Herr School of Accountancy
Our graduates consistently score above the national average on the CPA exam.
Whether a Fortune 500 company or a local non-profit, success requires experienced financial leadership. Learn the language of business with skills like auditing, tax preparation and budgeting.
Why Herr School of Accountancy?
- Our graduates become auditors, controllers, professional accountants, tax preparers, tax consultants at the FDIC, Hormel, Microsoft, and public accounting firms of all sizes.
- You'll gain experience through internships with employers such as the Big Four, Hormel, the FDIC, Microsoft and national and regional public accounting firms.
- The Herr School of Accountancy awards approximately $140,000 per year to Bachelor and Master of Accountancy students, these scholarships are in addition to Nistler CoBPA and UND scholarships awarded to our majors. Contact Dee Ann Ellingson at deeann.ellingson@UND.edu for more information.
- Live in UND Housing with fellow accounting majors in our Business Living & Learning Community (LLC).
Learn More About Our Programs
The Bachelor of Accountancy is designed for students interested in becoming Certified Public Accountants (CPA). Consider the accelerated program to earn a M.Acc. at the same time.
UND’s M.Acc. program is designed to qualify and prepare students for the CPA examination while expanding their professional skills.
UND's Business Analytics major equips students with essential data analysis skills, enabling them to drive data-driven decisions, enhance strategic outcomes, and excel across diverse industries where data literacy is increasingly critical.
Information Systems graduates attain careers across a wide variety of emerging positions within the information systems and technology field.
Elijah Watt Sells Award Recipients
In the last 27 years, Accountancy graduates have earned the prestigious Elijah Watts Sells Award 13 times. This award was creates in 1923 and annually recognizes the top 10 candidates in the nation who earn the highest cumulative scores on the CPA exam. Each year, between 75,000 and 100,000 individuals sit for the CPA exam. Finishing in the top 10 is truly an outstanding achievement and indicates the high-quality alumni produced by our undergraduate Accountancy Program.
The award is names after Elijah Watts Sells, one of New York's first CPAs and one for the primarily focuses behind the establishment of what is now the American Institute of CPAs. The following UND graduates have received this award.
| Name | Test Taken | Hometown |
|---|---|---|
| Nathan Peasland | Spring 2022 | North Dakota |
| Aaron Gibson | Spring 2022 | Virginia |
| Zsofia Barandi | Fall 2019 | Budapest, Hungary |
| Chelsey Enderle | Fall 2014 | Grand Forks, ND |
| Chris Rohrich | Spring 2004 | Fargo South, ND |
| Patricia Kalil Margarit | Fall 1993 | Williston, ND |
| Melissa Derrig | Fall 1993 | Fargo South, ND |
| Kory Schimke | Fall 1990 | Harvey, ND |
| Jeff Kersten | Spring 1990 | Newburg, ND |
| John Schell | Spring 1989 | Minot, ND |
| Brenda Zent | Spring 1987 | Mott, ND |
| Dave Eberly | Spring 1986 | Minot, ND |
| Steve Opdahl | Spring 1986 | Fargo South, ND |
Herr School of Accountancy Mission
The mission of the Herr School of Accountancy is to prepare individuals for professional careers in accounting and business.
Values
- High quality teaching, scholarship and professional and public services
- Relevance and innovation in curriculum, instructional methods, scholarship and professional and public services
- Good relationships with our alumni and recruiters
- Interaction with the profession and community
- High standards of professional and ethical conduct
- A climate that fosters continuous improvement