Earn the hours you need and the skills employers want
The MAc Program requires a total of 30 semester hours. We prioritize critical thinking and both written and oral communication skills. You’ll develop an incredible foundation in accounting and can focus on one of four areas.
Choose your track
We’ve created four specializations to align with your career goals. Every track has three to four elective courses included. Here are detailed plans of study for each of these tracks:
Financial accounting/auditing
Technology, globalization, and complex financial instruments have upped the ante. Auditors need sophisticated know-how to address new risks. This track delves into finance and information systems; it’s ideal for auditing, assurance services, and corporate finance careers.
- Financial Statement Analysis
- Financial Reporting: Theory and Practice
- Advanced Auditing
- Introduction to Modeling with VBA
- Data Management and Visual Analytics
- Managerial Finance
- Finance course numbered above 5000 (3 s.h.)
- General electives (6 s.h.)
One of these:
- Taxes and Business Strategy
- Design and Use of Cost Management Systems
Managerial accounting
These days, accountants have a seat at the management table. That seat means you need to understand how other areas of the business work, like marketing and production. Ideal for careers in management/cost accounting, controller’s office, and manufacturing consulting.
- Design and Use of Cost Management Systems
- Introduction to Modeling with VBA
- Data Management and Visual Analytics
- Business electives numbered above 5000 (6 s.h.)
- General electives (6 s.h.)
Three of these:
- Financial Statement Analysis
- Taxes and Business Strategy
- Financial Reporting: Theory and Practice
- Advanced Auditing
Business analytics
Consulting and assurance services demand MAc grads have the ability to organize, analyze, and interpret large amounts of data. This track lets you dive deep into a high-demand area of expertise that helps your resume stand out.
- Advanced Auditing
- Introduction to Modeling with VBA
- Data Management and Visual Analytics
- Business analytics courses (CS or MSCI) numbered above 5000 (6 s.h.)
- General electives (6 s.h.)
Three of these:
- Financial Statement Analysis
- Taxes and Business Strategy
- Design and Use of Cost Management Systems
- Financial Reporting: Theory and Practice
Tax
Over 7.6 billion hours a year are spent complying with the tax code. Needless to say, demand for tax specialists is higher than ever. With a focus on tax, you’ll learn current and future tax issues, and how to find answers through research in any tax environment Congress creates.
- Taxes and Business Strategy
- Introduction to Modeling with VBA
- Data Management and Visual Analytics
- Two College of Law tax courses (6 s.h.)
- General electives (6 s.h.)
Three of these:
- Financial Statement Analysis
- Design and Use of Cost Management Systems
- Financial Reporting: Theory and Practice
- Advanced Auditing
No track declared
- Design and Use of Cost Management Systems
- Financial Reporting: Theory and Practice
- Advanced Auditing
- Financial Statement Analysis
- Taxes and Business Strategy
- Introduction to Modeling with VBA
- Data Management and Visual Analytics
- General Electives (9 s.h.)
"The graduate program allowed us to think more strategically and be ahead of the game as we began our professional careers.”
Core courses
Courses you'll take vary slightly based on the track you choose.
You'll complete at least three of these four courses:
- Design and Use of Cost Management Systems
- Financial Reporting: Theory and Practice
- Advanced Auditing
- Taxes and Business Strategy
All tracks include both of these business analytics courses:
- Introduction to Modeling with VBA
- Data Management and Visual Analytics
Course descriptions
Accounting courses
Use of corporate financial statements for investment and lending decisions; emphasis on financial analysis techniques, valuation, business analysis, cash flow projections, credit scoring, and related research testing. (3 s.h.)
Corporate accounting choices in framework of traditional accounting theory, economic consequences, and firm valuation. (3 s.h.)
Enhance understanding of the fundamental concepts of the auditing discipline, improve critical-thinking and analytical skills in the context of real-world problems involving risk, understand a framework that can be used to audit a company's internal controls in accordance with the provisions of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, continue development of communication skills, and instill a desire to appreciate the value of integrity and ethical behavior. (3 s.h.)
Effect of taxes on business decisions, including investment strategies, capital structure decisions, compensation policies, international business, mergers and acquisitions, and financial reporting. (3 s.h.)
Development of cost accumulation and reporting systems for a firm's strategy and structure; how activity-based cost management systems increase a firm's competitiveness by managing its costs, processes, and people. (3 s.h.)
Deciding what research is needed, evaluating tax materials, developing facility with electronic and printed tax materials. (3 s.h.)
Working knowledge of U.S. rules for taxation of international transactions including fundamentals of international tax planning, transfer pricing, and international reorganizations.
Application of the latest business intelligence software packages to real world problems from auditing, managerial, financial, and tax accounting.
Business analytics courses
Introduction to programming Visual Basic for Applications in Excel; case studies in finance, marketing, operations, accounting. (3 s.h.)
Understanding how data is stored in databases and learning the tools used to access the data is key to creating data sets used to answer many business questions; how to manage and access data in relational databases using Structured Query Language (SQL); basic principles of vidual analytics using Tableau; techniques for presenting data retrieved from databases. Requirements: Enrollment in graduate business analytics program. (3 s.h.)
Finance courses
Asset valuation and capital budgeting under uncertainty, interactions with "efficient" capital markets, analyzing financial statements, decisions on capital structure, issuing nontraditional financial instruments, coping with mergers. Requires consent of the MBA program. (3 s.h.)
Non-Accounting Majors
Non-accounting undergrads have a prerequisites for MAc courses that will extend the total program length to two years (the prerequisites add a year of coursework).
ACCT:2100 Introduction to Financial Accounting (3 s.h.)
ACCT:2200 Managerial Accounting Analytics & Data Visual (3 s.h.)
ACCT:3200 Income Measurement and Asset Valuation (3 s.h.)
ACCT:3300 Valuation of Financial Claims (3 s.h.)
ACCT:3400 Introduction to Tax (3 s.h.)
ACCT:3600 Accounting Systems & Analytics (3 s.h.)
ACCT:4100 Auditing (3 s.h.)
ACCT:4200 Advanced Managerial Accounting Analytics (3 s.h.)
ACCT:4300 Accounting Ethics and Law (3 s.h.)
Think you’ve got what it takes?
Check out what you’ll need to get into the MAc program.
MAc/JD dual degree program
The worlds of law and accounting are constantly intersecting. As financial regulations grow, accounting firms need greater legal expertise, while law firms are seeking counsel with strong accounting fundamentals and tax expertise to navigate complex business and bankruptcy cases.
Turn this intersection into a career opportunity by combining a Juris Doctor (JD) with a Master of Accountancy (MAc) at the University of Iowa. This partnership between two leading colleges on campus gives you a way to earn a dual degree in less time than pursuing them separately.
The program includes 18 semester hours of graduate accounting coursework. Up to 12 s.h. of law courses can be counted as elective credit for the MAc, and up to 12 s.h. of MAc courses can count toward your JD electives. Each program has a separate admissions process; you’ll need to be admitted to both the MAc and the JD before you can be admitted to the dual degree program.