Accounting

What's different about Mount Mary's Accounting Major?

An accounting major develops your skills for preparing, communicating and interpreting an organization’s financial data. Our program emphasizes ethical decision-making and leadership.

Growing Career Field

Accounting is a growing career field. You could pursue jobs at almost any organization. Examples of jobs you could perform include staff accountant, auditor, internal auditor, tax accountant, cost accountant, financial analyst or controller.

Accounting Major lands competitive internship and full-time job

Esperanza Perez '16, a first-gen citizen and college student, is someone who knows the meaning of grit. Pursuing a competitive internship led to a full-time position across the country right after graduation. And she proudly points to Mount Mary as being integral in shaping who she is today.

Learn more about Mount Mary's Accounting Degree

Mount Mary University offers a Bachelor of Science in Accounting degree, as well as a post-baccalaureate certificate in accounting. The curriculum focuses on preparing you to prepare, communicate, analyze and verify an organization’s financial data, and emphasizes leadership and ethics.

Curriculum Prepares You for CPA Exam

The accounting program offers courses that prepare you to take the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam. Mount Mary’s accounting degree program requires a minimum of 66 credits in accounting courses to graduate. You also must complete the university’s core curriculum requirements, for a total of 120 credits in core and accounting courses. Students can graduate in 4 years assuming a math placement level of MAT 105 Introductory Algebra or higher.

As an accounting major, you’ll also be assigned a faculty member to advise you and help you navigate the program’s curriculum.

The Accounting Examining Board in Wisconsin requires 150 college credit hours in order to take the CPA exam. You can earn these additional credits through various undergraduate courses offered at Mount Mary or by pursuing your Master of Business Administration degree at Mount Mary.

Complete degree requirements and a listing of courses are available in the Undergraduate Bulletin.

Faculty

The School of Arts and Sciences at Mount Mary is rich with talented faculty who care about their students.

For students who already hold a bachelor’s degree, Mount Mary University welcomes you to return to school to earn a post-baccalaureate certificate in accounting. The accounting certificate is great for individuals looking for a career change. Learn more about the certificate here.

Accounting is a growing career field and most accounting jobs require at least a bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related field. Demand for accountants is especially high in tax preparation, health care, nonprofit and temporary accounting staffing industries.

Accounting graduates with a bachelor’s degree receive average starting salaries of:

  • Median pay for staff accountant with one to three years of experience is $64,250 (2020, Robert Half)
  • Median pay for financial analyst with one to three years of experience is $69,250 (2020, Robert Half)

Endless Possibilities for Employers & Accounting Positions

Mount Mary’s accounting program prepares you for a career in one of three broad areas of accounting: auditing, financial/tax and management.

Example jobs include:

  • auditor
  • chief financial officer
  • controller
  • cost accountant
  • financial analyst
  • internal auditor
  • staff accountant
  • tax accountant

Mount Mary accounting graduates are employed at companies including:

  • Dental Associates
  • Derco Aerospace
  • Grant Thorton
  • Johnson Controls
  • Medical College of Wisconsin
  • Northwestern Mutual
  • Plant Road Publishing
  • Rockwell Automation
  • Potawatomi Gaming Commission

An accounting major also can be a springboard to careers in a variety of other business fields such as finance or actuarial science.

Real-world Accounting Experience During College

Mount Mary requires accounting majors to seek out and participate in an internship experience to gain real-world work experience while in college.

Mount Mary University encourages accounting majors to join the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants (WICPA) as student members.

Mount Mary also encourages you to become involved in a variety of campus activities that allow you to utilize your expertise learned in class. For example, as an accounting major you may want to volunteer for the role of business manager for the Arches student newspaper or participate in student government.

Accounting majors are eligible for the Claudia Deede Scholarship.  Learn more about scholarships at Mount Mary.

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