Download a PDF with the program overview.
An MBA with a concentration in accounting can open up many career possibilities whether you want to become a high-level executive for a corporation or an independent CPA. The Department of Labor and Statistics predicts that the employment of accountants and auditors will grow faster than average for all occupations through the year 2016.
This degree will prepare you to take the certified public accountants examination. You will learn to analyze your organization’s economic performance and convey that information easily to key stakeholders within your firm using advanced accounting reports. You’ll gain not only the analytical skills necessary for a career in accounting, but also the leadership skills to get ahead.
Whether you’re interested in auditing, tax strategy or managerial accounting, this MBA concentration can help get you there.
Career possibilities might include:
Students can choose from the following class formats:
MBA courses are $690 per credit hour. Most courses are worth three credits. Fifty-four credits are required to complete the MBA, Accounting program. Payment is due at the start of each term. Financial aid is available.
Our unique cohort system groups students together throughout their educational experience. You will complete the program one class at a time, in a predetermined sequence.
Total Credit Hours: 54
*Note: The credit hours required for an accounting concentration are higher than the comprehensive MBA in order to satisfy CPA exam requirements.
These classes are available in the classroom or online.
Introduction of key financial accounting concepts. Analysis of a firm’s historical, current and prospective financial condition and performance. Emphasis on investment and credit decision.
Developing and evaluating brand strategies over the life of the product. Strategies for introducing brands and reviving brands. Includes basic marketing principles of product, price, promotion, environment and customer.
Focus on basic microeconomic principles of the firm and relevance in business decisions. Covers supply and demand and its relationship to market outcomes and economic determinants of consumption, savings, and labor behavior.
Basic statistical concepts and analytical tools for data driven decision making. Introduction to concepts of frequency, distribution, variation and normal curve correlations with application to business decisions.
Decision making, negotiations and ethics. Cultural impact on management strategy. Create value, motivate resources, leading and creating high performance teams. Integrating performance across business units.
Focus on creation of money, function and roles of financial institutions, fiscal and monetary policy and the Federal Reserve system. Covers economic theory of financial markets and impact of government policies, determinants of national income, employment, investment, interest rates, inflation and exchange rates.
Analyze policies in human resource management and organizational design, recruitment, selection hiring, development promotion and incentive based pay.
Understand the legal environment, which impacts all businesses. Legal aspects of business relationships and business agreements. Forms of business organizations, duties of officers and directors, intellectual property, antitrust, contracts, employment relationships, criminal law and debtor-creditor relationships including bankruptcy.
These classes are only available online.
Analyze how accounting meets information needs of various users by developing and communicating information useful for external decision making. Builds on basic accounting by taking a more in-depth look at the theory and practice of accounting.
Examines the auditing environment, with emphasis placed on developing skills for performing financial audits. These skills include planning the audit, testing internal controls, substantive and analytical testing, audit sampling and drawing conclusions from results. Topics include planning for materiality and audit risk; evaluating effectiveness of internal controls; reporting weaknesses to management, ethics and AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, and audit opinions.
Current laws relating to income realization and recognition, exclusions from income, business and personal deductions, credits from tax, business and personal gains and losses, depreciation, accounting periods and methods, and alternative minimum tax. Basics of tax research, understanding how to analyze difficult tax questions and interpret tax law changes and professional and ethical standards of the preparer.
Applies many of the basic principles learned in Federal Income Tax to the dealings of corporate taxpayers and their shareholders. Overview of corporate tax, ethical stewardship, transactions in the life of a “C” corporation, Subchapter S, and other forms of business organizations. Basics of the taxation of corporate mergers and acquisitions.
Corporate budgeting, working capital management and financial analysis. Corporate decision-making regarding complex capital structures and how these decisions impact incentives of claimants.
Accounting information used in decision-making. Why firms are adopting activity-based costing, economic value-added and balanced scorecard decision models. Budgeting, cash flow and incremental analysis.
This class is designed to integrate the knowledge and skills gained from the MBA program and apply them in a real world business environment. Students will learn how to use teamwork to develop a business plan and solve authentic business challenges.
Study of advanced topics in financial reporting and accounting. Focuses on complex corporate reporting issues including a comprehensive study of business combinations, the equity and cost methods of accounting for investments in common stock, and consolidated financial statement preparation. Explores accounting theory as applied to special problems such as accounting for partnerships, segment and interim reporting, international accounting issues and an introduction to not-for-profit, state and local governmental accounting.
Our unique cohort system groups students together throughout their educational experience. You will complete the program one class at a time, in a predetermined sequence. This collaborative environment accelerates learning and builds strong peer relationships that last a lifetime. We also host occasional networking events for our MBAs, which allows them to interact with other cohorts and alumni.
We facilitate a close working relationship between students and faculty. Group work is often part of the curriculum, which helps prepare students to work collaboratively in the business world. Student discussion is encouraged as the MBAs learn from each other’s diverse backgrounds.
At the end of the program, students will complete a capstone course. This class integrates the knowledge and skills gained from the MBA courses and applies them to a real business environment. Students will work as a team to solve an authentic business challenge.
You can apply online here.
No.
The GMAT is not required for admission.
Applicants must possess a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.85 or have earned a master’s degree with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
Such applicants may receive provisional or probationary admission depending upon review of their file.
No, we recommend you first complete your online application. You may then submit all materials as you receive them.
Official transcripts must be mailed to:Office of Graduate Admissions and Student Services7400 Augusta St., Addison Hall 158River Forest, IL 60305
Other materials can be mailed, faxed (708-209-3454) or emailed (Grad.Admission@CUChicago.edu).
Admissions will mail its final decision to you within two weeks of your file being complete.
You can start your MBA in the spring (January), summer (May) or fall (August). The full-time Comprehensive MBA program begins only in the fall term. All applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
We ask that you complete a Course Registration Form. This is the final step to complete your admissions file.
Email Rowena Abrahams at Rowena.Abrahams@CUChicago.edu.
We ask that our candidates have 12 hours of prerequisite credit at the undergraduate or graduate level in a discipline appropriate to the MBA program (i.e., any business, finance, or economics courses). If an applicant does not have these credits, however, admissions will review work experience. If work experience relates to the major emphasis of the selected program, admissions will waive such prerequisites.
Coursework completed as an undergraduate does not count towards MBA credits. Graduate coursework from another institution will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by our graduate admissions staff. Such coursework must have been completed within a ten-year time frame and reflect a grade of B or better. Transcripts and course descriptions are required for review.
The College of Business is a member and actively involved in the ACBSP and is currently undergoing the accreditation process. Concordia University Chicago is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.
* Although the majority of classes are on campus, all concentration courses are taken online.
On-campus classes meet at Concordia’s River Forest campus, located at 7400 Augusta St., River Forest, IL 60305. The campus is 10 miles west of downtown Chicago.
Our online professors are very involved with their students. We cap our enrollment for online courses to a smaller number of students. Our professors add additional resources (videos, presentation, articles, etc.) to reinforce topics covered in the textbook. The professors participate in group discussions. They will add additional thoughts and information when needed and/or recap the important concepts of the discussions. Our professors are willing and available to speak with students one-on-one to further discuss material or answer questions. Some of our professors also hold optional group conference calls or chat sessions.
You can complete the Comprehensive MBA in one year. Our specialized MBA programs can be completed in two years. The Accounting MBA can be completed in just under three years.
Concordia believes that an important aspect of your graduate learning experience is peer interaction. To promote interactive relationships, Concordia utilizes the cohort model. Cohorts consist of classmates who proceed through the MBA program in the same sequence as a group, either on campus or online. As a member of a cohort, you will quickly discover the benefits of sharing ideas and experiences. Students complete coursework with an enhanced feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.
MBA courses are $690 per credit hour. Most courses are three credits. There are 39 total credit hours required to complete the MBA program. (The accounting concentration includes 54 credit hours.) Please Note: Fees are subject to change.
There is a technology fee of $10 per credit hour, and students pay for their own textbooks.
Payment is due before the start of each course.
Yes. A financial aid advisor will be happy to discuss your options and review the process. Please contact Ethan Muench for more information at Ethan.Muench@CUChicago.edu or (708) 209-3234.
Currently, there are no university scholarships available for MBA students. Students are sometimes able to obtain scholarships from an outside party.
Graduate assistantships are available for the academic year. The assistantship begins in the fall and ends in the spring semester. Applications are available in April and can be obtained through the Office of Graduate Admission.
In addition to the above admission requirements, International applicants must provide:
Any foreign transcripts must be evaluated by a Concordia-approved international credentialing service. Concordia accepts evaluations from WES (World Education Services) or ECE (Educational Credential Evaluators).
No. Financial aid is only available to US citizens.
Funds may come from any dependable sources including: scholarships, sponsors, or family savings accounts. All funds must be documented by banks, the sponsors or the school before the I-20 form can be issued.
You will need to obtain an F-1 Student Visa from the American Consulate in your country.
Student Services can assist you. Please email Magdalena.Adamowska@CUChicago.edu or call (708) 209-3005.
Email Lin Wang at Lin.Wang@CUChicago.edu or the Office of Graduate Admission at Grad.Admission@CUChicago.edu.