MPAC ACADEMICS
Introduction to Academics
Our innovative curriculum, focused on both career development and technical mastery, equips you with the critical skills and knowledge needed to excel in major corporations and accounting firms worldwide.
Specialized Tracks in Data Analytics and Taxation
Fulfill the Educational Requirements for CPA Licensure
One- to Two-Year Program Options Available for Domestic Students
I’ve wanted to be a tax professional since I entered the world of public accounting, so the specialty track was a huge bonus. It was appealing to me to dive deeper into special topics by professors who are actively still in the tax world and have had successful careers.
Kira Weaver MPAc '20
FEATURED PATHWAY
ESG Pathway
The MPAc ESG Pathway prepares accounting graduates to navigate the strategic, operational, and reporting challenges of ESG. This pathway equips students to become auditors, tax professionals, and advisers while opening doors to careers in sustainability accounting. UC Irvine MPAc students begin their ESG foundation with Advanced Audit and Assurance and complete the pathway with two ESG elective courses.
Corporate Governance
Strategies in Board Governance
Sustainability Accounting
Business, Regulatory, and Technological
ONE-YEAR PROGRAM
Full-Time Program Structure
Students must complete at least 11 courses, including 7 core courses, for a total of 44 units minimum. The number of units in the table is shown in parentheses.
Take an accelerated path to gain essential skills, enter the workforce faster, and prepare for the CPA exam, all while minimizing time away from work and boosting career advancement opportunities.
Fall
- MPAc 238: Advanced Auditing and Assurance Services (4)
- MPAC 231A: Financial Statement Analysis and Forecasting (4)
- MPAC 291: Professional Research and Communication (4)
- MPAC 232: Taxes and Business Strategy (4)
- MPAC 230: Emerging Topics in Accounting (2)
Winter
- MPAc 235: Advanced Managerial and Cost Accounting (4)
- Electives (4-8)
Spring
- MPAC 239: Ethics in Accounting and Business (Capstone) (4)
- MPAC 230: Emerging Topics in Accounting (2)
- Electives (8-12)
TWO-YEAR PROGRAM
Program Structure
Students must complete at least 11 courses, including 7 core courses, for a total of 44 units minimum. The number of units in the table is shown in parentheses.
Work at a more flexible pace, deepen your learning, pursue internships and gain additional hands-on experience while balancing professional and personal commitments.
Year 1
Fall
- MPAc 238: Advanced Auditing and Assurance Services (4)
- MPAc 291: Professional Research and Communication (4)
- MPAc 230: MPAc Emerging Topics in Accounting (2)
Winter
- MPAc 235: Advanced Managerial and Cost Accounting (4)
- Electives (4)
Spring
- MPAc 239: Ethics in Accounting and Business (4)
- Electives (4)
Year 2
Fall
- MPAc 231A: Financial Statement Analysis and Forecasting (4)
- MPAc 232: Taxes and Business Strategy (4)
Winter
- Electives (6)
Spring
- MPAc 230: MPAc Emerging Topics in Accounting (2)
- Electives (4)
CUSTOMIZED PATHS
Specialized Tracks and Pathways
Specialized tracks and pathways offer advanced technical expertise, practical experience, and industry-focused knowledge, equipping students to excel and preparing them for leadership roles in top accounting firms and global businesses.
3-Course Data Analytics Track
The rapidly evolving technological landscape is transforming how firms manage and control financial data. The growing reliance on data analytics across organizations has fueled demand for professionals with specialized skills to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of analytics in accounting and auditing. UC Irvine’s MPAc program, in partnership with Deloitte, offers a unique Data Analytics track designed to meet this growing need.
3-Course Tax Track
UC Irvine's Tax Track equips students with the expertise to identify, analyze, and report tax-planning opportunities for domestic and international businesses. Students will gain a deeper understanding of how taxes impact business decisions, master key tax planning strategies and learn to apply provisions for accurate financial reporting.
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Pathway
This course combines practitioner and academic insights to explore effective corporate board management, including board member selection, key committee roles, legal responsibilities, and relationships with stockholders and the CEO. Students will sharpen communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills in corporate governance and related legal and ethical issues.
NEED TO DO
Required Courses
The required courses in UC Irvine's MPAc program provide students with a comprehensive foundation in accounting, auditing, taxation and ethical decision-making, preparing them for successful careers in the evolving field of professional accounting.
MPAC 230. MPAc Emerging Topics in Accounting
Provides students with information and practical skills for success in the program and for professional accounting and business career planning, and with discussions of current issues confronting the accounting profession.
MPAC 231A. Financial Statement Analysis and Forecasting
Develops skills to analyze corporate financial reports. Topics include profitability, risk analysis, cash flow analysis, revenue and asset recognition, and valuation. The skills are useful for students to evaluate financial reporting quality, detect earnings management, and predict firms' financial performance.
MPAC 232. Taxes and Business Strategy
Develops a student's ability to identify, understand, and evaluate tax planning opportunities. The focus is on tax planning concepts and the effects of taxes on business decisions rather than on detailed tax rules, compliance, or legal research.
MPAC 235. Advanced Managerial and Cost Accounting
Design of cost information and systems used to plan and control organizational activities; procedures used to account for unit, process, and program costs; cybernetic evaluation of costing procedures; cost estimation, analysis, and accounting via computers.
MPAC 238. Advanced Auditing and Assurance Services
Designed to provide advanced coverage of topics and emerging issues in auditing, assurance services, and fraud detection. Provides a deeper understanding of the fundamental concepts of auditing, assurance services, and developing hot topics within the auditing profession.
MPAC 239. Ethics in Accounting and Business
Designed to introduce students to the intellectual principles of ethical decision-making by emphasizing the theories of ethics and their application in business, specifically accounting professions. MPAc capstone course with a final comprehensive exam for the program.
MPAC 291. Professional Research and Communication
Combines research of the professional accounting literature on a range of technical topics with written communication and oral presentations of the findings.
The elective courses allow students to tailor their education to specific interests and career goals, offering advanced topics such as financial statement analysis, corporate governance, taxation, data analytics and sustainability accounting. These courses provide an opportunity for deeper specialization and practical experience.
Winter Electives
MPAc 231B
Financial Statement Analysis and Valuation II
MPAc 293
Corporate Governance
MPAc 246
Advanced Taxation
MPAc 242
Introduction to Data Analytics for Accounting
MPAc 241
Accounting Internship
MPAc 299
Individual Study
Spring Electives
MPAc 245
Accounting for Income Tax
MPAc 244
Data Analytics for Audit
MPAc 243
Advanced Analytics for Accounting
MPAc 290
Sustainability Accounting
MPAc 241
Accounting Internship
MPAc 299
Individual Study
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