Through its Accounting program, the Department of Business Administration provides the opportunity for students to obtain a quality education and to gain an awareness of their individual strengths and interests in order to make appropriate career decisions. The department offers students a rigorous, up-to-date curriculum that prepares them for imaginative and responsible leadership roles in accounting - domestic and worldwide. While the program is career-oriented, the department realizes that contemporary accounting professionals must bring a broad and varied perspective to their practice. Accordingly, the program requires that prospective graduates take half of the 120 credit hours needed for a degree outside the department, with particular emphasis given to the development of written and oral communicative skills and the acquisition of the ability to think creatively and critically.
Students are urged to declare a major in Accounting as early as possible in their academic career. Students who wish to declare this major after they have earned 90 credit hours will need the permission of the department chairperson and the Dean of the College of Natural and Social Sciences.
The Accounting program offers the degree, B.S. in Accounting, which, combined with the department’s M.S. degree in Accounting (see SUNY Fredonia Graduate Catalog), qualifies graduates to take the Certified Public Accounting (CPA) examination. Additionally, graduates are qualified to sit for the Certified Management Accounting examination. The program is administered by the Department of Business Administration, and Accounting majors are eligible for all awards, honors, and programs sponsored by the department.
The Accounting and Business Administration programs at SUNY Fredonia have been accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education. The Department of Business Administration presently has a number of formal and informal agreements with several universities that allow students to matriculate into accelerated B.S./M.B.A. programs.
Career Options
There are three major sources of employment for Accounting graduates - public accounting, management accounting, and governmental accounting. Public accounting firms provide clients with a wide variety of services, including auditing, tax consulting, and management advisory services. Management accountants are employed by companies in various areas, such as cost accounting, budgeting, general ledger accounting, and internal auditing. Governmental accountants, employed by the federal, state, and local governments, have the responsibility to monitor the use of the taxpayers’ money. In the federal government, the major sources of employment for accountants include the Internal Revenue Service, General Accounting Office, and Defense Contract Audit Agency.
Student Clubs and Activities
Students majoring in Accounting can participate in a number of clubs or activities that are designed to supplement classroom work. The student clubs include the Business Club, the Financial Management Association, a collegiate chapter of the American Marketing Association, and the Accounting Society. The Accounting Society engages in many activities, including meetings with accountants from industry, government, and public practice. The society also conducts the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (a service provided under the auspices of the IRS) by which student volunteers help to prepare individual personal income tax returns for low-income and elderly persons. The Accounting program also has a number of standing internships with various local firms and organizations.
A graduate program in Accounting is available in the department; for more information, see the separate Graduate Catalog or contact the Office of Graduate Studies at (716) 673-3808.