Learn to See Beyond the Numbers
Learn to See Beyond the Numbers

Earn an Online Master of Accounting From a Leading University

Accounting is far more than crunching numbers. Successful leaders in this multifaceted, rapidly growing 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 in a high-demand position with William & Mary’s Online Master of Accounting (MAcc) program. Our expert faculty and specialized curriculum develop your abilities to identify and illuminate nuances in data and make leadership decisions. Whether your ambitions lie in public or corporate accounting, you can be prepared to sit for the CPA exam and advance your career in as few as 16 months.

More importantly, we teach you to think: to go beyond the test and become an expert accountant and leader in business. With our flexible, 100% online format, you can balance your professional responsibilities while earning a prestigious degree that employers respect nationwide.

Program Details

*Students without prior accounting coursework may need to complete up to 8 credits of prerequisite courses.

Why Choose William & Mary’s Online Master’s in Accounting?

William & Mary’s Online MAcc program delivers a prestigious “Public Ivy” education that sets graduates apart in today’s competitive job market. Our program offers more than just CPA preparation—it provides a comprehensive pathway to accounting leadership.

  • Prestigious “Public Ivy” Degree: Earn a nationally respected degree that commands employer recognition
  • CPA Exam Readiness: Be prepared for CPA exam topics with a curriculum designed to prepare you for certification
  • Career-Focused Curriculum: Develop expertise in accounting analytics, financial strategy, and executive decision-making
  • Industry-Connected Faculty: Learn from former Big Four partners and corporate finance leaders who bring real-world expertise to the classroom
  • Flexible Entry for Career Changers: Fast-track prerequisite courses make it seamless to transition into accounting from other fields
  • Direct Access to Top Employers: Connect with Big Four and other major accounting firm recruiters through our extensive professional network
  • Accelerated Timeline: Complete your Online Master of Accounting in as few as 16 months while continuing your career

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: 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 owners’ 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 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.

Expedite Your Preparation for the CPA Exam

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. 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 may 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.

Experience Residency Weekend

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

Residency Weekend group photo of of nine William & Mary students
Man and women working on a laptop

As a student earning your Master of Accounting online, 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.

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.

Learn From Accounting Leaders and Industry Experts

Before they were world-class university educators, the top-ranked faculty of the William & Mary MAcc online program were working professionals who held 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 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. Her research has been published in “Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, Current Issues in Auditing, and Accounting and Finance.” She is also the co-author of “Called to Account: Financial Frauds that Shaped the Accounting Profession.”

Learn More About Dr. Diaz

More Than a Degree.
This Is Your Launchpad.

A William & Mary education is not just a degree but a unique connection to a tight-knit community of students, alumni, bold educators and driven, principled, connected leaders. Build your brand with a university known for breaking barriers, championing integrity and channeling academic grit since its inception.

The Raymond A. Mason School of Business imparts essential business knowledge and builds the dynamic mindset necessary to lead in today’s challenging and rapidly changing business environment. As an online graduate business student, you will:

✓ Graduate with the perspective to envision and enact positive change
✓ Access mentorship and experiential learning opportunities
✓ Receive personalized career support
✓ Build a lasting network to bolster your career for years to come

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