Master of Science in Accounting

If you don’t have any accounting background, prerequisite courses are required for you.  They will not count toward your graduate degree because they are considered undergraduate prerequisites and therefore will not show up on your graduate transcript.  If you want to use these undergrad hours toward your CPA exam, you need to email Senior Academic Advisor Kathleen Barker before you register.

If you were not a business major, additional BBK courses may be required for you.

A maximum of nine semester credits may be transferred in from graduate coursework completed at other AACSB accredited institutions. This is subject to the approval of the program director.

Online taxation classes are also available.

You will need a minimum of 30 graduate credit hours to graduate from the MS Accounting Program.

• Other non-accounting and non-tax electives are available with approval from the academic director, Molly Rogers. Failure to obtain prior approval may mean that courses will not count toward the degree and graduation may be delayed. Waiver for any above courses has to be approved by academic director.
• Free electives may NOT include ACCT 7000, ACCT 7072, ACCT 7012 or any foundation courses. 
• ACCT 8071 is the capstone course for the program. Please take it during your last semester. 
• Waivers for any courses have to be approved by the academic director.
• If you have issues registering for any of the courses, please contact Senior Academic Advisor Kathleen Barker.  
• You can find many useful links on onestop.uc.edu, for instance, registration information, financial aid information, billing information and personal information.
• If you took Accounting Information Systems as an undergraduate student, you cannot retake it as a graduate student for credit. 

22ACCT3031: Intermediate Accounting I
Three credit hours (undergraduate). Application of generally accepted accounting principles to financial statement preparation withemphasis on asset accounts and liability accounts and related income and expense accounts. Prerequisite.

22ACCT3032: Intermediate Accounting II
Three credit hours (undergraduate). Application of generally accepted accounting principles to financial statement preparation with emphasis on owners equity accounts, accounting for income taxes, accounting for leases, and accounting for pensions and related income and expense accounts.

22ACCT3072: Introduction to Taxation
Three credit hours (undergraduate). Course designed to provide comprehensive coverage of individual federal income tax issues. The student will understand filing requirements, income inclusion, expense deduction and other special issues related to individual income tax returns. In addition to wage and business income, the course covers income from the sale of property. In addition to business deductions, the course covers the personal expenses and losses that are deductible by individuals. Throughout the course, there is a focus on tax planning in order to minimize the negative impact of the federal income tax.

22ACCT3073: Cost Accounting
Three credit hours (undergraduate). Financial accounting for manufacturing and inventories with emphasis on cost of goods sold expense and management decisions involving manufacturing.

22ACCT4033: Advanced Financial Reporting
Three credit hours (undergraduate). Advanced Financial Reporting provides coverage and analysis of the more advanced and complex financial accounting topics. It explores International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and includes the use of electronic databases to research financial accounting standards.

22ACCT4083: Auditing
Three credit hours (undergraduate). Attestation as to fairness of financial statements for owners, creditors and especially investors in publicly traded corporations. This course is designed to provide the student an academic background in the areas of independent auditing and assurance services sufficient for an entry-level position in public accounting or internal auditing. Subject matter covered in this course should also be highly beneficial to accounting majors who intend to seek an entry-level position in the financial management function of any organization that must deal with auditors or work with audited financial reports.

22ACCT6021: Fraud Examination
Three credit hours (graduate). Principles and methodology of fraud detection and deterrence. The course includes such topics as skimming, cash larceny, check tampering, register disbursement schemes, billing schemes, payroll andexpense reimbursement schemes, non-cash misappropriations, corruption, identity theft, insurance fraud, accounting principles fraud, fraudulent financial statements, and insurance fraud. It includes lectures on interviewing techniques and how to testify as an expert witness. Each student will research an actual fraud case, and render an oral and written report on his/her research. Prerequisite.

22ACCT6072: Tax II
Three credit hours (graduate). This course is built upon the prerequisite Introduction to Taxation course (3072), and includes coverage and analysis of corporate tax rules, partnership tax rules, and tax rules governing S corporations. Prerequisite.

22ACCT6075: Consolidated Financial Statements
Three credit hours (graduate). Accounting for business combinations and preparation of consolidated financial statements. Discusses consolidation of wholly-owned, partially-owned, domestic and foreign subsidiaries.

22ACCT6076: Not-for-Profit Accounting
Three credit hours (graduate). Course is designed to familiarize the student with the detailed standards and accounting practices that underlie financial reporting of state and local governments and nongovernmental nonprofit organizations. Students will analyze and record transactions, requiring a solid foundation in accounting principles. Resulting financial statements will be prepared and analyzed, and an overview of the unique audit practices that apply to these organizations is included.

22ACCT6098: Professional Ethics
Three credit hours (graduate). Ethical obligations of the public accounting profession and develoment of reasoning skills for ethical decision-making.

22ACCT8021: Management Control Systems
Three credit hours (graduate). Examines how cost information is used for product costing, decision making and management control. Though user-oriented, this course also addresses issues related to how cost systems affects income determination and how different cost allocation system affects management decision. Prerequisite.

22ACCT8022: Forensic Accounting
Two credit hours (graduate). Detection of fraud with emphasis on asset misappropriation by employees and managers.

22ACCT8071: Accounting Theory and Research
Three credit hours (graduate). Learn to use the FASB research system to answer complex accounting questions. This is the capstone course.

22ACCT8074: Advanced Auditing
Three credit hours (graduate). Provides an in-depth background in the following audit field work areas: (1) identification and assessment of financial reporting risks, (2) evaluating and ranking internal controls in terms of their relative importance, (3) planning, performing and interpreting the findings generated by audit procedures designed to examine the operating effectiveness of internal controls, (4) designing, performing, and interpreting the findings resulting from substantive tests of transactions, (5) designing, performing and interpreting the findings resulting from substantive tests of details of account balances. Auditing standards, concepts, and procedures treated in these five field work areas are applied to discuss the practical field work steps taken to carry out the examination of the revenue cycle and procurement cycle of a firm. Examples and short case exercises drawn from these two audit cycles are used to enhance capabilities to design, and carry-out audit sampling applications involving the use of both judgmental and statistical sampling techniques. Case studies are presented and discussed in the open classroom to reinforce selected subject matter covered in the course. Prerequisite.

22ACCT8077: Accounting Information Systems
Three credit hours (graduate). Students will gain an understanding of how accounting information systems contribute to organization success and how the systems are designed to capture and deliver appropriate information to management. Students will also study the security of information systems. Prerequisite.

To waive any or all of the Master of Science in Accounting Business Core Courses and/or MS Accounting prerequisite courses, the candidate must demonstrate that:

• Such courses were successfully completed as part of the candidate's prior undergraduate or graduate degree course work at an AACSB accredited university.
• Such courses were completed within five years preceding the date of admission to the Master of Science program.
• A grade of B or better was received in each course to be waived.

The program director will evaluate each transcript individually to determine any background courses that a candidate must take as a condition of admission into the Master of Science in Accounting Program.

• Aramark Corporation
• Ashland Inc
• Bestek Global LLC
• Chongqing Kanghua CPA
• Clark Schaefer Hackett & Co
• Deloitte
• E.W. Scripps
• Ernst & Young
• Fifth Third Bank
• Great American Insurance Group
• Grant Thornton LLP
• KPMG LLP
• MCM CPAs & Advisors
• Mellott & Mellott, P.L.L.
• North American Properties Inc
• Ohio Auditor of State
• PwC LLP
• RSM US LLP
• Stockman Kast Ryan & Co
• Uhlenberg, LLP
• University of Cincinnati
• Zwick & Banyai, PLLC

Not only does the MS in Accounting program provide the knowledge and skill set needed to work at the highest level in any area of accounting, but it also prepares students for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination, a distinction needed to pursue certain accounting careers.

The accounting program’s educational and credit hour requirements are specifically designed to cover all of the material typically tested by the CPA exam, including subjects not usually taught in undergraduate programs. Graduates of the Lindner MS in Accounting program are qualified to sit for the CPA exam in Ohio and also the tests proctored in most other states.

The basic educational requirements for admission to the CPA examination in Ohio are:

1. At least a baccalaureate degree including 150 semester hours of college credit. In lieu of 150 semester hours, a baccalaureate or associate's degree and a score of 620 on the GMAT.
2. 30 semester hours in accounting including principles of financial and managerial accounting or 24 semester hours in accounting, excluding principles, with coverage in these five subject areas:
   1. Auditing
   2. Financial accounting
   3. Management accounting
   4. Professional ethics
   5. Taxation
3. 24 hours in business courses other than accounting courses.
   1. For most states, accounting majors who plan to pursue a career in public accounting must have 150 semester credit hours in order to become a CPA. The additional hours above the BBA minimum in most states may be at either the undergraduate or graduate level, but a Master of Science in Accounting or a Master of Science in Taxation is highly recommended. While successfully completing your accounting undergraduate degree at the University of Cincinnati fulfills the CPA ethics requirement for Ohio, ACCT 5198 Accounting Ethics meets the ethics requirement for most other states.
   2. You will need to consult the criteria of the State Board of Accountancy for the state where you wish to be a CPA to verify your eligibility. Lindner College of Business advisors cannot make these determinations as eligibility is determined by an external organization and criteria varies from state to state. Please visit the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy for additional information.

Students can pursue the MS in Accounting full-time or part-time and can complete the degree program in as little as nine months.

Designed so all students can pursue a degree in accountancy and CPA certification at their own pace, the part-time MS in Accounting involves taking two evening courses per term.

Lindner’s career coaches and other career services programs serve to help you build experience with internships and find employment opportunities at various well-respected companies, even the Big Four accounting firms.

Graduates of the MS in Accounting have recently been hired by:

• Fifth Third Bank
• Deloitte
• Ernst & Young
• KPMG
• Aramark Corporation

Review Lindner’s Career Services.