Accounting

The accounting concentration will prepare students for various careers in the accounting profession such as roles in public accounting, internal audit, private industry, non-profit organizations and financial institutions. In addition, it is the foundation that will lead students on a path to start to prepare for a career in public accounting and taking the CPA exam. Additional accounting courses in excess of the accounting concentration will be necessary if a student is pursuing this career path. See Public Accounting Path description below the curriculum maps for further information.

Sponsored by: Accounting & Law

Faculty Contacts: Shay Blanchette, William Coyle, and Virginia Soybel

Some courses are only offered in certain semesters and advanced planning is required if you are planning to go abroad, especially if you are considering pursuing a career in public accounting where you will need to take more courses than required by the concentration.

Required Courses

• ACC 3500 Intermediate Accounting I (Fall Semester Only)
• ACC 3501 Intermediate Accounting II (Spring Semester Only)
• ACC 4530 Advanced Accounting (previously ACC 7040) (Spring Semester Only)

Elective Courses

At least one (1) course should be taken from the following group:

• TAX 3500 Taxes (Fall Semester Only)
• TAX 3650 Tax Policy (Spring Semester Only)
• ACC 3510 Financial planning & Cost Control (Varies when offered)
• ACC 3546 Accounting Analytics
• ACC 4520 Auditing (previously ACC 7035) (Fall Semester Only)

AICPA Summary of States Acceptance of Pass/Fail for CPA Licensure:                                                           AICPA link for more information

Public Accounting Path

If you pursue a career in public accounting, there are numerous roles you could take on within the organization. You may choose a path to pursue auditing or you could pursue a path to become a tax provider. As an auditor, you would audit client financial statements and assess their internal controls and as a tax provider you would prepare tax returns and assist clients with tax planning. If your goal is to become a CPA and take a position in a public accounting firm, the four courses required as part of the concentration will not be enough for you to pursue this career path. As a result, it is critical you seek the advice of the dean’s office and/or one of the faculty contacts above regarding the design of this concentration if you are following this path, especially if you have plans to go abroad.

CPA Exam and License Information

Students should be aware that the accounting concentration provides a foundation for taking the CPA exam and becoming a CPA, but the educational requirements to become a CPA varies by state and typically require more accounting credits than this concentration provides. All of the courses in the concentration are necessary, but most likely will not be sufficient for obtaining your CPA. In addition, some states allow an individual to sit for the CPA exam with less credits than are required to obtain your CPA license. The website for the National State Boards of Accountancy provides the detail requirements of what is required to sit for the CPA exam in each state.

Students should also refer to the applicable state society of CPA’s website to understand the full requirements to apply to obtain your CPA license. See the Massachusetts Society of CPA’s site for more information.

For example in Massachusetts, you need 21 undergraduate credits in accounting to sit for the exam, but need 30 undergraduate credit (or graduate equivalent) hours to apply to obtain your CPA license. This 30 credit requirement would generally be satisfied through taking the following courses: Introduction to Financial Accounting (4), Managerial Accounting (3), Intermediate Accounting 1 (4), Intermediate Accounting 2 (4), Advanced Accounting (4) and the remaining credit hours through your choice of electives with ACC or TAX prefixes, such as Auditing (4), Taxes (4), Tax Policy (4), Financial Planning and Cost Control (4) or others. Remember, this requirement varies by state. It is your responsibility to make sure you have met the requirements of the state in which you want to pursue your CPA license.

In addition, obtaining a CPA license in most states requires 150 credits of college work. Furthermore, most public accounting firms want you to have completed your 150 credits prior to starting your full time position. If you would like to discuss how to reach 150 credits during your Babson tenure or if you expect to graduate from Babson with less than 150 credits and want to disucss options to obtain these credits after graduation, please contact your Class Dean and/or Shay Blanchette, Accounting Faculty.