University of Phoenix and the American Institute of CPAs, the world’s largest member association representing the CPA profession, have joined together to integrate AICPA-developed accounting and finance content into the University’s Finance for Business course. Students in the course will now engage with profession-informed materials developed from AICPA content in collaboration with subject matter experts and University of Phoenix finance faculty.
The AICPA course material provides profession-aligned, authoritative content that reflects current practice and concepts within finance. Among other topics, the AICPA provided expertise in several key areas, such as financial statement analysis and ratios, time value of money and cash flow analysis, as well as valuation, cost of capital and capital budgeting. The course materials include videos, text materials and review questions that can be easily updated and are mapped to University of Phoenix learning objectives. For example, videos featuring an avatar walk students through certain calculations to provide a more engaging encounter with the concepts beyond just text.
Finance for Business introduces students to essential elements of finance for business, including financial management, financial markets, and tools, techniques, and methodologies used in making financial decisions. Approximately 7,000 University students take the course each year.
University of Phoenix has skills-aligned curriculum. Students completing the Finance for Business course will be able to acquire the following mapped skills: Financial Analysis, Financial Planning, and Time Value of Money. The course also introduces students to the foundational skill, “AI for Business Finance,” which helps students connect the ways in which AI is impacting the field of business finance.
The new AICPA-integrated materials debuted with 894 students in May 2026. In addition to better course performance, 148 students submitted end-of-course surveys with higher ratings than previous course materials. Faculty participating in the pilot also provided positive feedback on the materials’ student engagement and usability while reporting that course rigor and alignment with learning outcomes were maintained or improved.
“Finance professionals are working in an environment where sound fundamentals increasingly intersect with new technologies and changing business practices,” said Natalie Pratt, M.Ed., MC, MBA, associate dean, College of Business and Information Technology at University of Phoenix. “This collaboration with AICPA helps us bring profession-informed perspectives into the Finance for Business course while maintaining the learning outcomes and rigor our students need. It reflects our broader approach to connecting academic learning with relevant skills students can develop and apply in today’s workplace.”
Finance for Business is part of the curriculum for the University’s Bachelor of Science in Business (BSB) degree program. The course reflects the College of Business and Information Technology’s focus on industry-relevant learning and helping students build skills they can apply to contemporary business challenges.
“Many of today’s aspiring accounting and finance professionals need education solutions that help them balance the need to study, work and care for family members,” said Jan Taylor, the AICPA’s academic-in-residence. “It’s not an easy juggling act, and flexible programs such as those at University of Phoenix can be a big help. Our goal in collaborating with the university is to provide course materials that are high quality and career relevant to best support students.”
The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) also offers University of Phoenix students free membership, which includes access to scholarship databases, job boards, exam resources, networking opportunities and monthly webinars. Going forward, the AICPA and University of Phoenix plan to collaborate on other course materials in the College of Business and Information Technology portfolio.
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