Program Overview

Master of Accountancy, Plan C, Financial Analysis, Auditing, and Reporting Specialization

The Master of Accountancy program at Colorado State University is a 30-credit program that provides students with practical, job-related knowledge and prepares them for a successful career in accounting. The program offers a specialization in Financial Analysis, Auditing, and Reporting, which provides advanced coursework with a focus on preparation for practice of public accounting, particularly in auditing.

Program Overview

The program's curriculum reflects the breadth of services performed by CPAs and emphasizes auditing, financial reporting and analysis, and analytics. Students in the program will develop the necessary research skills to investigate complex accounting issues, apply analytical and conceptual problem-solving skills to the field of corporate taxation, and describe the role of information systems and technology in accounting.

Learning Objectives

Successful students in the program will demonstrate the ability to:

• Develop the necessary research skills to investigate complex accounting issues.
• Apply analytical and conceptual problem-solving skills to the field of corporate taxation.
• Describe the role of information systems and technology in accounting.
• Communicate complex accounting issues orally and in writing.
• Recognize ethical and legal issues in a variety of accounting situations.

Program Requirements

The program requires a minimum of 30 credits to complete. The required core courses include:

• ACT 540: Professional Ethics and Responsibilities (3 credits)
• ACT 541: Forensic Accounting and Fraud Auditing (3 credits)
• ACT 561: Legal and Regulatory Issues in Accounting (3 credits)
• ACT 602: Accounting Research and Communication (3 credits)
• ACT 610: Accounting Analytics (3 credits)
• ACT 631: Corporate Taxation (3 credits)

Other required courses include:

• ACT 570: Government and Nonprofit (3 credits)
• ACT 612: Issues in Financial Reporting and Auditing (3 credits)
• ACT 614: Financial Statement Analysis and Valuation (3 credits)

Students must also select 3 credits from the following elective courses:

• ACT 537: Advanced Taxation of Business Entities
• ACT 618: Sustainability Reporting and Accounting
• ACT 635: State and Local Taxation
• ACT 639: Special Topics in Taxation
• CIS 563: Information Assurance and Security
• CIS 570: Business Intelligence
• CIS 575: Applied Data Mining and Analytics in Business
• CIS 576: Business Data Visualization
• CIS 600A: Project Management: Information Technology
• CIS 601/MGT 601: Enterprise Computing and Systems Integration

Program Completion

A minimum of 30 credits are required to complete the program. For more information, please refer to the Requirements for All Graduate Degrees.

Graduate Degree Procedures

The following steps outline the procedures for completing a master's or doctoral degree:

1. Application for admission (online) - due six months before first registration
2. Diagnostic examination when required - due before first registration
3. Appointment of advisor - due before first registration
4. Selection of graduate committee - due before the time of fourth regular semester registration
5. Filing of program of study (GS Form 6) - due before the time of fourth regular semester registration
6. Preliminary examination (Ph.D. and PD) - due two terms prior to final examination
7. Report of preliminary examination (GS Form 16) - due within two working days after results are known
8. Changes in committee (GS Form 9A) - due when change is made
9. Application for Graduation (GS Form 25) - due according to published deadlines from the Graduate School Website
10. Submit thesis or dissertation to committee - due at least two weeks prior to the examination or at the discretion of the graduate committee
11. Final examination - due according to published deadlines from the Graduate School Website
12. Report of final examination (GS Form 24) - due within two working days after results are known
13. Submit a signed Thesis/Dissertation Submission Form (GS Form 30) to the Graduate School and Submit the Survey of Earned Doctorates (Ph.D. only) prior to submitting the electronic thesis/dissertation - due according to published deadlines from the Graduate School website
14. Submit the thesis/dissertation electronically - due according to published deadlines from the Graduate School website
15. Graduation - ceremony information is available from the Graduate School website