Bachelor’s Degrees
in Accounting, Audit, and Tax

Accounting is one of the most demanded fields in business. An individuals that can keep track of profits, revenues, liabilities, and expenses, as well as audit and calculate taxes are worth a great deal to a company. This is why accounting, audit, and tax graduates can expect high starting salaries.

A bachelor’s degree in accounting, audit, or tax will take you through everything from introductory accounting principles to learning how to organize and analyze income statements. You will explore how to manage assets, liabilities, and debt, as well as short-term and long-term expenses that a business must balance in order to operate successfully. You also will learn how to depreciate capital (such as buildings and vehicles). For tax majors, you will study national and international tax laws and how to accurately calculate taxable income.

Common Accounting, Audit, and Tax Classes

Here are a few of the most common classes you might take. Remember, you’ll also take general business classes that are useful for accounting, audit, and tax majors too.

Managerial Accounting
Learning to financially plan for the future, how to provide reports for decision-making, etc.

Financial Accounting
Learning to prepare statements based on historical accounting data for people outside the company.

Accounting Information Systems
Learning about the software systems that accountants use on the job.

Tax
Depending on where you study and if you major in tax, you’ll learn about tax regulations for that country and international practices.

Ethics
Learning about ethics in relation to accounting and general business practices.

Auditing
Learning to find errors and unethical practices in a company’s accounting statements and/or financial activities by taking apart budgets and financial statements.

What is a CPA?

In the United States, a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) is a certified title for professionals in accounting. In most US states, you are only allowed to audit or provide public accounting services if you have a CPA in that particular state. CPA’s are able to do corporate financial statements, all kinds of accounting, and tax preparation.

Some bachelor’s degree programs will provide you with the option of earning a CPA. Or, you can take a side-by-side program to become a CPA. A state exam is required to become certified and you will have to take classes in the future to keep your certification current with accounting regulations, etc.

AACSB’s Accounting Accreditation

In addition to earning AACSB Accreditation for its business degree programs, a school can receive an extra, specialized accreditation for its accounting programs. This is an accreditation that specifically evaluates a school’s accounting degree programs. If you are serious about becoming an accountant, attending a school that has AACSB Accounting Accreditation will ensure that you will learn from the best.