An accounting degree typically includes required courses in financial, managerial, and tax accounting, with the goal of preparing students to become certified public accountants (CPAs). MBA courses may vary depending on the student’s previous education, but typically include advanced auditing and accounting theory.
An accounting specialization is typically designed to enable the student to meet the necessary prerequisites to sit the exam and become a certified public accountant (CPA). While there are many accounting-related jobs that do not require certification, ranking as a CPA is the pinnacle of the career. Most business schools structure an accounting curriculum with the certification process in mind. Consequently, required accounting courses are uniform across most accredited business schools that offer a four-year degree in accounting or a two-year master’s of business (MBA). Required courses include financial accounting at introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels, managerial accounting, and income tax accounting.
At the bachelor’s level, colleges and universities structure the accounting coursework so that the student must take certain required courses. Students can choose from a number of electives from a list of classes that target specific topics. Required accounting courses focus on the three most important areas of accounting: financial, managerial, and tax.
Financial accounting is the type of accounting work that is done for public companies and involves financial reporting and auditing of past activities. Managerial accounting deals with the type of general business accounting that allows executives to make decisions and plan for the future. Tax accounting involves everything that allows people and entities to comply with the jurisdiction’s tax code.
Schools typically require accounting professionals to take three financial accounting classes at introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels. The other required accounting courses at the bachelor’s level are a managerial accounting class and a tax accounting class. These five classes are the core requirements, while the rest of the credits required for the core classes can be completed with accounting electives.
The MBA in accounting required courses are usually selected from among the options provided by the CPA licensing body that will qualify the student for the licensing exam. It is possible that an applicant for an MBA in accounting will not have an undergraduate degree in accounting. Consequently, the courses required at this level will differ depending on the school and whether any of the classes were taken by an individual student as part of a bachelor’s degree program in accounting.
Generally, mandatory MBA courses include some variations of advanced auditing and accounting in a global environment. Required courses also typically include advanced accounting theory and financial statement practice or analysis and advanced contemporary accounting theory. If the student has not already taken these classes, he or she will generally be required to satisfy intermediate and advanced financial accounting and income tax accounting for businesses.
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