Accounting Master's Degree

The Master of Accountancy program provides rigorous preparation at the graduate level for students to achieve success in their chosen career path in professional or academic accounting.

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Students completing the Master of Accounting program will be able to access and apply appropriate standards, regulations, and other information needed to address accounting and business problems.

Students will understand business risk, how it affects decisions, and how to create strategies to mitigate risk. In addition, they will be able to identify problems, consider alternative solutions, and analyze the pros and cons of each alternative to support their conclusions.

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Career Outlook

Job prospects for graduates?
What can I expect?

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Courses and Schedule

What coursework is required for this degree?

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Just the Facts

How Much? How Long?
Who can enroll?

How Do I Enroll?

Admission to Walton College masters programs is selective. Enrollment in each program is limited. 

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Just the Facts: Master of Accountancy

Program Length

One year

Students typically begin the program in the Fall semester and complete the degree in the following May. However, Spring semester starts are available.

Start Date

Fall or Spring

New cohorts begin each Semester for this degree program.

Admissions Info

Do I Qualify to Enroll?

Complete your undergraduate degree and meet additional requirements. View Requirements

Entrance Test

GMAT

A valid GMAT exam is required for admission review. This would include any students previously admitted to the Integrated Master of Accountancy program who wish to pursue the MACC degree program. Please review our full master’s admissions policies.

Application Deadline

March 1

Total Estimated Cost

$21,512.70*

*In-state tuition and fees. Additional tuition costs applied for out-of-state and international students.
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Financial Assistance

Paying for College

Scholarships, Graduate Assistantships, and Financial Aid

Class Profile

Current Students

View a listing of current Master of Accountancy Students.

Career Outlook

The accounting department at the Walton College enjoys strong relationships with corporate partners. These corporate connections are enhanced through networking events, speaking events, and academic activities – culminating in employment opportunities.

 

CPA: Certified Public Accountant Exam

A University of Arkansas Master of Accountancy degree qualifies you to sit for the CPA exam in Arkansas.

The CPA exam's primary purpose is to establish the technical credentials of those wishing to be licensed as public accountants. If you plan a career in public accounting, taking the CPA exam is a must. In addition, the CPA license is so widely recognized as a credential that many accountants who work in industry or government take the CPA exam as part of their effort to become licensed as CPAs.

While the CPA exam is the same across the nation, the requirements to sit for the CPA exam vary by state.

While your focus as a student is naturally on taking a certification exam, remember that this is just a step towards professional certification. In addition to passing a certification exam, there are additional requirements (e.g., experience requirements, continuing education requirements) for professional certification or licensing that you also must fulfill after graduation.

Learn more: Department of Accounting: Certification Exams

Courses and Program Schedule

The Walton MAcc is a 30-hour program designed to be completed in one year. Depending upon their backgrounds and prior coursework, students typically begin the program in the Fall semester and complete the degree in the following May. Students needing additional prerequisites may choose to complete the program in 3-4 semesters. The following provides a two-semester plan.

Core Courses

ACCT 54103: Advanced Financial Accounting Integrated course which examines the financial reporting, tax, managerial, systems and auditing aspects of major corporate restructurings arising from events such as mergers, acquisitions, spinoffs, reorganizations and downsizing.
ACCT 59503: Auditing Standards Professional aspects of financial statement auditing and registered auditors. Including ethics and legal responsibilities; internal control testing; critical evaluation of evidence; application of sampling; and reporting problems.
ACCT 54603: Financial Statement Analysis This course provides a framework for understanding the current economic position and future prospects of firms using corporate financial statements. Specifically, the student will study financial statements and their related footnotes in order to understand the drivers of current performance and risk, forecast future performance, and estimate the intrinsic value implied by those forecasts. These tools can be applied in a number of contexts including equity valuation, project selection, managerial evaluation, and corporate financial statement audits.
ACCT 58703: Advanced Taxation In-depth coverage of the tax treatment of corporations including advanced tax issues. Introduction to tax research including the organization and authority of tax law; accessing and using the tax law; and, applying tax law to taxpayer scenarios.

Select at least 9 hours from the following (at least 3 hours must include an ACCT course)

ACCT 54803: Financial Accounting Research and Theory This course explores our contemporary understanding of financial reporting incentives and outcomes. The course draws upon existing research on the determinants and consequences of financial reporting and examines the roles of various constituents including investors, lenders, financial analysts, managers, regulators, and auditors within the financial reporting environment.
ACCT 60103: Graduate Colloquium Presentation and critique of research papers and proposals.
ECON 57403: Introduction to Econometrics Introduction to the application of statistical methods to problems in economics. Graduate degree credit will not be given for both ECON 4743 and ECON 5743.
ECON 57803: Applied Microeconometrics This course covers the principles of causal inference. Methods include panel data models, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity designs, difference-in-differences, and matching. Emphasis on developing a solid understanding of the underlying econometric principles of the methods taught as well as on their empirical application.
STAT 50133: Stastical Methods Describing Data, Basic Probability, Random variables, Uniform, Normal and Binomial Distributions, Sampling Distributions, Confidence Intervals, Hypothesis testing, Correlation and Regression, Contingency table, Comparing two populations, ANOVA.
STAT 53133: Regression Analysis Review of matrix algebra, parameter estimation in linear models, regression diagnostics, collinearity, variable selection, nonparametric regression, Bayesian regression.

Select up to 9 hours of general graduate business electives as approved by the program director.

AACSB Accreditation

The Master of Accountancy (MAcc) program is accredited by the AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. AACSB accreditation assures quality and promotes excellence and continuous improvement in undergraduate and graduate education for business administration and accounting.

AACSB

The Northwest Arkansas Community

Join a supportive and engaging community located in the vibrant business network of Northwest Arkansas, with over 300 Fortune 500 companies with a presence in the region.

Business leaders and Walton alumni are closely connected to the college, not just during your studies, but throughout your career.

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