Westwood Financial Management Service

Westwood High School
300 Westwood Dr
Ishpeming, MI 49849

Instructors: Ronalyn Arseneau

Career Focus

Prepared for immediate employment, advanced certifications, and further education

Details

This program consists of courses in Accounting and Advanced Accounting, where students will be introduced to the theory and practice of accounting and financial reporting. In Accounting, students will complete all phases of the accounting cycle, including:

Collecting and verifying source documents
Analyzing and journalizing transactions
Posting transaction data to ledger accounts
Preparing a trial balance, worksheets and financial statements
Recording, adjusting and closing entries and preparing a post-closing trial balance

Advanced Accounting is designed to help students develop in-depth knowledge of the principles of accounting, with more emphasis being placed on financial statements and accounting records. The course is a study of previously-learned principles as they apply to more complicated types of business organizations. Students will become familiar with specialized fields of accounting, including:

Cost accounting
Tax accounting
Payroll accounting
Managerial accounting
Financial projections / interpretations

Financial programs range from personal finance and money management to corporate accounting with an emphasis on the use of the technology and computerized accounting to analyze financial data. Students enrolled in this program have the opportunity to compete at the regional, state and national levels in Business Professionals of America (BPA) in contests such as Fundamental Accounting, Advanced Accounting, Payroll Accounting, Personal Financial Management, Banking and Finance, and Financial Analyst Team, among others, which allows them to attend workshops, network with business students from around the country, and experience travel. Many students have achieved national recognition in BPA.

This class is typically available to students in grades 11-12.

Prerequisites: All students must successfully complete an Information Management course.

Resources

General Business HS-College Plan (PDF)

Links

“Anybody thinking about taking these classes - I would strongly recommend it!”

Connor M., Westwood HS
Business Student

“You might think that business is all crazy number crunching and filing, and not fun. But, really you can make it fun! I suggest taking as many business classes as you can!”

Kayla A., Westwood HS
Digital Multimedia Student

“We have three [business related] CTE programs here at Westwood and we offer thirteen different business classes across those three programs. Each year for those 40 years [that we’ve participated in BPA] we’ve had students qualify for national competition.”

Ronalyn Arseneau, Westwood HS
Business Teacher

“There’s such a variety of what can be learned in the business department. Anything that interests or piques a student’s curiosity can be addressed. My favorite parts of the programs offered here at Westwood is seeing students find something they truly love to do!”

Sabina Villar, Westwood HS
Business Teacher

How to Get Started

High School Credit

Students should inquire within their guidance office about high school curriculum requirements that may be satisfied through a CTE class, as this is determined individually by school district. The courses in this program at Westwood High School satisfy the 4th year math credit requirement.

College Credit

College credit(s) possible (CLEP Test required)

Students have the potential of earning college credits by achieving satisfactory scores on the College Level Examination Program exam (CLEP)
Each college reserves the right to set its own credit-granting policy
Contact your college(s) to find out the score it requires to grant credit, the number of credit hours granted, and the course(s) that can be bypassed with a satisfactory score

National College Credit Recommendation (Test required)

Students have the potential of earning college credits by scoring 70% or better on the National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) assessment for Advanced Accounting
Test is administered in the classroom during mid-spring semester to students at the end of their Finance and/or Business programs
Over 1,500 colleges and universities accept NOCTI credit recommendations

Industry Certification

Industry-recognized Microsoft Office Certification (Test required)

Microsoft Office Specialist - Microsoft Excel and Excel Expert 2016 certifications
Testing in high school classroom via Certiport.com* - currently available at no cost to the student

*Credentials are nationally recognized, portable and stackable, which means students have the option of attaining more advanced credentials in the future

Potentially earn college credit for Microsoft Office Certifications

Success Story

Westwood students prepare for national Business Professionals competition

A group of Westwood High School students are gearing up to compete at the Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference at the end of the month!

In March, 31 students from Westwood High School competed at the Michigan Business Professionals of America State Leadership Conference. During the competition they took part in events that tested their skills with office systems, accounting, administrative concepts and even word processing.

Of those 31, 13 were chosen to advance to the National Conference in Anaheim, California!