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An online master's degree in accounting focuses on financial reporting, auditing, and taxation, helping to improve analytical skills and deepen industry knowledge. These online graduate programs are designed to help you balance studies with personal or professional commitments while improving career prospects in the accounting field.

Earning a master's degree in accounting helps you prepare for higher levels of responsibility in the field by providing you with advanced knowledge of the discipline. Accounting master鈥檚 degrees can go by various names, but the two most common are Master of Accountancy (MAcc) and Master of Science in Accounting (MSA). 

Most master's in accounting degrees take between one and two years, depending on whether you're a full-time or part-time student as you complete the required 30-40 credit hours. Much of the coursework covers intermediate and advanced accounting practices, building on the foundational information provided in a bachelor鈥檚 program. Additional topics include taxation, financial reporting, fraud examination, auditing, international accounting, and ethics in financial management. 

You can earn a master鈥檚 of accounting online or on campus. If you opt for distance learning, your online program will probably be made up of primarily asynchronous classes, which means they have no set meeting times. You can sign in on your own schedule to access course materials and complete assignments. 

Some master's degree programs, however, may have some synchronous elements, such as a live class discussion. Naturally, you'll complete any internship or work experience requirements in person.

When researching online accounting degrees, it's important to consider only those schools that have been accredited 鈥� like all of the schools on our list of the best online master's degrees in accounting. Accreditation is a sign that the school has passed an independent quality review. Enrollment in an accredited program is required for eligibility for financial aid, and it may be required for you to sit for certification exams in your state. 

You may also want to select an online accounting master's program that has earned programmatic accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs () or the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (). 

For master's degree consideration, you need to have an undergraduate degree from an accredited college with a minimum GPA of 3.0. If you haven't already earned a bachelor's in accounting or an accelerated bachelor's in accounting, admissions officers may ask you to complete prerequisite courses in accounting, economics, or statistics before starting your master鈥檚 program.

You鈥檒l need to submit your program application about six to nine months before your desired start date. Among the items that schools may ask you to include with an application are official transcripts from your undergraduate institution and any other colleges where you've taken courses, letters of recommendation from professors familiar with your school work, a personal essay about your accounting career goals, and your professional resume. Some of the more competitive schools may also require GRE or GMAT scores.

Accounting master's programs often have similar curricula in order to meet the educational standards approved by the U.S. Department of Education. Although the core courses may have different names at different schools, the learning outcomes tend to be the same. Some schools may also include an optional or required internship for students without previous accounting work experience.

• Accounting Ethics: Accountants perform an important ethical role by helping institutions honestly record and report their finances. This course thoroughly covers the Code of Professional Conduct of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), with professors noting where ethical imperatives exceed the letter of the law.
• Intermediate Accounting: Enrollees examine current laws, regulations, and general accounting principles that go beyond the fundamentals. Professors typically lecture on cash-flow statements, disclosure, the time value of money, and intangible assets and liabilities.
• Managerial Accounting: This class discusses how leaders use accountants' work to inform their decision-making in business, government, and nonprofit organizations. Students may learn reporting and visualization, business communication, budgeting, and strategic financial planning.
• Research and Communication: Course faculty teach students how to find accounting data and present their findings to stakeholders. Enrollees often have to complete several small research products in which they seek transaction patterns, fraudulent entries, or sections of tax code that are relevant to particular problems.
• Technology and Data Analytics: The aim of this class is to keep learners on the cutting edge of accounting technology. Topics may include automation, cloud networks, quantum computing, and machine learning.

It's common for accounting master's programs to let you specialize in a particular branch of accounting. You'll use your choice of elective courses to help improve your competencies in the concentration. As an accounting graduate, a specialization may also give you a competitive edge when you're job hunting. Some of the most popular concentrations you can find in accounting master's programs include:

• Auditing specialists review the accounting of outside employers. They take courses in financial reporting and disclosure, fraud prevention, and ethics.
• Business analytics, sometimes called "business intelligence," means using data to analyze trends in variables such as profits and spending. Courses in this specialization often cover data collection, predictive analytics, and visualization.
• Forensic accounting uses accounting techniques to investigate crimes. In their courses, students learn to identify red flags in financial statements, perform digital prevention and detection techniques, and interview fraud suspects.
• Taxation knowledge can be useful for all varieties of accountants, making this a potentially versatile concentration. Coursework includes lessons on tax law, corporate tax strategy, flow-through entities, and tax research.

With a master's in accounting degree, you will probably go to work in one of the :

• Public accountants often work with clients on a contractual consulting basis and may work for a dedicated accounting firm, such as Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and KPMG.
• Private accountants perform accounting services for just one company or business.
• Government accountants, including state auditors, work for government agencies.
• Educational accountants conduct research and teach students to become accountants.

However, there are opportunities for additional education and other related career paths.

Further Education

While many accountants build rewarding and lucrative careers on bachelor's and master's degrees in accounting, you may be interested in pursuing even more advanced education:

• Doctorate in Accounting: Some employers may require their senior accounting executives to hold doctorates. However, graduates who earn an accounting doctorate usually become college professors or researchers. Because of the intense study and research necessary for a doctorate, those with the degree often serve as legal witnesses in cases of accounting malpractice and securities fraud. They may also work as consultants for the government or on criminal cases that need forensic accountants.
• Accounting Certificates: After completing an online master's degree in accounting, you may want to pursue additional education on very specific topics, such as auditing or financial management. If so, post-graduate certificates may be the perfect choice for you. Most accredited certificate programs, which are available online and on campus, require anywhere from eight to 16 credits. You may be able to earn a certificate in a year or less.

Potential Careers

Once you've earned an online master's in accounting, you can pursue accounting positions in a wide range of work environments as a generalist or specialist in specific functions, such as auditing or tax accounting. You may find employment in a large corporation or financial institution, go to work in one of the big accounting firms, or start your own business providing accounting services to individuals and small businesses

A master's degree may also allow you to branch out into other areas of business. Finance is perhaps the most likely field to move into as there are countless opportunities to pursue related occupations, such as a budget analyst, personal financial planner, or financial manager. However, if you would like to keep your business career options open, you may want to earn a master's in business administration (MBA) or perhaps an MBA specializing in accounting instead of focusing narrowly on accounting.

Accounting Certification

To enhance your accounting career, you may also want to pursue certification. Some certifications are required, while others are voluntary or simply preferred by employers. Certification demonstrates your commitment to professional development as well as your high level of skill in a particular aspect of accounting or finance. 

One of the best known and most prestigious certifications is the (CPA) designation. CPA certification allows you to provide multiple types of high-level accounting and auditing services. CPA licensure requirements vary by state, but in general you'll need to complete 150 credit hours of accounting courses at an accredited university. Your master's degree provides the extra 30 credit hours beyond the 120 earned in your bachelor's program, which is why most students who intend to become CPAs earn accounting master's degrees. You'll then need to pass the CPA exam. 

Using the NCES's calculation of per year for a graduate degree, we can estimate that a two-year master's in accounting will cost $39,498. However, costs vary widely by school. In general, public schools are the most affordable for in-state students. Next are for-profit private schools, with nonprofit private schools the most expensive.

Designed for working adults, most online master's programs in accounting take approximately two years to complete. Some schools offer accelerated online master's degrees in accounting, which full-time students can complete in one year. 

Earning a master's degree in any subject is a significant investment of time and money, so it's only natural to question whether the degree will be worth it. The answer is, in part, dependent on your personal goals and circumstances. If your goal is to become a CPA, a master's degree is essential. Additionally, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates that the for master's degree holders is $1,574, as compared to a median of $1,334 for all bachelor's degree holders, which translates into $12,500 more per year.

Highly trained accountants will always be in demand, and those who develop advanced skills and possibly become CPAs are likely to land higher-paying positions in the field. You may end up working for a large corporation, an accounting firm, or as an independent consultant. Regardless of the specific path you choose, earning an on-campus or online accounting degree is an effective way to advance your career. 

No, you do not need a master's degree to be an accountant. Many graduates with bachelor's degrees in accounting establish solid careers in this field. However, earning a master's degree and becoming a CPA may allow you to increase your lifetime earnings potential. According to the BLS, the median annual salary for all is $81,680, but an accounting master's degree and certifications may enable you to earn an income that's significantly higher than the average accountant salary.