Master of Science in Accountancy

Advisors:
Jerry G. Krueze
Room 3162, Schneider Hall

Sheldon A. Langsam
Room 3160, Schneider Hall

Kathleen E. Sinning
Room 3182, Schneider Hall

The Master of Science in Accountancy prepares students for professional careers in public accounting, industry, commerce, finance, and government. A graduate of the Haworth College of Business with a Master of Science in Accountancy will be qualified to take many of the professional certification examinations.

The MSA program is designed to provide greater breadth and depth in accounting and business than that delivered in the undergraduate accountancy program. The curriculum helps students further develop their technical expertise, communication skills, and understanding of the role of accountants in organizations. Course work will be selected from the areas of financial accounting, cost and managerial accounting, auditing, taxation, not-for-profit, accounting fraud, and accounting systems.

Admission Requirements

To be eligible for admission to the Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) program, an applicant must meet one of the following criteria, which are managed by the Office of Student Development in the College:
1. A total score of at least 1100, which is the sum of the GMAT score and (200 x the GPA for the last sixty hours in an accredited undergraduate degree program); and
2. a minimum GMAT score of 480; and
3. a minimum GPA of 2.75 for the last sixty hours in an accredited undergraduate degree program.
  
  A Western Michigan University accounting major with an average grade point of 3.5 or higher in the following eight courses (or equivalents) is not required to take the GMAT: ACTY 3100, 3110, 3130, 3220, 3240, 4160, and two of the electives (4110, 4130, 4140, 4220, and 4240).
An applicant whose native language is not English must achieve a minimum score of 215 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
Each applicant must provide evidence of proficiency in the required basic skills prior to formal graduate program admission. Basic skills are defined as computer literacy, quantitative analysis, statistics, and writing in English. The writing skill requirement is considered met if the applicant achieves a score of 4.0 or higher on the essay portion of the GMAT. The quantitative analysis skill requirement is considered met if the student (a) has an undergraduate business degree (BBA) from a university or college with an AACSB accredited business program or (b) has satisfactorily completed a college level undergraduate mathematics course (pre-calculus or calculus).

If the basic skills requirements have not been completed at the time of admission, the student may receive conditional admission with the provision that all unmet basic skill requirements will be satisfied by the end of the first twelve months of active graduate program enrollment.

Prerequisites to Graduate Study

The required preparation is an undergraduate degree in accounting, or its equivalent, and a 3.0 grade point average in accounting and business courses. Basic Skills: Quantitative Analysis, Computer Literacy, Written Communications. Basic Core: Corporate Finance; Legal, Regulatory, and Political Aspects of Business; Basic Economic Analysis. Accountancy Course Prerequisites: ACTY 2100, Principles of Accounting I; ACTY 2110, Principles of Accounting II; ACTY 3100, Financial Accounting I; ACTY 3110, Financial Accounting II; ACTY 3130, Accounting Information Systems; ACTY 3220, Managerial Accounting Concepts and Practices; ACTY 3240, Introductory Tax Accounting; ACTY 4160, Auditing.

Program Requirements

A minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate work is required. A minimum of 15 hours of accounting must be selected from the following courses:

ACTY 6100 - Financial Accounting and Reporting Credits: 3 hrs.
ACTY 6170 - Attestation and Assurance Services Credits: 3 hrs.
ACTY 6210 - International Accounting Credits: 3 hrs.
ACTY 6220 - Seminar in Management Accounting Credits: 3 hrs.
ACTY 6240 - Business Tax Planning Credits: 3 hrs.
ACTY 6270 - Accounting Fraud Credits: 3 hrs.
ACTY 6420 - 6450 - Selected Topics in Accountancy Credits: 3 hrs.

Additional Requirements

In addition to the accountancy course requirements, the student must elect a minimum of nine hours of 6000-level courses outside the Department of Accountancy. Each individual program must include at least twenty-four hours of 6000- or 7000-level courses and must have prior approval of a department advisor.

To summarize the requirements:

Minimum of 30 hours of graduate course work.
Minimum of 15 hours of graduate course work in accountancy.
Minimum of 9 hours of non-accounting graduate courses.
Minimum of 24 hours at the 6000-level or above.
Minimum of 39 semester hours of accounting in graduate and undergraduate course work.

A graduate of the Haworth College of Business with a Master of Science in Accountancy will be qualified to take many of the professional certification examinations. Since the qualifying rules differ by state and are subject to change, the student is responsible for determining if additional criteria need to be met for a specific exam or state. The program is designed to meet the AICPA’s 150-hour requirement. A student without a degree in business must complete 24 credit hours of business courses to meet the 150-hour requirement.

The current requirements to sit for the CPA exam in Michigan include 24 hours of accounting, including auditing. The course work also must include a study in systems and governmental accounting.