Additional Information
Loras Accounting Professor honored with Young Professional of the Year Award
Luke Lammer, assistant professor of accounting at Loras College, was one of five to receive the prestigious Young Professional of the Year Award.
The Institute of Management Accounts (IMA) announced Luke Lammer, assistant professor of accounting at Loras College, was one of five to receive the prestigious Young Professional of the Year Award. Winners are chosen for their creative approaches to problem solving, their leadership and contributions to the management accounting profession.
Professor Lammer graduated from Clarke University in 2006 and went on to earn his Master of Accounting from the University of Iowa. Lammer is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA).
“IMA is pleased to acknowledge the accomplishments of this distinguished group of young professionals, who, even at this early stage of their careers, have achieved considerable success and have given service to the management accounting profession,” said Jenna Uszenski, IMA community engagement leader and staff liaison to the IMA Young Professionals Committee. “We look forward to seeing these professionals’ continued contributions to IMA, and we are confident in their ability to grow as leaders in the profession.”
The IMA Young Professional Award recognizes the finest young professionals with outstanding and creative approaches to problem solving within the accounting and finance profession. Recipients must be under the age of 33, be currently employed in the accounting or finance field, have completed an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution, be an outstanding contributor in a professional role and be designated as a CMA. Lammer and fellow award winners will receive their awards during the IMA’s 94th Annual Conference & Exposition in New Orleans June 22-26. They also have the opportunity to speak at the IMA Student Leadership Conference this November in North Carolina.
Lammer was also recently elected to a three-year term on the board of directors for the Iowa Society of Certified Public Accounts (ISCPA). The Iowa Society of CPAs is a nonprofit professional organization representing over 4,400 Iowa CPAs and accounting professionals. Their mission is to advance professional success by providing helpful resources and leadership to improve skills of its members.
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Student Involvement Opportunities
Loras has more than 100 co-curricular and involvement opportunities including organizations relating to academic majors, national honorary and professional societies, student and residence hall government, interest groups and recreational interests.
Accounting Club provides opportunities for leadership positions, networking with accounting professionals and learning more about the accounting profession.
Several business-related clubs and organizations.
VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) is an opportunity for accounting seniors to volunteer to prepare income tax returns for low income and elderly clients free of charge; the program is in partnership with the IRS.
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Internship Opportunities
There is strong support for internships part-time during the academic year or full-time in spring semester or summer in public, private and governmental institutions.
Past internship opportunities have offered real-world experience in tax, bookkeeping, billing, auditing, corporate accounting, governmental accounting, nonprofit accounting, banking and investments.
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Curriculum
The Loras College Accounting curriculum is designed for those interested in securing employment immediately following graduation or those interested in moving on to graduate school or obtaining a C.P.A. certification.
Curriculum Outline
- Courses in Financial Accounting, Cost Accounting, Tax, Auditing, Accounting Systems, Governmental and Not-for-Profit Accounting, Advanced Financial Accounting
- Accounting Systems offered as a J-Term experiential course
- Curriculum designed to meet the educational requirements for the C.P.A. exam in most states
- Students often complete the 150-hour requirement for the C.P.A. exam in four years at Loras
- Students often double major or minor with finance, MIS, marketing, management, criminal justice, economics, mathematics, politics, psychology, sport management
- Students can study abroad and complete the accounting major in four years
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Get Your MBA in Business Analytics
Our undergraduate Business Analytics program is a truly interdisciplinary major with applications in all areas of business. Students embarking on this path will develop solid skills in data mining and methods of discovery, all while exploring the role of ethics and the social value associated with big data collection and usage.
Our undergraduate Business Analytics program is a truly interdisciplinary major with applications in all areas of business. Students embarking on this path will develop solid skills in data mining and methods of discovery, all while exploring the role of ethics and the social value associated with big data collection and usage.
Loras College is a leader in analytics, and our undergraduate program is part of our Center for Business Analytics that includes an MBA in Analytics and a Certificate in Analytics.
These programs generate a culture of data science and offer students a glimpse into the diverse opportunities available beyond graduation.
Learn more about all our analytics programs at loras.edu/bigdata.
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Business Students Get Valuable Internship Experience Through Loras
Each year, Loras College business students complete internships in a wide array of organizations to prepare them for their job search after graduation. Students can complete internships for academic credit or non-credit. Many students choose to complete both.
“Internships are a win-win: good for the students and good for the organizations. Students integrate what they have studied with the work they are assigned. Often, successful completion of an internship leads to an offer of full-time employment when the student graduates,” explains Karen Sturm, professor of accounting in the Business division.
Katie Callaghan (’14), a marketing major, completed an internship with Dubuque marketing agency Plaid Swan, which she learned about through the Center for Experiential Learning (CEL). “I learned new writing skills at Plaid Swan, such as writing white paper documents, utilizing social media for small businesses, and creating and executing marketing plans for various clients. I also was responsible for meeting with clients on a weekly basis, developing case studies on previous campaigns, researching target audiences for rebranding efforts, and providing creative feedback
to my clients and supervisors.”
CEL’s role in internship coordination offers:
- Workshops with topics including internships, how to use Google in searching and why and how to network
- Networking Events—students often develop meaningful relationships that may lead to internships
- Career Fairs each fall have led to internships
- Individual meetings showing students how to search and how to network through LinkedIn, a strong tool to connect with alumni by joining Loras alumni groups
Students are taught how to seek out internships as those are the skills they will need the rest of their lives to find full-time positions. Business faculty communicate internship openings to students from a variety of sources, including from the companies, recruiting websites, or from CEL. Students may also find internship positions through career fairs or the Iowa College Recruiting Network interview days. Faculty serve as supervisors for the internships when students choose to earn academic credit.
Chelsea Myers (’14), accounting major, has found internships in two distinctly different ways—one through contact with a Loras professor and one through her own existing network. She served as Petal Project Intern at ECIA, which she learned about through David Cochran, Ph.D., politics department, where she assisted with program implementation, tracking and promotion; and she currently interns for the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, a position she found through her own Facebook network.
“I have learned about proper business etiquette and how much goes into planning a fundraising event that requires the support of an array of area businesses and supporters. In addition to business etiquette and event planning, I have also advanced my knowledge of philanthropy and grant writing, which I am excited to take with me into future endeavors.”
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| Student Learning Outcomes – Accounting | |
| 1. | Summarize legal issues related to business transactions and activities |
| 2. | Analyze data to effectively inform business decisions |
| 3. | Produce written communications appropriate for a professional business setting |
| 4. | Employ oral communication appropriate for a professional business setting |
| 5. | Apply principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) to moral dilemmas in business |
| 6. | Analyze complex problems relevant to the sub-discipline of Financial Accounting |
| 7. | Analyze complex problems relevant to the sub-discipline of Managerial Accounting |
| 8. | Analyze complex problems relevant to the sub-discipline of Auditing |
| 9. | Analyze complex problems relevant to the sub-discipline of Taxation |
ACCOUNTING
Francis J. Noonan School of Business
James Padilla, J.D., Dean
james.padilla@loras.edu
563.588.7405
Students must earn a cumulative average of 2.00 or better in all L.ACC, L.BAN, L.BUS, and L.CIT courses and complete a minimum of 12 credits of upper level courses in their major (beyond core and supporting) at Loras College, including the capstone course.
Please Note: Students must get PRIOR written permission to transfer in credit once they have matriculated at Loras. Students wishing to take a summer school class on another campus must get written permission from the Dean of the School of Business or their designee BEFORE taking the class. If a student has taken courses on other campuses and then transfers to Loras, the Dean of the School of Business or their designee will make a determination of those transfer credits.
Requirements for the major in Accounting (B.A.):
Anyone who takes Intermediate Accounting at another four-year institution and earns two Cs or any Ds must retake both semesters of Intermediate Accounting at Loras College unless a waiver is granted by the Dean of the School of Business or their designee. Students planning to take the C.P.A. examination should consult with a member of the accounting faculty to be sure that the student is aware of the educational requirements of the jurisdiction in which he/she plans to qualify for the examination.
| Req | Course | Cr’s |
| 1 | L.ACC-227: Managerial Accounting | 3 |
| 2 | L.ACC-228: Financial Accounting | 3 |
| 3 | L.BUS-317: Business Law I | 3 |
| 4 | L.BUS-350: Managerial Finance | 3 |
| 5 | L.CIT-221: Data Analysis | 3 |
| Select one from Req 6 | ||
| 6 | L.BUS-250: Business Statistics | 3 |
| 6 | L.MAT-115: Statistics | 4 |
| 6 | L.MAT-220: Probability & Statistics | 3 |
| Select one from Req 7 | ||
| 7 | L.ECO-221: Principles of Microeconomics | 3 |
| 7 | L.ECO-222: Principles of Macroeconomics | 3 |
| 8 | Elective: L.BAN, BUS, CIT, or ECO | 3 |
| 9 | Elective: L.BAN, BUS, CIT, or ECO | 3 |
| 10 | Elective: L.BAN, BUS, CIT, or ECO | 3 |
| 11 | L.ACC-331: Intermediate Financial Accounting I | 3 |
| 12 | L.ACC-332: Intermediate Financial Accounting II | 3 |
| 13 | L.ACC-343: Cost Accounting | 3 |
| 14 | L.ACC-450: Auditing | 3 |
| 15 | L.ACC-455: Federal Income Tax I | 3 |
| 16 | Elective: L.ACC-330 or above (except L.ACC-394 or L.ACC-494) | 3 |
| 17 | Elective: L.ACC-330 or above (except L.ACC-394 or L.ACC-494) | 3 |
| 18 | Elective: L.ACC-330 or above (except L.ACC-394 or L.ACC-494) | 3 |
| 54 to 55 total required credits | ||
Requirements for the minor in Accounting:
A student must earn a cumulative average of 2.00 or better in all accounting minor/division courses. Students may “double count” a maximum of 6 credits in a minor.
| Req | Course | Cr’s |
| 1 | L.ACC-227: Managerial Accounting | 3 |
| 2 | L.ACC-228: Financial Accounting | 3 |
| 3 | L.ACC-331: Intermediate Financial Accounting I | 3 |
| 4 | L.ACC-343: Cost Accounting | 3 |
| 5 | Elective: L.ACC-330 or above (except L.ACC-394 or L.ACC-494) | 3 |
| 6 | Elective: L.ACC-330 or above (except L.ACC-394 or L.ACC-494) | 3 |
| 18 total required credits | ||
L.ACC-227: Managerial Accounting
A continuation of the study of financial accounting and an introduction to managerial accounting. Topics include the preparation of statement of cash flows, analysis of financial statements, and accounting for manufacturing operations, and a study of the internal uses of information for managerial planning, control and decision-making. 3 credits.
L.ACC-228: Financial Accounting
A study of the fundamental principles and procedures of financial accounting with an emphasis on preparation of financial statements for external reporting. 3 credits.
L.ACC-331: Intermediate Financial Accounting I
A brief review of basic financial accounting concepts and principles, followed by detailed study of the valuation of various assets and the impact of these valuations on income measurement. Includes a study of compound interest concepts and applications. Emphasis is on concepts, with some consideration of non-GAAP accounting alternatives. Prerequisite: L.ACC-228. 3 credits.
L.ACC-332: Intermediate Financial Accounting II
A continuation of intermediate financial accounting. Topics include long-term liabilities, stockholders’ equity, dilutive securities and earnings per share, investments, accounting for income taxes, accounting for pensions, accounting for leases, accounting changes and error analysis and the statement of cash flows. Prerequisites: L.ACC-331. 3 credits.
L.ACC-343: Cost Accounting
Principles, procedures and practices of job order, process and standard cost systems. Also included are additional topics related to managerial uses of cost accounting information. Prerequisites: L.ACC-227 and L.ACC-228. 3 credits.
L.ACC-344: Advanced Cost Accounting
Intended to give the student broader knowledge of cost accounting. Emphasis is placed on the use of accounting data in management decision-making. Includes examination of recent conceptual and analytical developments in the area. Prerequisite: L.ACC-343. 3 credits.
L.ACC-350: Accounting Systems
A study of accounting information systems – the elements they contain; the ways in which they are designed and the role they play in supplying information to those who require it. Prerequisites: L.ACC-227 and L.ACC-228. 3 credits.
L.ACC-352: Accounting for Governmental & Non-Profit Entities
A study of fund accounting with emphasis on governmental entities. Other topics include accounting for hospitals, voluntary health and welfare organizations, and educational institutions. Prerequisites: L.ACC-331. 3 credits.
L.ACC-360: Accounting Research & Analysis
This in-depth study course will provide students with advanced knowledge of accounting standards setting and research both in the U.S. and internationally. Students will explore issues related to the conceptual framework for financial reporting, the political environment of standards setting, authority and due process for standards setting, and the applicability or jurisdiction of various regulatory and standards setting bodies. Students will learn methods for performing applied accounting research using a case method approach, as well as methods of effective communication for technical writing in the field of accounting. Prerequisite: L.ACC-331. 3 credits.
L.ACC-394: Accounting Internship
Provides college credit for work experiences related to the major program. Proposals arranged in consultation with division faculty and approved by Division Chair. Credit varies. Internships cannot be used as accounting electives.
L.ACC-450: Auditing
This course studies auditing theory and practice developed through the study of text material, questions and problems. Emphasis placed on the study of the internal control, audit standards, audit objectives and the preparation of reports. Students also participate in real world audits and complete an electronic major portfolio. Prerequisites: L.ACC-332, and either L.BUS-250, L.MAT-115, or L.MAT-220. 3 credits.
L.ACC-455: Federal Income Tax I
A study of federal income tax laws and their application to individuals. Prerequisite: L.ACC 331. 3 credits.
L.ACC-456: Federal Income Tax II
A study of federal income tax laws and their application to partnerships, fiduciaries and corporations. Prerequisite: L.ACC-331. 3 credits.
L.ACC-468: Advanced Financial Accounting
Major emphasis on accounting for business combinations and the preparation of consolidated financial statements. Other topics covered in depth are accounting for derivatives and hedging instruments, and accounting for multinational enterprises. Topics covered in less detail are accounting for branches, reporting for segments of business enterprises, interim reporting, reporting for the Securities and Exchange Commission and accounting for fiduciaries. Prerequisite: L.ACC-332. 3 credits.
L.ACC-494: Accounting Internship
Provides college credit for work experiences related to the major program. Proposals arranged in consultation with division faculty and approved by Division Chair. Credit varies. Internships cannot be used as accounting electives.
Career Opportunities
After receiving your degree from Loras, your career could take off into one of these fields:
- Bookkeeping
- Accounting Clerk
- Accountant
- Loan Administrator
- Business Entrepreneur
- Tax Specialist
- Auditor
- Corporate Accounting
- Banking
For those looking for graduate study, Loras is a leader in business analytics and offers a competitive MBA in Business Analytics.
James Padilla
Francis J. Noonan School of Business Dean
563.588.7405 | james.padilla@loras.edu
Padilla served as associate dean/associate professor of the School of Business Administration at Marymount University in Arlington, Va. Prior to that, he was an associate professor at the Tiffin University School of Business in Tiffin, Ohio, serving as dean there for two years; assistant professor in the Department of Movement Science at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich.; assistant professor at Ball State University’s School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Science in Muncie, Ind.; assistant professor at University of Saint Francis’ Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership in Fort Wayne, Ind.; and a lecturer at Ivy Tech State College, also in Fort Wayne.
Originally from the Chicago area, Padilla is an expert in the athlete disability insurance field. Over the past 20 years, he has worked with players, coaches, agents, financial advisors and professional teams in regards to properly protecting themselves and their assets. He later merged his own insurance firm with Braman Insurance in Merrillville, Ind., and still serves as a consultant for Braman.
Padilla received his undergraduate degree in sociology from Northern Illinois University. He received his juris doctorate at Southern Illinois University School of Law in Carbondale, Ill., and an executive certificate in sports management from Loyola University Chicago.
Luke Lammer, M.A., C.P.A., C.M.A., C.I.A.
Associate Professor of Accounting
563.588.7379 | Luke.Lammer@loras.edu
Professor Lammer joined Loras in 2011. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Clarke University and his Master of Accountancy degree from the University of Iowa. Lammer has earned certifications as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA). Prior to Loras, Lammer worked as an auditor with McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, working primarily with financial institutions. Lammer has been an active contributor to item development for both the CPA and CMA exams.
Erin McGovern
Assistant Professor of Accounting
563.588.7245 | erin.mcgovern@loras.edu
Professor McGovern joined Loras in 2018. She is a 2004 Loras graduate with a degree in Accounting and Finance, and went on to earn her MBA from St. Ambrose University in 2005. Prior to Loras, McGovern worked primarily in the banking industry in various accounting roles and has earned Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification.
Debra Schleicher, L.L.M., C.P.A., C.M.A., C.F.M.
Associate Professor of Business Administration
563.588.7404 | Debra.Schleicher@loras.edu
Professor Schleicher joined Loras in 2000. A 1984 Loras graduate with a degree in Accounting, she went on to earn a J.D. from Southern Illinois University School of Law and her L.L.M in Taxation from DePaul University College of Law. She also earned a M.Acc., with a concentration in Taxation, from Southern Illinois University. Prior to teaching, she practiced law and then worked in government.