Accounting

The Master of Science in Accounting is intended to provide students with the advanced training in accounting, business administration, public administration, not-for-profit administration, and healthcare administration necessary to begin or enhance careers in the accounting profession. The program will provide a solid foundation in accounting concepts and practices related to auditing, financial reporting and analysis, cost accounting and budgeting, federal tax research, reporting, and planning. Students will also gain competencies in written and oral communication, team projects, critical thinking, and ethical reasoning. These skills will be emphasized in courses throughout the curriculum based on the recommendation of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). In addition to producing graduates who are technically competent in accounting and other areas of business, the program will help students develop decision-making and analytical skills necessary for successful careers in business. The case approach will be used in many classes and will integrate knowledge and skills students have acquired in other accounting, business, and non-business courses. Elective courses in public administration, not-for-profit administration, and healthcare administration are offered for students who wish to pursue accounting careers in those fields.

Applicants must have a four-year bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution. Applicants within 15 hours of graduation may be admitted on a tentative basis. Admission to the M.S. program is contingent on completion of the bachelor’s degree.

All applicants for the M.S. in Accounting must submit scores obtained on the Graduate Management Admission Test. High standards of written and oral presentations in the classroom are expected. Students must be proficient in college algebra, statistics, and the use of word processing and spreadsheet software.

The M.S. in Accounting consists of 66 hours of study: 36 hours of undergraduate foundation courses, 18 hours of core graduate courses, and 12 hours of graduate electives.

The following undergraduate foundation courses may be waived if equivalent courses have been completed.

BUA 201 Principles of Accounting I
BUA 202 Principles of Accounting II
BUA 301 Intermediate Accounting I
BUA 302 Intermediate Accounting II
BUA 305 Cost Accounting
BUA 310 Auditing
BUA 312 Federal Taxation of Individuals
BUA 325 Principles of Management and Organization
BUA 350 Business Finance
BUA 370 Marketing
ECO 120 Principles of Microeconomics
ECO 121 Principles of Macroeconomics (ECO 310 Intro to Economics/Accelerated may be taken instead of ECO 120 and 121)

Students who do not present acceptable total credit for the above foundation courses may enroll as a non-degree undergraduate student to complete these courses prior to being admitted to the graduate school.

Full time students who have completed all foundation courses can complete the program of study in one calendar year.

Core Courses

All candidates for the M.S. in Accounting must complete the six core graduate courses listed below.

Four additional courses (twelve credit hours) may be chosen from two concentration tracks: The Business track or the Public Administration/Not-for-Profit/Healthcare track.

Transient or non-degree graduate students planning to register for any 600–level BUA-designated course must provide official transcripts and GMAT scores for review prior to consideration for admission.

Additional information is available from:

Graduate Programs Office, Room 209
5723 Donald P. Corbett Business Building
The University of Maine
Orono, ME 04469-5723
Phone: (207) 581-1973
E-mail: mba@maine.edu
Web: www.umaine.edu/business

Required courses:

BUA 507 - Advanced Accounting Credits: 3
BUA 515 - Federal Taxation of Business Entities Credits: 3
BUA 608 - Accounting Theory and International Accounting Credits: 3
BUA 621 - Business Law for CPAs

BUA 626 - Behavioral Analysis for Administrative Decisions Credits: 3
BUA 690 - Advanced Auditing Credits: 3

Faculty

Graduate Faculty

Daniel E. Innis, Ph.D. (Ohio State, 1991), Professor of Marketing, Dean of the College of Business, Public Policy and Health, and Director of the Maine Business School. Customer service performance and a firm’s overall performance, the impact of quick response logistics on channel member behavior.

Richard H. Borgman, Ph.D. (Florida, 1994), Director of Graduate Programs, Maine Business School. Interim Associate Dean, College of Business, Public Policy, and Health University of Maine.

Darlene Bay, Ph.D. (Washington State, 1997), Assistant Professor of Accounting. Accounting and business ethics, ethics education, accounting education, small business management and accounting.

Martha Broderick, J.D. (Western New England School of Law, 1983). Instructor in business law.

Steven C. Colburn, Ph.D. (Georgia, 1989), Associate Professor of Accounting. Taxation of individuals, corporations, trusts and estates, with emphasis on tax planning.

Harold Z. Daniel, Ph.D. (Connecticut, 1997), Assistant Professor of Marketing. Organizational buying behavior and strategic acquisition, collaborative research and development, strategic management of technology, diffusion of innovations, customer satisfaction, student retention in institutions of higher education.

John K. Ford, D.B.A. (Harvard, 1977), Nicolas Salgo Professor of Business Administration. Professor of Finance. Diversification of bond and stock portfolios.

Virginia R. Gibson, Ph.D. (State University of New York at Binghamton, 1986), Associate Professor of Management Information Systems. Information systems for management decision support, business climate.

Carol B. Gilmore, Ph.D. (Massachusetts, 1979), Professor of Management. Labor law, labor arbitration. Public sector collective bargaining, personnel management, employee rights, employee relations law.

Wayne Ingalls, MBA (Wisconsin, Madison, 1968), Certified Public Accountant. Instructor in Accounting.

Nory B. Jones, Ph.D. (Missouri, 2001), Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems. Knowledge management, collaborative technologies, and diffusion of technological innovations.

Diana R. Lawson, Ph.D. (Kent State, 1993), Associate Professor of Marketing and International Business. Marketing strategy, international business education, economic integration, social responsibility of firms, and wood products marketing.

John F. Mahon, Ph.D. (Boston University, 1982), John M. Murphy Chair of International Business Policy and Strategy. Professor of Management. Management policy and strategy, global strategy.

Ivan M. Manev, Ph.D. (Boston College, 1997), Assistant Professor of Management. Management of the multinational corporation, formation of strategy and competitive advantage in social networks, organizational change in post-communist transition societies.

Kim K. R. McKeage, Ph.D. (Massachusetts, 1996), Associate Professor of Marketing. Retailing, customer service quality, relationship marketing, internal marketing, socially responsible marketing, marketing education.

David M. Steiger, Ph.D. (Oklahoma State, 1993), Associate Professor of Management Information Systems. Knowledge management, data mining, decision support systems.

Natalie M. Steiger, Ph.D. (North Carolina State, 1999), Assistant Professor of Management. Systems analysis and optimization, operations research and production.

Robert A. Strong, Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State, 1983), University of Maine Foundation Professor of Investment Education and Professor of Finance. The dividend growth rate implied in common stock beta; asset allocation and purchasing power risk; bond portfolio duration.

Gloria Vollmers, Ph.D. (Texas at Dallas, 1993), Associate Professor of Accounting. History of accounting, ethics in accounting and business, business history.

Stephanie A. Welcomer, Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State, 1997), Assistant Professor of Management. Social and cognitive networks, stakeholder theory, organizations and the natural environment.