Eberhardt School of Business News

(February 15, 2008) -

Accounting, possibly the most traditional concentration of all business administration programs, is identified as the activity, practice, or profession of maintaining the business records of a person or organization and preparing forms and reports for tax or other financial purposes. According to Professor Cynthia Eakin, the accounting concentration is the first step to a wide range of careers.

“Our graduates are not only CPA-ready, but are prepared to enter positions in any size business, government, or nonprofit endeavor.”

Students in the accounting concentration take intermediate accounting, advanced accounting, tax accounting, cost accounting, auditing, and one course from international financial management, trade law, or commercial law. With this training, accounting students can plan for a career that utilizes the valuable professional knowledge and demands a broad-based set of interpersonal skills. Accountants no longer fit the stereotype of introverted “bean-counters.”

In Business Week’s 2007 list of the 50 best places to launch a career, four of the top 11 firms were accounting firms. The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, reports that overall job opportunities should be favorable and those who obtain professional recognition through certification or licensure, a master’s degree, proficiency in accounting and auditing computer software, or specialized expertise will have the best opportunities.

Certified Public Accountants (CPA’s) are licensed by their respective State Boards of Accountancy and the CPA track is a natural career choice for accounting graduates. In California, one may sit for the CPA exam with a bachelor’s degree. After passing the exam, candidates can be licensed with a bachelor’s degree plus two years of qualifying work experience (track 1), or, with 150 hours of college credit and one year of work experience (track 2). It has been proposed that by 2012, track 2 will be required to be licensed as a CPA in California, making the state’s licensing procedures consistent with the 48 of the 50 states that currently require 150 hours of college credits to be licensed.

An increase in the number of businesses, changing financial laws and regulations, and greater scrutiny of company finances will drive faster-than-average growth in the field of accounting and auditing. Professor Stephen Wheeler said good corporate governance is the right thing to do and accountability in the profession is now even more important after accounting scandals at such companies as Enron, Tyco International and WorldCom.

“These changes have turbo-charged the demand for accounting graduates,” said Wheeler.

Technological advancements will create the need for change in accountancy and auditing careers. With the aid of special software packages, accountants can summarize transactions and organize data in special formats employed in financial analysis. Computers enable accountants and auditors to be more mobile and to use their clients’ computer systems to extract information from databases and the Internet. As a result, a growing number of accountants and auditors with extensive computer skills are correcting problems or developing software to meet unique data management and analytical needs. Eakin said students who combine accounting with information technology fields such as Management Information Systems (MIS) can essentially write their own tickets in the job market.

According to Robert Half International, a professional staffing and consulting firm, average starting salaries were between $28,250 and $45,000 a year for accountants and auditors. Directors on the top end reported salaries in the $64,750 and $200,750 range with the variation in salaries reflected by differences in size of firm, location, level of education, and professional credentials. According to a salary survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), candidates with bachelor’s degrees in accounting received starting offers averaging $43,269 a year in 2005; candidates with master’s degrees in accounting were offered $46,251 initially.

Why can accounting graduates command these high salaries? The accounting concentration represents the one degree with 360 degrees of possibilities*.

“Our accounting students aren’t just number crunchers. They know how to apply ethics, leadership and interpersonal skills into professional practice,” said Dean Chuck Williams. 

* American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)

 Strictly Business Fall/Winter 2008 Issue