New MS program prepares students to earn their master’s part-time and online while earning the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification

With the spike in inflation and concerns about a looming recession, business leaders are facing more demands. They must build new strategies for growth and innovation, enhance their leadership skills to motivate their employees, advance their knowledge of technology, and remain focused on data, analytics, and financial analysis.   

To meet these market demands, the Fox School of Business is launching a new Master of Science in Accounting & Financial Management in fall 2023.

“The role of today’s financial leaders requires an ever-expanding set of skills,” says AJ Kreimer, academic director of the new program. “Chief financial officers, chief accounting officers and senior financial executives are demanding broad-based skills and competencies in a wide variety of disciplines. Our new master’s degree, in concert with the CMA certification, can help professionals meet these demands and thrive in a changing industry.”

The 30-credit Fox MS in Accounting & Financial Management will be offered part-time online. The program will enable students to receive their master’s while preparing to earn Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification. Offered through the IMA, the CMA demonstrates expertise in management accounting, corporate finance, enterprise risk management and business management. CMAs engage as business partners in an advisory role, offering their strategic decision-making skills to pull actionable insights from numbers and build future-focused business strategies.

The MS in Accounting & Financial Management is ideal for professionals in accounting, finance, management and supply chain roles who want to upskill and increase their career mobility. Industry experts and leaders teach in the program and bring to life the market-driven curriculum so that professionals learn to lead in the complex digital age.

“Upskilling finance and accounting teams in technology, data analytics, and financial analysis is now a strategic imperative for CFOs,” says Jeff Thomson, president and CEO of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), in Forbes.

The foundation of the courses in the Fox MS in Accounting & Financial Management is rooted in the six domains of the IMA Management Accounting Competency Framework.

• Strategy, planning and performance
• Reporting and control
• Technology and analytics
• Business acumen and operations
• Leadership
• Professional ethics and values

“Professionals with the ability to leverage advanced skills in both accounting and finance are well-equipped to deliver differential business insights that can drive sustainable growth and competitive advantage for companies,” says Ron Kapusta, retired controller and chief accounting officer of Johnson & Johnson. Kapusta holds a CMA certification and is chair of the advisory board for the Fox Master of Science in Accounting & Financial Management that guides the program in staying market-driven. “I can’t imagine a better pool of graduates to pull from than the Fox MS in Accounting & Financial Management program.”

Courses in the program are delivered via web conferencing technology on weekday evenings, allowing students to interact and network with each other in real-time. The program, which can be completed in less than two years, includes built-in time for review courses and sitting for the CMA exams. To qualify for CMA designation, students must pass both parts of the CMA exam and have two years of full-time work experience in management accounting and/or financial management.

“The accounting profession and the overall finance function are experiencing significant transformation right now,” says Laurie Bergman, CFO of Liquid Environmental Solutions. A finance and accounting expert with more than 20 years of experience, Bergman is a CMA herself and a member of the program’s advisory board, which students have direct access to through events and speaker series. “What we’re asking of accounting and finance staff is changing as technology advances and new challenges impact the global economy. Many of those changes are directly aligned to the content of the Fox MS in Accounting & Financial Management, including strategy and data analytics. Equipping yourself with these skills and earning the CMA credential gives finance professionals a tremendous advantage in their careers.”

“We are excited to launch this innovative master’s degree program,” says Elizabeth Gordon, chair of the Fox Department of Accounting. “We look to identify trends in business, accounting and financial management; provide thought-leadership in these areas; and develop educational programs to meet market demands, in line with the vision and mission of the newly established Stanley C. Middleman Center for Innovation in Accounting at the Fox School.”