Dec 11, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate Bulletin 
    
2020-2021 Undergraduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED PUBLICATION]

Accounting and Professional Services Major, B.A./B.S.


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Romain College of Business  

61 hours (31 hours of Business Core + 30 hours of accounting and business coursework)

Career opportunities in accounting include public accounting (certified public accounting firm), industry (industrial and commercial enterprise), not-for-profit organizations, government, and after graduate education, college or university faculties.

Accountants in public practice provide audit, tax, or management advisory services. Success in passing the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination is necessary for advancement in public accounting. A variety of services are performed by public accountants including:

  • auditing (attesting to the fairness of financial statements),
  • computer consulting,
  • tax return preparation,
  • tax and financial planning, and
  • carrying out financial investigations in cases of fraud, insolvency, or disputes.

Accountants in industry make up a substantial portion of the profession. They record, analyze, and report information used by managers to make financial and managerial decisions for businesses such as manufacturers, retailers, service companies, and financial institutions. Governmental and not-for-profit accounting, a growth accounting field, includes positions with federal, state, and local governments, hospitals, universities, and charitable organizations. Government agencies employ a large number of accountants, some of whom audit records of private businesses, not-for-profit organizations, or individuals subject to government regulation. Accountants in industry may also be certified as Certified Management Accountants (CMA).

Accounting graduates often continue their formal education by pursuing advanced technical or professional degrees such as a master’s degree in accountancy, a master’s degree in business administration, or a law degree. A doctorate in accounting usually leads to a university faculty career.

CPA candidates must earn a minimum of 150 credit hours of college/university course work to sit for the CPA exam in Indiana. Graduates with an undergraduate degree in a non-accounting field may satisfy the CPA exam requirement through the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Professional Accountancy (PBCPA) program at USI.

Those who wish to engage in public accounting practice in Indiana as certified public accountants should familiarize themselves with the rules and regulations issued by the Indiana Board of Accountancy (www.in.gov/pla/accountancy.htm). Students planning to practice outside of Indiana should consult the CPA board of the appropriate state.

Romain College of Business Degree Requirements


All baccalaureate degree candidates must successfully complete a minimum total of 120 credit hours. Students seeking a bachelor’s degree with a major from the Romain College of Business must complete a minimum of 56 hours of coursework offered outside the Romain College of Business; however, ECON 208 , ECON 209 , and ECON 241  are applied toward meeting this 56 hour requirement. Students majoring in accounting and professional services, business administration, computer information systems, finance, management, and marketing complete 55 to 62 hours of coursework divided into three segments:

  • 31 credit hours in core requirements taken by all business majors,
  • major field requirements totaling 24 to 33 hours, and
  • electives, as needed to total 120 hours

Business majors wishing to complete a second major must complete a minimum of 12 unique hours in the second major. A business major wishing to complete a second baccalaureate degree must complete a minimum of 30 semester hours in addition to those required for their first degree and must fulfill all requirements for the second degree. Transfer students must complete at least one-half of business coursework required for graduation in residence.

  • Business students must achieve a grade point average of at least 2.2 in the first 60 hours of coursework to enroll in upper division business courses.
  • Business students must achieve a grade point average of at least 2.0 in all required business coursework to be eligible for graduation.

Core 39 Requirements for Business Majors

All students must complete Core 39. Romain College of Business majors must complete specific courses in speech, mathematics, social behavior, global communities, and diversity to provide the necessary background in analytical tools and behavioral sciences upon which the advanced study of management is based. The Core 39 courses required for business majors are:

Required Core 39 Courses:

 

Hrs

Foundations Composition/Speech CMST 101 - Introduction to Public Speaking   3
Foundations Mathematics MATH 215 - Survey of Calculus  or MATH 230 - Calculus I   3-4
Ways of Knowing-Social Inquiry ECON 208 - Principles of Microeconomics   3
Ways of Knowing-Moral & Ethical Reasoning PHIL 201 - Introduction to Ethics   3
BS Skills-Social Science PSY 201 - Introduction to Psychology   3
Embedded Experience-Global ECON 241 - Global Economic Issues   3
Embedded Experience-Diversity PHIL 201 - Introduction to Ethics   3
Embedded Experience-Writing BCOM 231 - Business Communication  AND 3
  MNGT 452 - Policy Formulation and Implementation   3

The following courses should be completed during the freshman and sophomore years:

 
(these courses are also found in Core 39) MATH 111 - College Algebra   4
  ECON 209 - Principles of Macroeconomics   3

Business Major Requirements (21-33 hours)


Specific upper-division course requirements for the various business majors are listed under each program. These upper-level major course requirements should be completed during the junior and senior years.

Accounting and Professional Services Major


Directed Electives (Choose one 6 hour track)


General Program (no emphasis)


In addition to the 24 required hours in accounting, students in the general program (no emphasis) will be required to choose six hours from the following options.

Investment Accounting Emphasis


Students in choosing this option will complete the 24 hours of required accounting courses, and will complete two directed electives.

Taxation Emphasis


Students in choosing this option will complete the 24 hours of required accounting courses, and will complete two directed electives.

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