The Department of Accountancy programs continue to be ranked among the elite in the nation by both Public Accounting Report (where both our graduate and undergraduate programs are ranked in the top 20) and U.S. News and World Report (where we are ranked 23rd in the 2008 Annual America's Best Colleges edition - our highest ranking ever).
Accountants have titles like "Managing Partner," "Chief Executive Officer," and "Controller." Accountants are outgoing, conservative, creative, and analytical. They come from every ethnic and cultural background. Accountants work for large and small firms, national and international firms. Some work in public accounting; others in industry. Accountants also work in government agencies like the FBI, in nonprofit organizations like the Red Cross, and in their own companies.
Accounting is often said to be the "language of business." Instant communication facilities, rapid commercial transactions, and expanding international trade have enlarged the importance of the role the accountant plays in the global business environment. Accountants perform vital functions by offering an increasingly wide array of business and accounting services to clients. Many accountants begin their careers performing these services, and later move on to leadership positions in their organizations, to become entrepreneurs.
Persons planning a career in accounting should have an aptitude to analyze, compare, and interpret facts and figures. They must be able to clearly communicate the results of their work to clients and managers. Accountants must be good at working with people, as well as with business systems and computers. Because of the services accountants perform, they must have a high standard of integrity and ethics.
Accounting is the degree that opens doors in organizations around the world. A degree in accountancy gives you the foundation to become a partner in an accounting firm, to pursue a variety of careers in finance or corporate management, to work in government, or to run your own business. Your options are limited solely by your imagination and your desire.
At the time of entry into the profession, accounting graduates cannot be expected to have the knowledge and skills of experienced professional accountants. Accounting programs, thus, prepare students to become professional accountants, not be professional accountants at the time they enter the profession. Attaining and maintaining the status of a professional accountant requires continual learning. Therefore, our programs lays the basis upon which life-long learning can be built.