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B.A. Degree in Accounting
B.S. Degree in Business Administration (Accounting Concentration)
Minor in Accounting
Businesses and corporations around the world depend on accurate accounting data to process, measure and communicate details about their financial status. As such, Catawba College undergraduates who pursue an Accounting degree typically have no problem landing jobs soon after their graduation or being accepted into competitive Accounting graduate programs. In fact, U.S. News & World Report indicates that a job as an Accountant ranks #8 in its list of Best Business Jobs for 2018.
The Accounting degree program at Catawba offers full time, day students the opportunity to be considered for a scholarship.
B.A. Degree in Accounting
Catawba College’s Bachelor of Arts in Accounting degree program offers its undergraduates strong professional preparation with a focus on ethics and integrity. Learning is facilitated in small classes with dedicated faculty who have real-world experience in Accounting and are certified industry professionals.
Catawba Accounting majors also benefit from courses in financial accounting, managerial accounting, auditing and taxation as they prepare to pursue professional certification as a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) or to sit for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination and licensure. In the Seminar in Accounting course, Catawba’s Accounting majors explore current, relevant topics which include forensic accounting and international accounting.
Internships are required for all Catawba College Accounting majors and can be completed at for-profit or a not-for-profit organizations.
Catawba College students who pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration can select a concentration in Accounting from the half-dozen academic concentrations offered with this major. Pursuing an Accounting concentration with the Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration requires that 18 credit hours be earned in specific Accounting classes.
Choose the Accounting concentration if you want to build skills that are relevant in almost any business setting. This concentration will provide you with an understanding of business finances, from general ledger and account reconciliation to auditing and tax preparation and filing. Dedicated faculty who teach in this concentration have real-world Accounting experience and are certified industry professionals.
MINOR IN ACCOUNTING (NON-BUSINESS DISCIPLINES ONLY)
Catawba College offers a Minor in Accounting to undergraduates in all academic disciplines outside of programs offered in the Ketner School of Business.
Although Catawba has a long history of alumni who have pursued successful careers in Accounting, the Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting offered as a standalone academic major is a recent milestone. The college began offering the B.A. degree in Accounting in 2014 because so many undergraduates were interested in the major and pursuing their Master of Accountancy degree after graduation.
Catawba College’s Accounting degree program is one of several academic programs in the Ketner School of Business that is accredited by the Accreditation Council of Business School Programs (ACBSP).
Colleges of Distinction, a national guide for colleges, recognized Catawba College during 2017-2018 for its academic programs in Business, including the Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting. The guide noted that Business programs offered through Catawba’s Ketner School of Business keep future leaders ahead of the curve and ready to grow alongside the industry. It also recognized Catawba for “its expert blending of the liberal arts with professional programming in Business.”
Students interested in pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting are eligible to apply for a Tom Smith Business Scholarship. Applicants for this scholarship must have an SAT Math and Critical Reading sub-scores of 1050 or greater (ACT Composite equal to 23 or greater) and a grade point average of 3.0 or above. Online applications for the Business Scholarship must be completed by January 5 each year.
Apply for this Scholarship
An internship is required of all students in Catawba College’s Ketner School of Business including those who are pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting. Successful Accounting internships often provide helpful networking opportunities or lead to employment offers for Catawba’s Accounting majors.
Catawba Accounting majors have recently completed successful internships with local non-profits like Rowan Helping Ministries in Salisbury, North Carolina, and internationally recognized for-profits like PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Catawba graduates who earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting enjoy some of the highest pass rates on the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam in North Carolina. One of the reasons for this success is dedicated faculty who are committed to preparing their Accounting majors for their professional lives after Catawba.
The Catawba Accounting Department offers a special program to help Accounting majors be prepared to sit for the CPA exam. It is called the CPA-Ready Program. Since graduates are required to have completed 150 semester hours of college credit prior to sitting for the CPA examination and licensure, Catawba Accounting faculty provide individualized advising to Accounting majors to help assure the appropriate college credits are earned before graduation.
Outcomes
ACCOUNTING CAREERS.
Accounting majors are prepared for the competitive employment landscape after earning their B.A. degree in Accounting from Catawba.
Catawba College Accounting graduates are at work in these positions:
GRADUATE SCHOOLS.
Catawba Accounting majors are competitive and have been accepted to complete graduate programs of study at these institutions:
“Professor [Darin] Spencer [Chair and Assistant Professor of Accounting at Catawba] has such belief and confidence in his students that they will achieve amazing things. It’s hard for that not to rub off on you.
"He’s unwavering in his belief and his support. I began talking about grad school in my sophomore year, and he was very encouraging and supportive. He always wants people to shoot for the stars and reach their maximum potential.”
Brad Smethurst ’16
An international student who majored in Accounting with a double minor in Information Systems and French; Four-year varsity athlete on the Catawba College Tennis Team
Brad is currently employed as an Associate in the Assurance Group at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Toronto, Canada while taking additional college-level courses to prepare him to sit for the CPA exam.
Catawba College Accounting majors focused on a career in the world of business are encouraged to participate in the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF), Future Business Leaders of America - Phi Beta Lambda (PBL), the Business Honor Society, or the National Society of Leadership and Success.
Accounting Faculty
Curriculum
