Would an MBA allow me to extensively study accounting or should I get a second bachelor's degree?

Question

My bachelor's is in Finance, but I think I need to know more about accounting for my career. Would an MBA or a second BS better fulfill this? I would probably want to get an MBA irregardless, so I'd go on to the MBA after the BS in accounting if that's necessary.

Answer 1

Most MBAs are fairly general degrees; you can usually not take more than 3 or 4 courses in any individual subject matter. The good news is that many schools these days are offering an M.S. in Accounting - it became popular as many states enacted 150 hour rules for their CPA exams, which meant that accounting students needed to take another year of coursework in order to qualify for the CPA. Look into that option; many schools with good accounting departments offer it.

Answer 2

An MBA is a Masters of Business Administration. Most of the top flight schools expect their MBA students to have business experience before arriving. I would think that Accounting would be a useless focus for MBA, which should be looking at broader aspects than that. If you want Accounting, take a second BS and then get your CPA.

Answer 3

If you're going to get more education, a second bachelors degree does not mean as much as a masters degree. But you are facing a tough decision. With only the two introductory accounting courses, you can't become an accountant without more accounting. Neither the MS in accounting nor the MBA is likely to offer enough necessary accounting courses. The MS may not even accept you without more accounting background. If you want to get into accounting, then you should aim for the CPA. Check your state requirements, because the state licenses you once you pass the CPA examination. As a minimum you need a bachelors degree with appropriate accounting courses. Most states require 30 credit hours beyond the bachelors degree. An MBA with a concentration in accounting may be your best choice. It may not have enough accounting courses to qualify for the CPA, in which case you may have to take some undergraduate accounting courses in addition to the MBA requirements, most likely auditing, advanced accounting, cost accounting, and law. Pick a school where you can do this and get a graduate degree as well. It would be worth the effort. Consult the Official MBA Guide. It's a comprehensive free public service with more than 2,000 MBA programs listed worldwide. It allows you to search for programs by location (US, Europe, Far East, etc.), by concentration (finance, marketing, aviation management, health management, accounting, etc.), by type of program (full-time, distance learning, part-time, executive, and accelerated), and by listing your own criteria and preferences to get a list of universities that satisfy your needs. Schools report their accreditation status, tuition cost, number of students, class sizes, program length, and a lot of other data. Schools provide data on entrance requirements, program costs, program characteristics, joint degrees, and much more. You can use the Guide to contact schools of your choice, examine their data, visit their web site, and send them pre applications. You can see lists of top 40 schools ranked by starting salaries of graduates, GMAT scores, and other criteria.

Answer 4

You should get a master's degree in accounting, if that is what you want to do. An MBA might be a waste if you want to be a CPA. You would also take accounting law courses, which would help you both pass the CPA exam and practice successfully.

Answer 5

maybe a MBA with a concentration in Accounting...my MBA has a MIS concentration & I only had a couple of Acct classes, but tons of computer classes, so I would imagine the same would be true if you had a different concentration, like Acct.