The undergraduate certificate in accounting provides students the opportunity to develop additional expertise in accounting without having to pursue a double major. This certificate is available to all undergraduate students enrolled in the School of Business, with the exception of those students majoring in accounting. This certificate allows for a lot of flexibility so that students can customize their coursework to best complement their current business major. Students who complete this certificate would be good candidates to consider a graduate program in accounting, which could expand potential career opportunities.
How to Get in
To declare this certificate, students must be admitted to UW–Madison and the School of Business (WSB). To find out more about the school's admissions process for undergraduate students, please see Entering the School. Contact the Wisconsin BBA Advising Center listed under the Advising and Careers tab for more information or to declare the certificate.
Students may not earn this certificate in conjunction with a BBA in Accounting.
Requirements
A minimum 2.5 GPA must be earned on all course work applied to meet the requirements of the certificate program. At least 50% of the certificate credits must be earned in residence at UW-Madison as a degree-seeking undergraduate.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ACCT I S 301 | Financial Reporting I | 3 |
| ACCT I S 302 | Financial Reporting II | 3 |
| ACCT I S Electives: Any courses numbered ACCT I S 303 through ACCT I S 699, except ACCT I S 329 and ACCT I S 401. | 6 | |
| Total Credits | 12 | |
Certificate Completion Requirement
This undergraduate certificate must be completed concurrently with the student’s undergraduate degree. Students cannot delay degree completion to complete the certificate.
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the proper presentation, measurement, and reporting financial statement elements and transactions, and the use of financial statement information for analysis purposes.
- Understand that financial and nonfinancial information serves numerous purposes in an organization, especially in relation to facilitating and influencing decisions.
- Document, evaluate, and recommend improvements to basic accounting information systems used to control processes and communicate information to be used in financial reporting.
- Understand the objective of taxes applicable at the federal level, and apply a framework for integrating income tax planning into accounting and business transactions as a foundation for structuring tax efficient business transactions.
- Gain technical knowledge about how to perform a high-quality audit, and gain familiarity with how independence, objectivity, professional skepticism, and ethical behavior contribute to a high-quality.
Advising and Careers
Academic Advising
Current BBA students who have declared the certificate can receive academic advising from their primary academic advisor.
Drop-in advising and scheduled appointments are available for admitted business students. Students can schedule their appointments via Starfish.
For more information on accessing academic advising, please see the Academic Advising page.
Please note enrollment in required courses is subject to availability. As a result, completion of the certificate within an individual student's intended graduation timeline cannot always be guaranteed.
Career Advising
Current BBA students declared in the certificate will also be assigned a career coach.
For more information about accessing career coaching, please see our Career Coaching page.