Bentley University Accounting: 2027 Review

Score

64.0 of 100

Cost (20%)

0.0 of 10

Graduate Earnings (20%)

10.0 of 10

Completion (15%)

9.9 of 10

Flexibility (15%)

0.0 of 10

Credential Alignment (10%)

10.0 of 10

Track Record (10%)

9.4 of 10

Program Reputation (10%)

9.7 of 10

Credits

120

Format

On Campus

Accreditation

AACSB (confirmed on the official list)

AACSB Accounting

Accounting accreditation listed by AACSB

See exactly how we score on the methodology page. We checked the school's figures on October 8, 2026.

Bentley builds its accounting major inside a business degree that also carries an 18-credit business minor, so you graduate fluent in both. A BS/Master of Science in Accounting (MSA) Advanced Standing path can add a master's, and you could finish both degrees in as little as four years.

Bentley University is a private nonprofit school in Waltham, Massachusetts. You'll earn a Bachelor of Science in the accounting major, taught on campus. The school says all its accounting programs are infused with analytics and the latest technology.

• Students who want a master's early: apply to BS/MSA in your sophomore year, and four graduate courses count toward both degrees.
• Future auditors: you'll take AC 470 Financial Statement Auditing or AC 472 Internal Auditing as part of the required sequence.
• Students who like technology: you can choose the Information Technology and Accounting major.
• Students drawn to finance: you can pick Corporate Finance and Accounting, a separate major.
• Hands-on investors: the student-run Bentley Investment Group manages part of the university endowment.

AC 120 Data Analytics using Financial Information opens the major with the basics of working with financial data. AC 201 teaches you to build and read financial statements from cases and popular-press examples. AC 311 and AC 312, Financial Accounting and Reporting I and II, cover generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and the theory behind external reporting.

AC 340 Accounting Information Systems examines business processes such as order entry, billing and cash receipts, with hands-on software. AC 350 trains you in tax law and Treasury regulations. Electives include AC 332 Fraud Examination, AC 225 on sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, and AC 220 Cybersecurity for Business.

The major is nine accounting courses, including one AC elective, for 27 credits in all. In AC 421 Internship in Accounting, you earn academic credit for at least 200 hours of work. That work runs over 8 to 14 weeks.

The bachelor's is 120 credits, with 27 in the major and 18 in the business minor. The BS/MSA program accepts applications in the fall or spring of your sophomore year and asks for a 3.3 GPA and a B or higher in AC 201. Massachusetts requires 120 hours, 21 of them in accounting, to sit for the certified public accountant (CPA) exam and 150 hours to be licensed.

The school reports you'll pay $2,033 per credit.

Classes meet on the Waltham campus. You can place your internship in the spring of junior year, the summer after it or the fall of senior year. As a first-year student, you'll take a Career Design Seminar that connects you with the Pulsifer Career Development Center.

AACSB lists Bentley and confirms its separate accounting accreditation. The required courses satisfy the education requirements to take the CPA exam in Massachusetts, and either the four-year degree or Falcon Fast-Track leaves you prepared to sit for it.

Bentley's Accounting Advisory Board includes alumni partners at Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, BDO, RSM and Grant Thornton. The school says about 80% of its students who take the CPA exam pass it the first time.

Where this degree can lead: Accounting Degree Jobs.

A student reviewing Bentley on EDUopinions says the professors put students first and go to great lengths to help them learn. Another reviewer praises the curriculum and the range of modules. The Massachusetts Society of CPAs named a Bentley accounting lecturer its 2025 Educator of the Year. Bentley reported in 2024 that 63 percent of the Class of 2023 said they found a job through its Pulsifer Career Development Center.

• What GPA do I need to hold from freshman year to qualify for BS/MSA Advanced Standing?
• Which four graduate courses can I double-count toward both degrees?
• How do Corporate Finance and Accounting and Information Technology and Accounting differ from the core major in required courses?

• Best Bachelor's Programs
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Also at Bentley University: our master's program review