David Christensen

Professor of Accounting Southern Utah University

  • Cedar City UT

Specializing in earned value project management, the history of accounting principles, and the profitability analysis of accounting

Contact

Biography

Dr. David Christensen is a professor of accounting at Southern Utah University. He has published over 70 refereed journal articles and made numerous presentations at academic and professional conferences.

Dr. Christensen served as a cost analyst for the United States Air Force at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Ohio. After retiring as a major, he began his second career at SUU as a professor of accounting in 1998.

Dr. Christensen earned a bachelor of science in biology from the University of Utah, a master of accounting from Utah State University, and a Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Nebraska.

Industry Expertise

Accounting
Education/Learning
Writing and Editing
Management Consulting

Areas of Expertise

Cost & Management Accounting
Accounting
Accounting Ethics
Accounting; Ethics Scandals and Moral Exemplars
Accounting; Profitabilty Analysis
Accounting; Theory of Constraints
Cost Accounting
Cost Analysis
Earned Value Project Management
History of Accounting Principles
Managerial Accounting
Theories and Methods of Accounting
Cost Estimation

Education

University of Nebraska

Ph.D.

Business Administration (Accounting)

Utah State University

M.A.

Accounting

University of Utah

B.S.

Biology

Accomplishments

Best Session Paper

International Business and Economics Research Conference, 2009

Certificate of Merit

Institute of Management Accounting, 2009

Exemplary Use of Technology Faculty Award

Utah System of Higher Education, 2007

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Affiliations

  • Institute of Management Accounting
  • Certified Management Accountant

Languages

  • Thai

Media Appearances

Accounting Program Receives National Rank with U.S. News

SUU News  online

2015-02-11

Taking online classes can be taxing, but for Southern Utah University students graduating with their master’s of accountancy (MAcc) they know getting their degree online is adding up with the program's recent recognition from U.S. News as a Best Online Graduate Business Degree.

Currently celebrating its 10th birthday, the graduate accounting program is adding up numbers that can’t be seen at any other online graduate program in the state, according to David Christensen, accounting department chair.

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Articles

Is the CPI-Based EAC a Lower Bound to the Final cost of a Post Contracts A-12

Journal of Cost Analysis and Managment

David S. Christensen

Christensen (1994b, 1999) describes several methods to evaluate the predicted final cost of a defense acquisition contract, termed the “Estimate at Completion” (EAC). One of the methods uses the EAC derived from the cumulative Cost Performance Index (CPI) as a lower bound to the final cost of a defense contract. The method was derived from Department of Defense (DOD) experience on hundreds of defense programs completed in the 1970s and 1980s. This study tests the validity of the rule on contracts completed after 1991. Based on an analysis of 52 defense acquisition contracts completed after 1991, the rule is still valid for CPI-based EACs computed in the early and middle stages of a contract, but not valid in the late stage.

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Allocating Service Department Costs with Excel

Strategic Finance

David Christensen & Paul Schneider

2017-05-01

A note on using Microsoft Excel's iterative calculation option in the reciprocal method of service department cost allocation by breaking down the three methods for allocating service department costs: direct, sequential, and reciprocal.

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Web of Deception

IMA Educational Case Journal

David Christensen

2014-05-01

Escalating commitment to a failing project, the case of the A12 Stealth Bomber

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Courses

ACCT 2010 Financial Accounting Principles

This course provides a thorough study of basic accounting principles. The accounting cycle is introduced using an appropriate mix of conceptual and procedural problems. A real-world problem using computer applications is also covered. This is a basic course, which aids in building a foundation for financial analysis and decision-making.

ACCT 2020 Managerial Accounting

A study of the accumulation and flow of managerial accounting information and its impact on decisions within a business entity. Emphasizes cost behavior, cost-volume profit analysis, and management’s use of quantitative tools for planning and control.

ACCT 3300 Cost Accounting

Analysis of costs in a business organization. Includes cost development in both service and manufacturing situations. Areas discussed include: job order costing, process costing, standard costing and variance analysis.

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