Accounting from community college is different from Accounting at a 4 yr school?
Anne asked:
So, I want a career in Accounting or Finance in the future.
I will be attending an community college in the fall, and I couldn’t find accounting but accounting tech/bookkeeping. Is it the same thing?
Im planning to transfer to get my BS in accounting, so I shouldn’t worry about cc accounting?
So, I want a career in Accounting or Finance in the future.
I will be attending an community college in the fall, and I couldn’t find accounting but accounting tech/bookkeeping. Is it the same thing?
Im planning to transfer to get my BS in accounting, so I shouldn’t worry about cc accounting?
Thanks!
Joan
Well, I am not so sure about an accounting degree at Community College. I think you can only get AA’s degree, but not a BS degree.
I know for a fact that the CPA rules is changing/will be in Jan. 2012. So, if you planned to get an accounting degree and then a CPA, you would fall under the new rule of CPA.
The difference is that at a community college it will cost you much less. And they won’t have advanced classes, If you have any questions, ask your community college and then talk to somebody from the department at your transfer school.
Accounting degree programs at a CC are very different and focus on technical skills, such as proficiency in using specific types of programs (i.e. peachtree). Those courses will typically not be transferable to a 4 year accounting program, aside from the intro courses you take.
Therefore, you should be a liberal arts major at a CC, with the intent to transfer to a 4 year. Accounting at 4 year colleges are business programs, so you must satisfy any prerequisites for general business degree programs. This includes not only 2 semesters of intro accounting (financial and managerial), but also two semesters of econ (micro/macro), calculus-based math, and whatever else is called for. The remaining bulk of your courses at the CC will be fulfilling general education requirements for your 4 year program (i.e. history, English, whatever)
In a community college there will be two tracks in accounting, one is for transfer to a four year program and the other for an AS in Accounting. Talk to a counselor and make sure that you enroll in the transfer curriculum because you might take courses that will not transfer to a four year college.
Accounting in the Community College will prepare you to work as a accounting clerk or bookkeeper. Those courses lead to an Associate of Applied Sciences degree or something similar not towards a bachelors degree.
If your plan is to earn a bachelors degree, follow the Associate of Arts degree plan. In this way, the CC credits you earn will transfer towards your bachelors degree. You won’t lose time in the process.
The biggest difference is that you need the 4 year degree if you want to be CPA-eligible.
In practice I have found that people with community/tech school accounting degrees tend to more “bookkeepers” than “accountants”.