PhD - Doctorates Degrees

If you are looking to enhance your ability to impact change in an organization through accounting leadership, or wish to engage in accounting research, practice and education, then a doctorate in accounting is your likely next step. Now, you can earn an advanced degree in an online format, with no or limited in-person meetings, allowing you to keep up with your career and family while still earning an advanced degree.

What Is A PhD Degree in Accounting?

First, it is helpful to understand exactly what a doctorate or PhD degree is. A PhD or doctorate degree is the highest academic degree that a person can earn in the United States. These degrees generally take four or five years to complete and are typically research based. Most individuals who have gone to school for accounting will obtain a bachelor’s or master’s in accounting and depending upon the focus of the program will move on to become Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) or work in an agency’s fiscal department. You must have a master’s degree in accounting or a related field to apply to an online doctorate program in accounting. Doctorate programs in accounting typically focus on providing tools for conducting advanced research into accounting topics. This can mean an increased focus on math, statistics and economics, as well as research methodology curriculum.

Why Would Someone Obtain an Online Doctorate in Accounting?

With a big four- and five-year typical commitment in order to successfully pursue a doctorate in accounting, there are many things to think about while considering this endeavor. If you are the type who loves school and learning and whose analytical mind is always picking up on statistics and numbers, you may consider this as a career objective. If one of your career goals is to become a post-secondary educator, obtaining a doctorate in accounting is something to seriously consider.

1. Increased Career Options

Another benefit of dedicating all of your resources to a program like this is that once you complete it, you will have many more opportunities to branch out. You can be creative with how you use your degree. If you decide to skip the professor route, for example, you will still have the highly tactical skills needed to run your own consulting business. You will have the freedom and flexibility that many people desire in a job. You may choose to be a finance writer, freelance auditor, or a part-time professor. The options are truly endless. You will have freedom to set your own agenda with this degree, especially as an online student. You can work independently or as part of a team and supplement your income with consulting, writing, or research.

2. Professor Shortage

There is a known shortage of professors and accounting faculty according to the American Association of Accounting. There is a high demand and an expectation of an even more increasing demand for accounting professors. This makes the market for this career quite desirable. Because of the demand, there is an increase of job openings and salaries are higher. There is a demand to have qualified professors to teach the growing number of post-secondary education students wishing to pursue accounting in undergraduate school in both the classroom and online forums.

3. Student Fellowships

Earning an online doctorate degree in Accounting will require a dedication of about four to five solid years of academic work. According to the Journal of Accountancy, however, most Ph.D. programs offer students stipends and fellowships which help students avoid paying tuition. In turn, when they graduate they may have fewer student loans and also a salary in the six figures pretty quickly after graduating and securing a relative position. This is another reason why considering a doctorate program in Accounting may be a great choice even if a person does not have an undergraduate degree specifically in accounting.

4. Flexible Learning Options

Another benefit of pursuing this type of degree is that currently there are flexible learning options, especially in online programs. There are diverse hybrid programs where students can learn in a more flexible way while still having the advantage of small classroom engagement. Students can choose a combination of online and on campus classes. These types of options help quality programs become more accessible to its students. Some allow for part-time attendance. Depending upon goals and lifestyle needs, there are many great options available for those considering this course of education.

5. Industry Involvement

The Accounting Doctoral Scholars Program was created in June 2008 as a program sponsored by the AICPA foundation (American Institute of CPAs) and some of the country’s largest accounting firms as a way to address the increasing need for accounting professors and faculty with real world experience. Having this resource available is another benefit as it helps create partnerships and alliances with future doctorate students and enhance the level of their education and network. If you are considering this area of study, this is another option that may benefit many aspects of your life and beginning this new journey.

CPAs and Doctoral Degrees

Most bachelor-level academic programs in accounting will help prepare an individual for the Certified Public Accounting (CPA) exam. In order to sit for the exam in many states, there is a requirement to have a certain number of credits in the field. Sometimes this will require people to pursue additional education and some will opt to go on to obtain a master’s degree to get ahead since they are already needing to take those extra credits anyway. As a result, some will just decide to go straight into an advanced degree. By passing the exam and becoming a CPA, many individuals will be qualified to teach in a higher education facility; however, there is more of a chance to obtain a higher salary and more notoriety if you obtain a doctorate. If you are already a CPA, you can still apply to become a faculty member without a doctorate, but it is highly recommended to have a doctorate in order to become more respected and have better earning opportunities. Even if you are a CPA, you will still usually have to take the GMAT in order to apply to schools. Having a CPA certification does provide a candidate with an excellent foundation from which to begin applying to online doctoral programs in accounting.

DBA vs. PhD Doctorate Online Degree

There are two different types of accounting doctorate degrees and you may prefer or decide to choose one over the other depending upon the theory and area of discipline that you plan to work within. Below you will find more details on each one, however, the main difference between the two is that a PhD student and graduate will be more focused on theoretical structures and forming research questions, testing theories, and analyzing results. A DBA student and graduate will likely be taking these types of results and utilizing them in a more executive leadership function in a corporation or governmental business.

1. Doctor of Philosophy

The first one is a Doctor of Philosophy in Accounting or PhD program. This degree option is heavily focused on research, theory, and application. If one of your dreams is to become a well-known and respected professor in the industry, a PhD is likely a wonderful choice. As a professor, you will have to meet requirements in order to achieve tenure. One of these requirements will likely be conducting research and becoming published in a scholarly journal. The PhD path will prepare individuals for that as part of working as a professor in a given academic institution.

2. Doctor of Business Administration

Another type of doctorate degree option is the Doctor of Business Administration or the DBA program. Those individuals who have earned a DBA can still go on to higher education teaching jobs, however, it is recommended that obtaining a PhD is a better, research-based choice for that sector. Those who decide on pursuing a DBA will also learn and become prepared for executive leadership jobs once they graduate. Many with a DBA will remain in leadership roles within a corporation.

Career Outlook for Accounting Doctorates

In addition to flexibility with regard to career and life balance, accounting doctorate graduates have many choices. In general, by studying accounting one can choose many different career paths. Options include tax areas, managerial and corporation accounting, information technology and systems accounting, auditing, and finance. With these concentrations, one can successfully work in any accounting capacity. These include, but are not limited to, university professor, tax/audit consultant, researcher, business manager, government sector work. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, career opportunities and jobs in this sector are growing faster than average. Add this to the shortage of university professors and faculty, especially as many are retiring, and the career outlook is looking great in this field.

One of one of the most typical ways to make a Doctorate in Accounting is by doing your study subjects in management accountancy. With the success of PhD research topics in administration accounting, great deals of doctoral prospects have actually started researching subjects such as the following. They wanted to succeed and gain a Doctorate in Accounting. So they needed to do some research on these topics.

A doctoral program of organisation is extremely affordable. When you participate in the doctoral program of company, you need to attempt to do a good task as a pupil as well as make your competition win.

This competitors occurs in all doctoral programs. It is essential to do your finest in every task as a pupil to obtain the attention of your other classmates and also competition.

In order to attain the objectives you establish for yourself, you need to discover every little thing concerning bookkeeping in doctoral programs. Audit is the research study of economic assets and liabilities, using which we obtain money from banks, business, financial institutions, and so on. To obtain a Doctorate in Accounting, you require to be knowledgeable concerning the adhering to subjects:

General Service Laws - Accountancy is the study of just how money was managed by an organization. It is the method whereby cash is made use of to finance its activities. Accountants examine the various procedures that affect the company's finances.

Debt Management - Financial Debt monitoring is a part of bookkeeping. Financial debt administration is the process that involves accumulating financial debts from workers as well as dispersing it amongst the business's participants, or to utilize the establishment's cash.

Profits as well as Losses - The distinction in between earnings and also losses, that makes the firm to be approximately day with its company deals. Profits and also losses are used to gauge the efficiency of a company.

Accounting - Bookkeeping is one more part of accounting. It is the actual recording of capital, balance dues, unsecured car loans, sales invoices, inventory, responsibilities, financial investments, and extra.

Financial Statements - The monetary statements or the bookkeeping statements explain just how the business's procedures were performed in each duration. When checking out the financial declarations, it will be necessary to look at the companies' revenue declaration, balance sheet, as well as statement of capital.

These are simply few of the subjects that doctoral prospects need to discover when taking their graduate studies. Studying these subjects will provide you an excellent structure to continue to obtain success with bookkeeping.

By finishing your doctoral program, you will certainly have an all-round capability and you will certainly understand how to handle accountancy as a service. Among the essential aspects of bookkeeping is cash-flow analysis, which is what a doctoral candidate will certainly find out in a doctoral program.

Salary Expectations for Accounting Doctorates

Salary expectations for accounting doctorate graduates are relatively lucrative. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, professors with a PhD can begin as high as $76,000 and six-figure incomes are definitely possible depending upon the area of study, discipline of teaching and level of previous experience. With the help of fellowships and assistantships with many doctorate programs, the salary becomes even more exciting when a graduate does not have to worry about student loans or growing a large debt after completing a doctorate. According to the BLS, an accounting doctorate graduate can make the following in salary depending upon the field:

• Teaching - $113,800 - $137,800

• Research - $150,000 - $175,000

• Upper management - $100,250 - $503,000

• Government - $52,329 - $68,025

Accounting Doctorate Curriculum

When choosing to go back to school for an accounting doctorate degree, be prepared for more advanced curricula materials, less lecture-style classes and more seminar classes with smaller amounts of students. Even though you are contemplating an online program, there will still be participation in class discussions and attendance requirements along with the usual workload and course expectations. Depending upon the track that a person chooses, the curriculum will vary a bit. There are empirical tracks, research tracks in tax or financial accounting, analytical tracks, and teaching tracks to name a few.

Most schools will offer classes in either this or similar types of organization: Advanced Research, Research Processes and Theory, Finance and Accounting Theory, Econometrics and Quantitative Analysis, Micro and Macroeconomics, Research Papers, and a Dissertation conclusion to the program of study. In addition, some research programs will concentrate on more an archival research component, or one that focuses more on technical analysis, while other research programs focus on a more behavioral and psychological approach to accounting topics.

How to Choose the Best Doctorate in Accounting

Choosing a doctorate in accounting should not be difficult. Armed with your future goals and your current lifestyle, it should be easier to make an informed decision. One thing to consider is the type of program you are seeking. For example, if you are thinking of pursuing a future in research and working at a university, there is a program called the Accounting Doctoral Scholars Program that may help guide you to reach your goals more effectively. Another consideration is whether or not you are able to go part- or full-time. There are many different programs that accommodate not only that, but also a hybrid approach where a student can choose online and on-campus classes. Financing is also another option. For many students who already have an abundance of student loans and other financial responsibilities, it may be helpful to look into programs with fellowships and assistantships and see how these will work with your current lifestyle.

Another factor to consider is the accreditation for the school you choose to go to. There are two types of accreditation for schools offering accounting degrees. The first type is evaluated by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. These organizations evaluate the quality of a school based upon qualifications of the faculty on staff, tracking of outcomes of graduates, standards of technology and availability/type of educational resources, type of coursework offered, and support systems available at the institution.

Another type of accreditation that a prospective student should be concerned with is business school accreditation. This accreditation is evaluated by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB, the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) and the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). These organizations evaluate the quality of an institution based upon the same types of factors, but specifically for the business-related departments (such as accounting, administration, etc.) within the larger university.