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Is Accreditation Important For Accounting Schools?

Earning an accounting degree requires a significant commitment of both time and resources. For this reason, it is crucial that you make sure your school is an officially recognized conferrer of accounting degrees. If it turns out that your school is not accredited, you could find it difficult to obtain financial aid, or even have problems getting hired.

What Does Accreditation Mean?

The accreditation process serves as an important quality assurance tool for degree-granting educational institutions. To obtain accreditation, a school must meet specific requirements set forth by the accrediting agency. For instance, to earn accredited status from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, here is a sampling of the requirements the school must meet:

  • The business college or school must already be accredited by AACSB International or must achieve business accreditation simultaneously.
  • Consistent with its mission and its cultural context, the institution must demonstrate diversity in its accounting programs.
  • Each accounting program demonstrates its success in the following areas with regard to the particular market(s) the program serves: placement of students within three months of graduation; career success of graduates at an appropriate later time (e.g., five or 10 years)
  • The academic unit faculty, as a whole, includes a sufficient number of individuals with professional accounting credentials, qualifications, or certifications to be consistent with the academic unit's mission, each program's educational objectives, and with each individual's teaching and research responsibilities.
  • The undergraduate accounting degree program includes learning objectives focused on the development, measurement, analysis, validation, and communication of financial and other information.

 

Accreditation legitimizes institutions and protects students from scams and degree mills, and should always be the first thing considered when looking at an accounting program.

Drawbacks of a Non-Accredited Degree

There is little reason for a student to attend a school that lacks accreditation. It is not difficult for a solid program to obtain, so if a school does not hold accreditation it has either failed to meet the standards set forth by the accrediting agencies, or it's so new that it lacks a reputation for academic excellence. In either case, the implications for its students and alumni are damaging.

First of all, a non-accredited accounting degree can be a serious hit to your resume. The hiring process for large businesses and accounting firms is often exhaustive and competitive, and an unaccredited degree will stick out like a sore thumb when compared to the degrees other applicants have earned from proven, accredited institutions.

Additionally, the lack of quality control at non-accredited institutions means students might not be receiving a satisfactory education. Unlike accredited schools, there is no guarantee that a non-accredited program will adequately prepare students for the world of accounting. In the end, they may have spent their money on little more than a piece of paper.

Lastly, a student attending an institution that's not accredited by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education cannot receive federal financial aid. For many students this alone should be reason enough to avoid non-accredited institutions.

Recognized Accrediting Agencies

Most reputable schools possess institutional accreditation from one of six regional agencies:

 

The main body that oversees the accreditation of business schools, and therefore accounting programs, is the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. This group accredits business schools and specific accounting programs.

If the school you are interested in attending claims to be accredited, make sure to investigate the supposed accrediting agency. There are a number of fake accrediting agencies that cover for diploma mills, which only serve to charge students for a lackluster education. Make sure that your institution is accredited by an organization that is recognized by either the Council of Higher Education Accreditation or the U.S. Department of Education. If an accrediting institution is not recognized by one of these departments, it should not be considered legitimate. 

Article Resources:

“Accounting Accreditation,” The CPA Journal
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
U.S. Department of Education
Federal Student Aid

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