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ӣ����Ƶ of California’s Barowsky School of Business (BSB) is expanding its portfolio of graduate and professional programs to prepare students for careers in the rapidly evolving workplace while meeting a growing demand for employees trained to work with big data.

This summer, Dominican will launch a master’s degree in accounting (MSA) that incorporates accounting analytics with traditional accounting coursework. This comes as data analytics, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and robotic process automation are playing a growing role in the accounting profession.

The MSA is the second specialized master-level degree program Dominican has introduced in order to meet a demand for employees skilled to work with data. In August 2020, the University added a master’s in business analytics (MSBA). The first MSBA cohort started with 21 students, much more than the initial projection of 12 students.

Nationwide, business schools are gearing up to meet the growing demand for advanced coursework focused on data analytics. Dominican is ahead of many of its Bay Area competitors, says Barowsky School of Business Dean Dr. Yung-Jae Lee.

“Particularly in the North Bay, there is nobody providing this sort of education at the graduate level,” Lee notes.

Due to launch in August, the MSA is an intensive 12-month program for recent graduates, career changers, and working professionals seeking new skills in accounting with a focus on accounting analytics. It will begin with intermediate accounting courses so that students who do not have an accounting background can have a pathway.

The program will prepare students for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam. While the 
American Institute of CPAs added data analytics to the CPA exam several years ago, many business schools do not have analytics in their programs, Lee says.

“The demand for accounting analytics is growing at a tremendous pace and if business schools don’t prepare graduates with such forward-looking skills, there will be a mismatch in the labor market very soon,” he says. “ӣ����Ƶ’s M.S. in accounting program with a focus on analytics will be unique compared to the competition in the Bay Area and beyond.”

Dominican’s Bay Area location will draw students to the MSA, which when COVID-19 restrictions allow, will be delivered in a hybrid format, combining in-person classes and online instruction.

“The Big Four and local accounting firms are increasingly looking to hire students with proficiency in accounting and analytics,” Lee says.

A report by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy notes that the Bay Area’s “thriving start-up community created a strong demand for finance and accounting professionals as those planning to go public require more financial support to facilitate the process. Among the professionals that are most in demand are mid-to-senior level accountants with public accounting and revenue recognition experience.”

The 12-month MSBA, which launched in August 2020, was developed for recent college graduates with strong quantitative backgrounds, as well as business professionals who want to change careers and working professionals who are interested in developing their skills in analytics.

MSBA courses include Applied Data Analysis; Programming for Data Analytics; Data Visualization and Storytelling; Data Management for Business Analytics; Advanced Data Analysis; Machine Learning for Business; Cloud Computing; Data Security, Ethics and Risk Management; Marketing Analytics; Optimization for Business Analytics; and Finance Analytics.