Master of Professional Accounting (MPAcc)
Accounting permeates the fabric of modern society. It is the discipline that provides financial information that is necessary for management control, evaluation of business enterprises, governmental units, and not-for-profit institutions. Accounting provides the measures of economic activity for our society and for our individual lives. It is the language used to communicate financial information and measure business risk.
An effective accountant must understand tax laws, securities regulations and accounting and auditing standards. Additionally, an effective accountant must understand how to motivate employees, design efficient systems to achieve shareholders' goals, prevent manipulation of such plans, and how to communicate those plans to the firm and to outsiders. Furthermore, an accounting professional must be able to explain confusing data to those with less familiarity with financial complexities and determine the level of risk in business processes.
Graduate professional education is not just training, skill development, or preparation to pass a licensing exam. It is far more than all of these combined. While focusing on the integration of technical expertise and ethical judgment, a graduate education in accounting must develop the student's analytical skills, which will be tested by difficult and often unanticipated economic arrangements. This education must also develop the written and oral skills proficient communication demands.
For more information, please see the Academic Catalog.
The MPAcc program provides students with a high quality education which prepares them for careers in corporate accounting, public accounting and for entrance into doctoral programs in business and accounting. MPAcc students not only gain technical accounting proficiency, they also prepare to enter the fast-paced business world. Ethics and technology as well as oral and written skills are incorporated into every aspect of the curriculum.
Completion of the MPAcc program satisfies the requirements needed to take the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination in the state of Georgia. Combined with an undergraduate degree, the MPAcc also satisfies the educational requirements of 150 total semester hours and 30 hours of upper-level courses needed to obtain certification. Courses completed during the program give students the confidence and technical knowledge needed to successfully complete the outside work experience requirements.
Program Location
Carrollton Campus
Method of Delivery
Required courses are 100% face-to-face.
Three of the four electives are offered online.
Accreditation
The University of West Georgia is accredited by The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
The Richards College of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business - International (AACSB-I). The accounting program is one of only five institutions in the state of Georgia to have accounting accreditation from the AACSB.
Credit and transfer
Total semester hours required: 30
Maximum Hours Transferable into program: 6
A transfer credit evaluation will be completed by the UWG Transfer Team (transfer@westga.edu). Course application to a program is subject to review by the department.
Graduate students may be able to reduce their cost through prior learning, previous degrees earned at UWG, or transfer credits. We have created a tool to help students estimate their tuition costs.
Graduate Assistantships
Each year, a limited number of Graduate Assistantships are available for newly entering and current MBA/MPAcc students. The recipients of these assistantships work 20 hours a week in a department of the Richards College of Business. Graduate Assistants receive $3,000 for each fall or spring semester of service, and $2,000 for each summer session of service. Partial terms are prorated. Additionally, recipients receive a waiver of in-state and out-of-state tuition.
To apply for a Graduate Assistantship, please visit jobs.westga.edu and click on 'Student/Grad Assistant Employment'.
Below are deadlines for Graduate Assistantship applications:- Summer semester - March 15
- Fall semester - June 15
- Spring semester - October 15
If you have questions, please contact Dr. Hope Udombon by phone at (678) 839-5355 or by email at hudombon@westga.edu.
This program may be earned entirely face-to-face. However, depending on the courses chosen, a student may choose to take some partially or fully online courses.
Save money
UWG is often ranked as one of the most affordable accredited universities of its kind, regardless of the method of delivery chosen.
Details
- Total tuition costs and fees may vary, depending on the instructional method of the courses in which the student chooses to enroll.
- The more courses a student takes in a single term, the more they will typically save in fees and total cost.
- Face-to-face or partially online courses are charged at the general tuition rate and all mandatory campus fees, based on the student's residency (non-residents are charged at a higher rate).
- Fully or entirely online course tuition rates and fees my vary depending on the program. Students enrolled in exclusively online courses do not pay non-Resident rates.
- Together this means that GA residents pay about the same if they take all face-to-face or partially online courses as they do if they take only fully online courses exclusively; while non-residents save money by taking fully online courses.
- One word of caution: If a student takes a combination of face-to-face and online courses in a single term, he/she will pay both all mandatory campus fees and the higher eTuition rate.
- For cost information, as well as payment deadlines, see the Student Accounts and Billing Services website
There are a variety of financial assistance options for students, including scholarships and work study programs. Visit the Office of Financial Aid's website for more information.
Coursework
The study of accounting requires a serious commitment, and students are expected to be dedicated to becoming accounting professionals. Discipline and integrity are essential ingredients for success.
More information about this is available here in the online academic catalog.
Major Required
In-depth analysis of and research on current topics in accounting; theoretical analysis of recent accounting pronouncements and the study of current literature in accounting. Ethical issues in financial reporting are emphasized.
Designed for the student with past exposure to cost accounting concepts/applications. The course emphasizes research of the current topics affecting the information providing function of the managerial accounting process. Ethical issues are emphasized.
A study of the identification and modeling of buisness processes and analysis and design of accounting information systems for business processes.
An examination of the federal tax treatment of fiduciaries, gifts, estates, corporations and partnerships. Emphasis is placed upon the formation of the entity, elements of gross income, treatment of property dispositions, allowable deductions and credits, determination of entity and investor basis, and liquidation of the entity. Tax research is emphasized.
Advanced problems and research in the application of auditing standards; internal control evaluations; applications of statistics; audits of EDP systems; auditors' ethical, legal and reporting obligations.
Principles and practices of fund accounting are examined with emphasis upon their adaptation to nonprofit institutions. The course includes measuring efficiency and economic use of resources to satisfy legal reporting as well as societal requirements. Auditing the reports and operations of nonprofit organizations is emphasized.
Topics may include foreign exchange market; exchange rates; balance of payments analysis and adjustment process; financing institutions, monetary relations, and monetary reform; gold, the dollar, devaluation, and SDRs. Same as FINC 6521.
A study of the major financial tools and techniques through problem solving and case studies.
Major Selects
Choose 2 of the 4
This course is an integrative approach to the study of strategic business communication found in corporations, organizations, and small businesses today. There is a strong focus on developing credibility and the art of persuasion which allows students to approach the development of effective business messages from a strategic and reflective standpoint. Students analyze case studies that allow for critical thinking and problem solving in business communication including team building, conflict resolution, public relations, marketing, management, and leadership. The development of business plans through team building and exhibiting leadership skills frame the content of this course providing an active and enriched learning experience.
Focuses on information technology and systems from a general management perspective. Discusses management of the systems development process, the organizational cycle of information, technology, planning, evaluation, selection, and strategic uses of information technology. Includes frequent discussions of industry case studies.
Bruce Bird, J.D.
Professor of Accounting
Yun Cheng, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Accounting
Ron Colley, Ph.D.
Professor of Accounting
Linxiao Liu, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Accounting
Michael Yu, Ph.D.
Professor of AccountingGuidelines for Admittance
All applicants must complete the online Graduate Application. There is a $40 application fee.
Applicants should review the Graduate Studies Website Graduate Studies Application Process for individual program specific requirements and tasks that must be completed prior to admission.
International applicants are subject to additional requirements and application deadlines. See Procedures for International Students.
Program Specific Admittance Guidelines
Applicants to the MPAcc program must hold a bachelor’s degree. Admission requires the submission of all undergraduate transcripts. The MPAcc program at the Richards College of Business relies on a competitive admission process. Meeting the requirements does not necessarily guarantee admission into the program.
Admission requirements may be met under any one of the following conditions:
- An undergraduate accounting degree from an AACSB-accredited institution with an overall GPA of 3.1 or higher (on a scale of 4.0); and an accounting GPA of 3.0 or higher (on a scale of 4.0) based on a minimum of 9 hours of upper-division (3000-4000 level) accounting courses; OR
- An undergraduate degree from a non-AACSB-accredited institution with an overall GPA of 3.2 or higher (on a scale of 4.0); and an accounting GPA of 3.5 or higher based on a minimum of 9 hours of upper-division (3000-4000 level) accounting courses; evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the MPAcc Graduate Admissions Committee.
Application Deadlines
Specific Graduate Admissions Deadlines are available via the Graduate School
* Application, app fee, and document deadline
See The Scoop for more specific deadlines.
Admission Process Checklist
Check your Graduate Studies Application Status.
Contact
Graduate Admissions
graduate@westga.edu
678-839-1394
Richards College Office of Graduate Student Services
Dr. Hope Udombon
Graduate Academic Advisor
Phone: 678-839-5355
Email: hudombon@westga.edu
Specific Graduate Admissions Deadlines are available via the Graduate School
LG1 Communicate at a professional level in oral presentations and in writing.
LO1.1 Students will be able to conduct research relevant to accounting issues and problems.
LO1.2 Students will be able to create effective written documents.
LO1.3 Students will be able to prepare and deliver effective oral accounting presentations.
LG2 Identify how globalization affects organizations and their environment.
LO2.1 Students will be able to identify the impact of international accounting standards on the accounting profession.
LG3 Recognize the importance of ethical decision making.
LO3.1 Students will be able to identify ethical theories and concepts and their importance.
LO3.2 Students will be able to evaluate situations from various ethical frameworks.
LG4 Understand the major forms of accounting and be able to apply these principles and practices in a professionally responsible manner to accounting and business processes and systems.
LO4.1 Students will be able to identify tax planning issues involving like-kind exchanges.
LO4.2 Students will be able to differentiate between for-profit, non-profit, and governmental accounting and auditing rules and regulations.
LO4.3 Students will have an understanding of strategic management accounting tools.
LO4.4 Students will be able to recognize fraudulent financial reporting.
LO4.5 Students will be able to develop entity relationship diagrams and understand modeling of business processes.
LO4.6 Students will be able to identify standard setting policies and procedures and develop implications for the accounting profession.