[michelle711]

I’m currently in Miami, researching MAccy and MBA programs with a non accounting undergrad degree.

I am a little torn between two programs: FIU MBA with a specialization in Finance (AACSB accredited) and Nova Southeastern Master in Accounting (IACBE accredited). They are both around the same cost.

Nova’s curriculum stands out most for me because it offers foundation courses (intermediate acct I, II, cost, audit), which I feel would help me with the technical coursework I didn’t receive in my undergrad, however I’m not sure how the IACBE accreditation stands out to employers.

There are very few reviews on either program. Is there anyone who could shed some insight on either of these programs or other Florida programs?

[Anonymous]

AACSB is kind of the “gold standard” in business accreditation. There's others, but AACSB is the big one. I don't know Florida schools, so know that the FIU vs. NOVA piece means nothing to me, but AACSB vs IACBE, I'd pick AACSB, because it's going to have more “clout” behind it.

Now, if you're looking to work internationally, it could be that IACBE is more well-known in the international sphere; I don't know for sure. But, at least within the US, AACSB is much better known and more reputable.

However…despite having that be my starting point, I don't think you should be making a decision based on AACSB vs IACBE, or FIU vs NOVA. I think your decision should be 1st MBA vs MAcc, and then decide on a school and accreditation package that picks what you want and what you can afford. MBA and MAcc lead to different careers and brand you as a different type of candidate, so you need to figure out which career you want and which candidate you want to be before you pick one.

Personally, I want to go the private/management route, so MBA Finance is what I'm in the middle of (OK, so I'm only like 2 weeks into my first class, but that's middle…ish!). For the career route I want, CPA/MBA combo is the best option. MAcc wouldn't really help me as much. But, for a different career path, a MAcc might be preferable. (Oh, and at least in my MBA Finance curriculum, there's very little accounting – IIRC, only 1 accounting course.) Looking back at one of your prior posts (“2nd Bachelor in Accounting” thread), you talked about not wanting to be in management, but having jobs look for accounting credits; if your goal is to get accounting credits and not to work in an accounting management role, then I'd advise against the MBA route. MBA looks like “I want to run the department”; when paired with accounting coursework, CPA, etc., then it says “I want to run the accounting department”. If that's not what you want to say, then don't say it. 😛 But, if accounting courses are what you're lacking, the MBA won't provide them.

As far as the foundational courses, I'd say just take those prior to enrolling in a course. Don't pick a course based on those. Just enroll for a couple semesters taking a couple of those courses each semester as non-degree-seeking student so that you can learn the foundations. Taking them at a Master's price isn't necessary, as they'll probably be the same course as if you took them as a non-degree seeking student out of the undergrad catalog.

[shakil127]

Definitely AACSB all the way

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[Larry]

I guess I should have went to FIU for my masters. I graduated from NOVA in 2014 with a MAcc. Nova was a good program. You have to put in work but they are good for an online program.

For FIU, I would have had to take the GMAT and get a minimum score for admission.

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[michelle711]

FIU would be my first pick, however their MAcc requires a business undergrad 🙁

In researching LinkedIn and speaking with people in industry, it seems like almost everyone in Miami has either an FIU business undergrad in (finance/accounting/general) AND/OR FIU Business undergrad with FIU MBA or MAcc.

[Anonymous]

In researching LinkedIn and speaking with people in industry, it seems like almost everyone in Miami has either an FIU business undergrad in (finance/accounting/general) AND/OR FIU Business undergrad with FIU MBA or MAcc.

And that's precisely why I noted that the FIU vs NOVA piece meant nothing to me, so weigh that into my advice…if FIU is the standard by which everything is measured where you're at, and if you plan to stay in that area, then the local value placed on FIU may be much more important than the national value placed on AACSB. In any locality, a certain school will have a certain reputation, and that reputation will matter more than its accreditation in that area. I work at a small private college; it's in a little town that the college is easily one of the biggest employers. When an alum from here goes to get a job, no one around here is asking the alum what accreditation the school has, cause they all know the school. If we obtained AACSB accreditation for our business programs (don't currently have it…), that wouldn't change anything in the eyes of local employers, cause we're still the same school that they've known forever. So, locally, the FIU vs. NOVA piece probably matters more, and that piece I don't know anything about.

Note: just cause more people have their degree from a school doesn't mean it's more widely respected. To use a couple state schools I'm familiar with as an example, in Michigan, Univ of MI and MI State were big rivals. If you lived in Ann Arbor, you went to Univ of MI; you wouldn't dare go down the street to MI State, unless you were doing it mostly just to pick at the rivalry. However, MI State could have better programs for certain things. If you looked on LinkedIn, though, you'd see that most professionals in Ann Arbor had degrees from UofM over MSU. Doesn't mean that UofM was better; just that you were in UofM's town. If you moved 2 hours north, where the rivalry wasn't as strong and there were people who were fans of both teams (it was mostly an athletic rivalry 😛 ), then you'd see more of a mix. To conclude looking at LinkedIn of Ann Arbor professionals that UofM was better wouldn't have been accurate; it was closer and more convenient, and also the “local town loyalty” to attend UofM, but in reality, the professionals there might have admitted to you that MSU had a better program for ______, they just picked UofM cause they could save on room and board by living at home going to UofM and keep their dad from getting mad at them becoming a Spartan. 😉 (My dad is a UofM fan, can't even tell this example as everyone being MSU grads, it'd be disloyal…lol.) However, if the rivalry was strong enough, I suppose it could influence job prospects. I don't think UofM vs. MSU was, outside of perhaps athletic careers, but some school's rivalries probably are strong enough. UofM vs. MSU was more of a point to be laughed about in the lunchroom – if you came on game day wearing the wrong colors cause you graduated from the wrong school, coworkers would tease you, but it wouldn't affect your likelihood of being hired.

[michelle711]

It seems that FIU is definitely held at a higher standard. Candidates with FIU/FAU/UM and other Florida schools will get interviews first, then online degrees. For this particular reason I'm at odds with what the best decision for me will be because I can only locally attend FIU, since it is in the area from where I live (they're requiring that I get the Bachelors in Accounting). Nova is offering the Masters in Accounting online (they're in South Florida about and hour and half away from where I'm located) and IACBE accredited.

In the time being I'm taking the foundational courses at FIU while breaking my head over which path to take lol :p

[taxonomics]

I am currently attending FIU so obviously I'm going to be a bit biased. Take my advice with a grain of salt = ).

If you are planning to stick around Miami for a while, I highly encourage you to attend FIU. The alumni base is huge down here; much more prominent than UM or any other University. The program at FIU also has improved tremendously in the last few years. The MACC program does require 5 accounting courses if you don't have a Bachelor in Accounting, but I don't know what your original major was. With that said, I really recommend the Bachelors.

I also encourage you to join either Beta Alpha Psi or ALPFA; the two main organizations on campus for accounting/finance majors. This year Beta won the gold status for the third consecutive year so we're a top 8 chapter in the world. I am in Beta but ALPFA is also a great organization, although it leans a little bit more towards finance. All of the Big 4 and National firms recruit on campus and Beta/ALPFA have their own career fair, exclusively just for them. This is why most of the recruitment is either done from ALPFA or Beta.

The Master's at FIU is really expensive and a bit overpriced, but hopefully by then you have an offer and it just becomes an investment. A lot of students at FIU are thinking about doing the Master at FAU, which is like 1/3 of the cost. FAU also has an online Masters program but that one is a bit more expensive. Nevertheless, it is still much cheaper than FIU. I think the FAU online program is about the same price as Nova but they are AACSB accredited. Try checking out their requirements.

Hope that helps. If you have any questions about FIU, feel free to message me and hopefully I get back to you = ).

[Author]

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