Accounting
Areas of Study
The accounting major provides students with the appropriate background for a career in public accounting or industry, but the curriculum also applies for careers in business, government and nonprofit institutions.
In addition to core principle classes in economics and accounting, students can learn about:
- data analytics
- corporation finance
- government and nonprofit accounting
- taxation
- accounting information systems
- operations research
Plan Your Course of Study
Students majoring in accounting at Holy Cross are required to take the following course sequence within the department. Students at Holy Cross enroll in four courses each semester and must fulfill certain distribution requirements. This program listing features accounting major requirements only. The College Catalog is the final authority on college and departmental policy. The Catalog should always be consulted when planning your curriculum.
This is the recommended course of study for the first year:
- ACCT 181 Financial Accounting (prospective majors must take this course in the fall of their first or second year)
- One semester of college calculus, or the equivalent. Majors are encouraged to enroll in Math 135 or the equivalent (acceptable alternative is a minimum score of 4 on the AP Calculus AB exam).
- ACCT 277 Intermediate Accounting I with Excel accounting lab (course may also be completed spring of a student's second year)
This is the recommended course of study for the second year:
- ACCT 278 Intermediate Financial Accounting II with computer lab
- ECON 110 Principles of Economics
- ECON 249 Statistics or one of the Accounting electives
- ACCT 278 Intermediate Accounting 2
This is the recommended course of study for the third year:
- ACCT 282 Auditing
- ECON 292 Federal Income Taxation
- ACCT 390 Advanced Accounting
- One (or more) Accounting (ACCT) electives or Statistics if not yet taken.
This is the recommended course of study for the fourth year:
- ACCT 360 Ethics, Accounting and Organizations
- ACCT 387 Business Law
- ACCT 389 Cost Accounting
- One (or more) Accounting (ACCT) electives or Statistics if not yet taken.
Additional Requirements
Accounting majors must take a minimum of two additional courses in the Economics and Accounting Department (designated either ECON or ACCT) as electives.
Students typically take Corporation Finance, Accounting Information Systems, Operations Research, Data Analytics or Taxation of Entities as electives during their program.
Accounting majors may take no more than 16 courses in the economics and accounting department (designated ECON or ACCT) unless they also have 16 courses outside the department.
The 150 hour requirement mandates that candidates for the certified public accountant (CPA) license complete additional college courses prior to sitting for the CPA examination. Most states permit the candidate to use undergraduate or graduate credits to fulfill the requirements. Students completing 32 regular (one unit) classes at Holy Cross earn the equivalent of 128 credit hours. Accounting majors earn 131 hours in their standard program as three of their required courses include an additional hour.
As an exclusively undergraduate institution, Holy Cross does not provide an opportunity to complete graduate courses on campus. Currently, Holy Cross students are using a variety of approaches to meet the 150 hour requirements. Some students in the program have enrolled in summer school courses while others have taken additional courses at Holy Cross in an effort to progress toward fulfillment of the 150 hour requirement. Faculty advisors in the department can also advise students interested in identifying graduate programs leading to completion of the 150 hour requirement.
Majors interested in a career in public accounting are urged to consult their faculty advisors to develop an appropriate plan of action early in their program.
Students interested in accounting should enroll in ACCT 181 - Financial Accounting during the fall semester of their first or second year. Prospective majors should then enroll in ACCT 277 - Intermediate Accounting 1. Any first or second year student who completes ACCT 181 is eligible to declare the accounting major. First year students cannot declare a major until February of their first year.
Meet Your Department Chair
Opportunities
There are multiple opportunities for accounting majors to further their learning and prepare for a career in the field, including research, awards, study abroad, or honors programs.
Study Abroad
Many accounting majors participate in study abroad programs, but course selection and timing should be factored into your decision, as only three courses taken away from Holy Cross will count for accounting majors. If you are interested in studying abroad, discuss your interests with your faculty advisor and department chair so that you can develop a plan to complete the major.
Washington Semester Program
The Washington Semester Program is a selective, semester-long program offered in Washington, D.C., through Holy Cross. The program welcomes students from all disciplines, and it allows them to have the opportunity to work with national leaders, engage in independent research, and live in the stimulating environment of Washington, D.C.
Participation in the program counts as one semester's worth of credit (four units) toward graduation. However, credit towards accounting major requirements is not granted for any of the elements of the Washington Semester Program.
The John D. O'Connell Prize for Accounting Excellence
The award was established to honor the longstanding service of the College's distinguished accounting professor, John D. O'Connell '53. Applicants for the prize must have an excellent academic record, a record of meaningful service to the College community and a demonstrated interest in the profession of accounting. The College's accounting faculty review the applications each spring and select the annual recipient. The prize includes a cash purse and an engraved desk set.
Tutors & Graders
There are also opportunities for students to become tutors or graders to introductory classes. To learn more, contact the department chair.
Department Honors Program
An excellent opportunity for faculty-student collaboration, this program offers participants valuable experience in research, writing, and public speaking.
The program consists of three parts:
- Research Methods Seminar (ECON 460 Research Methods I) - offered in the spring of your junior year, you will learn the tools of economic research, develop a thesis topic and literature review, and choose an advisor. This course is also a lower-level elective for economics majors.
- Thesis (ECON 462 Honors Directed Research) - In the fall of senior year, you will write a thesis under the guidance of your advisor. The thesis counts as course credit and also an upper-level elective course for economics majors.
- Academic Conference (461 Research Methods II) - In the spring of your senior year, you will prepare a presentation to be given at the College’s Academic Conference, and provide guidance to the juniors in the research methods class. This is a half-course overload called ECON. To be granted honors at graduation, students must meet the standards in each course.
To be considered, email the following materials to the department’s administrative assistant.
- An unofficial transcript printed out by you from STAR. Make sure it is fully legible.
- A separate typed list of economics and accounting courses (including current courses) with faculty names.
- A letter of reference from a faculty member in the Department of Economics and Accounting. Ask the professor to send a letter directly to the department office.
- A one or two-page statement or purpose. Why do you want to participate in the Program?
- A short writing sample, e.g., a short paper from a class you've taken.
- A completed application cover page.
After all the applications are submitted, we will send out a follow-up email to schedule an interview. Decisions will be made prior to course enrollment. Applications are competitive, and decisions are made by the Honors Selection Committee following interviews.
Accounting majors face special challenges in completing the program due to the large number of courses that are required for the major as well as the 16-course cap placed on economics and accounting department courses.
Accounting majors must be aware that admission to the honors program may affect course selection and possibly require taking additional coursework as overloads or away from the College. Given the CPA exam requires 150 hours of coursework to sit for the exam, in reality this may not be an unreasonable burden.
Majors often take electives such as Corporation Finance, Accounting Information Systems, Financial Institutions and Markets, Ethics, and other economics or accounting courses. Some students need some specific electives in order to sit for the CPA exam in some states. The research methods course qualifies as an elective for accounting majors and may qualify as "business" hours for purposes of the CPA exam in certain states.
The honors program will take up two of the electives. If an honors student wishes to take Econometrics to help with the thesis, that will use another of the student's electives that may count towards graduation. Econometrics has Microeconomics as a prerequisite, which normally would require an overload.
Outcomes
Employers consistently seek our accounting majors for exciting and highly-paid careers, including those in auditing, tax, and financial management. Students typically enhance their career preparation by moving from sophomore summer leadership programs to junior year internship programs sponsored by large public accounting firms, and these internships often transform into full-time jobs with excellent salaries. Others successfully pursue opportunities in the highly competitive financial management training programs. Each year, a few students enter graduate programs in accounting, tax or law.
The majority of accounting majors complete the educational requirements to sit for the CPA exam. Working closely with academic advisors, they typically develop a plan to finish the required 150 hours of coursework while enrolled in the four-year program at Holy Cross. Majors earn top scores on the CPA exam with a significant majority passing all four parts of the exam on the first attempt. In 2016, an alumnus of the program earned one of the highest exam scores in the nation, joining a select group of past majors in receiving the Elijah Watt Sells award, bestowed annually upon candidates who have obtained a cumulative average score above 95.50 across all four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination and passed all four sections of the examination on their first attempt.
