Overview
This course covers a selected group of advanced financial accounting topics. More than half of the course addresses the related topics of investments in equity securities, business combinations, and the preparation of consolidated financial statements. The remainder of the course covers accounting for not-for-profit organizations and the translation of foreign currency transactions financial statements.
ACCT 451 is an option in Athabasca University’s Bachelor of Commerce degree program and a required course in the University Certificate in Accounting. It meets the requirements of the Chartered Professional Accountancy program (CPA-Canada) with respect to an advanced financial accounting course.
Learning outcomes
After completing ACCT 451, you should be able to
- record investments in equity securities using the cost or equity method.
- prepare and interpret consolidated financial statements.
- translate and consolidate the financial statements of foreign operations.
- account for not-for-profit organizations using the deferral and restricted fund methods.
Evaluation
To receive credit for this course, you must achieve an overall course grade of at least D (50 percent). In addition, you must achieve a grade of at least 50% on each examination. If your grade on either the midterm examination or the final examination is below the minimum passing grade, you will not receive credit for this course, even if your overall course grade is D (50 percent) or better.
The weighting of the composite mark is as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1 | 7.5% |
| Assignment 2 | 7.5% |
| Midterm Exam | 45% |
| Final Exam | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
The midterm and final examinations for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
Note: Students planning to transfer this course to a Chartered Professional Accountant designation are advised that they will be required to achieve a grade higher than the minimum passing grade. See the Faculty of Business Chartered Professional Accountant page for more information.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Herauf, D., Mbagwu, C., & Veenstra, K. (2025). Modern advanced accounting in Canada (11th ed.). McGraw Hill.
Other Resources
All other learning resources will be available online.