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Assignment 1: Careers in Accounting

Due Week 8 and worth 240 points

Accounting is the study of how businesses track their income and assets over time. Accountants engage in a wide variety of activities besides preparing financial statements and recording business transactions. These activities include computing costs and efficiency gains from new technologies, participating in strategies for mergers and acquisitions, quality management, developing and using information systems to track financial performance, tax strategy, and health care benefits management.

Use the Internet or the Strayer Online database to research career options within the accounting field and accounting job postings in your local area to respond to the questions in the assignment.

Write a one to two (1-2) page paper in which you:

1. Describe at least two (2) career options someone with an accounting education can pursue. Be sure to reference sources such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
2. Describe one (1) researched accounting position, and explain the essential skills that would make a candidate successful in the position. Articulate the primary manner in which the researched accounting positions could add value to the company seeking candidates.
3. Use at least two (2) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Identify and explain the fundamental concepts and principles in accounting, the components of the accounting equation, the primary financial accounting equation, and financial statements and reports.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in financial accounting.
• Write clearly and concisely about financial accounting using proper writing mechanics.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.

Click here for the grading rubric.

LASA 2 Identity Formation

We have learned that adolescence is a time of transition between childhood and adulthood. A critical milestone of this stage is the ability to successfully achieve a sense of identity. Around the world, there are different rites of passage to mark the transition to adulthood. In the United States, this might include obtaining a driver’s license, landing one’s first job, senior prom, or high school graduation. In this assignment, we will explore the role that family and society play in the development of the individual’s sense of self.

By Week 5, Day 5, create two documents for parents of minority teens 1) A 9–12-slide PowerPoint presentation (complete with speaker’s notes) and 2) an accompanying 1–2-page handout/flier in Word document or PDF format. Be sure that both illustrate the following:

1. Describe common rites of passage from two cultures around the world and compare them to a common American rite of passage.  Possible resources might includeNational Geographic and the Argosy University Online Library.
2. Compare and contrast these rites to common US rites of passage. Do they coincide with the physical, cognitive, or socioemotional changes taking place at this age? Describe which specific changes (physical, cognitive, or socioemotional) they coincide with. Does this explain their importance in a particular culture?
3. How might such a social ritual, such as a rite of passage, influence the identity formation process of adolescents?
4. In light of Erikson and Marcia’s theories, discuss how the process of identity development is affected when the adolescent belongs to a minority group (racial, ethnic, sexual, or religious). Be sure to explain these theories and how they apply to identity development.
5. Summarize research from at least two peer-reviewed* studies on the effect of minority status on identity development, ensuring you describe the main findings of the study as well as the research methods used to study the topic.  
6. Apply the information you gathered from the online notes, textbook, and research articles to provide at least three practical recommendations for what the family, school, and community can do to ease the process for adolescents.

*Peer-reviewed means an article from a reputable journal, which can be found in the Argosy University Online Library. Peer reviewed indicates that other professionals in the field have reviewed and deemed it worthy of publication, in contrast to much if what we find online: someone posting something he or she wants to, without someone else verifying that the research methods were rigorous enough and the study is valid. . If you must supplement from a website, do NOT use .coms. Instead, look for .org, .gov, and sometimes .edu for more reputable sources. Never use Wikipedia or about.com.

Answer the question below.  Your answer should be between four and five pages.  An “A” paper can improve your grade by one letter grade, a “B” paper by one-half of a letter grade, and a “C” paper by about one-fourth.

Discuss the issue of immigration and its consequences.  Specifically, 1) how many immigrants come to the U.S. each year and what countries do they come from, 2) why do they come to the U.S., 3) what cities do they settle in and where do they work, 4) are they a positive impact on the economy or a negative impact, and 5) are they a drain on public services like opponents of say.  You should have at least 8 references.

Note on references.  Legitimate reference resources include scholarly journals/articles, books, data cited from databases (i.e., U.S. Census), and government reports (i.e., United States General Accountability Office).  You may include personal or telephone interviews with relevant stakeholders.  Citations from Internet sources that are merely web pages constructed by individuals airing their personal views are unacceptable sources.  However, legitimate websites accessing refereed academic journals/reports (i.e., articles published in The Urban Institute, Journal of Urban Affairs, etc.) are legitimate resources. One way to determine if a website is acceptable or not is to ask yourself, “If the Internet did not exist, would I be able to find this article in the university library?” Newspaper or magazine articles may be used for this assignment provided they are in-depth articles on the issue, and not just commentaries or editorials. 

Please use American Psychological Association (APA) style guidelines to cite sources in body of your text, and to reference your sources in the bibliography. If you need additional guidance regarding how to construct a research paper, please refer to the link, “citing your sources” on the Oviatt library’s homepage. 

Reflection on Diversity

Choose one of the following topics to discuss. Reflect upon your chosen topic in a one- to two-page essay, double-spaced, in APA format. Make sure to include a title page. Based on the topic you choose, describe what the experience was like, how it made you feel and think, and what you learned from it. Connect your discussion to at least three concepts, examples, and/or quotes from the course readings or lectures.