University of Waterloo School of Accounting and Finance

School of Accounting and Finance
Established	1985 (1985)
Type	School
Parent institution	Faculty of Arts
Academic affiliation	University of Waterloo
Location	Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Director	Thomas W. Scott
Academic staff	38
Undergraduates	1,500
Postgraduates	275
Website	accounting.uwaterloo.ca

The School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) at University of Waterloo is a professional school within the Faculty of Arts. The School was established in 1985 under the name 'School of Accountancy'. Its name was changed in 2008 to better reflect its program offering. The School has made important contributions to the development of the accounting profession in Canada.^[1] The faculty is a significant producer of accounting research and industry teaching material.^[1] Alumni hold leadership positions in public accounting, industry, government and academia.^[2] Today, nearly 1000 students are enrolled in the School's programs. In September, 2009 a new 52,000 square feet (5,000 m²) building was officially opened to house the School.

The School of Accounting and Finance offers the largest accounting and finance undergraduate cooperative education (co-op) program in Canada.^[3] Most of the School's programs are uniquely accredited by Canadian industry associations. Access to exceptional faculty, advanced professional standing and the opportunity for paid work experience in between academic terms make admission to undergraduate programs administered by the School extremely competitive.

Programs of study

The School of Accounting and Finance offers three undergraduate programs, one post-bachelorette diploma, two graduate programs and one doctoral program. Additionally, the School jointly administers one undergraduate program and one graduate program with the Faculty of Mathematics and one undergraduate program with the Faculty of Science.^[4] These programs are: School of Accounting and Finance Programs: Bachelor of Accounting and Financial Management (BAFM) - Public Accounting, Bachelor of Accounting and Financial Management (BAFM) - Financial Management, Bachelor of Computing and Financial Management (BCFM), Master of Accounting (MAcc), Master of Taxation (MTax) and PhD in Accounting; Joint with the Faculty of Mathematics: Bachelor of Mathematics (BMath) - Chartered Accountancy and Master of Quantitative Finance (MFinance); and, Joint with the Faculty of Science: Bachelor of Science (BSc) - Chartered Accountancy.

Undergraduate Education

Bachelor of Accounting and Financial Management Co-op (BAFM)

Students in the BAFM Program may customize a degree so long as the basic minimum requirements set out in the BAFM Plan are met. Graduates of the BAFM program typically aspire to a host of professional accounting and/or finance credentials such as the Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Chartered Business Valuator (CBV) Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. BAFM candidates graduating in 2015 or before take an area of interest in a non-accounting/finance subject area along with accounting and finance courses. BAFM students/graduates are eligible to apply to the School's MAcc program.

Until 2014, students in the BAFM Program were required to apply to one of two work streams upon application to the program. Changes to work term sequencing were typically not available to students in the BAFM Program and remain unavailable to those admitted prior to Fall 2014. Students could obtain co-op employment deemed by a number of professional bodies to be qualifying practical experience for accreditation purposes. These sequences are:

• Public Accounting (PA) Work Stream: Beginning in their second year of study, students completed three co-op work-terms (totalling 16-months) over the course of their undergraduate plan as follows: Jan-Apr, Jan-Apr and Jan-Aug. Students in this work stream (along with those in the Math CA and Science CA undergraduate programs) had exclusive access to a bank of CA co-op jobs in the Public Accounting sector via the University's job posting and application service called "JobMine" .

• Financial Management (FM) Work Stream: Beginning in their second year of study, students completed four co-op work-terms (totalling 16-months) over the course of their undergraduate plan as follows: Jan-Apr, Jan-Apr and Jan-Aug. Students in this co-op work stream were able to apply to co-op roles via the University's "Main Group" job posting and application cycle. Students in the Financial Management stream could not apply to roles in the University's "Chartered Accounting" job posting and application cycle. Some students had voiced concern over this matter, claiming that since all BAFM students were able to select courses from the same curriculum agenda, restriction from the "Chartered Accouting" job posting and recruitment cycle was unfair. The School maintained that access to the recruitment cycle was based on the demand for CA-accredited co-op employment in the public accounting area and that the supply of BAFM-PA, Math CA and Science CA students was sufficient to meet the demand.

As part of changes that were made after the 2013 application cycle to the BAFM program in relation to the new CPA accreditation in Ontario, the School eliminated the co-op streaming and now allows applicants access to all accounting-related and general postings on JobMine. Since the new Ontario CPA requirements provide for greater flexibility in completing the work experience requirement via the "experience verification model", students will now be able to gain accredited experience from both "CPA Match" and "Main Match" postings. Though the changes to the professional accreditation process apply to all students currently attending post-secondary institutions, the School has not grandfathered students who were admitted prior to September 2014 into the new system and they remain split into the FM and PA co-op streams.^[5]

Mathematics and Chartered Accountancy Co-op (Math/CPA)

Students in the MathCPA program may customize a degree so long as the basic minimum requirements set out in Mathematics Chartered Accountancy Plan are met. Typically, students take math courses along with the accounting and finance courses. The work-term sequence in structured similar to the BAFM schedule. Students in the program may obtain co-op employment deemed by professional bodies to be qualifying practical experience for accreditation purposes. MathCPA students have access to the University's "Chartered Accounting" job posting and application cycle.

Graduates of the MathCPA program typically aspire to a CA designation. In addition to preparation for CA accreditation, three study options are offered that allow students to explore complimentary areas: finance, actuarial science, and operations research management. Students who complete the Finance Option are highly prepared to pursue the CFA curriculum and accreditation process. Students who complete the Actuarial Science Option are suited to explore professional actuary exams. Students who complete the Operations Research Management Option are suited for specialized roles in public accounting, business or research. MathCPA students/graduates are eligible to apply to the School's MAcc program.

The Math/CA program was renamed to Math/CPA in 2013 to better reflect the professional qualifications that the program is designed to prepare students for.

Biotechnology and Chartered Accountancy Co-op (Biotech/CPA)

Students in the ScienceCPA program take science courses along with the accounting and finance courses. Students are especially well-prepared for work in public accounting or with biotechnology-intensive businesses. Student take two of four co-op terms during busy season (Jan-Apr). Students in the program may obtain co-op employment deemed by professional bodies to be qualifying practical experience for accreditation purposes. ScienceCPA students have access to the University's "Chartered Accounting" job posting and application cycle. Admission to the ScienceCPA program is competitive. ScienceCPA students/graduates are eligible to apply to the School's MAcc program.

The Biotech/CA program was renamed to Biotech/CPA in 2013 to better reflect the professional qualifications that the program is designed to prepare students for.

Bachelor of Computing and Financial Management (BCFM)

This is new Program offered jointly with the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science in the Faculty of Mathematics. Students take computer science courses along with accounting and finance courses. Upon completion, these students will receive a unique degree in Canada. Students in this program typically complete six co-op work terms, with the first commencing between semester two and three. The work term sequence is: May-Aug, Jan-Apr, Sep-Dec, May-Aug, Jan-Apr and Sep-Dec. The first class is expected to graduate in 2011. CFM students/graduates are not eligible to apply to the School's MAcc program. CFM students are well-suited to pursue a number of professional accreditation in finance and/or advanced business or science degrees.

University Reputation

• According to Maclean's University Rankings,^[6] University of Waterloo ranks #1 in the following categories:
  • Best Overall
  • Most Innovative
  • Best Source of Leaders of Tomorrow

• The Globe & Mail gave the University of Waterloo the followings grades in its 2007 annual report card.^[7]
  • Reputation amongst employers = A+
  • Academic reputation = A
  • Quality of education = A-
  • Libraries = A-

• The Mathematics & Chartered Accountancy and Biotechnology & Chartered Accountancy programs are some of the most competitive in Canada.^[8]
  • The Mathematics program admission process is based on individual selection from students with a minimum fourth year high school average in the low-90's. In 2009, around 900 applicants applied for 80 spots.
  • The Biotechnology program admission is based on individual selection from students with a fourth year high school average in the mid-90's.^[9] On average, 10 to 15 students are admitted to the program.

References

External links

• Official website