Department of Accounting & Finance
School of Business Administration
Oakland University

Abstract

A Financial Information Systems (FIS) major will allow students to integrate information technology (IT) and financial information in the development of business information systems. The major is intended to provide accounting students with the knowledge they need to:

• Leverage the latest information technologies to support the use of financial information in management decision-making, and internal and external reporting, 

• Integrate financial information and embed internal controls into cross-functional business information system, and.

• Plan, Analyze, Design, and Deploy business information systems using a model-based approach that permits abstraction from vendor-specific information technologies. Thus, this knowledge is applicable to a wide variety of technical environments with the use of advanced software toolsets.

This major will be offered by Department of Accounting & Finance faculty members, who have financial information systems teaching skills and research interests.

I. Rationale

IT permeates just about every facet of the financial services profession. And given the dramatic IT changes in the financial services profession, there is a strong and growing national and regional demand for IT-savvy students. This proposed major intends to fulfill the regional demand especially.

There are several reasons to believe that the proposed major will serve the needs of students, employers, and the financial information systems profession. First, the major and its course conform to the standards espoused by the International Federation of Accountants' (IFAC) International Education Guideline No. 11, "Information Technology In The Accounting Curriculum." The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants endorse the IFAC Guideline No. 11. Second, comments from OU stakeholders about the major indicate that the program is both innovative and relevant to their needs. These comments strongly support the proposed program. Lastly, the program was open to academic review in several publications and conferences. The comments from readers and attendees are very positive and suggest that the program has wide academic appeal. Based on these three factors, the major should serve the needs of students, regional employers, and the profession.

a. Need for the program

As indicated above, there is a national and regional need for the major. Oakland University’s location make it very appropriate place to offer the degree, since OU is in close proximity to high tech business initiatives such as Automation Alley. The Oakland Technology Park, "Big 4" CPA firms, IT consulting firms, and the 170 Fortune 500 firms are also nearby. Competing academic institutions (section d. below) see this demand and are introducing IT-rich accounting offerings in response. OU needs an FIS program to keep students from enrolling at the other schools.

b. How the program will help promote the role and mission of the university.

This major is consistent with Strategy 1 and Strategy 6 of the Oakland University Strategic Plan :

Strategy 1: Oakland views undergraduate education as central to its mission and will ensure an environment of learning excellence in order to educate a diverse body of students to be productive, contributing members of society.

Strategy 6: Oakland will develop and support areas of institutional excellence and distinction that contribute to national eminence (FIS faculty members have received national and international recognition for their innovative research in FIS curriculum development)

This major is also consistent with Oakland University's Creating the Future Final Report (italics provided for emphasis):

A Goal of this Initiative: "To help the university become a comprehensive learner-centered, technology-enriched institution in the years to come."

Marketing Position and Visibility Task Force Strategy No. 8: "…the university should continue to enhance its position as being on the front edge of technology."

School of Business Administration Task Force Strategy No. 1 tactics: "Understanding of technology and its use; technology orientation."

In a February 2001 presentation (2010 Oakland University Profile), President Russi indicated that a goal of the University is to provide a "learner-focused, technology-enriched education, integrating new information technologies in teaching, research and service."

This major is also consistent with the Mission of the School of Business Administration:

The mission of the SBA is to advance knowledge and enhance students' abilities to manage in a global business environment. The mission is achieved through a synergistic combination of teaching, scholarship and professional service with emphasis on the linkage of theory and practice, and the application and management of technology.

The program is intended to produce information and systems specialists who can integrate financial information services and information technology in a business environment.

d. How the goals of the department are served

Adopting the major is consistent with the goals and objectives of the Accounting & Finance department. In particular, it addresses the following shared values:

•  Student ability to successfully manage within a business environment

• Integration of contemporary technology into the learning environment

The focus of the major is linking financial theory and practice through the application of IT. An innovative approach is used to teach FIS concepts by integrating topical areas using a "Model-Oriented Tool-Enhanced" (MOTE) framework.  The model-based aspect (MO) uses systems engineering methods that permit high-level abstractions of real-world financial systems.  Included are accounting process (activity), data, and interaction models.  The tool aspect (TE) uses advanced software that converts these models into code that can be executed in many different technical environments.  This combination of models and software permits the leveraging of modeling skills, independently from targeted technical environments.  Thus, students can be taught practical system methods without selecting (and biasing them toward) any particular vendor's operating system, database, or programming language.  This curricular approach is in dramatic contrast to traditional methods that either ignored technical environments (too abstract) or taught only specific technology (too ephemeral and trade-school-like) skills.

a. Degree requirements

The specific degree requirements are outlined below. Students must be admitted to major standing in business administration to proceed with the FIS major.

Writing and General Education (8 crs covered in Precore)                   32 crs

Precore (including ACC 200, ACC 210, MIS 200 or CSE 125)     36-38 crs.

Core (including MIS 300)                                                                                     35crs.

                                                                                                                         total          103-105 crs.

A total of 18-19 credit hours are required, in the following two categories: Required Major Courses and Electives. Also included is the planned frequency of offerings for a typical academic year.