Accounting
About the Major
First-year and sophomore students spend most of their class time satisfying general education requirements necessary to earn a diploma from Washington and Lee University. In the sophomore, junior and senior years, accounting majors take a core of five business administration courses and at least six upper-level accounting courses. Students wishing to work in public accounting are required to have 150 hours of college credits to sit for the CPA Examination in most states. To earn these credits, majors may bring in advanced placement credits, attend summer school and elect to overload. Alternatively, the student may elect to attend graduate school. W&L has agreements with a number of highly rated graduate programs who recruit our students, including U.Va., Wake Forest, Notre Dame and the University of Texas.
Opportunities for Students
Accounting majors are encouraged to have a well-rounded undergraduate education experience, including study abroad. There is a unique study opportunity in the Winter and Spring Terms for sophomores and juniors majoring in accounting in Sydney, Australia and summer internship and study opportunities in Cape Town and London.
During the summers, Washington and Lee students serve as interns at all of the Big Four accounting firms, a number of the major investment banks as well as other accounting and financial firms across the country.
W&L also participates in a summer internship/academic program that offers a variety of internship opportunities in London.
The Liberal Arts at Work
"Having seen the role of finance and business in policy, I decided I need to gain a deeper understanding of money in general. Accounting, the language of business, served as a great fit because it showed me how people analyze and think about the exchange of money."
Sample Courses
History Through Accounting
This class explores the development of accounting through the study of historical economic, business and cultural issues. From Venetian merchants to recent scandals, this course seeks to learn how accounting has impacted society and vice versa. The course begins by reviewing early evidence of accounting methods as important tools for decision makers and then moves on to the development of financial reporting, with a large focus on the history of the railroad industry in the U.S. The class combines readings with site visits to libraries, historical societies and businesses to dig into the forces that have helped shape accounting into the science it is today.
Anatomy of a Fraud
The course examines the phenomena of financial statement fraud and discusses some of the key forensic accounting concepts and skills used to address the problem. Drawing on historical cases of financial statement fraud as well as the firsthand experience of the instructor, we search for the answers to questions like "who cooked the books?"
Casino Accounting
This course provides an introduction to financial accounting and auditing in the gaming industry. Topics include the design and implementation of controls over cash, revenue recognition and measurement, accounting for the extension of casino credit, progressive jackpot liabilities, complimentary expenditures and customer loyalty programs.
Sustainability Accounting
This course examines best practices and key debates in sustainability accounting and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting. Sustainable business practices meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future. Increasingly, accountants are playing an important role in measuring, reporting and auditing corporate impacts on society and the environment so that corporations can be held accountable and more sustainable business practices can be implemented.
Accounting Information Systems
An introduction to the information systems used in accounting, including the flow of data from source documents through the accounting cycle into reports for decision makers; the principle of internal control; flowcharting and systems narratives; and use of computers and database systems in accounting information. Students have hands-on experience implementing and using accounting information systems.
Auditing
This course examines auditing and its role in a market economy. Course content focuses on the market for audit services, audit planning, evidence gathering and reporting.
Everyone Needs an Accountant
Meet our Faculty
At W&L, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.
