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Accounting

Accounting is the process of identifying, recording and analyzing information necessary to evaluate the past, present and future economic activities of organizations. Accounting is often said to be the language of business. Oakland University’s School of Business Administration is one of only five schools in Michigan to hold elite AACSB-International accreditation in both its business and accounting programs.

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The Accounting major will prepare students for careers in public accounting, industry and government. Accounting professionals are individuals capable of doing more than maintaining sets of accounting records as they focus on analyzing and measuring business activity, processing that data into reports and communicating the information to decision makers. Accountants apply their skills in areas such as auditing, cost management, financial analysis, information systems, management, policy and taxation. Accounting is often the pathway to top management of a corporation.

See also Master of Accounting

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS


Contact Us

Donna Free (upper level questions about CPA and MAcc Program)
Faculty adviser - major
[email protected]

Kathryn Schaefer
Faculty adviser - minor
[email protected]

A minor in accounting provides students with a background in financial and managerial accounting. The knowledge gained through this minor can be applied to many career paths – those directly related to accounting and finance as well as careers in other settings including corporate, small business and not-for-profit organizations.

MINOR REQUIREMENTS


Contact Us

Kathryn Schaefer
Faculty adviser - minor
[email protected]

Donna Free (upper level questions about CPA and MAcc Program)
Faculty adviser - major
[email protected]

The OU Pledge is Oakland University’s commitment to provide undergraduate students with opportunities for meaningful, hands-on learning. This commitment seeks to enhance students’ academic knowledge with experiential learning, internships and/or research experiences that empower them to make substantive professional contributions.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

  • Analysis
  • Listening
  • Problem solving/creativity
  • Interpersonal
  • Generalizing from cases to theory
  • Logical thinking
  • Communication
  • Motivation

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
A career in accounting can be exciting, dynamic and demanding. The rewards for hard work are significant and afford ambitious professionals unlimited career possibilities. For more information on careers please visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics or O*Net.

CAREER CHOICES
Public Accounting

  • Auditing
  • Taxation
  • Consulting

Managerial Accounting

  • Cost Accounting
  • Budgeting
  • Internal Audit

Not-for-Profit Accounting

  • Governmental Accounting
  • Accounting Information Systems

ORGANIZATIONS THAT COMMONLY EMPLOY ACCOUNTING MAJORS

  • Alan C. Young & Associates
  • Deloitte
  • Ernst & Young
  • Meritor
  • Plante Moran
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers
  • Rehmann

JOB OPENINGS
Access thousands of job and internship postings at Handshake. Handshake also provides the latest news from OU Career and Life Design, exclusively for OU students and alumni.

ACCOUNTING ORGANIZATIONS AT OU
Beta Alpha Psi (Professional Financial Information Fraternity)
OASIS (Oakland Accounting Students Information Society)
Student Organizations

CAREER OUTLOOK*
Wage Range | $27,050 - $128,680
Median Annual Wage | $49,000 - $106,000
National Growth | 5% by 2032

*Data from the National Bureau of Labor and Statistics

School of Business Administration

Elliott Hall, Room 427
275 Varner Drive
Rochester, MI 48309-4485
(location map)