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Accounting

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Accounting & FinanceGR

General

Requirements

Major Dependent Concentration(s)

Program Requirements

Graduate Business Programs
238 Elliott Hall  (map)
(248) 370-3287 
OUgradbusiness@oakland.edu
http://www.oakland.edu/business/grad 

Faculty Director, MAcc program:  
Donna K. Free
412 Elliott Hall
(248) 370-3281
free@oakland.edu

Program Description

The Master of Accounting (MAcc) is offered in the Department of Accounting and Finance within the School of Business Administration and has earned separate accounting accreditation from the AACSB International. The MAcc is designed for students who are interested in careers in public, corporate, and non-business accounting. A MAcc student may earn a general MAcc degree or earn concentrations in Assurance or Taxation by completing designated electives within a specific area.

The degree will assist accounting professionals in the dynamic corporate environment. Professionals in the field are required to be effective communicators, maintain a high level of expertise, and uphold ethical responsibilities, while providing financial information, analysis of the economic environment and input in decision-making activities.

Keeping these qualities in view, the MAcc is designed to achieve the following goals:

  • Offer a graduate-level program developing superior technical knowledge and application skills beyond the baccalaureate accounting program

  • Enhance students’ analytical, communication and decision-making skills

  • Provide a sound base in ethics and professional behavior

  • Prepare students for careers in public, corporate, and non-business accounting positions

  • Provide students with the educational requirements necessary to be eligible to take professional exams

Admission Terms and Application Deadlines

Before an applicant’s file can be reviewed for full program admission, all application documents must be received at the Oakland University Graduate School by the semester deadlines listed below. Incomplete applications will not be sent to departments for admission review.

  • July 15 for fall semester

  • November 15 for winter semester

  • March 1 for summer semester

International Students  

  • May 1 for fall (September) admission

  • September 1 for winter (January) admission

  • January 1 for summer (May) admission

Application Requirements

To be considered for graduate admission, applicants must submit all Graduate Application Requirements and additional department requirements by the published application deadlines:

  1. Graduate application requirements

      
     

  2. Additional department application requirements

    • Recommendation for Graduate Admission form:
      One recommendation must be from faculty members or professionals in the field who can evaluate the scholarly achievement and potential of the applicant.

    • Curriculum Vitae or Resumé

      

    GMAT Policy

    The GMAT/GRE is not required if you meet any of the following criteria:

    • Earned a master’s degree or higher with a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 or has earned a 75th percentile score on the GRE, LSAT, or MCAT entrance exam

    • Earned a bachelor’s degree with an overall GPA of at least 3.0 from an AACSB-accredited business school

    • Earned a bachelor’s degree in any major with an overall GPA of at least 3.2 from a regionally accredited program

    • Completed a business-related certification such as CPA, CFA, CFP or FRM

    • Has at least 3 years of relevant professional work experience and an undergraduate overall GPA of at least 2.75

If an applicant does not meet any of the above criteria, it is recommended that they connect with the Graduate Business Programs Office to discuss GMAT preparation and or other options to be considered for admission.

​Admission review and assessment

Admission to graduate study at Oakland University is selective. In making admission recommendations to Oakland University Graduate School, each department assesses the potential of applicants for success in the program by examining their undergraduate records, goal statement, recommendation forms, prerequisite courses, and any other admission requirements established by the academic department. 

MAcc Foundation Requirements

Students admitted to the MAcc program must demonstrate proficiency or complete coursework in the following areas.

  • ACC 2000 Introductory Financial Accounting

  • ACC 2100, Managerial and Cost Accounting I

  • ACC 4001, Intermediate Financial Accounting I

  • ACC 4002, Intermediate Financial Accounting II

  • ACC 4003, Managerial and Cost Accounting II

  • A college course in Micro or Macro Economics

These program prerequisites must be completed prior to beginning MAcc coursework.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Accounting degree is awarded upon satisfactory completion of a minimum of 30 credits in an approved program of study. It consists of two or three parts depending on a student’s undergraduate education.

Course Requirements (30 credits)

a. Foundation Courses (24 credits)

A foundation course may be waived if an equivalent course was previously completed with a grade of “C” or above. The MAcc student who is waived from foundation requirements must substitute graduate business electives to complete their 30-credit program. The MAcc Coordinator must approve these electives.

The following courses are required of all MAcc students:

  • course Introduction to Taxation (3 credits)

  • course Accounting Information Systems: Planning and Analysis (3 credits)

  • course Auditing (3 credits)

  • course Advanced Financial Accounting (3 credits)

  • course Financial Analysis and Valuation (3 credits)

  • course Audit Analytics (3 credits)

  • course Financial Management ( 3 credits)

  • course Quantitative Methods for Managers (3 credits)

b. Electives

Each MAcc student will be required to take a minimum of 9 credits of accounting courses from the following list. All courses are 3 credits unless otherwise noted.

  • course Business Law for Accounting & Finance (3 credits) 

  • course Income Tax II: US Taxation of Alternative Business Structures (3 credits) 

  • course Government and Not-for-Profit Accounting (3 credits) 

  • course Accounting Information Systems: Audit and Control (3 credits) 

  • ACC 5330 - Accounting Information Systems: Analysis and Design (3 credits) 

  • course Tax Research, Planning and Administration 

  • course International Tax 

  • course International Financial Accounting Standards and Reporting (3 credits) 

  • course Cost Management (3 credits)  

  • course Enterprise Risk Management (3 credits) 

  • course Accounting and Communications (3 credits) 

  • course Fraud Examination (3 credits) 

  • course Professional Issues in Accounting (3 credits) 

  • course Special Topics in Accounting (3 credits) 

  • course Independent Study in Accounting (1 TO 3 credits) 

  • course Real Estate Investment Analysis 

  • course Advanced Financial Management (3 credits)  

  • course Special Topics in Finance (3 credits) 

If  MAcc students want a more structured set of courses, they can complete the courses required to earn a concentration.  Up to two concentrations can be noted on a student’s transcript. 

1. Assurance Concentration (9 credits)

Required course:

  • course Audit Analytics (3 credits)

Elective Courses

Select two courses from the following:

  • course Accounting Information Systems: Audit and Control (3 credits)

  • course Enterprise Risk Management (3 credits)

  • course Fraud Examination (3 credits)

2. Taxation Concentration (9 credits)
Required course

  • course Income Tax II: US Taxation of Alternative Business Structures (3 credits)

Elective courses

Select two courses from the following:

  • course Tax Research, Planning and Administration (3 credits)

  • course International Tax (3 credits)

  • course Special Topics in Accounting (3 credits)

c. Exit

All students are required to take the Professional Accounting Research course. This course should be taken during the last semester, and coordinator permission is required.

  • course Professional Accounting Research (3 credits)

Additional Program Information

  • In compliance with university policy, no undergraduate courses will be transferred from another college or university and applied toward graduate degree requirements.

  • Students must meet the prerequisites for all MAcc courses.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is the term used to denote a student’s successful completion of coursework toward a certificate or degree. Federal regulations require the Office of Financial Aid to monitor Satisfactory Academic Progress for all financial aid recipients each semester.

Students who fall behind in their coursework, or fail to achieve minimum standards for grade point average and completion of classes, may lose their eligibility for all types of federal, state and university aid. Contact the Office of Financial Aid for additional details.

Good Academic Standing

All graduate students are expected to remain in good Academic Standing throughout the entire course of their graduate program. To be in good academic standing, a graduate student must make satisfactory progress toward fulfilling degree requirements, including the completion of critical degree milestones as set forth by the academic program. The student must also maintain a minimum semester and overall GPA of 3.0.

Good academic standing is a requirement for:

  • Holding a Graduate Assistantship

  • Receiving a fellowship or scholarship

  • Advancing to candidacy for a graduate degree

  • Going on a leave of absence

  • Obtaining a graduate certificate or degree from Oakland University.

Additionally, graduate students must meet all department academic standards which may be more stringent than the minimum set forth by the University.

Department requirements:  In accordance with the university requirements for graduate students, a grade-point average of 3.0 is required for graduation. Students, therefore, should maintain at least a 3.0 GPA. Students may be dismissed if they do not maintain a GPA of 3.0 or appropriate progress toward the degree as determined by the Office of Graduate Business Programs. Any course resulting in a grade below 2.0 must be repeated.

Graduate students who are not in good academic standing for any reason are subject to probation and/or dismissal from further graduate study.

Related program information

Plan of Study

All accepted applicants, in consultation with their assigned faculty program adviser, must develop a plan of study that details specific courses the students will use to satisfy their degree requirements. The plan of study must be approved by the faculty program adviser and submitted by the student to Oakland University Graduate School.

Master’s and graduate certificate students must submit a department-approved plan of study by the end of their first semester of graduate coursework. Doctoral students must submit an approved plan of study prior to completion of the first year of coursework. (See the Graduate Student Responsibilitysection of this catalog.)

Note:  Credit granted for successful completion of a course toward an undergraduate degree program may not be repeated for a graduate degree. If a substitution is approved, the minimum number of program-approved graduate credits will be required. A Petition of Exception - OU Course Waiver/ Substitution requesting the substitution must be approved.