A New Path to CPA Certification — and Career Advancement

With a bachelor’s degree freshly in hand, Cole Monte wanted to ramp up his career prospects. He turned to a new program at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business: the customized MBA concentration in professional accounting.

“I liked the overall flexibility of the program,” he says, adding that as he prepares to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), “it gives me the opportunity to take courses that I’m really interested in and to be more selective about which classes I want to take.”

For those already working in accounting, as well as those looking to take their career in a new direction, this customized MBA concentration offers a fast track to success in a rapidly growing field.

Accounting: A Strong Career Choice

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts demand for accountants and auditors is on track to ramp up 5% between 2024 and 2034, adding some 72,800 jobs along the way, with a median annual salary of $81,680.

“Every business needs accountants,” says Associate Professor of Accounting Barbara Grein, PhD. “Accounting is the language of business, allowing you to capture transactions, give them structure and put them together into reports to help guide decision-making.”

In a data-driven era, she says, “accounting is the original data analytics,” and an MBA with an accounting concentration can open numerous professional doors: public accounting, corporate accounting and nonprofit accounting, with potential roles in auditing, tax, financial analysis, advisory or consulting, and more.“

Flexible, Career-Focused Training

LeBow’s customized MBA concentration in professional accounting was designed to meet the needs of career changers — those interested in transitioning into accounting — as well as recent graduates who did not major in accounting but want to pursue a career in the field.

“For someone with a non-business degree looking for marketable skills, this program will enable them to take on a new role in a diverse set of industries,” says Associate Professor and Department Head of Accounting Curtis Hall, PhD.

For early-career professionals who aren’t satisfied with what they’re doing now, Grein adds, “you can get this degree and go work for an accounting firm, a corporation or a nonprofit.”

A career in accounting is not one-size-fits-all, and so the customizable nature of the program recognizes that career changers and recent graduates may go in a variety of different directions with the degree.

By pairing the accounting concentration with an MBA, Grein says, “it builds your general business skills and management skills.”

“If you have an undergraduate degree outside of business — in engineering or chemistry or media arts and design — this will give you not only the accounting foundation, but also the business foundation you need.”

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Preparing Future CPAs

Cole Monte, currently a student in the program, was attracted to the program in part because he wants to be a CPA, and he already had some undergraduate coursework he could apply to become eligible for the exam.

“I definitely saw the value in getting an additional degree, rather than continuing with additional undergraduate credits, to reach the credit requirement for the CPA licensure,” he says.

The CPA license is considered the gold standard in the accounting profession, and those who go that route can significantly expand their career opportunities and earning potential. Grein points to data from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants showing that CPAs earn salaries 10 to 15 percent higher than accountants who don’t have that designation.

Students graduate with enough academic credits to sit for the Pennsylvania CPA exam. “It gives you the knowledge you need to take that exam, if that’s what you want — as well as other valuable certification exams, like the Certified Management Accountant exam,” Grein says.

While not everyone will choose to go for the CPA credential after graduation, those who do can get a significant career boost. “You’ll be marketable to a whole range of organizations looking to hire a professional accountant,” Hall said.

A World of Career Opportunities

The customized MBA concentration in professional accounting can be completed in as little as 12 months, even without prior training, and the coursework is aimed squarely at the needs of career changers and those who are early in their careers.

“The traditional master’s in accounting is built for people who have a background in accounting and want to go deeper. This program is designed for people who may have very little business background at all,” Hall says.

And unlike a traditional master’s in accounting, students have flexibility in their curriculum design. Beyond the required core courses, such as Financial Accounting Theory and Corporate Financial Management, they can round out their learning with a range of elective coursework and gain hands-on experience through an experiential elective, such as a graduate internship, an MBA capstone or a tax service-learning course.

Additionally, Hall says, “We have a very active alumni base and an advisory council that keeps us aware of what’s going on in the industry, and we build those trending topics — about AI use, for example, or the skill sets firms are looking for — into the way we teach.”

That industry alignment gets graduates career-ready for a variety of roles: As a chief financial officer or controller, a tax director or internal audit officer, a personal financial advisor, a forensic consultant, or an agent with the FBI or IRS.

“Every company needs people to make sense of financial information, to help them make good financial decisions and to build their strategy around data,” Hall says.

With those possibilities ahead, Monte sees the LeBow MBA for professional accounting helping him take a big step in his career — and to do it in Philadelphia, where the Drexel name resonates with major firms.

“It will definitely make me stand out compared to other candidates that haven’t earned an additional degree or pursued CPA licensure,” he says.