Home Master of Accounting

Earn an Online Master of Accounting From a Leading University¹

Accounting is far more than a black-and-white view of numbers. Successful leaders in this multifaceted field build on their accounting knowledge to analyze, interpret and communicate what the numbers mean—and they’re an integral part of executive business decision-making.

Prepare for a career as a business authority. The expert faculty and specialized curriculum of William & Mary’s Online Master of Accounting (MAcc) program develop your abilities to identify and illuminate nuances in data and make leadership decisions. Whether your ambitions lie in public or corporate accounting, you could be prepared to sit for the CPA exam and advance your career in as few as 16 months. More importantly, though, we teach you to think: to go beyond the test and become the best possible accountant and leader in business.

Video Transcript

Jamie Diaz:
The accounting industry is undergoing a period of profound change at the moment, and there has never been a greater need for accountants who can think critically, communicate effectively and lead with integrity.

Our program is designed to help students build those skills and meet the needs in the industry today.

Kimberly Smith:
We have designed the online Master of Accounting program here at William & Mary for flexibility. We have arranged things so that you can work on it in bits and pieces, so that you can listen to certain videos without being in front of your computer, so that you can download spreadsheets and have them as reference. We have really, really focused on the flexibility.

Jamie Diaz:
Our program is designed to meet students where they are, whether someone has 10, 15 years experience working in accounting, or if someone is new to accounting and looking for a career change. Our curriculum is very flexible, so we can meet students where they are and put them on a fast track to receiving their degree and launching their career.

Our faculty place a high priority on being accessible to all of our students, and that goes for our online students as well as our residential students. I think our faculty is equally accessible to both students who are here on campus and online students.

Alexander Woods:
The students who go on and get a master’s degree, that extra year of schooling really seems to provide a benefit in terms of once they get in the job, it really sort of helps them propel and accelerate their careers a lot faster.

Kimberly Smith:
During my time here at William & Mary, I have been so impressed with our alumni network. When I went to the Securities Exchange Commission as an academic fellow, I immediately came upon three William & Mary alumni who took me under their wings and really introduced me to the place and helped me the entire time I was there.

Jamie Diaz:
Throughout the online program, students interact a lot with each other in the online classroom, so students from day one are networking with each other. Our online students come to us with a lot of career experience, and they are expanding their network right off the bat by interacting with each other in the online classroom.

Kimberly Smith:
When you complete the online Master of Accounting program here at William & Mary, you will be prepared for success. You will understand all of the important economic arrangements that are pervading the business world today. You will understand the accounting that is critically important to transparently communicating those arrangements to shareholders and to other participants. You will be able to do your own research into financial reporting standards. You will be able to apply analytics to the different business decisions at hand. You will be beyond prepared.

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Man writing at table with laptop

You’re More Than a Test Score

Visit our application requirements page to see how our commitment to holistic evaluation has inspired us to offer our Online MAcc with no GRE or GMAT requirement.

The MAcc Online Program by the Numbers

Complete the degree in as few as 16 months.

32

Credits*

8

Courses

7.5

Weeks per Course

#5

Best Business Professors¹

*Students might need to complete up to eight credits of prerequisite courses.

Get to Know the Online MAcc Experience

Use the three tabs below to explore the powerful connections, impressive career potential, faculty expertise and innovative curriculum that are hallmarks of the Online Master of Accounting program.

Live the Life You Want

You may have years of previous accounting experience or none at all. Your background may be in military service. You may have a history in corporate work or in the not-for-profit world.

With the Online Master of Accounting, your future is secure.

Safeguard your finances and ensure your career advancement. With a competitive tuition and just 16 months to degree completion, the Online MAcc degree program helps you spend less and move up sooner. You’re protecting your resources and positioning yourself to advance while accounting students elsewhere are still taking classes.

Your connections at William & Mary will empower your entire career. Our alumni are in high demand with globally respected companies. The nation’s four biggest accounting firms—Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers—seek out our accounting graduates. In choosing the Online MAcc program, you’re giving yourself the best chance to go on to the best future.

Consider these attractive post-MAcc salaries:

$134,815

Senior Tax Manager²

$125,572

International Tax Manager³

$110,635

Accounting Director⁴

$112,610

Senior Accounting Manager⁵

$108,803

Corporate Controller⁶

$104,402

Internal Auditing Manager⁷

You’re more than a number-cruncher. Become an accounting expert.

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The specialized expertise you’ll acquire at William & Mary will put you at the cutting edge of modern business. You’ll graduate with new fluency not only in accounting but in business leadership—prepared to make important executive decisions as you thrive in a career that’s in demand everywhere.

Our graduates are:

Empowered with holistic, leading-edge business and accounting expertise
Adept at measuring, presenting, interpreting and communicating data to drive decision-making
Proficient in analytics and driving organizational performance
Equipped with knowledge and class credits in preparation for the CPA exam
Ready to move into public accounting or advance into corporate accounting leadership

Explore Your Career Potential

It’s True: The W&M Faculty is Amazing

Before they were world-class university educators, the top-ranked faculty of the Online MAcc program were working professionals who held a variety of leadership roles in audit and tax functions at Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Widely published in leading academic and professional journals, these innovative experts lead William & Mary’s residential MAcc program. Their commitment to student success is evident through their accessibility, constant support and impeccably high standards.

Kim Smith

Dr. Kimberly Smith was an Academic Fellow at the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission and she conducts research for the International Accounting Standards Board. Her work has been published in The Accounting Review, The Journal of Business, the Journal of Management Accounting Research, Issues in Accounting Education, and Accounting, Organizations and Society. Her current research into the effects of off-balance sheet arrangements stems from her work as a principal co-author of the SEC's 2005 Study on Arrangements with Off-Balance Implications, Special Purpose Entities and Transparency of Filings by Issuers.

Learn More About Dr. Smith

Jamie Diaz

Dr. Jamie Diaz joined our faculty after a successful tenure as a senior auditor for Deloitte, where she served clients across diverse industries including retail, construction, non-profit and business services. The recipient of William & Mary’s Page Award for graduate teaching, she leads the undergraduate and graduate courses in auditing and accounting analytics. She is actively involved in the American Accounting Association and serves on the Accounting Advisory Board of the University of Richmond.

Learn More About Dr. Diaz

The Best of Academia and the Professional World

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Gain the advantage of learning from prominent industry professionals—colleagues of your deeply connected faculty, and William & Mary Accounting alumni on successful career paths who have risen to leadership positions in globally recognized firms. You will find that the online format is not a hindrance to networking. Their involvement in your coursework enriches the Online MAcc experience and adds powerful connections to the program and your network.

Having completed the Online MAcc degree program, you might join our graduates at:

Ernst & Young
PricewaterhouseCoopers
KPMG
Deloitte
BDO
Grant Thornton
Keiter
Johnson Lambert
RSM
Clifton Larson Allen

Online Master’s Accounting Courses Overview

Prerequisites—3.5 weeks each

Fast Track: BUAD 509A: Financial Reporting (2 Credits)

Financial statements provide essential information which investors, creditors, and other external stakeholders use to assess organizational performance and financial health. In this course, students gain expertise in the measurement, communication, and evaluation of financial information about core business operations through a comprehensive survey of the financial statements and reporting process.

Fast Track: BUAD 509B: Strategic Cost Management (2 Credits)

Accountants assist management in the formulation and implementation of operational and strategic decision-making. This course provides students with essential tools for understanding the information environment internal to organizations so they can help improve organizational performance. The focus will be on cost behavior, cost allocation, capacity and resource management, and relevant information for operational and strategic planning and decision making.

Fast Track: BUAD 509C: Individual Income Taxes – Rules and Planning (2 Credits)

Many people find the tax system to be overwhelming, but there is a method to its madness. This course explores the U.S. individual income tax framework, including the motivations behind many of its complexities. Students also learn how taxes relate to many of our major life decisions and discuss basic tax planning considerations.

Fast Track: BUAD 509D: Audit and Assurance (2 Credits)

Auditors play a key role in capital markets, but many other stakeholders also rely on the assurance that auditors provide – vendors, customers, employees, and government agencies all benefit from third party assurance to make informed decisions. This course provides the foundation for a deep and rigorous understanding of the modern audit environment. Students focus on risk assessment, internal controls, evaluation of evidence, and the use of analytical procedures.

Core Courses—7.5 weeks each

Wheel 1: Complete both courses, in either order, before you go on to Wheel 2.

BUAD 5709: Financial Reporting Standards and Analysis (4 Credits)

Accounting professionals provide the models and data that drive investment and financing decisions of all organizations: large and small, public and private, profit and non-profit. Accountants must ensure decision makers have relevant information that is complete, neutral, and free from error. In this course, students gain an appreciation for the valuable insights provided by financial reporting and develop an in-depth understanding of the conceptual framework and generally accepted accounting principles necessary to prepare and interpret financial statements.

BUAD 5719: Accounting Analytics and Information Systems (4 Credits)

How is accounting data produced and how can effective data analysis inform business decisions? This course introduces data analytics skills and techniques relevant to various fields of accounting, with a focus on the role of accounting information systems and controls pertaining to data quality. Students engage in descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive analysis of large datasets, using a variety of software tools.

Wheel 2: Complete these in any order after you complete Wheel 1.

BUAD 5729: Advanced Auditing and Audit Research (4 Credits)

This course provides students a deeper understanding of the audit process through the application of fundamental concepts to a variety of business situations. This course emphasizes research of audit standards, case analysis of corporate audit failures and practical experience in group and individual audit exercises.

BUAD 5739: Financial Statement Analysis and Valuation (4 Credits)

In recent years, accounting standards have moved towards reporting fair values on the balance sheet. This course first introduces the accounting requirements for the measurement and recognition of fair value, and then covers the valuation techniques commonly used to estimate fair values, such as a discounted cash flow model or a market-based approach. Students also learn how to carefully analyze financial statements, with an emphasis on risk management activities and transactions impacting owner’s equity.

BUAD 5749: Driving Organizational Performance (4 Credits)

Accountants and analysts assist management in the formulation and implementation of operational and strategic decision making. Focusing on contemporary and conceptually advanced tools, this course improves students’ ability to prepare, analyze, interpret, measure, and communicate financial and non-financial information so they can make appropriate recommendations to support management decision-making that improves organizational performance.

BUAD 5759: Advanced Federal Taxation (4 Credits)

This course provides tax and accounting professionals the ability to recognize tax factors that influence business decisions, and the ability to integrate them into the business decision-making process.

BUAD 5417: Advanced Corporate Finance (4 Credits)

The objective of this course is to study the major decision-making areas of managerial finance. The course reviews the theory and empirical evidence related to investment and financing policies of the firm and to develop decision-making ability in these areas.

Building on previous courses, this course incorporates richer institutional details and deepens understanding of how firms interact with the financial markets. Topics to be included are: financing investments with capital market imperfections, corporate control, governance, and risk management.

BUAD 5779: Accounting for Complex Business Transactions (4 Credits)

This course covers advanced financial reporting topics, focusing particularly on the concept of the business entity – both conceptually and from an accounting standpoint. Cases in this course require students to become proficient with the Accounting Standards Codification in order to develop the professional judgment necessary to accurately account for complex business transactions. As many accounting issues do not have black and white answers, this course helps students craft well-reasoned, justifiable interpretations of accounting standards. The course also highlights some of the topics and central issues currently being addressed by accounting standard setters.

Gain More Insight

Thumbnail of Master of Accounting Program Details Sheet

To see what’s ahead in the Online Master of Accounting program, download our program details guide: your one-stop document for admissions requirements, courses and more.

Download the Program Brochure

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A Master of Accounting degree is an important step on the path toward becoming a certified public accountant (CPA), and the CPA examination is the most well-known credential of competency in the accounting profession. In order to sit for the CPA exam, most states* require students to complete 150 hours of coursework—the equivalent of five years of school—in addition to specific accounting and business credits.

William & Mary’s specialized Online Master of Accounting program helps you progress toward fulfilling CPA coursework requirements. If you need additional coursework to complete your 150 hours, you’ll be eligible to take any of our online courses, across programs, based on availability and instructor approval.

*Eligibility determined by individual state licensure requirements. To find the requirements of the state in which you hope to gain licensure, start at NASBA.org

Federal Disclosure Statement
William & Mary makes every effort to ensure state licensure or certification is current. State requirements, however, may change. If you are planning to pursue professional licensure or certification in any state or territory, it is strongly recommended that you contact the appropriate licensing agency in that state or territory to seek information and guidance regarding licensure or certification requirements before beginning an academic program. Please see W&M's Disclosure notice for more information. We also encourage all prospective students to review the information available on the NASBA website thoroughly. Students should work with an advisor to ensure they are completing appropriate coursework. They should also be aware of additional, non-educational requirements such as professional work experience.

Finding a Common Ground: The William & Mary Residency

Students in the Online Master of Accounting program arrive with a diversity of personal and professional backgrounds. That’s why our accountancy program includes optional Residency Weekends: opportunities to begin building a shared experience with your cohort, both in terms of topical knowledge and your interpersonal relationships with one another.

We invite you to make the trip to our beautiful Williamsburg campus to meet your online classmates and faculty in person for the first time. In addition to bonding and networking over the course of three days, you will complete a course introducing you to unique aspects of the William & Mary experience and helping develop the interpersonal skills that are essential for any successful business leader. The residency curriculum is structured around three themes:

Collaboration: Content and exercises designed to capitalize on face-to-face opportunities
Culture: Experiences to more tightly bind students to the culture of William & Mary and the Raymond A. Mason School of Business
Connections: Social interactions designed to create relationships between students and faculty that endure beyond the end of the program

Explore the Online Master of Accounting

Examine the Curriculum

View Application Requirements

Discover the Online Classroom

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Experience Residency Weekend

As a student earning your master's degree in accounting, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in non-credit-bearing Residency Weekend experiences on trending business and accounting topics outside the program. These professional development activities allow you to build a broad range of experiences and hone specific skills. Topics will be specific to your Residence Weekend, but may include:

Current events in accounting
State and local government financial reporting
Accounting for pensions and other post-employment benefits
Business law
Forensic accounting
Sustainability accounting

Residency Weekends are offered twice per academic year. Even if you don’t participate in this optional component, you’ll have access to recordings of the on-campus sessions.

Get to Know the Raymond A. Mason School of Business

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About the Raymond A. Mason School of Business

MBA-Graduation

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February 14th

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April 4th

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5

Next Start

May 5th

Summer 2025 Term

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Sources

Retrieved on July 18, 2022, from princetonreview.com/business-school-rankings?rankings=best-professors

Retrieved on July 18, 2022, from payscale.com/research/US/Job=Senior_Tax_Manager/Salary
Retrieved on July 18, 2022, from payscale.com/research/US/Job=International_Tax_Manager/Salary
Retrieved on July 18, 2022, from payscale.com/research/US/Job=Accounting_Director/Salary
Retrieved on July 18, 2022, from payscale.com/research/US/Job=Senior_Accounting_Manager/Salary
Retrieved on July 18, 2022, from payscale.com/research/US/Job=Corporate_Controller/Salary
Retrieved on July 18, 2022, from payscale.com/research/US/Job=Internal_Auditing_Manager/Salary