Accounting

Department: Business Administration
Department Chair: Craig Roger
Program Options: B.A., B.S.

The accounting major prepares you for many career options, including public accounting, management accounting, government accounting and/or internal auditing. You will study foundations in economics, statistics, and social sciences, as well as introductory financial and managerial accounting and management. You will also study intermediate level accounting concepts, income tax, financial management, business law, cost accounting and auditing.

Accounting is one of the best jobs in terms of career options, high compensation and career placement after graduation. If you have an aptitude for mathematics, if you are able to analyze, compare, and interpret facts and figures quickly, and if you can communicate well with others, a career in accounting may be a good fit for you.

Public accounting emphasizes auditing and tax functions, while management accounting emphasizes cost accounting, budgeting, financial statement preparation and analysis, and internal audit management. Government accountants can work at any level of government to analyze and oversee the performance and allocation of funds. Internal auditing emphasizes compliance with organizational policies, accounting controls and accounting systems. Accountants are also in demand for nonprofit organizations that need specialized expertise in tax regulations and policies unique to them.

Opportunity for advancement is one of the most appealing aspects of professional accounting. Public accountants can advance to positions with more responsibility within one or two years. Those who excel may become supervisors, managers or partners; open their own public accounting firms; transfer to executive positions in management accounting; or internal auditors in private firms. Management accountants may advance to accounting manager, chief cost accountant, budget director or manager of internal auditing. Some become controllers, treasurers, financial vice presidents, chief financial officers or corporation presidents. Many senior corporation executives have a background in accounting, internal auditing or finance.

At St. Kate’s, you’ll have the opportunity to learn, work and study with accounting faculty who have real-world experience that enriches their theoretical expertise. St. Kate’s accounting major offers hands-on experience, internships coordinated through alumnae, and small classes of 14-20 students. Nearly all St. Kate’s accounting graduates have secured jobs in their field within two months of graduation, often at leading firms.

You can meet the provisions of the Minnesota Board of Accountancy and other states to sit for the Uniform Examination for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) after graduation with a major in accounting by taking ACCT 4100 – Advanced Accounting or ACCT 4754 – Accounting Practicum as an accounting elective. Upon passing the CPA exam you apply for certification. To become certified you must have earned 150 credit hours in undergraduate or graduate course work. To meet this requirement, you can complete an additional 20 credits in undergraduate courses or 20 credits in the Accountancy Certificate, offered at the graduate level by the Organizational Leadership Program.

Common Aspects of All Business Majors
As an accounting major at St. Kate’s, you’ll benefit from a comprehensive business education that draws on exceptional faculty from academia and business, attracts outstanding students from around the country and world, weaves a focus on ethics into every course, provides introductions to leading corporations, potential employers and women role models and mentors, uses cutting-edge technology to enrich your studies and prepare you for the workforce, and prepares you to succeed in the private, government or nonprofit sectors.

There’s no dearth of women role models or creative ways to help you master the curriculum and reach your career goals. Other full-time professors, adjunct and international faculty provide just the right balance of the theoretical and the applied. You’ll not only become familiar with business theory and practice, but you’ll also begin to learn the art of being a successful businesswoman.

Faculty will work with you during your four years at St. Kate’s to develop your business portfolio, a requirement of graduation for students in the business administration department. Presenting a portfolio at a job interview is a powerful way to get the attention of potential employers and prove that you are the right woman for the job. Technology is fully integrated into the curriculum, and faculty will work with you as you learn to perform online research and prepare computer-based presentations. You will learn to integrate technology into your solutions for business problems.

St. Kate’s students frequently receive statewide recognition and scholarships through such organizations as Delta Mu Delta, an international business honor society, and Financial Executives International. St. Kate’s also has an active chapter of Pi Sigma Epsilon, the national business fraternity, which offers practical business experience and connections with business executives to members along with opportunities to network with students from other colleges and universities. Each year, faculty members nominate two students to receive scholarships granted by the Twin Cities Chapter of the Financial Executives Institute (FEI). St. Kate’s has a high success rate in this scholarship competition. We credit this success to the caliber of the program and its students and to the faculty’s personal knowledge of their students.

St. Kate’s Professional Partnership program will match you up with successful alumnae in your field of interest who will provide links with other professionals and career advice. Most students also participate in internships during their junior and senior years. Internships will allow you to refine your skills, broaden your perspectives and make valuable professional connections. The Entrepreneur Internship program matches business majors with women-owned businesses.

More than 60 companies visit campus to meet students, share information about their companies and recruit potential interns and employees at the annual St. Catherine Business Career Fair. Workshops prepare students on résumé writing, researching companies and interviewing. Many St. Kate’s students also attend the Minnesota Private College Job Fair — another excellent opportunity to connect with potential employers.

See also: Business to Business Sales, Healthcare Management, Healthcare Sales, Information Systems, Marketing and Management, Small Business/Entrepreneurship, Financial Economics, International Business and Economics.

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
ACCT 2110 Financial Accounting
ACCT 2130 Managerial Accounting
ACCT 3110 Intermediate Accounting I
ACCT 3120 Intermediate Accounting II
ACCT 3150 Income Tax
ACCT 3210 Financial Management
ACCT 4120 Cost Accounting
ACCT 4130 Auditing
BUSI 3650 Business Law
MGMT 2400 Principles of Management

Required supporting work for accounting majors:
ECON 2250 Statistical Analysis for Economics and Business or ECON 2200 Statistical Analysis for the Social Sciences or MATH 1080 Statistical Analysis or PSYC 2050 Statistical Methods in Psychology
ECON 2610 Principles of Microeconomics
ECON 2620 Principles of Macroeconomics
MATH 1070 Finite Math Analysis or MATH 1130 Calculus I
PSYC 1001 General Psychology or SOCI 1000 Principles and Concepts of Sociology
One additional course from economics, computer science, information management, communications or mathematics.

NOTE: Accounting majors can complete a financial economics minor with just two additional courses. ECON 3350 Money and Banking and ECON 3650 Investment Theories or ECON 3460 Global Financial Issues are recommended.

Electives relevant to the accounting major include:
ACCT 4100 Advanced Accounting
ACCT 4754 Accounting Practicum
ACCT 4994 Topics
ECON 3350 Money and Banking
ECON 3500 Managerial Economics
SALE 3700 Financial Services Sales
Graduate electives available in the accountancy certificate program:
ORLD 6320 Federal Corporate Taxation
ORLD 6450 Accounting Systems
ORLD 7650 Modern Accounting Theory and Practice

BUSINESS PORTFOLIO
All majors are required to complete a business portfolio. The portfolio is the vehicle that enables you to integrate the life skills and knowledge you bring with you and the knowledge, skills and values learned within the courses and field experiences throughout the program. This portfolio allows you to validate your experiences at the College of St. Catherine.

The portfolio is cumulative in nature; most aspects are completed as part of course work. You must present your portfolio to your advisor no later than September 30 if you will be a December graduate, or February 15 if you will be a May graduate.

For specific portfolio requirements, please refer to the Professional Portfolio Handbook.

Accounting majors satisfy The Writing Requirement for Majors by completing ACCT 3120. You complete the Liberal Arts and Sciences Core Writing Requirement with three other writing-intensive courses (CORE 1000 and CORE 3990, and any other writing-intensive course in the Business Administration Department or another department).

URL: http://minerva.stkate.edu/academiccatalog0709.nsf/pages/accounting
This page was created on 05/01/2007 and last updated on 05/01/2007.
Comments, questions and feedback about this site may be addressed to registrar@stkate.edu.