A century ago, accountants wore green eyeshades to protect from eye strain as they poured over ledger books by candlelight or new-fangled incandescents.
Today, accountants have ditched the visors in favor of high-tech tools but have the same goal—to ensure that financial transactions and records are handled legally and ethically, allowing businesses of all types to thrive.
The work of accountants varies widely. Forensic accountants, for example, help uncover all kinds of nefarious activity—from Al Capone’s tax evasion which eventually sent him to jail, to money laundering by terrorist networks. Others accountants perform audits or do fund accounting for government and nonprofit agencies.
The Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) degree, the newest program in the Zapara School of Business at La Sierra University, “prepares graduates for a wide range of careers” in the field, says Bob Gadd, chair of the Department of Accounting, Finance, and Economics.
Faculty in the program have academic preparation and experience in a variety of specialties, says accounting professor Danette Zurek. She mentions areas such as international financial reporting standards, corporate and nonprofit accounting, tax, forensics, and data analytics.
Increasing complexity in the world of finance has led most states in the U.S. to increase the academic preparation required of those planning to sit for the certified public accountant (CPA) exams. “Applicants in most states must now have 225 quarter hours of university-level courses in order to obtain their license,” says Zurek. “While our M.S. in Accountancy degree was originally designed with the CPA candidate in mind, changes in the world of accounting are also making a master’s in accounting increasingly more relevant to those already working in the field,” she notes.
La Sierra University is the only Adventist institution to offer the degree, says Gadd. The Zapara School of Business has achieved candidacy with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), a status the dean, John Thomas, notes is “the gold standard” of business school accreditation.
MSA student Nikolas Levterov is finding a program strength in its relatively small size because he has a chance to get to know his fellow students well. “You are able to build a relationship and give each other tips or tricks, and you aren’t ashamed to ask your classmates when you don’t understand something. We help each other,” he says. And, he adds, “I am always able to talk to professors when I don’t understand something, and they always work with me.”
Levterov also benefited from job search support. “I think this year the Zapara School of Business really stepped up their game when it comes to helping students find careers,” he says. Levterov got four interviews and was recently offered a position with the General Conference Auditing Services.
Sherika Moulton hopes to graduate with the MSA degree this year. “The MS in Accountancy is preparing me for the workplace and the CPA exam,” says Moulton, who came to La Sierra after earning her bachelor’s degree in finance at Northern Caribbean University in Jamaica. “Getting a higher education is opening doors to a world of possibilities and dreams. Even the ones that seemed impossible.”
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