The Bureau of Labor Statistics insists that at least a bachelor degree in accounting is essential for working as accountant, auditor, book-keeper, educator, payroll service, freelance accountant, and tax preparer. You can become a certified public accountant (CPA) with an additional training after the successful completion of your bachelor degree. An accountant is responsible for handling vital functions in a business organization and for individuals.
Responsibilities of Bachelor Degree in Accounting Jobs
The responsibilities of bachelor degree in accounting jobs vary as per the roles you handle. A public accountant need to handle various roles, such as consulting activities, tax, auditing, accounting, healthcare benefits of employees, data processing, etc.
The major responsibilities of management accountant include preparation of financial reports, cost accounting, budgeting, planning, financial analysis, etc.
If you are seeking employment as an internal auditor accountant, you need to handle duties such as healthcare auditing, banking, insurance reviews, legal auditing, engineering, environmental auditing, electronic data processing, etc.
Bachelor Degree in Accounting
The major prerequisite for getting a job in the field of accounting is a bachelor degree in accounting. Most of such degree programs aim to provide necessary tools and knowledge to the students for acquiring foundations of knowledge in accounting, professional insights, interpersonal skills, technological expertise, etc. Besides elective subjects, the bachelor degree programs also include a range of general subjects such as literature, maths, psychology, etc to meet various educational requirements. Bachelor degree in accounting is the stepping stone for higher graduate degree programs. The coursework of bachelor degree in accounting course include:
- Accounting
- Introduction to business
- Microcomputer applications for accountants
- Computer information systems
- Mathematics
- Managerial accounting
- Federal Taxation
- Auditing
- Advanced accounting
- Cost accounting
- Advanced federal taxation
- Intermediate accounting
- Business law
- Municipal accounting
- Statistics
Bachelor Degree in Accounting Online
The number of students enrolling in bachelor degree in accounting online is increasing tremendously because this is highly convenient, easy and cost effective way of acquiring the required skills in accounting. Today, lots of universities and colleges offer bachelor degree in accounting online to the students.
Campus oriented bachelor degree in accounting program will take four years to complete. You can accelerate the process of learning by enrolling in online programs. If you select online courses, you can study from the comfort of your home and there is no need to spend for commutation and accommodation. After the completion of bachelor degree in accounting, you can do specialization in various subjects such as auditing, business administration, business studies, management, financial management, managerial accountancy, general or public accountancy, non-profit or government accountancy, tax accountancy, forensic accountancy, etc.
In order to become a good accountant, you must have some basic qualities such as logical thinking, solid computer skills, ability to synthesize, analytical ability, strong communication skills, love of numbers, etc.
Bachelor degree in accounting online is a great way of earning a degree and you can find lots of accredited schools that offer bachelor degree in accounting. The curriculum of the course varies depending on the institution. However, most of the online courses cover topics such as:
- Managerial accounting
- Financial reporting
- Financial analysis
- Internal controls
- Accounting systems
- Budgeting
- International accounting
- Taxation
- External and internal auditing
Accounting Accreditation
If you are planning to enroll in a bachelor degree in accounting online, you should ensure that the course has proper accreditation. Usually accounting courses are accredited by 3 primary accreditation agencies, such as International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education, Association of Collegiate Business Schools of Business, and Association for Advancing Collegiate Schools of Business. If the college you selected has proper accreditation, it will provide you the latest and up to date teaching and curriculum practices.
Online Accounting Schools of 2012
Some of the universities that offer accredited bachelor degree in accounting online are:
Walden University, Westwood College, Sullivan University, Ashford University, Southern New Hampshire University, etc.
Walden University
Walden University offers Bachelor of Science in Accounting to the students who wish to enroll in their online program, which is designed by the standards of American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. This course is aimed to provide strong accounting basics to the students. Some selected individual courses of Walden University are:
Federal taxation, Individual taxation, Managerial accounting, Introduction to financial planning and analysis, Information systems in Enterprise, Auditing and internal control.
Westwood College
Though the duration of most of the bachelor degree in accounting curses is four years, you can complete the course in three years if you enroll in the Bachelor of Business Administration (Accounting and Financial Management course of Westwood College. Individual courses of this college include:
Budgeting, Accounting for government and non-profit, Financial reporting, Managerial decision making, Leadership.
Sullivan University
Sullivan University conducts Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, which include elective courses, core concentration, and accounting concentration. You must attend 180 credit hours for completing the course. These courses consist of:
Introduction to statistics, Federal taxation, Principles of business law, and Micro computer applications for business.
Ashford University
Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Management (Accounting Specialization) offered by Ashford University is another accredited course for earning a bachelor degree in accounting. You also need to study subjects, such as human resource management, ethics, etc as a part of the course.
Southern New Hampshire University
You can earn a bachelor degree in accounting by enrolling in Bachelor of Science (Accounting or information Systems) of Southern New Hampshire University. The university combines classes in IT theory and accounting with real life work situations.
Bachelor Degree In Accounting Salary
You can find a job in the field of accounting if you have a bachelor degree and a bachelor degree in accounting is ideal for getting further qualifications in accounting such as a master degree or doctorate. It is estimated that an entry level accountant with five years experience can earn around $34,000 per year. An assistant bookkeeper with five years experience can earn around $25,000 per year. The annual salary of an experienced property claims adjustor is $42,000 and posting/billing clerk is $25,000. An experienced accounts receivable clerk can earn around $ 30,000 per year.
You can achieve a number of opportunities in job market and student life with a bachelor degree in accounting. You can complete your a bachelor degree in accounting online successfully if you have a quite place for learning, online lesson plans, few text books, and a computer with internet.