Gaining Advanced Tax Skills Through Master鈥檚 in Accounting

Written byHope Aucoin

Accounting is an ever-changing field as laws and regulations shift and technology evolves. Maintaining an appetite and aptitude for lifelong learning can be a muscle.

For years, future CPAs and leaders have trained and toned those muscles by earning a Master of Science in Accounting degree at the 老司机福利网. The accounting master鈥檚 program is now 100% online to give students more flexibility in balancing full-time work schedules, CPA preparation, and graduate coursework.

The Right Pace

Trevor Bellard graduated with his bachelor鈥檚 in accounting from UL 老司机福利网鈥檚 B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration in 2015.

He immediately became a full-time employee and graduate student, finishing his Master of Science degree in Accounting in only three semesters. Some courses were online or hybrid, giving Bellard insight into the flexibility of online learning.

鈥淚 wish more courses had been online,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hat would have been convenient because I was working full-time while going through the program.鈥Trevor Bellard, CPA and M.S. in Accounting graduate

Students enrolling in the online M.S. in Accounting take accelerated, eight-week courses, allowing them to focus on fewer courses while earning their degree at the pace they need to meet their personal and professional goals.

Laura Guichard, 鈥17, became passionate about research through the master鈥檚 in accounting program 鈥 her second master鈥檚 degree in business.

Laura Guichard, Ph.D. candidate and M.S. in Accounting graduateDuring her time at UL 老司机福利网, she had the opportunity to take one graduate course online.

鈥淚t was still a lot of work, and you have to meet the deadlines, but you could work at your own pace,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t was just really nice. Especially if you were studying for the CPA, it was just really good time management-wise.鈥

UL 老司机福利网鈥檚 AACSB-accredited accounting program was already well-designed for working professionals, she says. The online format continues that tradition.

鈥淚t鈥檚 beneficial for graduating seniors in accounting who need to obtain their remaining required hours but also want to start making money,鈥 she says.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e putting a lot on their plate, and this program is really designed 鈥 especially since it鈥檚 going online 鈥 to give students the time they鈥檇 need to not only get the hours they need for the CPA exam, but also give them time to make their own study plan for the CPA.鈥

Preparing for the CPA

Following graduation, Bellard was hired as a staff accountant for tax firm Singleton, Kellner, Bolding, Avant & Associates, LLC. Knowing he wanted to reach the requisite 150 academic credit hours needed to take the CPA exam, Bellard considered which path would give him the best professional edge.

鈥淚t was more beneficial for me to get a master鈥檚 degree rather than take 20 hours of pointless classes,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 wanted to further my knowledge in the field and felt like that would give me an advantage on the CPA exam.鈥

Refining his understanding of accounting principles, systems, and research paid off, he says.

鈥淚t prepared me well,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 had a more conceptual understanding. If I had questions about things being presented, I was able to quickly research the issue and figure out exactly what they were asking. In the master鈥檚 program, we had to do quite a bit of research so I was very comfortable researching issues later.鈥

From Theory to Practice

Guichard says UL 老司机福利网鈥檚 accounting program is known for its rigor.

That remains true at the graduate level, she says.

鈥淯nlike the undergraduate degree, which is very exam-based, the rigor is still there but it鈥檚 directed toward developing research skills and how to apply what you鈥檝e learned in the undergraduate program with your clients,鈥 Guichard says.

Developing those research skills serves graduates well in their accounting careers.

鈥淭ax law is always changing,鈥 she says. 鈥淵ou have to keep up with changing laws, and continue your professional education.鈥

For Guichard, it also guided her career path. She knew she enjoyed teaching when she enrolled in the accounting program, but her love of research led her to pursue a life in academia. She鈥檚 now a third-year doctoral student.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 until the master鈥檚 in accounting program that I learned what the research aspect was and found I loved it just as much as teaching,鈥 she says. 鈥淭eaching gives you immediate satisfaction, but the research part could go for years.鈥

Bellard says he鈥檚 using what he learned in graduate school every day as a CPA.

鈥淵ou have to be able to recognize when there鈥檚 an issue and know how to research the issue and find the correct answer,鈥 he says. 鈥淭he advanced tax class helped in more ways I can count. I鈥檓 dealing with tax issues every day so that deeper knowledge of tax law really helps.鈥

Building Support

Good public accountants and auditors don鈥檛 just need to be well-versed in tax law and regulations, they need to know how to communicate and who the other experts in the field are.

鈥淵ou have to be able to talk to clients and to work as a team. A lot of people don鈥檛 realize that with auditing, it鈥檚 a lot of teamwork,鈥 says Guichard, who interned with Ernst & Young. 鈥淚n the master鈥檚 program, it was such a diverse group. It was really cool to meet another group of accounting friends that I鈥檓 still in touch with today.鈥

Bellard says getting involved in accounting organizations helped him create a cohort of peer mentors.

鈥淵ou meet like-minded individuals,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 can still lean on them or reach out to them if something comes up that I鈥檓 not sure how to do in my job, because they have different specialties than I do.

鈥淲e can all lean on each other.鈥

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