Accounting B.B.A.

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Bachelor of Business Administration Degree
Coles College of Business, School of Accountancy
(770) 423-6084

The faculty of the School of Accountancy strives to be a team of creative, highly qualified professionals dedicated to preparing students for entry-level opportunities and long-term career success. The faculty also makes meaningful contributions to the professional and academic accounting communities.

Accounting provides the tools to measure, interpret and communicate economic information for decision-making. A basic understanding of financial and managerial accounting information is necessary for all business majors. Accounting majors develop their knowledge of accounting within the framework of accounting information systems. The development of a student’s technical, communication, computer, critical-thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and leadership skills are critical consequences of the program.

Upon graduation, Accounting majors have a wide range of job opportunities. Many go into public practice (CPA firms), which involves independent auditing, accounting, consulting and tax services provided to clients. This is the traditional path for becoming a Certified Public Accountant. Others choose private accounting, becoming financial, tax, systems or managerial accountants or internal auditors in business and industry. Still others enter the specialized fields of not-for-profit or governmental accounting. Accounting also serves as a solid background for graduate work in any business area or law. Many find rewarding lifetime careers in Accounting; others use it as a stepping-stone to high-level management positions.

The State of Georgia requires everyone who wishes to be licensed as a CPA to have five years of education (150 semester hours), including a baccalaureate degree. 123 hours are required to earn the bachelors degree; hence 27 additional hours are needed. While these can be undergraduate hours, the faculty recommend that prospective CPAs earn a Masters degree to satisfy the five year requirement.

All business majors must meet the Coles College Sophomore GPA Requirement and be admitted to the Coles College Professional Program. In addition, all business majors must earn a grade of “C” or better in the courses that constitute the Lower Division Major Requirements (lower division business core) and the Upper Division Major Requirements (including upper division business core courses, information technology requirement, major field requirements, and major field electives).

General Education (42 Credit Hours)

(see listing of requirements)

University-Wide Fitness For Living Requirement (3 Credit Hours)

In the General Education requirements, all business majors must take:

Lower Division Business Core (AREA F) (18 Credit Hours)

Upper Division Major Requirements (45 Credit Hours)

Upper Division Business Core (18 Credit Hours)

Information Technology Requirement (3 Credit Hours)

BISM 3100 - Information Systems Management

Major Field Requirements (18 Credit Hours)

Major Field Electives (6 Credit Hours)

Select 6 credit hours from the following:

Guidance for Selecting Electives

Students should select their (2) Major Field Elective courses and their Business and Non-Business electives after careful consideration of career and/or graduate school aspirations. Discussions with faculty are advisable. Students are encouraged to review the required knowledge and skills for accounting certifications and licensure when selecting their Major Field Electives. Popular accounting certifications include CPA (Certified Public Accountant; http://www.nasba.org); CMA (Certified Management Accountant; http://www.imanet.org); and CIA (Certified Internal Auditor; http://www.theiia.org).

Students who wish to intensify their studies in the area of technology should consider completing the Information Technology (IT) Certificate. See csis.kennesaw.edu/itcert.html or call 770-423-6005 for details. The certificate includes 15 hours of course work in the IT area. Six of those hours could fit in the Non-Business Electives section of the Accounting program.

Public Accounting

1. Students who intend to begin their careers in public accounting (CPA firms) should take:

Master of Accounting

2. Students who plan to enter KSU’s Master of Accounting degree program should take:

Information Technology

3. Students who wish to intensify their studies in the area of technology should consider completing the Information Technology (IT) Certificate. See science.kennesaw.edu/csis/itcert or call 770-423-6005 for complete details. The certificate includes 15 hours of course work in the IT area. Six of those hours could fit in the Non-business Electives section of the Accounting program.

Business Electives (9 Credit Hours)

Nine hours of credit from upper-division (3000/4000) course offerings outside the major, but inside the Coles College of Business. ACCT courses cannot be used here. (A maximum of nine hours of credit in Co-Ops and Internships may be used in this area. Co-Ops and Internships cannot be used in any other area.)

Non-Business Electives (6 Credit Hours)

Six hours of credit from any lower-division (1000/2000) or upper-division (3000/4000) non-business courses offered at Kennesaw State.