ACC3536 Accounting Analytics
4 Advanced Management Credits
Students who have taken ACC3545 cannot take this course and vice versa

Data and analytics are being used to assist businesses in becoming more efficient and effective in their decision-making process. This course will improve your ability to critically analyze data in order to make better business decisions and to communicate this information effectively to your audience. Students will learn how to use analytics tools from the lens of a manager, a financial statement user, a tax analyst, an auditor, and a forensic accountant. The course will introduce you to various analytics software products, and provide an opportunity to interact with professionals in the field.

Prerequisites: Junior or Senior Class standing

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: ACC3546
  • Number of Credits: 4

ACC4530 Advanced Accounting
4 General Credits
This course extends the in-depth study of accounting concepts and techniques which began in Intermediate Accounting I and II. Topics include business combinations and consolidation of financial statements, accounting for variable interest entities, translation and remeasurement of foreign currency-denominated financial statements and consolidation of foreign subsidiaries, governmental and not-for-profit accounting and accounting for partnerships.


Prerequisites: ACC3500 & ACC3501 as a pre-requisite

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: ACC4530
  • Number of Credits: 4

ACC4520 Auditing
4 General Credits
This course examines the interrelation of audit standards, procedures, and internal control techniques with the final auditor's certificate; auditing techniques, statistical sampling methods, and the impact of electronic data processing (EDP) procedures on the auditor.


Prerequisites: ACC3500

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: ACC4520
  • Number of Credits: 4

LAW3573 Building Contracts for New Ventures
4 General Credits


Every business operates in a supply chain in which it buys and sells goods and services. The links to these suppliers and customers are formalized in contracts, which is why all managers should know something about how to read and write a contract. This course will teach you how to do that. We will review basic principles of contract law and apply them in a wide variety of transactions. The course will be writing intensive and will equip you to do on the spot drafting and to understand drafts produced by your counterpart. This skill will enhance your ability to negotiate and structure deals. The foundation law course is a prerequisite, as is a solid ability to write.

Prerequisites: LAW1000

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: LAW3573
  • Number of Credits: 4

LAW1000 Business Law & Ethics

(Formerly Business Law)

Foundation Requirement

4 Credits

This course provides students, as future business managers and leaders, with broad exposure to important areas of business law and with an introduction to business ethics. Legal and business considerations often are closely related. Students need a good working knowledge of legal and ethical principles in order to succeed in the business world. Law can be used to create and capture value for business activities as well as to mitigate legal and business risks.

Course goal #1 is to enable students to identify when they face legal issues in their professional lives and understand how to find additional information and/or consult intelligently with an attorney about them. Goal #2 is for students to be able to manage a business and its legal environment effectively. This includes understanding the significance of various legal and ethical issues, knowing how to manage and resolve legal disputes, knowing how to effectively structure businesses and deals, learning how to use the law to their advantage, and perhaps even when and how to try to change existing law. Goal #3 is to consider the limitations of the law and the role of ethical business principles and practices in sound decision making. To these ends, students read and analyze legal and ethics materials, apply precedents to new situations, complete group and individual projects, and practice analyzing, thinking, speaking and writing in a logical manner.

Business Law furthers three out of four overall learning goals of the undergraduate program

Collaboration - group projects such as negotiating contracts or conducting risk analyses and developing recommendations Communication - writing-intensive course involving writing assignments (research papers, contracts, analyses) and extensive Socratic dialogue in class through law case method teaching Problem solving - continual application of precedent to analyze fact situations and identify the application of legal principles to resolve the legal dispute in question, as well as the use of law as a larger policy tool to address wider social issues and problems. This course also has learning objectives specific to law and ethics. By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Understand substantive legal rules as well as procedural rules, institutions, and mechanisms; Appreciate the complex relationship between law and ethics; Identify ethical issues commonly arising in business and personal situations and understand and employ an ethical framework to manage these issues; Evaluate the ongoing role of law as a means of channeling human behavior in an interdependent society; Use law as a tool for understanding and solving business and social problems; and Utilize legal reasoning and understand how to make and defend basic legal arguments by drawing upon a broad range of relevant sources of legal authority.


Prerequisites: None

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Foundation Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: LAW1000
  • Number of Credits: 4

LAW 3604: Environmental Law & Policy

4 Advanced liberal arts credits

This course provides an overview of environmental law - and, consistent with Babson's curricular approach, its wider context as it relates to the natural environment, society, and entrepreneurial activity. In terms of core legal content, we will focus on common law principles, federal statutes and regulatory frameworks in the United States, and aspects of other government policy that relate to the natural environment. International frameworks and treaties will be covered. Implementation and enforcement issues will also be investigated, as well as "soft law" approaches such as regulation-by-disclosure.

This course fits Babson's curricular themes such as integrated sustainability. Specifically: this course will endeavor to consider the legal content against the background of existential crises in ecosystems, and with an eye to how legal frameworks either hinder or enable entrepreneurial activity to eliminate harms cause by human activity. We will also consider the legal content as it relates to other sustainability courses, and current cases and controversies in the news.

Prerequisites: LAW 1000

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: LAW3604
  • Number of Credits: 4

ACC3510 Financial Planning and Cost Control
4 General Credits
Explore cost systems and control for operations in profit and nonprofit organizations, and
budgetary considerations and variance analysis, including their relation to fiscal planning and
administration.


Prerequisites: ACC 2002

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: ACC3510
  • Number of Credits: 4

ACC3502 Financial Reporting and Analysis
(Formerly Intermediate Accounting for Finance)
General Credit
Students who have taken ACC3500 and/or ACC3501 cannot take ACC3502

This course is especially designed for finance majors who want to become more proficient in the financial accounting skills necessary to effectively read and interpret financial reports. The course is recommended for students interested in careers in financial management and Wall Street. Topics such as inventory, deferred taxes, inter-corporate investments, and pensions will be explored through study of accounting principles, transaction analysis, financial statement disclosure, and through financial statement analysis as it applies to corporate finance, credit analysis, and aspects of investment banking.

Prerequisites: (SME2031 or ECN2002) and (SME2001 or ACC2002)

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: ACC3502
  • Number of Credits: 4

ACC3500 Intermediate Accounting I
4 General Credits
Students who have taken ACC3502 cannot take ACC3500 or ACC3501

Broadens the base of financial accounting concepts introduced in ACC1000 and delves more deeply into accounting concepts, techniques and procedures. Topics include inventory, tangible and intangible assets, statement of cash flows, accounting changes, revenue recognition and current and long-term debt. This course is essential for those who plan a career in accounting and recommended for anyone whose career will involve the extensive use of financial statements.


Prerequisites: ACC1000

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: ACC3500
  • Number of Credits: 4

ACC3501 Intermediate Accounting II
4 General Credits
Students who have taken ACC3502 cannot take ACC3500 or ACC3501

This course extends the in-depth study of accounting concepts and techniques which began in Intermediate Accounting I. Topics include earnings per share, leases, pensions and investments.


Prerequisites: ACC3500

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: ACC3501
  • Number of Credits: 4

LAW3560 International Law for Business
4 General Credits
This course explores the basic principles of law as they affect international business. Examines
the basic instruments and institutions of the international legal system and cultural underpinnings
of major world legal traditions, such as the European Union and the World Trade Organization.
Students learn how to structure and execute basic international commercial transactions in
goods, services, and technology, including the impact of import-export issues, contract issues,
and trade issues on business transactions. The course also examines the structure and regulation
of foreign direct investment, including strategic choices for business structures and the impact
of regulation on strategy. Finally, the course examines the ethical dimensions of corporate
conduct in a transnational setting. This course uses materials from many countries and
traditions, and makes extensive use of the World Wide Web.

Prerequisites: LAW1000

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: LAW3560
  • Number of Credits: 4

ACC1000 Introduction To Financial Accounting
Foundation Management

4 CreditsACC1000 will provide you with an introduction to the construction, analysis and forecasting of financial statements. These financial statements consist of the income statement, the balance sheet and the statement of cash flows as well as the associated explanatory statement footnotes. Using actual entrepreneurial companies as well as publicly traded companies you will learn how to prepare, analyze, interpret and forecast financial statements. By the conclusion of the course, you will be able to forecast and analyze financial statements for investment decisions as well as to model and analyze the financial effects of different strategic directions as an owner of the company. These skills will benefit you in whatever career path you choose.

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Foundation Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: ACC1000
  • Number of Credits: 4

LAW3602: Law Through Film

4 advanced liberal arts creditsBuilding on LAW 1000, Business Law and Ethics, this course provides an overview of fundamental business law principles, as well as how to apply those rules in practical situations through the lens of film. Critical reading, debate, clear writing and logical reasoning skills are emphasized. Course themes include using the law to add value to businesses, ethics and fairness, issue-spotting, and some legal strategy. The overall course objective is to provide knowledge of substantive legal issues and the ability to apply legal principles in a "real world" context. The process of legal analysis will be emphasized throughout the course.

Prerequisites: LAW1000

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: LAW3603
  • Number of Credits: 4

LAW3504 Good Company, Good Game: Law, Ethics and Leadership in Sports Business
4 Advanced Management Credits

Following 2-3 preparatory classes held in Boston, students will travel to the Atlanta, Georgia area over a ~7-day period in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of how business leaders navigate legal, ethical and management decisions in sports businesses by studying the Arthur M. Blank family of businesses. Students will visit AMB Sports + Entertainment businesses, including the Atlanta Falcons, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta United and PGA Tour Superstore, and meet with organization leaders in a variety of roles, including executive leadership, legal, human resources, sales, events management, etc. Other meetings could include visits with other sports businesses headquartered in Atlanta, such as the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, and Atlanta Dream.

Participants will examine the way sports business leaders use legal, ethical and values-based decision-making frameworks to further their business success while also being good neighbors to their communities and forces for good in society at large. By first understanding the legal, regulatory and league requirements of sports business, students will be able to analyze challenges faced by these organizations and apply ethical and values-based leadership principles to determine whether a potential option is "lawful but awful" or a good strategic, ethical and values-based decision for a business and its stakeholders, including shareholders, employees and the larger community.

Virtual Option: If COVID-19 restrictions prevent travel to Atlanta, the course can be held in a virtual format. Guest speakers from the AMB Sports + Entertainment businesses can join the class via WebEx. There may also be opportunities for optional cultural experiences in the Boston area (e.g. touring a Boston area stadium or attending a Red Sox game as local rules permit) for students taking the course on campus or living in the Boston area.

(Course description to be revised once the logistics are worked out with the Blank team and in light of the pandemic.)

Prerequisites: LAW1000

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: LAW3504
  • Number of Credits: 4

The sophomore management experience MAC and TOM module (SME) integrates two subject streams: Technology and Operations Management (3 credits) and Managerial Accounting (3 credits). This module focuses on the internal organization and processes required for entrepreneurial leaders and managers to successfully test and execute business strategies. To be effective, entrepreneurs and managers must design operations, model the expected performance of operational designs, make decisions that strategically manage costs, and take actions that achieve desired results in an ethical manner. The two streams in this module will help build the skills you need to become ethical entrepreneurial leaders and managers. You will experience how the design of operations impacts measured performance, and how modeling expected results before action is taken leads to improved operational decisions. SME will also provide learning experiences that demonstrate the interconnections between the streams.

SME2001 Managerial Accounting
3 Intermediate Management Credits
The Managerial Accounting stream in SME builds on knowledge acquired in Financial Accounting but shifts the focus to providing entrepreneurs and managers with relevant information that supports decision making and performance measurement. The stream introduces the language of managerial accounting and teaches students to perform basic management accounting analyses (e.g., costing of cost objects, cost behavior, differential analysis, and performance measurement). The stream requires students to use the results of their analysis to evaluate the design of operations, to make strategic decisions, and to propose action. Issues covered include selecting a profitable mix of products and services, analyzing profits and costs during product development, budgeting for operations, analyzing whether to outsource or insource activities, and managing performance through measurement systems. Throughout the semester we will explore interconnections between management accounting analyses and operational actions.

Prerequisites: FME1001 and ACC1000

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Intermediate Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: SME2001
  • Number of Credits: 3

ACC2002 Managerial Accounting

4 Credits

This course is equivalent to SME2001. Students who took SME2001 cannot take this course.

Managerial Accounting builds on knowledge acquired in Financial Accounting. The objective of the course is to help students develop the skillset needed to identify, measure and analyze relevant information for making strategically appropriate decisions in the pursuit of superior financial performance. This skillset is critical for all entrepreneurs and business managers.

The course explores how costs are measured and viewed, how costs relate to revenues, and how both costs and revenues will react to proposed business actions. The course covers of a variety of topics related to the measurement of operational results, including how measurement can motivate appropriate business behavior. It challenges students to use their newly acquired skills to evaluate the design and measurement of business operations, to select beneficial tactical actions, and to make strategic business decisions.

Prerequisites: ACC 1000

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Intermediate Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: ACC2002
  • Number of Credits: 4

LAW3601 Public International Law and World Order
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Elective Credits
This course considers public international law as a way of framing and understanding the larger world in which we live. We will consider foreign relations and the United Nations system, the implications of global interdependence, and an increasingly robust international judicial system. Does international law actually create global order, or does it merely reflect political order that exists in other settings? When should national sovereignty yield to the wider concerns of the global community? What role do non-state actors (multinational businesses, NGOs, advocacy groups) play in the global legal regime?

These questions (and many others) have been at the center of the quest to create order in a rapidly changing world where the pace of technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and the increasingly free movement of people, capital, and ideas often far outpace the capacity of any legal regime (domestic or international) to keep up. We will study these issues and related themes throughout the semester. Special emphasis is placed on understanding international institutions, human rights (including the intersection of human rights with global business), refugee law, the regulation of warfare (including "humanitarian" intervention and responses to global terrorism), international environmental law, transnational dispute settlement, and business ethics in the global setting.


Prerequisites: Foundation Law course, (LAW1000)

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: LAW3601
  • Number of Credits: 4

LAW3615 Sports Law and Policy
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Sports Law provides students with a broad overview of how sports leagues and player conduct are regulated and how various bodies of substantive law, regulation and policy are applied in the context of the sports industry. The course examines the legal relationships among athletes, teams, leagues, governing bodies, sports facilities, licensees, broadcasters, and fans. This includes the history of the various leagues and organizations, the influence of politics on sports law, and public policy governing sports. Substantive legal topics covered include antitrust law, contract law, labor law, marketing law, and other regulatory schemes. In addition, this course will discuss other sports law topics, such as the role of the league commissioner; different league structures; agent certification; gaming law; and others.

Prerequisites: LAW1000

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: LAW3615
  • Number of Credits: 4

LAW3650 Tax Policy
4 Credits
Tax policy is a government's choice regarding what taxes to levy, on whom and in what amounts in order to raise the funds it needs and to influence taxpayer behavior.

Students will learn the timeless design principles of good tax policy, evaluate taxation in America over time through the lens of these design principles, examine the roles of influential individuals, discuss social, environmental, economic responsibility, and sustainability (seers) aspects as well as global and ethical considerations in the tax policy debate, assess alternative approaches to the current federal income tax system in the U.S., and develop policy as well as implementation recommendations.

Prerequisites: LAW1000; prior completion of TAX3500 is beneficial

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
  • Course Number: TAX3650
  • Number of Credits: 4

TAX3500 Taxes
General Credit
Studies tax administration; income, deductions, and credits; treatment of gains and losses;
income taxation of individuals, businesses, estates, and trusts, with an emphasis on income
taxation of individuals; and estate and gift taxation fundamentals.

Prerequisites: LAW 1000

  • Program: Undergraduate
  • Division: Accounting and Law
  • Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
  • Course Number: TAX3500
  • Number of Credits: 4