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 小蝌蚪APP. The accounting master小蝌蚪APP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小蝌蚪APP檚 in accounting from UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP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.
小蝌蚪APP淚 wish more courses had been online,小蝌蚪APP he says. 小蝌蚪APP淭hat would have been convenient because I was working full-time while going through the program.小蝌蚪APP
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, 小蝌蚪APP17, became passionate about research through the master小蝌蚪APP檚 in accounting program 小蝌蚪APP her second master小蝌蚪APP檚 degree in business.
During her time at UL Lafayette, she had the opportunity to take one graduate course online.
小蝌蚪APP淚t was still a lot of work, and you have to meet the deadlines, but you could work at your own pace,小蝌蚪APP she says. 小蝌蚪APP淚t was just really nice. Especially if you were studying for the CPA, it was just really good time management-wise.小蝌蚪APP
UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 AACSB-accredited accounting program was already well-designed for working professionals, she says. The online format continues that tradition.
小蝌蚪APP淚t小蝌蚪APP檚 beneficial for graduating seniors in accounting who need to obtain their remaining required hours but also want to start making money,小蝌蚪APP she says.
小蝌蚪APP淭hey小蝌蚪APP檙e putting a lot on their plate, and this program is really designed 小蝌蚪APP especially since it小蝌蚪APP檚 going online 小蝌蚪APP to give students the time they小蝌蚪APP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.小蝌蚪APP
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.
小蝌蚪APP淚t was more beneficial for me to get a master小蝌蚪APP檚 degree rather than take 20 hours of pointless classes,小蝌蚪APP he says. 小蝌蚪APP淚 wanted to further my knowledge in the field and felt like that would give me an advantage on the CPA exam.小蝌蚪APP
Refining his understanding of accounting principles, systems, and research paid off, he says.
小蝌蚪APP淚t prepared me well,小蝌蚪APP he says. 小蝌蚪APP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小蝌蚪APP檚 program, we had to do quite a bit of research so I was very comfortable researching issues later.小蝌蚪APP
From Theory to Practice
Guichard says UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 accounting program is known for its rigor.
That remains true at the graduate level, she says.
小蝌蚪APP淯nlike the undergraduate degree, which is very exam-based, the rigor is still there but it小蝌蚪APP檚 directed toward developing research skills and how to apply what you小蝌蚪APP檝e learned in the undergraduate program with your clients,小蝌蚪APP Guichard says.
Developing those research skills serves graduates well in their accounting careers.
小蝌蚪APP淭ax law is always changing,小蝌蚪APP she says. 小蝌蚪APP淵ou have to keep up with changing laws, and continue your professional education.小蝌蚪APP
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小蝌蚪APP檚 now a third-year doctoral student.
小蝌蚪APP淚t wasn小蝌蚪APP檛 until the master小蝌蚪APP檚 in accounting program that I learned what the research aspect was and found I loved it just as much as teaching,小蝌蚪APP she says. 小蝌蚪APP淭eaching gives you immediate satisfaction, but the research part could go for years.小蝌蚪APP
Bellard says he小蝌蚪APP檚 using what he learned in graduate school every day as a CPA.
小蝌蚪APP淵ou have to be able to recognize when there小蝌蚪APP檚 an issue and know how to research the issue and find the correct answer,小蝌蚪APP he says. 小蝌蚪APP淭he advanced tax class helped in more ways I can count. I小蝌蚪APP檓 dealing with tax issues every day so that deeper knowledge of tax law really helps.小蝌蚪APP
Building Support
Good public accountants and auditors don小蝌蚪APP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.
小蝌蚪APP淵ou have to be able to talk to clients and to work as a team. A lot of people don小蝌蚪APP檛 realize that with auditing, it小蝌蚪APP檚 a lot of teamwork,小蝌蚪APP says Guichard, who interned with Ernst & Young. 小蝌蚪APP淚n the master小蝌蚪APP檚 program, it was such a diverse group. It was really cool to meet another group of accounting friends that I小蝌蚪APP檓 still in touch with today.小蝌蚪APP
Bellard says getting involved in accounting organizations helped him create a cohort of peer mentors.
小蝌蚪APP淵ou meet like-minded individuals,小蝌蚪APP he says. 小蝌蚪APP淚 can still lean on them or reach out to them if something comes up that I小蝌蚪APP檓 not sure how to do in my job, because they have different specialties than I do.
小蝌蚪APP淲e can all lean on each other.小蝌蚪APP