A&L - Accounting and Law

ACC6110 Resource Planning and Control

(Formerly Managerial Accounting)

MSEL Course

1.5 Credits

This course empowers students with the quantitative skills and logical analysis required to evaluate the financial feasibility of strategic opportunities such as entering new markets, pursuing new customers, or introducing new products or processes. Managerial Accounting methods are also used to construct profitable business models for new or existing ventures. Asking the simple questions “What is the business model?” and “How will this strategy create a return for the owners?” the course emphasizes that financial analysis should be performed ex ante to screen ideas so entrepreneurs and organizations can get maximum value from their resources. While cases in this course are primarily focused on profit-seeking entities, managerial accounting skills may be successfully applied to any venture with an imperative to accomplish challenging strategic goals while using resources efficiently.

ACC6600 Financial Sustainability & Performance Measurement

MSAEL Core

1.5 Credits 

In this course, you will develop the quantitative skills and logical analysis required to evaluate the financial feasibility of strategic opportunities such as entering new markets, pursuing new customers, or introducing new products or processes. You will learn the concept of “cost behavior” and how to conduct cost volume profit analysis, or CVP analysis. We will explore relevant costing and ways to use accounting data to analyze alternative courses of action and make better operating decisions. You will learn to build budgets and forecasts and address the question that everyone asks in an organization: “How are we doing?” Finally, you will be introduced to performance management frameworks and financial and non-financial metric development and analysis. 

Prerequisites: MOB6600 and EPS6600

ACC7200 Financial Reporting

2 Credits

Financial Reporting (FINACC) - Whether you are starting your own business, working in the not-for-profit sector, managing your personal finances, or working for a large corporation, you will need to be able to incorporate financial information into your decision making process. The purpose of this course is to review the concepts surrounding financial reporting and to emphasize the importance of being an informed user of financial information. Financial reports will also be analyzed across companies, industries, and countries, providing linkages to entrepreneurial and strategic decision making. The course also addresses the ethical responsibility managers have to carry out their fiduciary responsibility to all stakeholders of the company, including the growth in corporate social responsibility reporting and how companies are incorporating this information into their reports and websites.

ACC7201 Measuring & Managing Strategic Performance

2 Credits

Measuring & Managing Strategic Performance (MMSP) – This course is focused on the connection between strategy execution and profitability. Students develop skills in quantitatively-grounded logical analysis in order to be able to:

o Judge the financial feasibility of plans for launching new businesses or for redesigning existing ones.
o Grow profitable and sustainable ventures.
o Create business models that make money.

ACC7500 Analysis and Forecasting with Financial Statements 

3 Credits

If you have taken and passed ACC7502, you cannot register for ACC7500, as these two courses are equivalent 

This course is targeted for students who are considering careers in corporate finance, investments, and related fields as well as those who are considering working towards the CFA certification. The course covers reporting topics that are either omitted or only lightly addressed in the introductory reporting course (e.g., equity investments, acquisitions, deferred taxes, stock-based compensation) Students have the opportunity to perform an in-depth financial & ESG analysis of a company of their choice (individual or group project) and to present their analysis in class. Students will learn how to make adjustments to the financials for GAAP-required disclosures that do not match their value-creating effect on the firm. Once the financials have been “scrubbed” or normalized, integrated financial and ESG analysis can take place to evaluate risk and performance. Finally, students will have the opportunity to build an integrated, 3-statement forecast that can be used to explicitly analyze the impact of different strategic and financial decisions on the future performance and value of the firm. This course is typically offered in the following semesters: 

Fall and Spring Prerequisites: ACC7200 or ACC7800

ACC7502 Financial Statement and Sustainability Analysis for Entrepreneurial Leaders 

1.5 Credits 

If you have taken ACC7500, you cannot register for ACC7502, as these two courses are equivalent 

This course is targeted for entrepreneurs, managers, and anyone who wants to improve their financial analysis skill but doesn’t require the deeper dive provided in ACC7500 (3 credits). The focus will be on analyzing the impact of various revenue streams, ESG factors, and business models on income and cash flow. Successful leaders must be able to understand how every significant operating or investment decision affects three areas: 1) how the business is presented to outsiders (the financial statements); 2) the firm’s cash flows; and 3) the value of the business. Thus, we will explore the linkages between integrated financial statement and ESG analysis and the creation of multi-year forecasts that can be used to identify and manage the key value drivers of the firm. The course will also include examining how managers attempt to manipulate their financial results through earnings management and the use of non-GAAP metrics. This course is typically offered in the following semesters: 

Spring Prerequisites: ACC7200 or ACC7800

ACC7503 Designing a Business for Profitability
3 Elective Credits

If you have taken and passed ACC7201, you cannot register for ACC7503, as these two courses are equivalent

This course is focused on the connection between strategy execution and profitability. Students develop skills in quantitatively grounded logical analysis in order to be able to:

- Judge the financial feasibility of plans for launching new businesses or for redesigning existing ones.
- Grow profitable and sustainable ventures.
- Create business models that make money.
- Integrate analytics and Industry 4.0 concepts to make business decisions.

Prerequisites: None

ACC7577 Finance for Non-Financial Professionals
3 Elective Credits

This finance course bridges the gap between functional business knowledge and practical financial information. By connecting your company strategy to its financial implications, you increase the value of your organization and become a more effective business leader. Topics covered include: understanding financial statements, using finance to improve decision-making, projecting cashflows, and assessing organizational performance. The curriculum focuses on universal business problems that are specific to your needs, and teaches you how to immediately apply that information in ways that are relevant to your job.

ACC7580 Independent Research

1.5-3 Credits

Independent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Graduate Programs and Student Affairs.

Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and Graduate Programs and Student Affairs. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through the student's own initiative and obtain the advisor's prior consent/commitment before applying for an independent research project.

Authorization for such a project requires submission of a formal proposal written in accordance with standards set forth by the Graduate School. The research project normally carries 1.5 or 3 credits.

For more information and a proposal outline please visit: http://www.babson.edu/Academics/graduate/mba/Pages/independent-research.aspx

ACC7800 Financial and Sustainability Reporting
(Formerly Financial Reporting)
2 Credits (Core MBA)

If you have taken and passed ACC7200, you cannot register for ACC7800, as these two courses are equivalent

The purpose of this course is to review the concepts surrounding financial and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting and to emphasize the importance of being an informed user of financial and ESG information for any entrepreneurial leader. Whether you are involved in an existing business or starting your own, working in the not-for-profit sector or managing your personal finances, you will need to be able to incorporate financial information into your decision-making process. We will be constructing financial statements, analyzing them across companies and industries, and providing linkages to entrepreneurial and strategic decision making. We will also be exploring how the reporting of ESG factors integrates with financial reports to provide useful information for evaluating risks and the long-term sustainability of a business.

**It is strongly recommended that students complete this course prior to taking FIN7800**

LAW6110 Law

MSEL Course

1.5 Credits

This course provides an overview of essential legal content for any entrepreneur, including (1) business formation, (2) contracts, (3) intellectual property, (4) liability issues (torts), and (5) agency (employment law and related issues), with an emphasis on developing students’ abilities to ask astute questions. This course is integrated into the LEAP experience, so that students will explore these legal concepts in the context of their LEAP projects.

LAW7200 Law

1 Credit

This course teaches students to create business structures and make business decisions that effectively manage legal issues in order to create and capture value for their business while managing law-related risks.

LAW7515 Law for Entrepreneurial Success
1.5 Credits

For the entrepreneurial leader, law is an essential lens for seeing risks and opportunities - and for helping to ideate and realize plans. This course will equip you to see, plan, and act with legal astuteness.

This course features a customizable learning experience that allows you to focus on the industry and country of your choosing. It will require speaking with an entrepreneur or manager at a company or your family business that has dealt with legal issues. This will allow you to develop an appreciation for how law can help to not only minimize risk, but actually see opportunities, grow, and create more value.

This course features a review of generalizable legal essentials for any entrepreneur, including (1) business formation, (2) contracts, (3) intellectual property, (4) liability issues (torts), and (5) agency (employment law and related issues).

Class meetings will focus upon (1) practice with issue-spotting in typical “real life” scenarios, (2) guest speakers who will speak to the value of legal astuteness as part of the toolkit of the well-equipped entrepreneurial leader, and (3) a check-in and then presentation of lessons learned acquired from the customized learning experience.

This course is designed for both students who plan to work in the U.S., and those who plan to work in another country or internationally.

LAW7580 Independent Research
1.5-3 Credits

Independent research is available for all academic divisions. Registration is manual for students through Graduate Programs and Office of Graduate Academic Services.

Independent Research provides an opportunity to conduct in-depth research in areas of a student's own specific interest. Students may undertake Independent Research for academic credit with the approval of a student-selected faculty advisor, the appropriate division chair, and Graduate Academic Services. Please note that a student is responsible for recruiting a faculty advisor through the student's own initiative and obtain the advisor's prior consent/commitment before applying for an independent research project. The research project normally carries 1.5 or 3 credits.

For more information and a proposal outline please visit: http://www.babson.edu/Academics/graduate/mba/Pages/independent-research.aspx

TAX7580 Independent Research
1.5 Credits