Accountancy
Academic Program
The Master of Accountancy is a 30- 37.5 credit program designed to prepare students for high-level
professional careers in the public and private sectors. It is a flexible program tailored to individual
interests and career objectives in accounting, financial management and tax practice. Students with a
Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting* from a US accredited university can complete the
requirements in one year.
No business background is necessary prior to joining the program. In addition to required courses in
introductory accounting, finance, economics and statistics, students can choose from a wide range of
specialized accounting subjects as well as other business topics which help them prepare for their
professional certification. The program may be pursued on a full-time or part-time basis. Day and
evening classes are available and prior work experience is not required.
Program Planning
The Master of Accountancy program consists of two programs. Program A can be completed in 34.5-37.5
credit hours. Program B can be completed in 30 hours and is designed for students who hold a
Bachelor of Science in Accounting* degree from a US university or have passed the CPA tests (A
Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in accounting does not apply.)
Both programs are flexible and allow students to choose from a wide range of accounting courses as
well as a range of electives from the School of Business graduate course listings.
Program A Curriculum (37.5 Credits)
- 18 hours of required courses,
- 9 hours of accounting, business law, or taxation elective courses, and
- 10.5 hours of business electives (which may be in accounting, business law or taxation.
Program B Curriculum (30 Credits)*
- 12 hours of required courses,
- 9 hours of accounting, business law, or taxation graduate elective courses, and
- 9 hours of graduate business electives (which may be in accounting, business law or taxation)
* Bachelor in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting does not qualify for
program B.
Recommended Sequence of Courses
You should be aware that not all accountancy courses are offered every semester, which may
affect the order in which you complete courses. Students should also check the prerequisites for
certain courses (see The George Washington University Bulletin or the website at
www.gwu.edu/~accy).
Curriculum
Required Courses for students who do not hold a U.S. Bachelor of Accounting degree
(18 credit hours)
| Course | No. Credit Hrs |
Prerequisites |
| Accy 201* and Accy 202* Financial Accounting |
1.5+1.5 |
None |
| Accy 203* and Accy 204* Managerial Accounting |
1.5+1.5 |
Accy 201, Accy 202 |
| Accy 225* Financial Reporting Standards |
3 |
Accy 201, Accy 202 |
| Accy 275* Contemporary Auditing |
3 |
Accy 225 |
| MBAD 233 and MBAD 234* Financial Management |
1.5+1.5 |
Accy 201, 202 and MBAD 242, 222 |
| MBAD 242** or MBAD 243** Microeconomics or Macroeconomies |
1.5 |
None |
| MBAD 222 ** Data Analysis |
1.5 |
none |
| Accounting Electives (9 credit hours) Choice of five 15 credit-hour graduate courses taken within the Department of Accountancy. |
9 |
|
| Business Electives (10.5 credit hours) Choice of four elective courses taken within the School of Business. May include courses taken from the Department of Accountancy. |
10.5 |
|
| Total | 37.5 |
* Waivable with substitution course in the same field of study.
** Waivable without substitution.
Required courses for students who hold a U.S. Bachelor of Accounting degree
| Course | No. Credit Hrs |
Prerequisites |
| Accy 225 * Financial Reporting Standard |
3 |
Accy 201, 202 |
| Accy 275 * Contemporary Auditing |
3 |
Accy 225 |
| MBAD 233** or MBAD 234** Financial Management |
1.5 + 1.5 |
Accy 201, 202, Mbad 242, 222 |
| MBAD 242** or MBAD 243** Microeconomics or Macroeconomies |
1.5 |
none |
| MBAD 222 ** Data Analysis |
1.5 |
none |
| Advanced Accounting Electives (9 credit hours) | 9 |
|
| Business Electives (9 credit hours) | 9 |
|
| Total | 30 |
* Waivable with substitution
** If all three of these courses are waived, they must be replaced by two 3-credit-hour courses, at least one of which must be in finance.
Elective courses offered by the Department of Accountancy
The following are some of the courses offered by the Department throughout the academic year.
Students may choose courses from one or more of the categories listed.
Also indicated are the semesters during which courses are offered. Note that a course may be
cancelled prior to the start of a semester due to low enrollments.
| Public Accounting | Semester | Prerequisites |
| Accy 211 Business Law: Contracts, Torts and Property | F, Su | None |
| Accy 212 Business Law: Enterprise Organization | S, Su | None |
| Accy 225 Financial Reporting Standards | F, S | Accy 201 and 202 |
| Accy 261 Federal Income Taxation | F, S, Su | None |
| Accy 275 Contemporary Auditing Theory | F, S | Accy 225 |
| Controllership | ||
| Accy 221 Cost and Budget Analysis | F, S | Accy 203 |
| Accy 282 Accounting Information Systems & EDP | F | Accy 201 and 202 |
| Accy 266 Financial and Tax Accounting for Corporate Combinations | S | Accy 201, 202 and 261 |
| Accy 291 Financial Statement Analysis | F, S, Su | MBAD 211,212 and MBAD 233,234 |
| Taxation | ||
| Accy 261 Federal Income Taxation | F, S, Su | None |
| Accy 262 Federal Income Taxation of Partnerships | S | Accy 261 |
| Accy 263 Federal Income Taxation of Corporations | F, S | Accy 261 |
| Accy 290 Corporate Governance | F | None |
| Other Courses | ||
| Accy 251 International Accounting | S | None |
| Accy 276 Government Accounting and Auditing | S, Su | MBAD 211 ,212 |
| Accy 290 Fraud Examination | S | None |
| Accy 290 Controls, Alignment & the Organization | F | Accy 203 |
| Accy 290 International Financial Reporting | F | Accy 225 |
| Accy 290 International Reporting & Control | F, S | None |
| Accy 290 Tax Accounting | F | |
| Accy 290 Tax Research | F |
* Semester during which courses are offered:
F = fall
S = spring
Su = summer