The MBA degree has been touted as “the most popular postgraduate degree in the U.S.” (Fortune.com) with some estimating that more than 100,000 MBA degrees are awarded annually. And while the MBA degree certainly adds value and creates a pool of well-educated future executives, the question might be asked, “Does one size fit all?”
Recent innovations in higher education are challenging the status quo by providing an alternative executive graduate business degree, the Executive Master of Accounting, or EMAcc, degree. While many people are familiar with a Master of Accounting degree, the degree designed to help aspiring CPAs qualify to sit for and pass the CPA exam, fewer would be able to describe the EMAcc degree.
The EMAcc degree is, as its name suggests, designed to build on the experience and expertise of its mid-career participants who have been working in the business world for a period of time, frequently five years or more. It is a cohort group-style experience with graduate business courses tailored to fit the needs of aspiring financial executives, focusing on the accounting knowledge and skills that senior financial management so desperately need. Similar to the traditional MAcc degree, the EMAcc prepares participants for CPA or other accounting professional licensing.
While some courses in the Executive MAcc program might appear to be cut and pasted from traditional MBA courses (such as Corporate Governance and Leadership) all of the EMAcc courses are tailored to address the concerns and needs of financial management.
For example, rather than dealing with corporate governance concepts broadly, the EMAcc version of a corporate governance course deals specifically with concepts directly relevant to financial executives such as the audit committee’s role in the financial reporting process, and the role of external auditors in financial statement verification. Other courses offered in EMAcc courses are unique to that degree, such as Tax Planning and Strategy and Big Data & Systems Analytics for Financial Executives. These courses are offered over short face-to-face sessions (1-2 weeks) in desirable locations such as Park City, Utah, blended with online learning to allow working professionals to remain in their full-time employment while completing their degree.
For more detailed information about the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business’ version of the Executive Master of Accounting degree, including an overview of the curriculum for this program, please visit https://huntsman.usu.edu/emacc/curriculum. The School of Accountancy at Utah State University is highly respected, ranking in the top 35 in the country by the Public Accounting Report in both undergraduate and graduate programs and ranking in the top 25 nationally for first-time CPA exam pass rates.