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Accounting

The Department of Accounting offers a broad education that prepares undergraduate and graduate students for careers in public accounting, private industry, government, nonprofit organizations, and academia.

Professional Program in Accounting

The Professional Program in Accounting draws on curricula that provide a strong base of traditional technical subject matter and the skills needed for solving complex business problems. This framework of study enables students to continue professional growth over the entire span of their careers. The program emphasizes communication skills and provides the academic background required for leadership positions in business, government, and public accounting. It also qualifies students to take the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Management Accountant (CMA) examinations.

The Professional Program in Accounting leads to a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting, which requires 120 s.h. of credit (see "Undergraduate Program" below), and the Master of Accounting, which requires 30 s.h. of graduate credit (see "Graduate Programs" later in this section). Students are granted the B.B.A. upon successful completion of the junior and senior years of the Professional Program in Accounting, and the M.Ac. after successful completion of 30 s.h. beyond the B.B.A.

Undergraduate Program

The Department of Accounting offers the Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting for students admitted to the Professional Program in Accounting. Undergraduate accounting majors are subject to the probation and dismissal rules described in the Tippie College of Business section of the Catalog and are governed by the Tippie College of Business Honor Code.

The B.B.A. is not sufficient preparation for CPA licensure in states that have passed a 150 hour law (all states except California, Colorado, New Hampshire, and Vermont).

Bachelor of Business Administration

The Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting requires a minimum of 120 s.h., including at least 25 s.h. of work for the major. The major in accounting is for undergraduate students admitted to the Professional Program in Accounting. Course work in the program provides concentrated coverage of professional accounting subjects and closely related topics in commercial law, business, and information systems.

To enter the Professional Program in Accounting, undergraduates must complete 60 s.h. of course work at The University of Iowa (or equivalent course work at another institution) and must be admitted to the Tippie College of Business. Students already admitted to the business college who wish to declare accounting as a major may be admitted to the professional program if they have a University of Iowa g.p.a. of at least 3.00, a cumulative g.p.a. of at least 3.00, and a B-minus average in 06A:001 Introduction to Financial Accounting and 06A:002 Managerial Accounting. Students who wish to declare accounting as a major but do not satisfy the automatic admission requirements may still apply to the professional program; applications are reviewed case-by-case.

Students must complete the following prerequisite courses before admission to the Professional Program in Accounting. 

Professional Program in Accounting requirements for the junior and senior years are as follows. For B.B.A. common requirements, see Bachelor of Business Administration in the Tippie College of Business section of the Catalog.

JUNIOR YEAR

Fall Semester 

The business core requirements (06F:100 Introductory Financial Management, 06J:047 Introduction to Law, 06J:048 Introduction to Management, 06K:100 Operations Management, 06M:100 Introduction to Marketing Strategy) may be taken in any sequence, preferably before the senior year; 06J:047 Introduction to Law is a prerequisite to 06A:148 Business Law, so it should be taken before spring semester of the senior year. Students must complete 06B:100 Foundations of Business during their first year after admission to the Tippie College of Business.

Spring Semester 

Due to the overlap in course content, accounting majors may not receive degree credit for 06A:120 Financial Accounting and Reporting and 06A:113 Taxes and Business Decisions.

SUMMER: GMAT AND ADMISSION TO THE M.AC.

Students who intend to continue in the Professional Program in Accounting after receiving the B.B.A. should take the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) during the summer before their senior year, as preparation for applying to the Master of Accountancy program.

Students who plan to earn 3-6 s.h. of internship credit for 06A:190 Experiential Learning during the spring semester of their senior year must be admitted to the M.Ac. program by December 1 of their senior year. Those who do not participate in 06A:190 Experiential Learning may apply to the M.Ac. program after December 1 of their senior year. See "Application Deadlines" below.

SENIOR YEAR WITH INTERNSHIP

Seniors who wish to include a formal accounting internship in their program take 06A:190 Experiential Learning during spring semester of their senior year. To earn 3-6 s.h. of credit for the internship, they must be admitted to the M.Ac. Program (the fifth year of the Professional Program in Accounting) by December 1 of their senior year and must have departmental approval before the beginning of their internship semester.

Students who participate in the internship normally must attend a summer session before or after their senior year in order to complete the B.B.A. requirements.

Students who choose the internship option should pursue the following study plan.

Fall Semester 

One of these: 

Spring Semester 

Summer Session 

SENIOR YEAR WITHOUT INTERNSHIP

Students who do not wish to include the internship program ( 06A:190 Experiential Learning) during their senior year pursue the following study plan.

Students must choose one of the following accounting electives during their senior year. 

Fall Semester 

Spring Semester 

OPTIONAL ACCOUNTING ELECTIVE

All undergraduates, whether admitted to the M.Ac. program or not, may take 06A:199 Academic Internship for 1 s.h. in fall, spring, or summer. Department consent is required.

Graduate Programs

The Department of Accounting offers the Master of Accountancy (M.Ac.) and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in business administration. Ph.D. requirements are described under "Graduate Programs" in the Tippie College of Business section of the Catalog and on the Department of Accounting web site.

The department also offers a joint M.Ac./J.D. with the College of Law; see "Joint M.Ac./J.D." later in this Catalog section.

Graduate students in accounting are subject to the probation and dismissal rules of the Graduate College and are governed by the Tippie College of Business Honor Code.

Master of Accountancy

The Master of Accountancy requires 30 s.h. beyond the B.B.A. The program permits students to specialize in accounting areas according to their interests and objectives. It builds on the technical skills acquired in the undergraduate program, broadens students' perspectives of the role of accounting in organizations and decision making, and further develops written and oral communication skills.

Students from a variety of academic backgrounds enter the M.Ac. program. Those who enter with an undergraduate degree in accounting can expect to complete the degree in 12 months. Those who enter with a nonaccounting undergraduate degree typically require four semesters to complete the M.Ac. Study plans are adjusted to reflect each student's particular academic background; see "Course Work for Students Without Undergraduate Degrees in Accounting" later in this section.

The M.Ac. is a nonthesis program. Course work focuses on the conceptual and economic foundations of accounting with applications to current and emerging problems of professional practice. M.Ac. students also have the opportunity to acquire expertise in one of four specialization areas: financial accounting/auditing, management information systems, taxation, and managerial accounting.

The required 30 s.h. must include at least 12 s.h. earned in graduate-level accounting courses and at least 21 s.h. earned in 200-level courses.

Courses leading to specialization areas and those required for the core program are as follows. Because of the cross-disciplinary nature of the subject matter included in the specialization areas, courses in a number of other departments are included.

SPECIALIZATION IN FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING/AUDITING

Accounting Courses

Total of 12 s.h.

All of these: 

One of these: 

Finance Courses

Total of 6 s.h. 

 Management Information Systems Courses

Total of 3-6 s.h. 

 General Electives

Total of 6-9 s.h.

 SPECIALIZATION IN MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Due to the timing of course offerings, students who do not begin the M.Ac. program in the summer session should take a computer programming course while they are undergraduates. This decreases the number of required management information systems courses and increases electives by 3 s.h. in the M.Ac. program.

Accounting Courses

Total of 12 s.h. 

Two of these: 

 One of these (not already taken): 

Management Information Systems Courses

Total of 9-12 s.h. 

General Electives

Total of 6-9 s.h.

 SPECIALIZATION IN TAXATION

Accounting Courses

Total of 9 s.h.

Two of these: 

One of these (not already taken): 

Taxation Courses

Total of 12 s.h. 

General Electives

Total of 9 s.h.

College of Law courses (prefix 091) follow a different calendar than do business courses. Some courses may require consent of instructor.

 SPECIALIZATION IN MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING

Accounting Courses

Total of 12 s.h. 

Two of these: 

One of these (not already taken): 

Management Information Systems Courses

Total of 3-6 s.h. 

Nonaccounting Business Electives 

General Electives

Total of 6-9 s.h. 

CORE PROGRAM COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Students who do not wish to pursue a specialization area must complete 30 s.h. beyond the B.B.A. At least 15 s.h. must be earned in graduate-level accounting courses and at least 21 s.h. must be earned in 200-level courses. The following courses are required.

Accounting Courses

Total of 15 s.h. 

One of these (not already taken): 

Management Information Systems Courses

Total of 3-6 s.h. 

General Electives

Total of 9-12 s.h. 

Course Work for Students Without Undergraduate Degrees in Accounting

Courses taken by students who enter the program with a nonaccounting bachelor's degree are determined by each student's background and interest area. In addition to meeting the core program requirements for the M.Ac., students typically take a combination of undergraduate and M.B.A. courses to remove academic deficiencies in quantitative methods, business, and accounting. Students with a bachelor's degree in another area of business typically are required to take 45-51 s.h. in order to complete the M.Ac. program. Those with degrees outside of business and with no accounting courses typically are required to take 57-60 s.h.

CPA Examination and the Iowa Accountancy Act

The Iowa Accountancy Act that became effective in January 2001 requires individuals who wish to take the CPA examination to have a bachelor's degree, 24 s.h. of business course work, and 24 s.h. of accounting course work beyond 06A:001 Introduction to Financial Accounting.

Admission

Admission to the M.Ac. program is competitive. The admissions committee reviews applications individually, considering quantitative aspects (grade-point average and GMAT scores) and qualitative aspects of each applicant's background and professional experience (if applicable) to assess the applicant's potential for academic success and professional growth.

Applicants must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate College; see the Manual of Rules and Regulations of the Graduate College or the Graduate College section of the Catalog.

Application materials must include the following: the Application for Graduate Admission; official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate course work submitted by each institution the applicant has attended; official scores on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT); a supplemental application form with essay responses; a résumé and cover letter; and at least three letters of reference from former instructors or employers. (B.B.A. accounting students at The University of Iowa are not required to provide letters of reference.)

Applicants whose first language is not English must score at least 600 (paper-based), 250 (computer-based), or 100 (Internet-based) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

University of Iowa undergraduate accounting students are encouraged to take the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) the summer before their senior year. Those who participate in the formal accounting internship during their senior year (06A:190 Experiential Learning) must apply to the M.Ac. early enough to ensure admission by December 1 of their senior year. Students who do not participate in 06A:190 may apply to the M.Ac. after December 1 of their senior year. See "Application Deadlines" below.

For complete information about application procedures, contact the University's Office of Admissions or the Department of Accounting.

APPLICATION DEADLINES

The Department of Accounting admissions committee reviews completed M.Ac. application files (which must include official GMAT scores) on five dates: March 1, April 15, July 15, October 1, and December 1. Applications are reviewed on these dates regardless of whether the applicant plans to begin the M.Ac. program in the fall semester (August), spring semester (January), or summer session (June). Final Graduate College application deadlines are as follows.

Fall semester entry: July 15 (April 15 for international students)

Spring semester entry: December 1 (October 1 for international students)

Summer session entry: April 15 (March 1 for international students)

Students who wish to apply for a teaching assistantship must apply to the M.Ac. program no later than March 1.

Joint M.Ac./J.D.

The Department of Accounting and the College of Law offer the joint Master of Accountancy/Juris Doctor. The joint M.Ac./J.D. requires a minimum of 18 s.h. of graduate course work in accounting. Students in the program may count up to 12 s.h. of College of Law courses as electives for the M.Ac., and up to 12 s.h. of graduate accounting courses as electives for the J.D.; see Juris Doctor in the College of Law section of the Catalog.

Separate application to each degree program is required. Applicants must be admitted to each program before they may be admitted to the joint program.

Doctor of Philosophy

Students majoring in accounting may earn a Ph.D. in business administration. Ph.D. requirements are described under "Graduate Programs" in the Tippie College of Business section of the Catalog and on the Department of Accounting web site.

Applicants must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate College; see the Manual of Rules and Regulations of the Graduate College or the Graduate College section of the Catalog. Application materials must include the applicant's score on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).

Faculty

The department's faculty members stay current in their discipline by producing and disseminating accounting-related knowledge. They keep abreast of the latest developments in the field of education and the profession by participating in educational conferences and seminars and publishing in leading academic journals.