MBA Accounting: Admission 2025, Eligibility, Colleges and Careers

MBA in Accounting is a 2-year postgraduate program that combines core business administration education with specialized accounting knowledge. It covers topics such as financial reporting, auditing, taxation, cost management, and strategic financial planning, preparing graduates for leadership roles in finance and accounting.

Those who hold a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline with a minimum aggregate of 50% marks are eligible to apply for the course. The admissions are based on national-level examinations, followed by group discussion and a personal interview. The exams that are considered are CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, NMAT, etc. The total course fees ranges between INR 4.5 - 26.5 Lakhs.

The MBA in Accounting graduates can work in various sectors like Corporate Finance, Commercial Banking, Investment Banking, Private Equity and Venture Capital, Mutual Funds and Hedge Funds, Financial Planning and Wealth Management, Insurance, Stock Broking, Commodity Trading, etc. Some of the job roles they can apply for are Financial Analysts, Investment Bankers, Auditors, Financial Managers, Portfolio Managers, etc. The MBA Accounting salary one can expect as a fresher is around INR 5.01 LPA - 10 LPA. Also, the IIM graduates can expect an average salary of around INR 15 LPA.

MBA Accounting Highlights Table

The table below includes the key details of the Master of Business Administration in Accounting course:

What is MBA Accounting?

Master of Business Administration in Accounting is a combination of business studies coupled with specialized training in accounting and finance procedures. The program will introduce the mainstream business subjects such as marketing, operations, strategy, etc, in the first year, and in the second year, specialized accounting courses such as financial reporting, managerial accounting, auditing, taxation, and financial statement analysis. It makes the students ready for leadership positions involving both business and accounting skills. The course is for 2 years and those who hold a bachelor's degree with a minimum 50% marks in aggregate are eligible to pursue this course.

Also read about MBA Banking and Finance

Why Study MBA Accounting?

The MBA in Accounting is a powerful combination of financial expertise and business leadership skills, and is thus highly valued. Here are some of the reasons why one should prefer an MBA in Accounting:

• It prepares graduates for both technical accounting positions as well as leadership posts like Accounting Manager, Financial Controller.
• It opened doors across different industries, such as corporate finance, consulting, government, and non-profits.
• It adds value to one's professional credentials and helps in career advancement in a company or a change in careers.

Who Should Pursue MBA Accounting?

The MBA in Accounting degree can be opted for by those who are interested in this field or want to build a career in accounting. Some of the individuals who can consider pursing this course are as follows:

• Those who want to combine financial expertise with strategic business leadership.
• Accounting professionals aiming to move into management or executive roles.
• Those who want to transition into accounting or finance with a solid business foundation.
• Entrepreneurs can gain deeper insight into financial planning, budgeting, and compliance.

MBA Accounting Eligibility

To apply for an MBA in Accounting program, one needs to fulfill the requirements set by the particular institute. The basic eligibility criteria for this course are as follows:

• The candidates should have a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognized institution.
• The candidates should have a minimum aggregate of 50 - 60% marks in graduation.

MBA Accounting Entrance Exam

There are various management entrance exams that the candidates can appear for while considering taking admission in the MBA course. The candidates will have to check with the institute, the exams they accept. Here is the list of some of the entrance exams considered for the Master of Business Administration in Accounting:

MBA Accounting Colleges in India.

There are very few institutes that offer an MBA in Accounting. Most of the B-Schools offer a regular MBA with an option to specialize in accounting or in finance & accounting. Here is the list of some of the B-Schools that offer a regular MBA with a specialization in finance & accounting:

MBA Accounting Admission Process

Most B-schools offer a full-time MBA with accounting as a specialization. The admission into the Master of Business Administration in Accounting is similar to the regular MBA course. Let’s consider the admission process of IIM Ahmedabad, the top-ranked MBA institute according to the NIRF Ranking 2024. Here is the detailed admission process for MBA in Accounting:

• Registration: The interested candidates will have to visit the official website of CAT and register themselves by providing some basic information and creating their login credentials.
• Application Form - The candidates can start filling up the CAT application form with all the personal and academic details. They will have to provide their IIM preference, where they can choose IIM Ahmedabad, and the course preference, which will be MBA. They will have to further upload all the required documents and pay the application fees
• Entrance Exam - The applicants can now download the admit card and appear for the CAT entrance exam, which will evaluate the candidates based on 3 sections i.e. Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC). Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Ability (QA).
• Merit List - After the CAT results are released, IIM Ahmedabad will release the merit list of candidates shortlisted based on their CAT scores. The candidates who have cleared the minimum cutoff of IIM Ahmedabad are most likely to get shortlisted. The cutoff is around 80 percentile overall and 70 percentile sectionally. IIM Ahmedabad also considers past academic performance to shortlist candidates.
• WAT-PI - The shortlisted candidates will be called for the Analytical Writing Test (AWT) and a Personal Interview (PI) round.
• Provisional Offer Letter - The final selection will be based on multiple factors, i.e., CAT score, WAT-PI score, academic records, work experience, extracurricular activities, gender diversity, etc. The selected candidates will receive a provisional offer letter in their registered email and will have to accept the offer within the given time.

MBA Accounting Syllabus

The MBA in Accounting course is a 2-year course divided into 6 terms, i.e., 3 terms in each year. The courses covered in the first year are usually the same for all the Master of Business Administration specializations. Let’s consider the MBA Finance & Accounting syllabus of IIM Kashipur:

The 2nd year of the course is where students pursue their own chosen field of specialization. Here are the subjects that are covered in Finance and Accounting:

MBA Accounting Vs MBA Finance

Here is the comparison between the 2 major master of business administration specialisations, i.e, MBA in Accounting and MBA in Finance. The table below highlights the difference between these two courses.

MBA in Accounting Job Opportunities

The accounting graduates can work in various sectors like Corporate Finance, Commercial Banking, Investment Banking, Private Equity and Venture Capital, Mutual Funds and Hedge Funds, Financial Planning and Wealth Management, Insurance, Stock Broking, Commodity Trading, and Real Estate, etc. The MBA Accounting salary that can be expected from the freshers is around INR 5 - 10 LPA.

Some of the MBA in Accounting job roles the graduates can apply for are mentioned in the table below, along with the average salary as per PayScale: