Master of Accounting
Our Program
-
Mission Statement:
- The primary purpose of the Master of Accounting (or “MAcc”) program is to prepare its students for lifelong learning and rewarding careers. The MAcc program’s learning philosophy emphasizes fundamental accounting concepts, theories, and skills, which students can apply to a wide variety of problem situations throughout their careers.
-
Program Vision Statement:
- The AMIS faculty’s vision for the Master of Accounting Program reflects a set of values that the faculty holds about accounting education and about graduate education more broadly. These values are described in the following paragraphs.
Long-term focus. The AMIS faculty believes that accounting education should not be focused on narrow, technical and short-term objectives, such as passing the CPA examination. Rather, “learning to learn” and preparation for a productive long-term career should be paramount. Accounting rules continuously change, so learning only what one needs in the immediate future guarantees obsolescence. We envision a learning philosophy that emphasizes fundamental concepts, theories and skills which students can apply to a wide variety of problem situations throughout their careers. We believe that exposing students to cutting-edge ideas in the accounting discipline and in other related fields is an excellent way to prepare them for the longer term because such ideas consistently evolve into practice. Further, this long-term focus should be sufficiently bolstered by examples of current practice to prepare students for entry-level positions and passage of the CPA examination.
Skill development. Accounting education should provide opportunities for students to develop their skills in (1) oral and written communication, (2) computer technology, (3) critical thinking and analytical reasoning, (4) teamwork, and (5) applied research on accounting-related issues. The skill development component of education complements the long-term view of accounting education expressed above. Further, our vision for the Master of Accounting Program is that each student will improve these skills if they are consistently exercised across the curriculum.
Relationships with other disciplines. We believe that our accounting programs should expose students more thoroughly to other disciplines and related fields of study. In recent decades, accounting firms have greatly diversified their practices beyond compliance work to include a wide range of consultative services. To enhance the business advisory skills of our graduates, the AMIS faculty believes that we must strengthen the non-accounting backgrounds of the Master of Accounting students and integrate multidisciplinary perspectives within the program.
Flexibility. Because the field of accounting is dynamic and multifaceted, the AMIS faculty believes that any educational program should be flexible enough to prepare students for a broad range of career options. Flexibility permits students to work with their advisors to design programs that fit their particular interests and career objectives. At the same time, flexibility should foster a dynamic and responsive curriculum and a faculty willing to experiment with innovative teaching methods and approaches.
Learning Objectives:
Beyond these values that are the primary drivers of the Master of Accounting Program, the Program must meet the requirements for professional masters degree programs (“tagged” degrees) as administered by the Graduate School of The Ohio State University. Further, where possible, the program should be designed efficiently to make use of existing resources, particularly with respect to course offerings.
- Learning Objective 1:
- Graduates will be competent in and able to apply the basic technical and institutional knowledge of the discipline of accounting.
- Learning Objective 2:
- Graduates will understand the conceptual foundations of accounting and be able to engage in rigorous critical thinking.
- Learning Objective 3:
- Graduates will demonstrate competence in general communication skills and analytical reasoning.
- Learning Objective 4:
- Graduates will understand the ethical responsibilities of an accounting professional.
- Graduates will be competent in and able to apply the basic technical and institutional knowledge of the discipline of accounting.