Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics

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The mission of the Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics is to develop ethical, effective practitioners and scholars in the related disciplines of accounting, finance and economics.

Distinctives of the Accounting Program

The accounting program was one of the first programs accredited for accounting by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs. The accounting program is recognized for its academic excellence and preparation of students for successful careers in the accounting profession. The accounting program has experienced a 100 percent placement rate for accounting graduates over many years and has a proven track record of preparing students for the CPA Examination.

The accounting program offers several attractive options in accounting education:

• An undergraduate accounting major which includes: BBA core requirements covering a broad spectrum of business courses, a set of five required courses and 2 electives that can include course work in:

      • Data Science

      • Finance

• An 18-hour Certificate of Accountancy Program (CAP) designed for students with a bachelor’s degree who did not major in accounting but aspire to become eligible to sit for the CPA Examination

• A 12-hour Graduate Certificate in Professional Accountancy, which can be conveniently combined with the undergraduate CAP certificate to obtain 30 hours of accounting

• A 30-hour Master of Accountancy degree (MAcc)

• An Integrated Accounting Seminar (Accounting Boot Camp) for MAcc candidates who were not accounting majors

Majors in accounting are required to have an accounting internship to further integrate the academic and experiential areas of accounting.

Our accounting faculty has extensive experience in the professional practice of accounting, auditing and tax planning and are able to translate this experience into practical classroom applications.

Activities and Organizations

• Annual Meet the Firm and Meet the Firm Lite Events. Students network with employers about career opportunities.
• Internships/Part-time jobs. Students are required to participate in the internship program where positions are available with large to medium-size public accounting firms, publicly-traded corporations and other organizations. Internships provide students with opportunities to work in a professional environment while earning academic credit. Most accounting internships provide excellent compensation. Also, Middle Tennessee offers excellent opportunities for non-credit part-time work in accounting and business.
• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. The accounting program works with the Internal Revenue Service in a joint program, known as the VITA program, providing tax return preparation services for low income families and the elderly. This program very successfully integrates the practice of accounting with service to the community.
• Alpha Kappa Psi. Lipscomb’s only national co-ed business fraternity.
• Student Center for the Public Trust. Lipscomb University is home to the inaugural Student Center for the Public Trust chapter, created in 2009 by the NASBA Center for the Public Trust, to focus on educating and engaging future business leaders in the areas of ethics, accountability and integrity.
• Honors program.  The College of Business supports students in the Honors college with special sections of core business classes, trips to meet business leaders and tours.  

Career Opportunities - Accounting

• Public accounting
• Internal auditing
• Managerial accounting
• Corporate accounting
• Government and nonprofit accounting
• Data analysis
• Law school

Lipscomb’s Accounting Program and the CPA Examination

The Tennessee State Board of Accountancy requires candidates for the CPA license to pass all four parts of the Uniform CPA exam and complete 150 hours of education, with specific requirements in both accounting (30 hours) and business (24 hours). Note: such requirements are changing but are current as of the catalog’s editorial deadlines.

In order to prepare our students for the CPA examination, Lipscomb University offers the following options:

1. Obtain the B.B.A. and M.Acc. degrees. This option provides both an undergraduate degree with a business major and a Master of Accountancy degree in 150 total hours of course work.
2. Obtain the B.B.A. and M.B.A. degrees. This option provides both an undergraduate degree with a major in accounting and a Master of Business Administration degree with a maximum of 10 hours in accounting and finance.
3. Obtain the undergraduate Certificate in Accountancy and the graduate Certificate in Professional Accountancy. Together, the 18-hour undergraduate Certificate in Accountancy and the 12-hour graduate Certificate in Professional Accountancy provide for a total of at least 30 accounting hours. These hours will be combined with the student’s existing hours for a total of 150 hours.
4. Obtain the M.B.A. + CPA. This option provides a Master of Business Administration degree (with 18 business hours) and 18 graduate accounting hours.  Such accounting hours have significant prerequisites that can be met through appropriate undergradaute course work or the Accounting Boot Camp.

For students not pursuing the CPA credential, the B.B.A. degree with a major in accounting is available by taking the prescribed coursework provided under the accounting major details below.

Distinctives of the Finance and Economics Program

Lipscomb offers a BBA in Finance. The program includes a set of four required courses and three electives. Electives can be chosen from any upper division finance or accounting course as well as approved courses from other fields of study.

Lipscomb finance students have access to the Bloomberg Professional data service in our Financial Markets lab. This is the same financial data service used on Wall Street and other finance centers around the world. It provides our students with real-time data on every publicly traded company, asset, and commodity worldwide. It also provides a wealth of other data, like macroeconomic information, supply chain data, analyst reports, portfolio management tools, and more.

The use of Bloomberg data has been completely integrated into Lipscomb’s finance and economics curriculum, starting with sophomore courses, and continuing through senior-level capstone courses. Lipscomb students have the opportunity to earn three different Bloomberg certifications: Bloomberg Market Concepts, Bloomberg Finance Fundamentals, and Environmental Social Governance.

The finance program has a long history of placing graduates with some of the top firms in Nashville and around the country. In recent years graduates have accepted positions at Alliance Bernstein, UBS, Schneider Electric, HCA, Merrill Lynch, and Pinnacle, among many others. The placement rate for Lipscomb finance majors is consistently above 98%.

Lipscomb finance students participate in several regional, national, or international competitions each year. The topics of these competitions include portfolio management, equity research, investment banking, and case analysis. In many years, these competitions require our students to travel to Chicago, New York, Boston, and/or Vancouver. Two of the most prominent team competitions are detailed below.

Tennessee Valley Authority Investment Challenge

Students enrolled in FI 3703  Equity Investing and FI 4813 Investment Fund Management  participate in the TVA Investment Challenge, an annual competition among 25 schools in the TVA service region. Each team manages an all-equity portfolio of approximately $500,000. Students perform all of the analysis and make all transaction decisions related to managing the portfolio.

CFA Research Challenge

The CFA Institute Research Challenge is a global competition between university-sponsored teams that research a designated publicly traded company, prepare a written report on that selected company, and then present their findings to a panel of judges. Students assume the role of research analysts and are judged on their ability to value a stock, write a research report, and present their recommendations. 

Other Events and Programs

• Annual Career and Networking Events. Students can network with employers at these events and learn more about career opportunities.
• Internships. Students are required to participate in a finance internship. There are many excellent opportunities available in Middle Tennessee. The Career Connections office in the College of Business helps ensure that our students have a 100% placement rate for internships.
• Student Center for the Public Trust. Lipscomb University is home to the inaugural Student Center for the Public Trust chapter, created in 2009 by the NASBA Center for the Public Trust, focusing on education and engaging future business leaders on ethics, accountability, and integrity.
• Finance Club. The Finance Club extends an open invitation to all students with an interest in finance, offering a platform for active engagement in diverse finance-related pursuits. Our club facilitates opportunities for members to partake in mentoring, gain insights into the financial industry, foster valuable connections through networking, and engage in competitive events, among other activities. Students participating in these initiatives may anticipate enhancing their understanding of finance while gaining opportunities to develop essential skills through practical engagement.
• Honors program. The College of Business supports students in the Honors College with special sections of core business classes, trips to meet business leaders and tours.  

Career Opportunities

Finance is an extremely broad field, with the finance sector comprising 20-25% of the global economy. In addition, almost all non-financial firms require some employees specialized in finance. So, there are more potential career opportunities for finance majors than we could possibly list. However, a handful of the most common career paths for finance graduates are below.

• Commercial banking
• Investment banking
• Brokerage
• Venture capital / private equity
• Asset management
• Real estate investment
• Personal financial planning
• Corporate financial management
• Law school

Program of Study Requirements

• Accounting, B.B.A.
• Finance Major, B.B.A.

• Accounting Minor
• Finance Minor
• Financial Markets Minor

• Certificate in Accountancy Program (CAP)

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