Mission Statement

The mission of the JMU Accounting program is to cultivate an environment of educational excellence. The program does so by providing a learning environment in which students are encouraged to develop both technical and interpersonal skills necessary for successful professional accounting careers; encouraging and supporting meaningful intellectual contributions by our faculty and participating actively in the academic and professional communities.

Goals

The accounting faculty has identified strategic and tactical goals in three major areas: learning objectives for students, intellectual contributions for faculty and service to our profession and the community.

Learning Environment Objectives

We engage in the scholarship of teaching to prepare students for professional accounting careers in public accounting, industry or the public sector. We provide a learning environment which encourages a commitment to lifelong learning and develops a diverse set of skills in students, including technical competence, information technology proficiency, critical thinking, teamwork and communication.

Intellectual Contributions Objectives

We engage in the scholarships of discovery, application of knowledge and instructional development to advance knowledge in the field of accounting, to improve business practice, to encourage and support innovative teaching methods and curricula and to foster the intellectual and professional growth of our faculty.

Service Objectives

We serve our school, college, university, accounting profession and business and academic communities through active participation and leadership in academic, professional and business organizations.

Career Opportunities

The programs of study offered by the Accounting Program provide an educational experience intended to prepare students for a variety of careers in the accounting, financial, auditing, consulting and information systems fields. Some of the job titles held by graduates of our program include the following:

Accountant
Assistant Controller
Assistant Director - Internal Audit
Auditor
Audit Manager
Audit Partner
Audit Senior
Business Analyst
Business Consultant
Chief Accountant
Computer Network Manager
Computer Systems Consultant
Comptroller
Consultant
Controller
Controller Trainee
Cost Accountant
Cost Analyst
Customer Needs Analyst
Database Administrator
Division Controller
EDP Auditor
Fraud Examiner
Information Systems Coordinator
Internal Auditor
Internal Audit Manager Trainee
Investigator - Electronic-Based Fraud
Records Control Specialist
Special Agent - Computer Crime Unit
System Specification Writer
Staff Consultant
System Security Manager
Tax Accountant
Tax Adviser
Tax Manager
Tax Partner
Technical Services Manager
White Collar Crime Investigator

Our graduates find employment with all of the "Big Four" international public accounting firms, dozens of local and regional public accounting firms and major international companies in the hotel, insurance, publishing, electronics, retailing, manufacturing, distribution, banking and computer industries. Many of our graduates work for business consulting firms and software developers. Recently, our graduates have been at the forefront of companies entering the arena of electronic commerce. The field of accounting has one of the highest demands for new graduates of any area in today's market, and accounting graduates enjoy some of the highest starting salaries in the College of Business.

Co-curricular Activities and Organizations

Beta Alpha Psi is the honor fraternity for accounting majors.
Institute of Management Accountants is open to all accounting students.
Association of Information Technology Professionals is attractive to students in the technology/consulting track.

Programs of Study

Two program are available to accounting majors. The first is the four-year major in accounting, leading to the Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) degree. The second is the five-year Professional Program in Accounting, which leads to the award of the B.B.A and the Master of Science in Accounting (M.S.A.) degree at the end of five years. Students should meet with their adviser during their junior year to discuss these options.
Students who choose to complete the four-year undergraduate program will have the requisite accounting, business and general education to pursue a variety of career opportunities in accounting and business. The four-year program provides a public administration concentration for students interested in careers in government or not-for-for agencies.
Students are advised that 150-hours, or five years, of postsecondary education are required to sit for the Certified Public Accountant’s examination in most states. The five-year Professional Program is therefore recommended for those electing a career in public accounting. The Professional Program allows the student to concentrate in the areas of assurance or systems; it also provides a well-rounded background in accounting and other related business disciplines.
The fifth year of the Professional Program consists of the required course work for the M.S.A. degree. A student must be admitted to the M.S.A. program in order to enroll in graduate courses. Admission to the M.S.A. program is competitive. M.S.A. program admission requirements are included in the graduate catalog. Student may apply following their junior year and early application for admission is encouraged.

Special Admission Requirements

To register for ACTG 343, Corporate Financial Reporting I, a student must have a 2.5 grade point average; have completed 56 credit hours and have completed with “B-” or better both COB 241. Financial Accounting and COB 242. Managerial Accounting.
Students are required to earn a “C-” or better in all upper level prerequisite accounting courses before continuing to the next course in the sequence. Students receiving a “D+” or lower in any upper level accounting course must repeat the course and earn a “C-” or better in order to be awarded a B.B.A. degree with a major in accounting.

Degree and Major Requirements

The Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting requires a minimum of 120 credit hours of undergraduate work. Fifty percent of this work, or 60 credit hours, must be taken outside of the College of Business.

Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting

Degree Requirements

	Credit Hours
B.B.A. core courses ¹	44-45
Accounting major requirements	24
Free elective ²	3
General Education courses ³	41
Non-business electives	7-8

	120

1 Up to seven hours of core requirements in economics and calculus may also be taken for General Education credit. Students who take the General Education packages and courses recommended by the College of Business will have only 38 credit hours of additional B.B.A. core requirements.
2 Any course offered by the university.
3 The General Education program contains a set of requirements each student must fulfill. The number of credit hours necessary to fulfill these requirements may vary.

Major Requirements

Core Courses	Credit Hours
ACTG 301. Financial Accounting and Statement Analysis	3
ACTG 313. Accounting Information Systems	3
ACTG 343. Corporate Financial Reporting I	3
ACTG 344. Corporate Financial Reporting II	3
ACTG 377. Federal Income Tax Accounting	3
Choose one of the following:	3
ACTG 410. Auditing
ACTG 420. Operational Auditing
ACTG 475. Accounting Decision Making and Control	3
Choose one of the following:	3
BLAW 495. Business Law I
ACTG 450. Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting and Reporting

	24

Non-Business Electives

In counting the 60 credit hours of nonbusiness courses, B.B.A. students may include all hours taken in General Education (usually 41-44), up to a total of nine hours in economics (GECON courses must be counted as economics), and three hours of COB 191, Business Statistics. The remaining hours, to bring the total to 60, must be taken from departments outside the College of Business. Students should carefully select these nonbusiness electives to help them gain additional knowledge and expertise for their careers and personal lives. A list of approved electives is available from the College of Business Academic Services Center.
Students are responsible for their own progress towards graduation. Students must work closely with their advisers and the College of Business Academic Services Center to ensure scheduling of courses consistent with their personal degree completion target, and then study diligently to successfully complete the scheduled course work on time.

Recommended Schedule for Majors

First Two Years

Students planning to major in accounting must complete the 29-30 hour lower-division B.B.A. curriculum prior to enrolling in upper-division core courses normally taken in the first semester of the junior year. It is expected that the lower-division core curriculum will be completed during the first two years of study along with all, or most, of the university General Education curriculum. Failing to complete all lower-division core requirements on time will delay enrollment in upper-division core and major courses until at least the second semester of the junior year.

Third Year

First Semester	Credit Hours
COB 300A. Integrated Functional Systems: Management	3
COB 300B. Integrated Functional Systems: Finance	3
COB 300C. Integrated Functional Systems: Operations	3
COB 300D. Integrated Functional Systems: Marketing	3
ACTG 301. Financial Reporting and Statement Analysis	3

	15

Second Semester	Credit Hours
ACTG 313. Accounting Information Systems	3
ACTG 343. Corporate Financial Reporting I	3
ACTG 377. Federal Income Tax Accounting or free elective	3
General Education or non-business electives	6

	15

Fourth Year

First Semester	Credit Hours
ACTG 344. Corporate Financial Reporting II	3
ACTG 475. Accounting for Decision Making and Control	3
Any 300 level accounting course not already scheduled,
General Education or non-business electives	9

	15

Second Semester	Credit Hours
ACTG 410. Auditing	3
BLAW 495. Business Law I	3
COB 487. Strategic Management	3
Any remaining accounting course not already completed,
General Education or non-business electives	6

	15

Concentration

Public Administration Concentration

JMU offers a specialty concentration in Public Administration. This concentration requires two alternative courses (ACTG 420 and ACTG 450) and a public administration (PUAD) non-business elective. These courses offer the student the opportunity to gain more knowledge about the government environment. Students will examine the standards under which the government financial manager performs accounting, financial reporting, and budget functions, as well as how to organize and conduct operational audits. Student completing the Public Administration concentration will pursue careers in government, internal audit, and not-for-profit organizations.

Required Courses	Credit Hours
ACTG 420. Operational Audit	3
ACTG 450. Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting and Reporting	3
PUAD elective	3
	9

Certifications

Many graduates desire to gain certifications in their selected area of specialization. The Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the best known of these certifications. Effective 2006, students taking the CPA exam in Virginia will have to meet a 150-hour education requirement in order to sit for the CPA exam. The requirements for other states vary. However, most states already require students to meet the 150-hour educational requirement. The five-year Professional Program is recommended for those electing a career in public accounting.
In addition to the CPA exam, graduates of our program sit for the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) exam, the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) exam, the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) exam and others. Students interested in taking one of these exams are encouraged to talk to the program director during their junior year to determine the necessary requirements for taking the exam.

Student Computers

The computer is the primary tool of today's accountant. The JMU accounting program gives students extensive hands-on experience using sophisticated technological tools in solving accounting problems. Most or all courses in the accounting program require computer usage, Internet reference, CD-ROM-based research and other uses of technology.
Many courses have online content, and most professors publish course material on Web sites for convenient access.
The College of Business advises that it is unrealistic for students to expect to rely on university-provided computer labs for access to computers. Students should plan to purchase or otherwise arrange access to a personal computer no later than the beginning of their sophomore year.
The accounting program policy states that e-mail sent to a student's JMU e-mail account is assumed to be received by the student within 24 hours of its dispatch. Students are responsible for checking their e-mail in a timely fashion, and maintaining sufficient available capacity in their e-mail quotas to allow for incoming messages at all times.

Transfer Credit

In general, all upper-division accounting course work (300-499) must be completed at JMU. Transfer credit for upper-division courses is awarded only in certain circumstances. In no case will transfer credit be awarded for more than two upper-division courses, and in no case will transfer credit be awarded for either of the corporate financial reporting (ACTG 343 or ACTG 344) courses. Contact the College of Business Academic Services Center for more information on transfer credit.

School of Accounting

Dr. Paul A. Copley, Director

Mission Statement

Goals

Learning Environment Objectives

Intellectual Contributions Objectives

Service Objectives

Career Opportunities

Co-curricular Activities and Organizations

Programs of Study

Special Admission Requirements

Degree and Major Requirements

Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting

Degree Requirements

Major Requirements

Non-Business Electives

Recommended Schedule for Majors

First Two Years

Third Year

Fourth Year

Concentration

Public Administration Concentration

Certifications

Student Computers

Transfer Credit

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top