Accounting (ACCT)

The Department of Accounting offers a program for accounting majors that will prepare students for careers in professional accounting, industry and government. The Department also offers courses in financial and managerial accounting and information systems for all Commerce students.

CPA Accreditation

The University offers all of the prerequisite courses for the American Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation. Commerce graduates with a major in accounting may choose certain accounting and free electives to complete all prerequisite requirements before graduation for entry into the CPA Professional Education Program.   Details of these courses are available from the academic advisor, Chairperson of the Department or the CPA Atlantic website.

MBA (CPA Stream)

The MBA (CPA Stream) program allows students to complete an  MBA while receiving advanced standing in the CPA Professional Education Program.  Students who complete the MBA (CPA Stream) program will be eligible to write the CPA professional common final examination on completion.  Details can be found in the Graduate Academic Calendar.

The Accounting Major

Upon completion of 45 credit hours, Commerce students with a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 may elect to declare a major in Accounting. (In exceptional circumstances, students may also be admitted to the major by permission of the Chairperson.)

Note: Students are advised that possession of the minimum qualifications does not guarantee admission to a particular academic program. Limits to the number of students who can be in a particular program at any one time exist and depend very much on the number of faculty members available in a particular academic unit.

Course Planning: Students with an interest in the Accounting major are encouraged to seek advising early from an Academic Advisor, Department advisor, or Chairperson of the Department. Interested students may choose to take ACCT 2241 in the second semester of their first year if prerequisites are met for their intended upper level electives.To assist students, the Year 3 and Year 4 course requirements for an Accounting major and the core BComm degree program requirements are listed below. Course descriptions follow.

To complete a major in Accounting, students must attain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.2 in the 3rd and 4th year ACCT courses (as indicated below by *).

Year 3
*ACCT 3323 Management Information Systems
*ACCT 3335 Intermediate Managerial Accounting
*ACCT 3350 Financial Accounting Foundations – see Note (i) below
*ACCT 3351 Intermediate Financial Accounting I
FINA 2360 Business Finance I
FINA 3361 Business Finance II
MGMT 3480 Ethical Responsibilities of Organizations
Nine (9) credit hours in non-Commerce electives

Year 4
*ACCT 3352 Intermediate Financial Accounting II – see Note (i) below
*ACCT 4470 Accounting Seminar
*Nine (9) credit hours in Accounting electives - see Notes (ii), (iii), and (iv) below
MGMT 4489 Strategic Management
Three (3) credit hours in non-Commerce electives
Nine (9) credit hours in free electives - see Notes (iii) and (iv) below

Notes:
(i) It is recommended that students who are considering pursuing a professional accounting designation take ACCT 3350 and FINA 2360 in Year 2 and take ACCT 3351 and ACCT 3352 in Year 3. In Year 2, students would defer 3 credit hours in ECON electives and 3 credit hours in non-Commerce electives until Year 3.

(ii) CISY 2320, CISY 3326, or any 4000 level course in Accounting not used to fulfill other requirements may be used to satisfy this requirement.

(iii) Students cannot receive credit for any of ACCT 3332, 3333, 3334, 3341, 3342, or 3343 towards accounting electives or free electives if they major in Accounting.

(iv) Students are advised to consult with the Departmental advisor when choosing electives if they plan to pursue a professional accounting designation.

Students with a grade below C in ACCT 2241, ACCT 2242, ACCT 3350, ACCT 3351 or ACCT 3352 are advised against pursuing an Accounting major.