Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting online

Develop advanced accounting knowledge, as well as strategic thinking and leadership skills, to diversify your career options and prepare for the CPA exam.

Apply by: 1/5/25
Start class: 1/27/25

Program Overview

Take a closer look at our MBA – Accounting 100% online program.

$17,872.50 Total Tuition
As few as 12 months Duration
30* Credit Hours

Coursework in the Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting online program has been specifically aligned to meet updated standards and guidelines for CPA study. This program also enhances your skill set for careers in public accounting, banking, risk management, auditing, taxation, and more.

Enrollment in this concentration does not require a background in accounting. You will acquire a broad-based background in taxation and auditing, law and ethics, managerial accounting, cost accounting, and financial accounting, among other topics. Plus, the rigorous core curriculum will enrich your understanding of financial operations, global economics, business analytics, innovation and corporate sustainability, and persuasion and negotiation strategies.

You can structure our unique capstone course to apply to your professional interests—for example, investigating a specific issue in your own workplace, conducting an independent research project, or writing a proposal for a startup. You also will develop a personal strategic plan that includes goal setting, a SWOT analysis, and a personal branding strategy.

As a graduate of this program, you will be able to:

  • Manage assets, liabilities and equity, revenue and expense recognition, accounting changes and error analysis and prepare income, balance sheet, and cash flow statements for business entities
  • Understand deferred taxes, pension, leases, business combinations and consolidations, partnership, foreign currency transactions and translation, and accounting for government and not-for-profit entities
  • Oversee auditing, including planning the audit, evaluating internal controls, and verifying account balances and financial statement assertions
  • Apply the U.S. Internal Revenue Code with emphasis on income taxation of individuals, emphasizing research techniques and tax planning principles
  • Analyze federal income taxes as they relate to business entities, such as C Corporation, S Corporation, Partnerships, and LLCs with emphasis on research techniques and tax planning principles
  • Manage assets, liabilities and equity, revenue and expense recognition, accounting changes and error analysis and prepare income, balance sheet, and cash flow statements for business entities
  • Understand deferred taxes, pension, leases, business combinations and consolidations, partnership, foreign currency transactions and translation, and accounting for government and not-for-profit entities
  • Oversee auditing, including planning the audit, evaluating internal controls, and verifying account balances and financial statement assertions
  • Apply the U.S. Internal Revenue Code with emphasis on income taxation of individuals, emphasizing research techniques and tax planning principles
  • Analyze federal income taxes as they relate to business entities, such as C Corporation, S Corporation, Partnerships, and LLCs with emphasis on research techniques and tax planning principles

Career opportunities:

  • Accounting Manager
  • Corporate Accountant
  • Tax Accountant
  • Finance Manager
  • Financial Analyst
  • Accounting Manager
  • Corporate Accountant
  • Tax Accountant
  • Finance Manager
  • Financial Analyst

Also available:

William Paterson University offers a variety of specialized MBA concentrations. Check out all of our online MBA programs.

$17,872.50 Total Tuition
As few as 12 months Duration
30* Credit Hours
AACSB logo

William Paterson University’s Cotsakos College of Business is accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International).

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Need More Information?

Call 833-960-0139

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Tuition

Experience value with our affordable online MBA.

MBA online programs from William Paterson University offer affordable, pay-by-the-course tuition. All fees are included in the total tuition.

Tuition breakdown:

$17,872.50 Total Tuition
$595.75 Per Credit Hour

Tuition breakdown:

$17,872.50 Total Tuition
$595.75 Per Credit Hour

Calendar

Explore the schedule for applications and tuition payments.

William Paterson University online programs are delivered in an accelerated format ideal for working professionals, conveniently featuring multiple start dates each year.

Now enrolling:

1/5/25 Apply Date
1/27/25 Class Starts
TermStart DateApp DeadlineDocument DeadlineRegistration DeadlineTuition DeadlineClass End DateTerm Length
Fall II11/4/2410/14/2410/16/2410/25/2410/30/2412/22/247 weeks
Spring I1/27/251/5/251/8/251/17/251/22/253/16/257 weeks
Spring II3/24/253/2/253/5/253/14/253/19/255/11/257 weeks
Summer I5/19/254/27/254/30/255/9/255/14/257/6/257 weeks
Summer II7/14/256/22/256/24/257/3/257/9/258/31/257 weeks
Fall I9/8/258/17/258/20/258/29/259/3/2510/26/257 weeks
Fall II11/3/2510/12/2510/15/2510/24/2510/29/2512/21/257 weeks

Now enrolling:

1/5/25 Apply Date
1/27/25 Class Starts

Have questions or need more information about our online programs?

Ready to take the rewarding path toward earning your degree online?

Admissions

Get started on your WP application.

At William Paterson University, we’ve streamlined the admission process to help you get started quickly and easily. Please read the requirements for the MBA with a concentration in Accounting online, including what additional materials you need and where you should send them.

The requirements include:

  • Undergraduate degree from an accredited institution
  • Transcripts from all colleges and universities previously attended
  • GPA of 2.75 or higher
  • Resume detailing professional experience

You must meet the following requirements for admission to this MBA online program:

  • Submit online application and $50 application fee
  • Bachelor's degree from an accredited university
  • Professional resume detailing educational and work experience
  • Cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher OR
    • Cumulative undergraduate GPA of 2.75+ with 2 years of work experience in a professional supervisory capacity OR
    • Cumulative undergraduate GPA of 2.75+ and a minimum score of 500 on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or a minimum score of a 152 verbal and a 152 quantitative on the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE)
  • Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended

Official transcripts, test scores, and other documents should be sent from the granting institutions to:

Email address: [email protected]

Mail address:

Office of Graduate Admissions and Enrollment Services
William Paterson University
Morrison Hall 102
300 Pompton Road
Wayne, NJ 07470

Courses

Review the curriculum for the MBA – Accounting online program.

For the MBA with a concentration in Accounting online, you must complete 15 credit hours of core courses (including a capstone course) and 15 credit hours of concentration courses. Students without a “B” or better in pre-requisite undergraduate business foundation courses may be required to take additional leveling courses.

Students who have completed the required foundational business courses with a grade of “B” or better may have the Foundation Courses listed here waived. Students without a “B” or better in pre-requisite undergraduate business foundation courses may be required to complete up to nine additional credits. Students can start the MBA core while taking these courses.

Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 1.5
This course provides students with an introduction to basic accounting fundamentals and skills necessary to analyze financial information of firms from a decision-maker perspective. Financial information is presented in the form of financial statements, principally, the income statement, balance sheet, statement of retained earnings, and cash flow statement. We will discuss how accountants organize the results of business transactions and report them to external users who will then use the reports to make decisions.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 1.5
This course will help students to develop a comprehensive analysis of the micro and macroeconomic forces that shape and modify our economy. Supply and Demand, Revenue and Cost, wages, employment, regulations and taxation are discussed as they affect production, consumption, investment, trade, prices, quantities, profits, inequality, and the economy as a whole.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 1.5
A study of the basic principles and practices of financial management of private (as opposed to government owned or affiliated) business operations. The principles and models discussed in the course can be equally applied to publicly listed companies as well as privately owned ones. This course includes an operational framework for financial analysis, financial planning including capital budgeting, along with valuation analysis and cost of capital. The basic framework of analysis used is that of risk and return, emphasizing that the objective of the firm is to maximize shareholder return, subject to satisfying societal and other stakeholder concerns.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 1.5
The main objective of this course is to introduce the basic statistical concepts and tools in order to form the foundation through which students can analyze data used for decision-making. The course is application-oriented and focuses on topics that are useful in business and industry such as descriptive statistics, probability, conceptual modeling, and problem formulation and decision analysis. The course prepares students to develop an understanding of how to deal with new trends in the industry such as big data and data mining.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 1.5
This course takes a broad-based look at management and organizations in order to provide students with the building blocks needed for more advanced classes in the program. It exposes students to the history of management thought and to some of the most influential organizational theories. It uses insights from multiple disciplines such as economics, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and political economy and offers frameworks for analyzing modern organizations and current managerial practices. The course concludes with a discussion of contemporary issues in management.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 1.5
Marketing is viewed as a system designed to create, capture, distribute, and communicate value to consumers and businesses. The course emphasizes the managerial approach to developing marketing strategy through analyses of business conditions, customers, and competitors. Emphasis is given to understanding buyer motivations, behaviors, and contexts as the basis for marketing decisions.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The course is designed to offer management accounting and costing tools for decision-making and business strategy. Some examples of these tools are: cost-volume-profit analysis, product costing, incremental analysis, investment and operational budgeting, and standard costing. Real world cases and examples will be used extensively. Students will learn how financial and non-financial information can be integrated in areas such as strategic positioning and value-chain analysis to gain and enhance competitive advantage in the market place.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course deals with the environment in which international business is conducted, including economic and financial relations, environmental and strategic factors that affect business operations within different nations. Topics include international trade, the balance of payment, exchange rate determination, hedging of foreign exchange exposure, tariffs and other trade restrictions, economic development, economic integration, and international economic organizations within different nations. Also reviewed are the economic, political and cultural conditions that influence international business.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Students may choose to investigate an issue at their place of work, undertake research that will lead them to new fields, or create proposals for business models or start-ups. The capstone experience will provide students with direct exposure into various industries and also serve as a basis for planning and advancement. Finally, the course will also help MBA candidates establish their professional identities through reflective assignments and self-assessments as guided by their instructor. The course is taken in the MBA student’s last semester, or after completing the majority of courses.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The course studies strategic management from the perspective of environmental sustainability, with an emphasis on the impact of innovation on corporate social responsibility. Sustainable Strategic Management refers to strategic management policies and processes that seek competitive advantages consistent with a core value of environmental sustainability. Firms that pursue sustainable strategic management base the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of their strategies on an analysis of the ecological issues they face, the values they hold that support sustainability, and the ecological interests of their stakeholders.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Managers need resources to succeed, and successful managers tend to negotiate well to give themselves the best chance to succeed. They negotiate with customers and suppliers for better prices, and they negotiate with internal functions to get better support and key resources to deliver value to both internal and external stakeholders. As managers move up the corporate ladder, they negotiate with their team members for better commitment and they negotiate with their superiors for domain independence. This course will focus on managers’ need to influence others, manage conflict, and negotiate agreements in a wide range of business scenarios both within and outside the organization. Students will be introduced to basic theories of negotiation, practices and frameworks of negotiation. Students will be provided with opportunities to reshape their understanding of negotiation, discover their own negotiation styles, and apply negotiation principles to critical issues. The course takes a view that negotiation is also a life skill that comes in handy in career growth and addresses the managers need to understand that influencing often occurs without formal power or authority. The course uses a combination of lectures, discussions, role-play exercises, cases, and exams.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course studies in-depth specific accounting subjects such as assets and liabilities and equity, revenue and expense recognition, accounting changes and error analysis, and preparing income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement for business entities.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course studies in-depth specific accounting subjects such as deferred taxes, pension, leases, business combinations and consolidations, partnership, foreign currency transactions and translation, and accounting for government and not-for-profit entities.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course is designed to provide the student with in-depth understanding of all aspects of auditing. These include accepting and planning the audit, evaluating internal controls, verifying account balances and financial statement assertions, reporting on audited financial statements, as well as auditing standards, and the legal liabilities and professional and personal ethical responsibilities of auditors.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course provides a study of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code with emphasis on income taxation of individuals. The course looks at tax-minimizing decision-making of individuals. The course is a practical study of federal income taxes and emphasizes research techniques and tax planning principles; it provides practice in the preparation of tax returns and solution of case problems.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course provides a study of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code with emphasis on income taxation of business entities. The course looks at tax-minimizing decision-making of entities and their owners. The course is a practical study of federal income taxes as they relate to business entities, such as C Corporation, S Corporation, Partnerships and LLCs with emphasis on research techniques and tax planning principles; it provides practice in the preparation of tax returns and solution of case problems.

*Students without pre-requisite foundation courses may require additional credits.

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