Department of Accounting

Students obtaining degrees in accounting will have acquired the knowledge and the professional skills needed to provide information that can be used by a variety of financial information users for use in making general business and economic decisions. Accounting graduates are serving in many industry segments providing various quantification of financial information that is needed for assessing and measuring the profitability and success of the business or organization. Those graduates who excel in their academic endeavors have established an outstanding record of excelling in their chosen professional endeavors and have realized job satisfaction and good monetary rewards.

Our program is designed to provide a broad general education in the humanities and sciences, including a knowledge and under-standing of topics relevant to a variety of accounting education career options involving communications, behavioral sciences, quantitative methods, economics, and a study of computer science technology.

Perhaps you are interested in becoming a certified public accountant (CPA). You should be aware that most states, including Arkansas, require CPA candidates to obtain hours beyond the usual baccalaureate degree now.

All accounting majors must have a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA and a minimum C grade in major core courses to graduate. Students must also complete all requirements outlined on a SBM program of study, pass the English Proficiency Exam, and meet all minimum institutional requirements.

The state of Arkansas requires a total of 150 semester hours of college credits to become a candidate for the CPA certification. Although there are numerous other career options for accounting education graduates in the areas of teaching, governmental and private sector accounting, those who choose the path of becoming a CPA must adopt a personal program of perpetual learning and continuous professional growth and development. Students aspiring to become CPAs must take additional elective hours beyond the hours required for their accounting degree here at UAPB. Aspiring CPAs are advised and urged to pursue an advanced degree at another Arkansas university system school while meeting the 150-hour requirement for permission to take the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination.

Public accountants generally maintain intellectual independence and are aware of their responsibility to the public or employers in performing their [engagements and employee assignments. 

The services of accounting education graduates derive not only from personal knowledge and experiences, but also from personal qualities of perception, imagination, sound judging, and integrity.

Accounting education graduates provides essential information necessary for private clients and a variety of business organizations to determine and evaluate the present, and projected Financial and economic activities for business and other organizations.

The services provided by these graduates include financial and accounting for individuals, business entities, not-for-Profit organizations, all branches of federal, state, and local government, and educational institutions. Accounting education graduates develop and apply their skills in auditing and other attestation services, teaching, taxation, management advisory services, information systems, computers and communication technology, and other areas.

A degree in accounting means you have a proven ability to manage complex data and can turn this data into wins for your organization. And the field has openings for qualified individuals. According to the BLS, about 136,400 openings for accountants and auditors are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Career paths for those with an accounting degree include:

• The CPA, Public Accounting
• Government Accounting
• Industrial Accounting
• Public Accounting
• Internal/External Auditing
• Management Accounting
• Teaching Accounting Education
• Assurance and Consulting Services