The University of South Carolina Aiken Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Accounting online program prepares graduates to meet the constant demand for accountants in the corporate, nonprofit and government sectors.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects steady 6% job growth for accountants and auditors between 2021 and 2031. According to BLS, “Globalization, a growing economy, and a complex tax and regulatory environment are expected to continue leading strong demand” in this field. And, importantly, accountants are needed in every industry. High-growth industries often have particularly high need for specialized accountants. For instance, BLS projects 34% growth for accountants in solar electric power generation and 40% growth for accountants in the wind electric power generation industry.
As the economy and emerging industries grow, more companies will go public, which will drive even greater need for graduates of specialized accounting programs. These specialized programs — including USC Aiken’s online accounting MBA — help students develop the skills highlighted by BLS as the most important qualities accountants need: analytical, communication, organizational, math and detail management skills.
Why Specialize in Accounting?
How does an MBA in accounting differ from a traditional MBA program? Like a general MBA, an MBA in accounting is a professional graduate degree program that centers on business as the principal area of study. These programs are generally geared for professionals with prior post-baccalaureate work experience, in contrast to Master of Accounting programs, which typically have varying levels of prerequisite accounting knowledge and experience as admissions criteria.
In the USC Aiken specialized program, a high-level business curriculum includes core courses in management, accounting, marketing, financial analysis and economics that prepare students for diverse decision-making roles. These skills are necessary to perform competently in management and executive-level positions, and are sought by corporations, smaller companies and startups. The broad MBA curriculum is just as vital for entrepreneurial-minded candidates who need well-rounded business skills.
What You Can Expect to Learn
In addition to the general MBA courses, students in this program take specialized courses in advanced accounting topics and information systems, analytics and strategy.
USC Aiken’s Advanced Accounting Topics course covers advanced topics in accounting theory and practice as they relate to the preparation of financial statements, the use of accounting information for managerial decisions and the legal environment affecting the accounting profession. This course builds on the decision-making skills students learn in the core accounting course to further prepare them for management-level accounting, where they will need to think more strategically and collaboratively. The course also prepares graduates to communicate effectively with executives and other company leaders, in order to present and argue for their decisions.
USC Aiken’s program also includes a course titled Information Systems and Analytics for Accounting and Finance. This course explores the critical role of information technology in contemporary business organizations. It emphasizes the use of accounting information systems to develop and sustain competitive advantage.
Like other functions of business, accounting is increasingly reliant on information systems. Accounting information systems are structures used to collect, store, manage, process, retrieve, analyze and report financial data. These data conduits enable the seamless flow or transfer of knowledge and data-driven insight between accountants, business executives, CFOs, analysts, auditors, regulators and tax agencies.
This course prepares graduates to work with the components of these systems, which include people, procedures, and internal controls, as well as information technology infrastructure. Importantly, studies in this area ready accountants for modern, evolving roles in the field. As technology automates many mundane, routine and repetitive accounting and auditing processes, high-level accountants are advancing into more strategic and advisory roles, using their contextual knowledge of accounting data insight to improve decision-making and add value to their organization.
For working professionals in the field of accounting, a specialized MBA offers the management-level training most jobs don’t provide, and a clearer path to positions of leadership. The world’s most successful corporations rely upon graduates of these programs for the decision-making capabilities they began developing in their MBA training.
Learn more about USC Aiken’s online MBA in Accounting program.
