Accountancy Program Overview

The Accounting Program is among the most rigorous on campus. We have a reputation for a comprehensive and challenging program—and for getting results.

The accounting major begins with an "Introduction to the Accounting Profession" during the Fall semester of the freshman year. While students become familiar with the college as well as student organizations, they also receive presentations from various accounting practitioners such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, WithumSmith+Brown, Johnson & Johnson, and the New Jersey State Office of State Auditors regarding career opportunities in accounting. Accounting majors start their sophomore year with "Financial Accounting and Reporting" in which they become familiar with major concepts of financial accounting and develop an understanding of how to analyze financial statements. In the Spring of Sophomore year, with "Fundamentals of Accounting," students learn technical aspects of accounting and, as part of this course, students receive presentations from accounting practitioners regarding career planning. These courses build college-level skills and provide the foundation for the program’s further specialized courses.

The specialized courses are taught by faculty who are experts in the courses they teach. "Taxation" is taught by Dick Harvey, a senior tax partner at a Big 4 firm and a former US Treasury Department tax policy official. Governmental and non-for-profit are taught by Gerard Miller who is an expert in this area and his research concentrates on this subject. Both internal and external auditing are taught by Hossein Nouri who has extensive work experience and has previously worked at the manager level for international public accounting firms. Cost Accounting is taught by Bea Chiang who brings community service, as part of teaching, to this course. In addition, these specialized courses generally have less than 25 students in each class which allows a rich and interactive atmosphere for learning the materials.

The accounting curriculum consists of 34 courses of four credit hours each. To accommodate students who need 150 credit hours to sit for the CPA exam, additional accounting courses will be offered during the summer of junior year and the summer and spring of senior year. Students who satisfy the requirement of the 150 credit hours will receive certification.

Praise for TCNJ's Accounting Program, from a parent.....

Besides the small class size and rigor of the business courses, which I think have been excellent, I think the college does an great job of positioning the business students for employment upon graduation. I was speaking with a Partner at PwC here in Florham Park and he was very impressed that [my son] was going to TCNJ. He began telling me how good the school was and how they use it for recruiting with no prompting from me. It is important the business community knows the talent of the students that go to TCNJ and apparently PwC does know.

- Bill Westington, Manager BASF Federal Tax

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