Accounting Major

Program Director: Susann Cuperus

Degree Type(s): Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science

Accounting majors graduating from the University of Mary’s Gary Tharaldson School of Business will be enriched through a curriculum of discovery, development and application to ensure a sound knowledge of the key professional components of business. Students also gain an understanding of how to incorporate servant leadership into their everyday lives as business professionals. In addition to the core competencies of the University, graduates of the Accounting program will be able to:

• Demonstrate an ability to process information to reach a logical conclusion.
• Demonstrate professional business communication.
• Identify major concepts within the core areas of business.
• Apply decision support tools to business decision making.
• Apply ethical decision making utilizing the Benedictine values and professional standards.
• Recognize the global nature of the contemporary business environment.
• Recognize elements of an audit that was conducted with professional skepticism and in compliance with audit standards.
• Prepare financial statements in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
• Apply tax laws to prepare tax returns.
• Utilize research skills to choose relevant authoritative literature.

Additional Program Information

The Accounting program’s curriculum is designed to expose students to all content areas covered in the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam. A typical bachelor’s degree requires 124 semester hours. Individuals who wish to sit for the CPA exam must have a total of 150 semester hours of college credit to be eligible to write the exam, so most accounting students who intend to take the CPA exam choose to complete additional coursework to meet this requirement. The student’s accounting advisor will work with the student to determine the best courses (graduate and/or undergraduate) to meet the needs of the individual in obtaining the additional credit needed to sit for the exam and reach their career goals.