The ideal candidate seeking to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting is a person who is a good math student, enjoys doing research related to problem-solving, and is detail oriented.
The traditional Bachelor's Degree in Accounting requires 120 credit hours over a four-year period or, in some cases, a three-year, year-round accelerated course of study. These credit hours are broken down into 60 credits in business and accounting courses and 60 credits encompassing English, math, social studies, and other electives such as computer science.
Courses for a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting
While an associate’s of accounting degree course focused on finding and correcting errors on financial statements, advanced courses at the bachelor's level involve not only uncovering missing funds but learning how to trace possible fraud or embezzlement activity within a company. In addition to being prepared to handle basic bookkeeping and financial accounting duties, courses in managerial accounting enable future accountants to advise corporate superiors in the area of cost-effective speculations and decisions. One of the most important courses for any accounting or business degree is business law. The overall goal of business law is to ensure that business practices, whether in government, public or non-profit sectors, are conducted in an ethical manner.
To prepare students for possible employment in public accounting, internal auditing, and managerial accounting, a number of courses are required in the area of tax planning. At the bachelor's degree level, many institutions of higher learning offer internships in various facets of accounting to enable students to gain practical experience in an actual accounting firm. Internships can be geared to concentrate on one facet of accounting such as quantitative analysis, business statistics, or the development of problem-solving and communication skills.
Real World Application & Training
In addition to affording future accountants the opportunity to gain practical, in-the-field experience, internships often act as a springboard to being considered by the human resources department of a company for an upper-entry or a mid level position in a business or financial firm.
Beyond the associate accounting degree level, bachelor's courses in financial accounting address cash flow statement techniques and the art of balancing customer satisfaction while maintaining cost containment and control in the interest of the company.
To develop well-rounded accounting students, institutions of higher learning strive to instill subject-specific skills in addition to a good command of written and verbal English, which, when combined with networking skills and business etiquette, enable graduates to land more lucrative positions in the field.
