Accountancy Programs

Curriculum and Advising Resources

Accounting is an important part of any business; many times referred to as the language of business. Accounting literacy is important to managers and other business people so they can understand what the accounting numbers are communicating, their story. The accounting program at UNC Asheville is designed to help students become accounting literate. The Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Accounting provides students with the essential knowledge and skills to follow any career path in accounting or in management. The degree requirements emphasize the skills of communication, critical thinking, problem solving, and life-long learning. Ethical issues, global considerations, sustainability, and technology are integrated in the curriculum. The degree provides students with the accounting course work necessary to sit for the CPA exam. In order to become a CPA after passing the CPA exam, graduates are required to have an additional 30 credit hours beyond a 120 credit hour bachelor’s degree and to have one year of supervised work experienced. Upon meeting these requirements, graduates will become certified by the state board as a CPA.

Curriculum Features

Accounting Core: Students majoring in accounting will enroll in courses that provide foundational and advanced content knowledge and skills in the areas of audit, financial, managerial, systems, and tax. This coursework provides the necessary classes to sit for the CPA exam.

Business Core: All accounting majors are required to complete foundational core courses that address content areas such as ethics, individual and organizational behavior, leadership, legal and regulatory environments, and quantitative methods.

Introductory Seminar and Capstone: All accounting majors must first complete an introductory seminar course (MGMT 130) that will set the stage for learning about all types of organizations and expose them to a variety of important skills and knowledge areas prior to enrolling in subsequent core courses. Students will conclude their major coursework by enrolling in a strategic management capstone (MGMT 480) designed to close the loop on creating connections between theory and practice.

Student Choice: In addition to the business and accounting core courses, majors in accounting will be required to enroll in a minimum of 8 additional credit hours in ACCT at the 300-400 level.

Scheduling: Accounting majors and students both in the post-baccalaureate program and non-degree seekers who have chosen to take course work to be qualified to sit for the CPA exam will be able to complete their program of study in a timely fashion. Please consult the catalogue, refer to the offerings for the major required courses and a planning tool for elective courses.

Program Faculty – Professors Shields, Hughes, and Bilsky.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Accounting

  1. The Accounting and Business Core (58 credits):

ACCT 215, 216, 301, 302, 317, 340, 415; 417; MGMT 130, 230, 300, 480; ECON 103; 306; STAT 185 or 225.

A grade of C or higher in ACCT 215, 216, 301, 302, 317, 415 and MGMT 480 is required to progress through the Accounting curriculum and graduate.

  1. Electives (minimum of 8 credits):

Chosen from 300-400 level ACCT.

Students seeking to sit for the CPA exam at the conclusion of their degree program at UNC Asheville are recommended to choose from among ACCT 321, 322, 416, and 447.  Please refer to the educational requirements to sit for the CPA exam and consult with UNC Asheville accounting faculty as well (see  nccpaboard requirements for the certified public accountant examination).  Students seeking experiential learning and field work should consider enrolling in ACCT 342 (VITA Service). It is a good exposure to the human side of the profession (i.e. accounting is about people helping people). ACCT 342 also fulfills the diversity intensive requirement in the liberal arts core. ACCT 405 (Accounting Internship) is also a good exposure to the profession, working within an accounting firm or a business.

Requirements for the Minor in Accounting

20 hours including: ACCT 215, 216, 301, and at least eight hours chosen from ACCT 302, 317, 342, 417 and MGMT 300. Note: University-wide minimum requirements for a minor: 1) one-half of the hours required for a minor must be completed in residence at UNC Asheville, to include at least 8 hours at the 300-400 level accounting courses; 2) students must have a cumulative grade-point-average of at least 2.0 on minor courses taken at UNC Asheville.

Declaration of Major or Minor in Accounting

Declaring a major or minor in Accounting requires the student to complete a Declaration of Major or Minor form that must be completed online (see https://registrar.unca.edu/forms/). Students are required to declare a major once they have earned 60 semester hours. Students who do not declare a major after earning 60 semester hours will have a hold placed on their records that prevents registration. LANG 120 must be completed within the first two semesters of enrollment at UNC Asheville; students must earn a C- in LANG 120.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What are the changes to curriculum that go into effect in Fall 2022?

In summary, the change to the Accounting Major and Minor are that the credit hours for all accounting courses will increase from three-credit hours to four-credit hours. This change will give the accounting faculty more class time to cover concepts and to work in-class examples applying those concepts. Other changes include ACCT 417 (income tax) will be required and MGMT 250 (marketing) will not be required. ACCT 418 has been removed from the curriculum. The major will be 66 total credit hours (accounting and non-accounting courses (e.g. economics, management, and statistics) and the minor will be 20 credit hours.

  1. What do you recommend for ACCT majors who seek to minor in Management?

Students seeking to minor in Management are encouraged to seek advice from the accounting faulty regarding the six credit hours required in 300-400 level MGMT courses to fulfill the Management minor.

  1. Should I re-declare from the previous ACCT major/minor to the new one?

We recommend that students consult with their academic adviser in Accounting regarding this question. It depends on your situation.

Course Descriptions & Important Documents

Always consult the UNC Asheville Course Catalog for official major requirements and course descriptions.