The curriculum
The Masters of Science in Accounting (MSA) provides students with advanced accounting skills and education necessary to compete on a professional level in the field of Accountancy. The program is designed to meet the minimum course requirements to sit for the CPA exam (150 hours) and to prepare students for rewarding careers in financial accounting, auditing, taxation and other accounting related positions.
This degree is designed and intended for undergraduate students with a major in accounting or equivalent hours in accounting (with the approval of the program director). Students without an undergraduate degree in accounting may complete the MSA with the completion of appropriate business and accounting prerequisites. Additionally, students enrolled in the MBA program may have some of their coursework apply towards the completion of the MSA (upon approval of the program director).
The MSA program consists of 30 semester hours of graduate level coursework. The core requirements consist of 21 semester hours and are required of all students completing the MSA. Nine additional semester hours can be selected as electives with at least six semester hours required as accounting electives. The remaining course to be completed is an elective that can be selected from the MBA program or any other LSB graduate program with the approval of the MSA and MBA program directors. Each student is expected to complete a professional internship as part of the program requirements. Students will be strongly encouraged to complete a non-credit CPA exam prep course immediately after graduation. Non-accounting majors are required to complete prerequisite courses some of which may be offered during the Elon Summer Term prior to entering the program. They include:
Prerequisite Courses
| ACC 201 | PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTING | 4 sh |
| ACC 331 | INTERMEDIATE ACCOUNTING I | 4 sh |
| ACC 332 | INTERMEDIATE ACCOUNTING II | 4 sh |
| ACC 341 | FUNDAMENTALS OF INCOME TAXATION | 4 sh |
| ACC 351 | ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS | 4 sh |
| BUS 221 | LEGAL AND ETHICAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS | 4 sh |
| ACC 456 | AUDITING | 4 sh |
| Total Credit Hours: | 28 |
Graduate Courses
Core Courses
| ACC 542 | Taxation of Business Entities | 3 sh |
| ACC 545 | Business Ethics for Accounting Professionals | 3 sh |
| ACC 560 | Accounting Analytics | 3 sh |
| ACC 600 | Tax Research | 3 sh |
| ACC 640 | Advanced Financial Accounting | 3 sh |
| ACC 656 | Advanced Auditing and Assurance Services | 3 sh |
| ACC 660 | International Accounting | 3 sh |
| Total Credit Hours: | 21 |
Choose three elective courses
Students can choose elective courses from the group below with at least six semester hours required as accounting electives. The remaining course to be completed is an elective that can be selected from the MBA program or any other LSB graduate program with the approval of the MSA and MBA program directors.
| ACC 650 | Taxation of Corporations and Shareholders | 3 sh |
| ACC 651 | Taxation of Flow-through Entities | 3 sh |
| ACC 654 | Issues in Tax Policy and Special Topics | 3 sh |
| ACC 657 | Principles of Fraud Investigation | 3 sh |
| ACC 604 | Information Technology and Risk Control | 3 sh |
| ACC 601 | Internal Auditing | 3 sh |
| Total Credit Hours: | 9 |
Total Credit Hours: 30