekleva
Email: sdekleva@depaul.edu
Phone: 312/362-6789

E-Business

The E-business concentration will equip the student with skills and abilities needed to identify and document e-business requirements, and to manage the process of fulfilling the need defined by these requirements. Graduates of this concentration will be literate in the design, social and political implications, and engineering of e-business projects. This concentration is designed for business professionals who participate in or manage the e-business process for firms.

In addition to the Core MBA Program Requirements, student must also complete the following three courses for a concentration in Financial Management and Control:

  • MIS 680 Electronic Business
  • MIS 681 E-Business Strategies
  • One elective course, chosen from:
    • MIS 663 E Business Seminar
    • MIS 677 Project Management
    • MIS 686 Telecommunications Management
    • MIS 682 E-Business Interface Design or ECT 270 Fundamentals of Web Development
    • MIS 798 Special Topics : Business Architecting
    • ECT 441 Usability Issues for E-Commerce Technology
    • ECT 580 Advanced Web Information Systems
    • BLW 798 Cyber Law or ECT 585 Legal Aspects for E-Commerce
    • MKT 595 Internet Marketing
    • IS 450 Technological Organizational Transformation
    • IS 512 Groupware and Virtual Collaboration
    • IS 540 Global Information Technology
    • IS 578 Information Technology Consulting
    • MGT 535 Change Management
    • MGT 590 Management of Innovation and Technological Change
    • MGT 798 E-Business, Private Equity, and Entrepreneurs
    • MGT 798 Technology Commercialization

Note: ECT courses are offered through the College of Computing and Digital Media (CDM). Visit http://cdm.depaul.edu.

Program Advisor
Sasha Dekleva
Email: sdekleva@depaul.edu
Phone: 312/362-6789

Certified Management Accountant (CMA) Examination

Students completing the MBA/MA program are prepared for the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) Examination and the Certified in Financial Management (CFM) Examination. The CMA and CFM designations are recognized as acknowledgements of professional competence in areas of management accounting and financial management. Students interested in the CMA and CFM should contact:

The Institute of Certified Management Accountants
10 Paragon Drive
P.O. Box 405
Montvale, NJ, 07645
1-800-638-4427

Admission

For complete admission information, including tuition, scholarships, printed applications, financial aid, and other resources, visit http://www.depaul.edu/admission/.

To apply online, visit www.depaul.edu/apply.

 

Contact Information

School of Accountancy & Management Information Systems
1 East Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, Illinois 60604-2287
Phone: 312/362-8770
Fax: 312/362-6208
E-mail: accountancy@depaul.edu

Kellstadt Graduate School of Business
1 East Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, Illinois 60604-2287
Phone: 312/362-8810
Fax: 312/362-6677
E-mail: kgsb@depaul.edu