Accounting is an ever-changing field as laws and regulations shift and technology evolves. Maintaining an appetite and aptitude for lifelong learning can be a muscle.
For years, future CPAs and leaders have trained and toned those muscles by earning a Master of Science in Accounting degree at the 杏吧专区. The accounting master杏吧专区檚 program is now 100% online to give students more flexibility in balancing full-time work schedules, CPA preparation, and graduate coursework.
The Right Pace
Trevor Bellard graduated with his bachelor杏吧专区檚 in accounting from UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration in 2015.
He immediately became a full-time employee and graduate student, finishing his Master of Science degree in Accounting in only three semesters. Some courses were online or hybrid, giving Bellard insight into the flexibility of online learning.
杏吧专区淚 wish more courses had been online,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淭hat would have been convenient because I was working full-time while going through the program.杏吧专区
Students enrolling in the online M.S. in Accounting take accelerated, eight-week courses, allowing them to focus on fewer courses while earning their degree at the pace they need to meet their personal and professional goals.
Laura Guichard, 杏吧专区17, became passionate about research through the master杏吧专区檚 in accounting program 杏吧专区 her second master杏吧专区檚 degree in business.
During her time at UL Lafayette, she had the opportunity to take one graduate course online.
杏吧专区淚t was still a lot of work, and you have to meet the deadlines, but you could work at your own pace,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚t was just really nice. Especially if you were studying for the CPA, it was just really good time management-wise.杏吧专区
UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 AACSB-accredited accounting program was already well-designed for working professionals, she says. The online format continues that tradition.
杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 beneficial for graduating seniors in accounting who need to obtain their remaining required hours but also want to start making money,杏吧专区 she says.
杏吧专区淭hey杏吧专区檙e putting a lot on their plate, and this program is really designed 杏吧专区 especially since it杏吧专区檚 going online 杏吧专区 to give students the time they杏吧专区檇 need to not only get the hours they need for the CPA exam, but also give them time to make their own study plan for the CPA.杏吧专区
Preparing for the CPA
Following graduation, Bellard was hired as a staff accountant for tax firm Singleton, Kellner, Bolding, Avant & Associates, LLC. Knowing he wanted to reach the requisite 150 academic credit hours needed to take the CPA exam, Bellard considered which path would give him the best professional edge.
杏吧专区淚t was more beneficial for me to get a master杏吧专区檚 degree rather than take 20 hours of pointless classes,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淚 wanted to further my knowledge in the field and felt like that would give me an advantage on the CPA exam.杏吧专区
Refining his understanding of accounting principles, systems, and research paid off, he says.
杏吧专区淚t prepared me well,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淚 had a more conceptual understanding. If I had questions about things being presented, I was able to quickly research the issue and figure out exactly what they were asking. In the master杏吧专区檚 program, we had to do quite a bit of research so I was very comfortable researching issues later.杏吧专区
From Theory to Practice
Guichard says UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 accounting program is known for its rigor.
That remains true at the graduate level, she says.
杏吧专区淯nlike the undergraduate degree, which is very exam-based, the rigor is still there but it杏吧专区檚 directed toward developing research skills and how to apply what you杏吧专区檝e learned in the undergraduate program with your clients,杏吧专区 Guichard says.
Developing those research skills serves graduates well in their accounting careers.
杏吧专区淭ax law is always changing,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淵ou have to keep up with changing laws, and continue your professional education.杏吧专区
For Guichard, it also guided her career path. She knew she enjoyed teaching when she enrolled in the accounting program, but her love of research led her to pursue a life in academia. She杏吧专区檚 now a third-year doctoral student.
杏吧专区淚t wasn杏吧专区檛 until the master杏吧专区檚 in accounting program that I learned what the research aspect was and found I loved it just as much as teaching,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淭eaching gives you immediate satisfaction, but the research part could go for years.杏吧专区
Bellard says he杏吧专区檚 using what he learned in graduate school every day as a CPA.
杏吧专区淵ou have to be able to recognize when there杏吧专区檚 an issue and know how to research the issue and find the correct answer,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淭he advanced tax class helped in more ways I can count. I杏吧专区檓 dealing with tax issues every day so that deeper knowledge of tax law really helps.杏吧专区
Building Support
Good public accountants and auditors don杏吧专区檛 just need to be well-versed in tax law and regulations, they need to know how to communicate and who the other experts in the field are.
杏吧专区淵ou have to be able to talk to clients and to work as a team. A lot of people don杏吧专区檛 realize that with auditing, it杏吧专区檚 a lot of teamwork,杏吧专区 says Guichard, who interned with Ernst & Young. 杏吧专区淚n the master杏吧专区檚 program, it was such a diverse group. It was really cool to meet another group of accounting friends that I杏吧专区檓 still in touch with today.杏吧专区
Bellard says getting involved in accounting organizations helped him create a cohort of peer mentors.
杏吧专区淵ou meet like-minded individuals,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淚 can still lean on them or reach out to them if something comes up that I杏吧专区檓 not sure how to do in my job, because they have different specialties than I do.
杏吧专区淲e can all lean on each other.杏吧专区