B.S. Degree in Accounting

Accounting Mission Statement

The Department of Accounting is dedicated to providing students with the necessary skills to enter today's workforce, to attain certification, and/or to persue graduate education.  Our program emphasizes practical, hands-on experience in a student-centered environment.

Along with the College of Business & Aviation, the Department of Accounting is committed to the following goals:

• Quality Programs. Provide rigorous and relevant programs that are intellectually and ethically grounded, innovative, integrative, technologically advanced, and global in perspective.
• Effective Teaching and Scholarship.  Collaborate with stakeholders to align our teaching, scholarship, and service with the needs of the community.
• Improved Community. Serve as a primary source for creating and applying accounting knowledge to promote regional economic development.

Program Goals

Graduates with a major in accounting will be to:

• Demonstrate a foundation of business knowledge, team dynamics, and technical skills that supports and facilitates lifelong professional development.
• Use critical thinking and creative and logical analysis skills, strategies and techniques to solve complex business and accounting problems.
• Use clear and concise communication (oral, written, and electronic) to convey relevant financial and non-financial information to target audiences so that decision makers can formulate informed decisions and take action.
• Identify ethical issues associated with business situations and apply approriate principles of ethics and civic responsibility.
• Demonstrate general knowledge of accounting and apply relevant nation and international accounting principles and standards to specific business activities and workplace situations.
• Use technology to faciliate and enhance accounting and financial research and reporting.

Comprehensive Exam

As part of the Accounting major at Fairmont State University, you will take a comprehensive exam each semester, beginning the semester in which you are enrolled in Intermediate Accounting I (in total, six exams).  Each exam will cover all of the accounting courses you should have taken up to that point in the major.

To be prepared for the comprehensive review exams, you will submit assignments for a grade in each upper-level accounting course.   These assignments will be accumulated to create a reference binder to be used as a study guide for the exams. The completed binder will be submitted for a grade in ACCT4410 Case Studies in Accounting.

The purpose of the exams is to provide a continuous review of critical accounting knowledge to prepare you for your future endeavors including the CPA exam and/or graduate school.

Career Opportunities

Fairmont State Accounting graduates are prepared for careers in public, industrial, and governmental accounting in positions.  Accounting majors become general accountants, account managers, staff accountants in public accounting, internal auditors, industrial accountants, financial analysts and Internal Revenue agents.  Some untraditional careers include:

• International Accountant
• Forensic Accountant
• Comptroller
• Personal Financial Planner
• Business Educator

Model Schedule

•  Accounting

Additional Resources

• WV Alliance for Sustainable Families Recognizes FSU VITA Volunteers
• FSU Senior to Attend The Washington Center’s Summer Program
• Accounting Students Provide Free Income Tax Assistance
• Student-Athlete Strives to Be First on and Off the Field