CURRICULUM
The Villanova Master of Business Taxation with Data Analytics program enhances undergraduate accounting and non-accounting business backgrounds by providing coursework in complementary areas including finance, big data, ethics, and advanced writing and e-business. Courses cover a wide variety of relevant, career-advancing topics including:
- The pervasive impact of taxation on business operations and planning
- Corporate taxation and partnership taxation
- Advanced tax topics including tax research, policy and ethics, state and local taxation, international taxation, and merger and acquisition transactions
- Ethics and professional standards
- Emerging tax technologies
- The impact of e-business on the business value chain
Our courses were carefully designed with guidance from VSB’s Accounting Advisory Council, a group of dedicated professionals from prominent public accounting, consulting firms and industry. Council members help ensure that our course offerings are up-to-date, relevant, and thought-provoking.
The MBT program, when paired with the appropriate undergraduate course work, may assist students in meeting the 150-hour CPA requirement that is now effective in most states. Students should research state-specific requirements prior to applying for the exam.
OVERVIEW
- Begins each fall and spring
- Full-time
- Two semesters to graduate
- Learn alongside a cohort of your peers
Curriculum
MAC 8100: Emerging Technologies (Pre-Session Course) (1.5 credits)
This course introduces the student to the use, of technology skills and data analytic applications, that are being used by today's tax professionals. The course applies the integration of technology skills, and tax competencies that will enhance the student's, comprehension and skillsets in all aspects of, taxation, including compliance and provision, effectiveness, tax process improvement, and tax, consulting and modeling. Students will receive, an overview of tax data analytics concepts and, components, and an overview of the basic approaches, to tax modeling.
MAC 8201: Taxes & Business Strategy (3 credits)
Taxation from a planning and business - strategy perspective: tax-planning concepts, tax policy objectives, ethics, calculation of ROI, general rules for taxation of business income and deductibility of common business expenditures, organizational form decisions, tax and business issues related to formation of corporation and partnerships, taxation differences of different organizational forms, and basic issues in corporate taxation.
MAC 8217: Accounting Analytics (3 credits)
This new course will cover the process associated with the use of data and analytics in the accounting profession, with opportunities to use applications that are relevant to accounting professionals.
MAC 8225: Advanced Tax Topics (1.5 credits)
This course addresses the financial accounting and reporting requirements related to the effects of income taxes that result from an entity's financial activities during the the current and preceding years, including merger and acquisition activities and international and state and local taxation impact, as prescribed by Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 740. Specific topics addressed in the course include calculation of total income tax for financial reporting purposes, recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities and the determination of a need for a valuation allowance, calculation and reconciliation of the effective tax rate, and footnote disclosure related to income taxes. The course also covers FASB Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes ("FIN48") and a variety of other topics and issues related to financial reporting of income taxes. The course reinforces the conceptual underpinnings of the relevant concepts through the integration and application of modeling techniques to be used for tax accounting analysis and problem solving.
MAC 8226: State and Local Taxation (1.5 credits)
The State and Local Taxation course introduces the basic principles of state and local taxation and provides an overview of the substantive aspects of state tax laws in the areas of corporate income taxes and sales and use taxes. Topics include the evolving impact of nexus, various approaches to apportionment and allocation of taxable income, the difference between separate accounting and combined/unitary taxation, and the types of transaction subject to sales tax. The course integrates data analytics and technology with exercises incorporating the use of Alteryx, Data Visualization tools, and Excel.
MAC 8231: Corporate Tax (3 credits)
This course considers the tax consequences associated with corporate-shareholder relationships while operating in the Subchapter C Corporation taxing regime. Problems of corporate formation, non-liquidating distributions, redemptions and partial liquidations, liquidating distributions, and tax considerations in the sale of the corporate business are covered. This course examines basics issues in the tax treatment of corporations and their shareholders, including: requirements for and tax consequences of corporate non-liquidating cash and property transactions, and the measurement of earnings and profits for characterizing distributions as taxable dividends; determining whether a corporate stock redemption qualifies for exchange treatment or is taxable as a dividend distribution; current and potential future tax consequences of distribution of additional shares to existing corporate shareholders; requirements for nontaxable liquidation of a controlled subsidiary corporation and the tax consequences of liquidation of a corporation that is not a controlled subsidiary; and the requirements for and tax consequences of an S corporation election. The course explores these fundamental corporate tax concepts through a rigorous application of authorities to problems and reinforces the learning through the integration of tax technology advancements and modeling techniques to provide a foundation for the advanced study of corporate taxation.
MAC 8329: Tax Research, Policy & Ethics (1.5 credits)
This course introduces the students to the various sources of tax authority, both primary and secondary, and various research methodologies, techniques, and practices, including the application of internet-based research, used for in-depth analysis of tax issues. Students will examine the tax policy, economic impact and political considerations underlying tax legislation, and will develop and enhance their writing skills, with emphasis on analytical reasoning and communication of conclusions. The course will also provide a framework to address common ethical issues confronting today's tax practitioners, focusing collectively on guidance from Treasury Department Circular No. 230, AICPA Standards of Tax Practice and the Internal Revenue Code's penalty provisions.
MAC 8200: Leadership for the New Accounting Professional (Pre-Session Course) (1.5 credits)
MAC 8205: Accounting Systems & Controls (3 credits)
This course focuses on understanding complex information systems in a large company setting. Students will learn to use ERP software (SAP), including designing in ERP system for a sample company. Students use the key SAP modules of Sales & Distribution (SD), Financial Accounting (FI) & Controlling (CO), Production Planning (PP), and Materials Management (MM). Significant emphasis is placed on understanding the controls needed over ERP systems for each application as well as the financial reporting process more generally. Students also use audit software to perform audit tests on the system. Cases and projects will be the primary pedagogical vehicle employed.
MAC 8207: Data: Models, Analysis & Visualization (3 credits)
This course prepares students to perform value-added data analysis on accounting data. It covers concepts and techniques in relational data models, analysis and visualizations. In the first half of the course students will learn to understand the data models supporting the auditing processes and perform structured data analysis on accounting data. Structural Query Language (SQL) will be introduced to analyze data stored in relational databases. Alteryx will be introduced to implement data analysis of complex and customized auditing procedures. This second half of the course will focus on data visualization principles and techniques. Students will gain understanding of how analysis results can be visualized to provide insight, learn the principles and techniques of data visualization for dashboards and reports, and develop skills of storytelling with data. QlickView will be used as a tool for building interactive visual applications and presentations.
MAC 8223: Partnership Tax (3 credits)
This course addresses the tax treatment of partnerships and partners, problems associated with the formation, operation and dissolution of the partnership, sale of a partnership interest, termination, and retirement and death of a partner. Substantive issues discussed include definition of a partnership; a detailed analysis of the passthrough regime; the use of profit interests as compensation; discussion of section 704(b) allocation rules including special allocations of waterfall allocations in typical private equity funds; the impact of ordinary income assets, basis adjustments, and the treatment of partnership liabilities; application of 704(c) allocation approaches; transfers of interests, exchange agreements and redemptions; application of the disguised sale rules; and an overview of the new partnership audit procedures. The course explores the fundamental partnership tax concepts through a rigorous application of authorities to problems and reinforces the conceptual underpinnings of partnership and passthrough taxation principles through the integration and application of modeling techniques to be used for problem solving.
MAC 8227: International Tax (1.5 credits)
The course will address the principal elements of the U.S. taxation of international tranactions, including both the way in which individual and corporate foreign taxpayers are taxed in the United States (Inbound Taxation) and the way in which U.S. individual and corporate taxpayers are taxed on income earned in other countries (Outbound Taxation). The first half of the course will focus on inbound investment. Topics will include jurisdiction to tax, residency, character and source of income, structure for taxing passive and business income, and introduction to tax treaties. The second half of the course will focus on outbound investment. Topics will include anti-deferral provisions such as subpart F, foreign tax credits and credit limitation, introduction to taxation of outbound transfers of property, and the impact of transfer pricing rules and tax treaties. The course explores the fundamental concepts of international taxation through a rigorous application of authorities to problems and reinforces the conceptual underpinnings of international taxation principles through the integration and application of modeling techniques to be used for problem solving.
MAC 8228: Tax Issues, Mergers & Acquisitions Transactions (1.5 credits)
This course provides a broad overview of the tax consequences of buying and selling a business in corporate solution, whether an S or C corporation, and the impact to the buyers and sellers of an asset or a stock sale. Students will address multiple areas of concern of the buyer and seller such as the impact of Section 197 on purchased intangibles, whether a stock or asset sale is preferable, treating a stock acquisition like an asset acquisition for both federal and state tax purposes (Section 338 elections), and the impact of change of control on tax attributes such as NOLs.
MAC 8341: Digital Accounting Experience Part 1 (1.5 credits)
These courses will address a market need and skillset shortage related to individuals with the combination of business, analytics, and technology skills along with accounting and tax capabilities. This capstone program will bring together learning modules from other courses and help build upon skillset related to teamwork business communication, analytics, data visualization, automation, and leadership. The program will also benefit students by allowing them to work with companies on real-world business problems, provide them visibility to potential alternate career path options, and provide potential future employers additional visibility to MAC students.
PLEASE NOTE: Curriculum is subject to change and variability is based on term of entry.