The M.S. in Accountancy at Cal State Fullerton’s College of Business and Economics features two tracks: a traditional CPA-eligible program and a new one-year cohort-based model designed for recent bachelor’s alumni designed to make students CPA eligible in two semesters while earning an internship during the core of tax season.

“This new program is modeled after the acronym ELE: earn, learn and experience,” explains Vivek Mande, director of the School of Accountancy and an accounting professor. “Students earn during their internship, they of course get experience, and they gain relevant knowledge. The curriculum is non-traditional, built around work and internship. For instance, some of the class meetings are held at accounting firms. Our theme is blending theory with practice. And there is a focus on technology, AI, data and analytics.”

Mande earned his Master’s in Accounting at Washington State University and his Ph.D. in accounting from UCLA. Since 2002, he has been a professor at Cal State Fullerton, following teaching roles at The City University of New York – Baruch, the University of Arizona, and the University of Nebraska – Omaha. Prior to joining CSUF, Mande was an academic fellow at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). From 2018 to 2021, Mande was editor-in-chief of the prestigious Managerial Auditing Journal. His research on corporate governance, auditor independence and earnings quality is regularly featured in A-ranked peer reviewed academic journals.

Mande teaches a financial accounting course for MBA students, which takes a user-based approach focused on using metrics in financial statements to make decisions.

“Students discover how to use metrics in financial statements to make decisions,” explains Mande. “We look at the financial statements of real-world firms. Students already know some accounting, so the time is spent on how to use numbers to make decisions.”

The Power of Mentorship: Helping First Generation Accounting Students Reach Their Potential

Many students in the Cal State Fullerton accounting master’s program are the first in their families to graduate college and benefit greatly from the mentoring of professors, including Mande.

“Our students are smart, hardworking and motivated, but they need guidance to show them opportunities. I greatly enjoy providing mentoring, in addition to teaching,” explains Mande, who recalls mentoring a student years ago who got an accounting internship but was debating whether to take the cut in pay or remain working on the JCPenney sales floor.

“I advised him that staying in retail was a bad move, because getting this accounting internship would transform his career. And he listened and is now an accounting partner at a major firm.  Many of our students aren’t aware of the possibilities that could await them and we see in them the potential they don’t see in themselves. So guidance and mentoring is so enjoyable.”

Why the M.S. in Accountancy Should Be in Your Future

Speaking to undergraduate accounting students, Mande advises them to consider the M.S. in Accountancy because an extra year of practical experience and studies will pay dividends in the increasingly complex accounting landscape.

“The undergrad degree prepares students for tasks and passing the CPA exam. But many times, grads will join a firm and struggle at work because of the complexity of transactions, international scope and supply chain, and this leads to high attrition rate in entry-level accounting jobs,” says Mande. “The M.S. in Accountancy is a good bridge between academia and practice, giving students the bridge they need from doing theoretical work – exams and quizzes – to something more practical, imparting leadership, communication, technology, data analytics and complexity preparedness skills.”

In the next few years, CPA rules will change, allowing young professionals to take the CPA exam in two ways:

1 – Earning an undergraduate degree, working for an accounting firm for two years, and then passing the CPA exam before getting licensed.

2 – Finishing an undergraduate degree, taking a one-year master’s program, getting a job or internship, and earning the license.

“Our M.S. in Accountancy has the potential to become a model for the whole country,” says Mande. “There are few programs in which students can take a few months off in the academic year for an internship. And we are so fortunate to have the accounting firms so involved for a highly relevant industry-focused curriculum.”

For more on the M.S. in Accountancy, read more of our articles on accounting graduate programs.