Master of Accountancy (MAcc)

Master of Accountancy (MAcc)

A MAcc Program for Today's Accountant

The Master of Accountancy (MAcc) Program offered by the Graduate School of Business at Gardner-Webb University is structured to prepare today's accountant for the significant changes that are impacting the accounting profession. The MAcc is recognized as the professional graduate degree designed to enhance effectiveness in upper-level accounting and financial positions in public accounting, private industry, or government.

The flexibility of the MAcc degree provides for the creation of several career-specific degree tracks. Among the degree tracks available are general accounting and taxation. While some tracks are accomplished primarily through selected coursework, other tracks require a selection of complementary graduate business (non-accounting) courses. Graduates of the MAcc program should meet the new North Carolina requirements for professional licensure. Courses are offered in the evenings and online to accommodate working professionals.

The program requires a minimum of 30 semester credit hours of graduate studies: 15 hours in the required core, 9 accounting elective hours, and 6 graduate business elective hours. A student may take the twelve accounting elective hours by selecting an emphasis from among tax or general accounting, or a combination of both areas.

Why do you need a MAcc degree?

• To prepare you for careers in accounting with advanced training in specific areas built on a broad understanding of accounting and business while introducing you to the newest ideas of today's ever-changing global environment.
• To provide you with the skills in analytical problem solving, oral, written communication, and interpersonal relations.
• To increase the salary you receive in your current job and magnify your future earning potential. Graduate education leads to higher starting salaries, with master's degree holders generally receiving a 10 to 20 percent premium over individuals with just a bachelor's degree.
• To create avenues of advancement within your current organizational structure.
• To be more marketable to future employers of your choosing.
• To help you meet the professional accounting organizations new 150-hour requirement as a standard for entry into the accounting profession.
• To provide you the opportunity of achieving a higher first-time pass rate on the Uniform CPA Examination.
• To provide greater job security during a time when the words "downsizing" and "alternative employment opportunities" are spoken with frightening frequency.

Purpose

Today’s global business environment is dynamic. There are significant challenges facing accountants. Today’s accountant is expected to know more and does more than ever before. It is not enough to know accounting rules and regulations. To be successful in providing value to employers and clients alike, today’s accountant must demonstrate a combination of technical competence, oral and written communication skills, analytical problem-solving skills, technology skills, and people skills. The intensive, applied nature of this MAcc Program provides training in an accounting through the use of practical techniques that can readily be utilized by the students in their existing positions. The program will also provide students with an educational experience to meet the North Carolina State Board of Public Accountancy’s new 150-hour requirement to obtain the Uniform Certified Public Accounting Examination.

Objectives

• To prepare students with advanced knowledge in accounting and analytical skills to acquire upper-level positions in public accounting, industry, or government, and to enhance the potential for success in completing certifying examinations, i.e., Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and others.
• Provide practical techniques to analyze alternative solutions to business problems involving economic, social, legal, political, global, and ethical factors.
• Develop practical skills for meeting the challenges of changing technology and managerial innovations.

The Curriculum

The program requires a minimum of 30 semester credit hours of graduate studies: 12 hours in the required core, 12 accounting elective hours, and 6 graduate business elective hours. A student may take the twelve accounting elective hours by selecting an emphasis from among tax or general accounting, or a combination of both areas.