About our MAcc

Designed by accountants for accountants, NNU’s innovative Masters of Accountancy program offers customization to cater to your area of interest. The demand for accounting professionals continues to grow in the Boise Valley and throughout the nation. Northwest Nazarene University’s Masters of Accountancy program consists of 30 credit hours of accounting and business courses that provide students with the opportunity to hone their skills to be effective in today’s complex business environment. While the MAcc degree program will prepare students to sit for either the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam or the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) exam, it will also get students to the required 150 credit hours required to sit for the CPA exam*. 

We’ve partnered with Becker and Gleim to provide our students with top-of-the line exam preparatory resources at no additional cost. Students will have access to a certified instructor who will guide them through studying for and completing these challenging tests.
In addition to integral financial concepts, this comprehensive degree offers management options including organizational leadership, business law, business ethics, and more. Business professionals who want specialized training in accounting will be able to customize this degree to suit their needs. 

High-Quality Program

• NNU’s College of Business is internationally-accredited by ACBSP, and we plan to seek accreditation for the MAcc degree once the first cohort has graduated from this new program. Accreditation means that NNU’s programs are regularly evaluated by this international organization. In order to maintain accreditation, The College of Business must continually assess, evaluate and improve our programs.
• NWCCU is our regional accreditor, just like BSU. 
• Professors who teach in our programs have professional experience in accounting and business and use that experience to inform their teaching.
• Faculty and staff are available to support students and willing to take the extra time to help each student succeed.
• Our Graduate program in the College of Business has been training professionals for over 25 years, and has a reputation for producing informed and ethical leaders.

Program Outcomes

1. Students will identify, analyze, and evaluate legal and ethical aspects of the business environment and be able to articulate an ethical framework from which they will make sound decisions.
2. Students will demonstrate advanced knowledge of accounting and the ability to exhibit financial management skills in today's complex and dynamic global business environment.
3. Students will analyze and synthesize accounting information within the context of other business functions to inform the business decision-making process.
4. Students will develop critical thinking abilities and be able to demonstrate effective analytical and problem solving skills using a variety of qualitative approaches.
5. Students will demonstrate effective interpersonal and communication skills, and be able to collaborate as productive members of high-performing teams and work with diverse populations of people to succeed in a vibrant organizational setting.

List of Courses

Major Courses (21 credits)

BSNS6011 Managerial and Cost Accounting (3) 
BSNS6162 Ethics in Management (3) or ACCT6162. Professional Ethics (3)
BSNS6201 Business Analytics (3)
ACCT6301 Business Analysis and Valuation (3)
ACCT6401 Advanced Accounting Information Systems (3)
ACCT6501 Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination (3)
ACCT6601 Accounting Theory/Research (3)

Prerequisite Courses

Offered through our STEP program for students who have not taken these courses.
ACCT3515 Intermediate Accounting I (3)
ACCT3525 Intermediate Accounting II (3)
ACCT3045 Cost Accounting (3)
ACCT4515 Advanced Financial Accounting (3)

Professional Accounting/CPA Track Additional Prerequisites

ACCT3015 Income Taxation (3)
ACCT4025 Auditing (3)

Complete one of the two following tracks:

Professional Accounting/CPA Track (9 credits)

ACCT6013 CPA Auditing (2)
ACCT6014 CPA Business Environment and Concepts (2)
ACCT6015 CPA Financial Accounting and Reporting (3)
ACCT6016 CPA Regulation (2)

Management Accounting/CMA Track (Choose 9 credits)

BSNS6172 Leadership Development (3)
BSNS6021 Management Law (3)
BSNS6031 Corporate Finance (3)
ACCT6017 CMA Prep Financial Planning/Performance (3)
ACCT6018 CMA Prep Financial Decision Making (3)
ACCT6701 Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting (3)
ACCT6965 Internship in Accounting (3)

For full course descriptions, please see our Graduate Catalog.

Customized Degree

Select a track that meets your personal and professional goals.

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Track

The ultimate in technical accounting, the CPA Track provides a clear path for students pursuing a career in public accounting, corporate accounting, or government/non-profit accounting. The 21-credit core dives deeper into accounting topics and provides the additional credits needed to sit for the CPA exam. CPA prep courses are facilitated by a CPA-certified instructor and students will study using Becker’s state-of-the-art adaptive learning software. 

Management Track

Students interested in the management side of accounting can further customize their degree by focusing on the CMA exam or incorporating a few leadership courses.

Certified Management Accountant (CMA)

Accounting and management go hand-in-hand, so a CMA makes sense for students interested in positions like Controller and CFO. In this track, students will take the two CMA Prep courses, plus one additional course that compliments your area of interest. 

Management
For the Accounting graduate who wants to pursue a management career, this track incorporates more soft skills than other options. Choose three interest-based courses to top off the 21-credit core.

Application Requirements

The following comprise our application packet:

• Online application [Link to application]
• Two letters of recommendation (sent automatically to your references when you complete the application)
• A professional essay on an assigned topic
• Official copies of undergraduate transcripts

Consideration for acceptance is based on the following criteria:

• Baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university
• Cumulative GPA of 3.0 in all academic course work
• Evidence of competency in writing
• Official transcript of undergraduate degree and completed graduate work
• Two professional recommendations
• A favorable recommendation from the College of Business Graduate Admissions Committee
• An acceptable score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) if English is not an applicant's native language. If a student has completed an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution within the United States, or has completed at least 30 credits in such an institution, the TOEFL or IELTS requirement is waived. 

Note that Graduate Students in the College of Business do not have to sign an NNU Lifestyle Covenant – this requirement is waived to promote diversity at the Graduate level. Professors and staff are supportive of the NNU Lifestyle Covenant, but seek to welcome all races, religions and lifestyles. To learn more about NNU’s religious affiliation, please see our Statement of Faith.

*CPA Licensure Disclosure

The MAcc program at NNU prepares students to take the CPA exam in the State of Idaho. Though the licensing requirements for other states may be similar, you must do your own research to determine whether this program meets the requirements for the state in which you are pursing licensure (you may start with this website: https://www.thiswaytocpa.com/). Consult the Board of Accountancy website for your state for the most current information.

Accreditation & Regulations

Notice Out-of-State Students

Since this is a program that leads to professional licensure, prospective students should review important information about NNU’s participation in the National Council of State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) and Professional Licensure about this program. Individual states often have different expectations for professional licensure; so it is in a prospective student’s best interest to investigate whether NNU’s degree program will help them achieve licensure in their home state.