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In today’s business world, those with accounting expertise do more than just count money and balance the books. The accounting industry has evolved into a diverse profession, including jobs in criminology, health care reform and even work in multinational corporations as chief financial officers (CFOs). Furthermore, public accounting firms are providing critical consulting services to their clients in addition to audit and tax work.

A master’s degree in accounting opens doors a bachelor’s degree alone cannot, and expands your career options into both accounting and non-accounting fields. The degree will help you develop advanced analytical skills to excel in executive interactions and senior-level accounting and financial management positions alike. A master’s program in accounting also affords you opportunities to make important industry connections you may not have had otherwise and prepare for industry certification exams required for specified careers, such as a certified public accountant (CPA), certified fraud examiner (CFE) or certified management accountant (CMA).

The following are our top three reasons to pursue a MS in Accounting.

1.  Become a financially savvy leader.

Accounting truly is the language of business. The deep expertise you’ll gain in accounting principles, auditing standards, taxation and financial reporting with a master’s degree in accounting often translates to better business decisions and, in turn, better management. Although the program is in-depth specialized coursework, you will simultaneously develop superior critical thinking, communication, problem-solving and analytical skills that will help you advance into high-earning management positions. In addition, the ability to take both the bigger picture and the details into consideration while streamlining business processes will position you to effectively lead in a variety of industries.

2.  Create connections that count.

It’s not always what you know; it’s who you know. A master’s program provides you unique access to a network of alumni, corporate partners and industry connections through your studies. Creating these relationships during your program opens doors to far more career opportunities, starting before you’ve even graduated. Those connections allow you to gain an insider perspective into the accounting field, which can give you a better sense of how to focus your future career. Our MS Accounting and Taxation students have historically had nearly a 100% job placement rate.

3.  Gain credentials with impact.

A designation like CPA speaks for itself. That’s because accounting-related certifications speak volumes to your mastery of those skillsets and increase your credibility with employers in those respective fields. The master’s in accounting curriculum dives deep into accounting principles, laws and regulations, and challenges you with rigorous tests similar to what you face during a certification exam. A master’s program also paves the way for you to satisfy the number of credit hours required by the certification exams. What’s more, professionals with certifications earn more than those who don’t have those licensures.

In general, a master’s degree will increase your earning potential, but a master’s in accounting gives you a distinct wage-earning power a bachelor’s degree does not. A specialized degree in accounting will also give you more in-depth accounting knowledge and applied experience than an MBA with an accounting emphasis, which focuses on a broader business education with a concentration of accounting courses. The key difference between the two degrees is the training for the industry-specific certifications, but the master’s in accounting can often be completed in less time, at a lower price, than an MBA.

But there’s more. With a master’s in accounting, you’re more than a specialist or a “number cruncher”; you’re an analytical powerhouse who is ready to accelerate into senior management in the dynamic accounting field where only these advanced skills are the ticket to ride.

To learn more about Leeds’ master’s in accounting, click here.