Financial Management and Accounting

Graduate School of Management and Technology

Program Description

The Master of Science in Accounting and Financial Management (MSAF) is designed for individuals who want to concentrate their graduate studies in finance and accounting as an alternative to a general management or general business-related degree.

There is substantial demand in the workforce for professionals and managers who possess specialized skills, knowledge, and abilities in both the accounting and financial management disciplines.

The program emphasizes understanding the financial reporting process and its effect on financial markets, as well as using and analyzing financial information, to prepare students to assume positions of increasing responsibility within the financial operations of an organization.

---

Program Overview

The curriculum requires 36 credits and consists of five accounting courses, six financial management courses, and one program capstone.

Note: Successful completion of the program may satisfy the educational requirement for candidacy for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam. Educational requirements to sit for the CPA exam or to practice as a CPA vary among states. Students are responsible for staying abreast of the current requirements of the state in which they will sit for the exam or practice professionally.

---

Program Objectives

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Successfully apply accounting and financial management concepts, principles and applications in the analysis and resolution of strategic and operational problems
• Utilize technology in the accounting and financial management of their organizations to share access to information for the purpose of improving the quality of decision making enterprise-wide
• Apply finance and accounting principles in evaluating the costs and benefits of strategic investments
• Evaluate issues and innovations in accounting and financial management and their effects on managerial decision making
• Evaluate the effects of international standards and international diversification on accounting and financial management decision making
• Understand the ethical problems facing accounting and financial management
• Assess and evaluate the state of corporate governance and internal controls

---

Partnerships

Articulation Agreement with UMUC’s School of Undergraduate Studies (SUS)

Students who completed their undergraduate degree at UMUC with a major in Accounting may be able to reduce their total coursework by 6 credits (2 courses) under this Articulation Agreement with the School of Undergraduate Studies (SUS).

The UMUC BS in Accounting and the MS in Accounting and Financial Management will “share” 6 credits of coursework and have selected certain courses that each program will accept from the other's curriculum. UMUC undergraduates and alumni are eligible to complete both degrees for a total of 150 credits.

The shared credits are restricted to the following substitutions:

• GSMT will accept either SUS ACCT 426 Advanced Cost Accounting in lieu of GSMT ACCT 611 Management Accounting or SUS ACCT 427 Advanced Auditing Theory and Practice in lieu of GSMT ACCT 612 Auditing Process.
• SUS will accept either GSMT ACCT 612 Auditing Process in lieu of SUS ACCT 427 Advanced Auditing Theory and Practice or GSMT ACCT 614 Accounting Information Systems in lieu of SUS ACCT 326 Accounting Information Systems.

The total number of credits shared between the two programs cannot exceed 6 credits. Credits for sharing must have been completed no earlier than 5 years prior to the beginning of graduate studies and no later than 1 year after the beginning of graduate studies. A minimum grade of B must be earned in the undergraduate class for the credits to be accepted at the graduate level.

---

Career Path

The MSAF program prepares graduates for a number of entry-, mid-, and high-level positions, as determined by a student’s work experience. Depending on a student’s background and an employer’s criteria, graduates of the MSAF program may qualify for positions such as:

• CFO or CIO
• Accounting or Financial Manager
• Fraud Examiner
• Financial, Budget, or Management Analyst
• Government Accountant or Auditor
• Internal Auditor
• Financial Liaison with Business Units
• Financial Consultant or Advisor

---

Student Profile

The program will assist students who are:

• Currently in an accounting or finance position and want to raise their knowledge base to move into a position in the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) career path
• Currently not in an accounting or finance position and want to increase their knowledge base to enable a move into one or the other career fields without becoming so specialized that they lose flexibility

Admissions | Graduate School | Student Services | Library | UMUC Policies