2024-2025 Catalog

Accounting & Business Law

Mission

The mission of the Sawyer Business School's Accounting & Business Law Department is to provide a quality accounting and tax education in contemporary subject matters, to prepare students to face challenges of a global business environment, and to appreciate the value of ethical behavior and reputation. It is our mission to earn an excellent reputation for the quality of our graduates, our teaching, and our research, as well as advance relationships within the professional communities.

Vision

The Accounting & Business Law Department at Suffolk University will offer high-quality, cutting-edge, rigorous programs of instruction for undergraduate and graduate students of diverse backgrounds and interests. We will ensure our graduates are versatile and well-prepared for dynamic careers in accounting and taxation. We will support scholarly inquiry that values scholarship in all its forms including the generation of knowledge, the integration and dissemination of knowledge, creative activity, and scholarly reflection. We will inspire investment in an inclusive department that is built on ethical, forward-looking leadership, teamwork, and cooperation.

Professional Requirements

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts mandates a minimum of 120 semester hours, with specific course requirements, to sit for the Uniform CPA Exam. To apply for a CPA license, 150 semester hours are required, earned as part of a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or both. The Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Degree (4+1 Program) enables students to satisfy the Massachusetts licensure educational requirements and prepares students for the successful completion of the CPA Exam and careers in accounting. Students who plan to qualify as CPAs in states other than Massachusetts should ascertain from the respective states or jurisdictions the specific requirements with which they must comply.

Suffolk’s Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Degree prepares you for a professional career as an accountant. Our elective options are designed to prepare you for rewarding careers in various fields in addition to public accounting such as corporate accounting, international accounting, fraud investigation, tax advising, financial planning, not-for-profit accounting, and governmental accounting.

Accounting course offerings are designed to allow completion of the accounting major through part-time or full-time study, in day and evening courses.