School of Business

Accounting and Information Systems

The accounting major provides a student with the analytical foundation to excel as a certified public accountant, internal auditor, financial manager, controller, and consultant. Tools and techniques of planning, control, and decision analysis (including computer applications) are developed in broad areas such as financial and managerial accounting, taxes, consulting, cost analysis, computer auditing, and accounting systems. Required courses and recommended electives for an accounting major are listed below.

Requirements for the Major

Gen Bus 302 Business Organizations and Negotiable Instruments, 3 cr
Acct I S 301 Financial Reporting I, 3 cr
Acct I S 302 Financial Reporting II, 3 cr
Acct I S 310 Cost Management Systems, 3 cr
Acct I S 340 Accounting Systems, 3 cr
Acct I S 406 Advanced Financial Reporting, 3 cr*
Acct I S 620 Fundamentals of Taxation, 3 cr
Acct I S 630 Audit and Assurance Services, 3 cr

*Students admitted to the integrated Master's (iMAcc) program must complete Acct I S 600 and Acct I S 601 instead of Acct I S 406.

Recommended Electives

Acct I S 407 International Accounting, 3 cr
Acct I S 603 Financial Statement Analysis, 3 cr
Acct I S 621 Corporate and Advanced Taxation, 3 cr
Acct I S 631 Information Technology, Risk, and Assurance Services, 3 cr

The following courses are recommended as program electives outside of accounting. The student is encouraged to elect as many as a program will permit.

Finance 320 Investments, 3 cr
Finance 325 Corporation Finance, 3 cr
Finance 455 Financial Policy, 3 cr
OTM 312 Operations Research for Management, 3 cr
Info Sys 371 Technology of Computer-based Business Systems, 3 cr
Info Sys 424 Analysis and Design of Computer Based Systems, 3 cr
OTM 654 Production Planning and Control, 3 cr
Real Est 306 The Real Estate Process, 3 cr
RMI 300 Principles of Risk Management, 3 cr

Five-Year Professional Program in Accounting

The state of Wisconsin and most other states have passed legislation mandating that candidates sitting for the CPA exam must have completed a 150-credit-hour program including at least the equivalent of an undergraduate major in accounting. Three advanced degree options for completing these requirements exist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They are:

The iMAcc program in accounting, which leads to a BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) degree with an accounting major and a Master of Accountancy degree. The BBA is 120 credits and the M.Acc. is 30 credits in this program. Students who are majoring in accounting apply for admission to this program during the spring semester of the junior year. Those who are admitted to the iMAcc program must complete a required internship during the spring semester of the senior year. Students are encouraged to take the GMAT exam during the first semester of the senior year. Many sources of financial assistance are available to students pursuing the iMAcc program.
The BBA degree in business with an accounting major and an MBA (Master of Business Administration) degree. The BBA degree is 120 credits and the MBA is a minimum of 36 credits resulting in a total of 156 credits. There is no accounting specialization track in the MBA, so graduate students must major in another area of business.
Any undergraduate degree with a M.Acc degree. The graduate-only master's degree program (gMAcc) does not require an undergraduate major in accounting or in business. There are 56 credits in this program, completed over two years. Students admitted to this program are required to complete an internship during the summer between the first and second years. The GMAT exam is required for admission.

Please consult the accounting department for additional information.