Accounting

Accounting
Offered as a major (B.A. or B.S.) and a minor

As an accounting major or minor you’re prepared to help businesses and individuals efficiently manage their finances so can be an instrumental resource to their success. With real-life applicable lessons and a wide range of subject studies, you will learn everything you need for graduate studies or careers in a range of business roles from

Accounting majors and minors learn how to examine financial statements to identify areas of opportunity and risk and provide effective solutions to a wide variety of clients. Throughout your coursework, you’ll explore the role of accounting to better understand the intricacies of the field. You will study a variety of topics, including:

Business law and auditing
Data analysis to ensure best possible client outcomes
The development of corporate financial statements
The differences between public and private accounting

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) versus Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

As an Accounting major, you can pursue either a B.A. or a B.S. which provides graduates with the 150 hours necessary for the CPA license.

Economics & Business Department

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My accounting education [at Saint Anselm] measures up with the best programs around and includes all the same courses you'll find at larger schools. Saint Anselm blended liberal arts with accounting which I liked because I didn't want all my courses in one area.

— Linh Nguyen Cheng ’13, Accounting major

Featured Course

Special Topics in Accounting Research

In this course, you will research, analyze, and communicate the impact of current economic events on financial reporting by public companies. You will investigate and report on how public companies comply operationally and financially with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosure requirements caused by events such as public health emergencies, cybersecurity incidents, and climate change.

Discover more Accounting (B.A. or B.S.) courses →

Helping Communities Through Experiential Learning

As an Accounting major, gain invaluable hands-on opportunities while providing a vital service to the local community through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program. Make a meaningful impact by using your skills to prepare tax returns for low-income individuals while obtaining unique, real-world experience.

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Learn more about VITA →

The Bloomberg Finance Lab

Receive up-to-the-minute information on world financial markets in a realistic trading environment as you utilize the Bloomberg Terminal in Saint Anselm’s Bloomberg Finance Lab. Housed within the Economics and Business Department, the state-of-the-art system offers students real-time market data on software that is used worldwide by finance professionals. As an Accounting major, this resource will give you a competitive advantage in the classroom and on the job with early exposure to an environment meant to simulate a stockbroker's trading floor.

Learn more about learning opportunities in the Economics and Business Department →

Additional Biology Major and Minor Information

The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Accounting offers students excellent preparation and critical thinking skills applicable to careers across the business field. If you aren’t sure what you want to do in the business, earning a B.A. in Accounting is a great fit for you.

The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Accounting provides those who wish to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) the required 150 hours while still an undergraduate. By meeting the licensing requirements earlier in their professional careers, students are more marketable to a wider range of Public Accounting firms upon graduation.

Students that wish to do so can still further their career with a Master Business Administration (“MBA”), Master of Science in Accounting (“MSA”) or a Master of Science in Taxation (“MST”) degree as many of Saint Anselm students with a B.A. have done.

Students can change between the programs although those changing to the B.S. will need to have a GPA of 2.7 or greater or approval of a faculty committee.

For those students not wishing to pursue public accounting, the employment opportunities that exist include, but are not limited to: Internal Audit, Corporate Accounting (including Cost Accounting), taxation, corporate management training programs, financial analysts, financial planners, governmental organizations (including cities, town, states, IRS, FBI, etc.), non-profit organizations and a wide variety of functional roles within organizations.

Many students go to graduate school for a Master’s of Science in Accounting or Taxation and a Master’s in Business Administration.

Recent Outcomes

Recent Career Outcomes

Advantage Capital
A.M. Transportation Services Inc.
BAE Systems
Baker Newman Noyes
Bank of America
BerryDunn
CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA)
DB Roberts
EY
Fidelity Investments
Freedom Venture Investments, LLC
Grant Thornton
Gray, Gray & Gray, LLP
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
John Hancock Financial
KPMG
Merchants Fleet
Methuen Construction
Morgan Stanley
Penchansky & Co., PLLC
Plodzik & Sanderson, P.A.
PwC
Rivero, Gordimer & Company
RSM US LLP

Recent Graduate Schools

Bentley University
Boston College
Boston University
Northeastern University
Salem State University
Southern New Hampshire University
Suffolk University
The College of William & Mary
University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Related Majors and Minors

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

DATA SCIENCE AND ANALYTICS

ALUMNI PROFILE: KIM TRAN ‘23

Accounting and Criminal Justice major Kim Tran ’23 accomplished so much during her time on the Hilltop. All while maintaining a busy schedule, the first-generation student founded the Saint Anselm College Women in Business club (and served as president), volunteered in the local community, and completed several internships.