Online Accounting Degrees: Online Accounting Degree Programs

Accounting Degrees

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Salaries For Degrees in Accounting

Those who majored in Accounting can work in a variety of occupations. While no one can say with certainty what you personally will do with a degree in Accounting, our survey panel picked the following jobs as likely options:

Salaries are highly dependent on individual negotiating skill, experience, policies at your employer, area, and more besides. The estimates we show on these pages are just that: estimates. Your individual experience will likely vary.

There are a lot of options to holders of an accounting degree. They may seek employment in the tower offices of the largest corporations in the world, or serve small businesses in a rural area. The government needs accountants, and so do nonprofit and charity organizations. Projects like large-scale construction or movies have their own accountants on staff. Individuals often hire accountants, especially at tax time. You can choose an industry that interests you and perform a critical supporting role as an accountant. Accountants have become an intricate part of the business world; changing and adapting, regulating and being regulated. The world depends on its accountants!

Where does this come from?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a unit of the US government, classifies all workers into some 800-odd occupational categories. We paid a team of freelancers to solicit their view on what type of degree a holder of each type of job would likely have majored in. For pairs which had a high degree of consensus, we created a link between the degree and the job.

From this, we calculated the average salary for Accounting degrees and converted it into a lifetime value. We then compared it against other degrees at the same level of schooling (such as associate's, bachelor's, or master's), so that you can make informed educational and employment decisions.

What Can an Accounting Student Expect to Learn?

Accountants’ education & training starts with the basics of accounting and “Generally Accepted Accounting Principles,” or GAAP. These are the rules businesses live by in the U.S. so that financial statements are stated in terms everyone understands the same way. There are similar rules in every nation, but each country has its own standards.

You’ll learn how to calculate the value of an organization’s assets and liabilities. You’ll learn how to present financial information in reports. You’ll learn analytical techniques. You’ll learn how to calculate the real cost of an organization’s product. You’ll calculate income and loss and learn to determine stock distributions. You’ll even learn how taxes are calculated.

What you won’t learn is math. Contrary to popular belief, accountants use only basic math in their work. The adding, subtracting, multiplication, division, and percentages you learned before entering college is really all you’ll need. There is no requirement for advanced algebra, calculus or other math as is commonly thought. At most, you’ll need a course on statistics or logic.

The final part of your education may have you concentrating on a specialty that you want to pursue. Many choose a tax or cost accounting specialty. Forensic accounting is becoming increasingly popular, where accounting-based legal evidence is prepared and testimony given. Auditing is another specialty where you learn to inspect the books of an unrelated company for the purposes of determining their accuracy and reliability. International accounting is another fascinating way to travel to exotic lands in the service of your company’s financial health. Learning consolidation strategies is another advanced concept that you may want to learn.

Whether you choose an online or offline school to study for your accounting degree, you need to examine their requirements and work on anything you may not have in your background. If you know you will go for your CPA, or Certified Public Accountant certification, make sure your chosen school prepares you for the exam. Standardized tests may be needed for the application, so be sure to secure their completion in time to make the deadline.

Online Schools Offering Accredited Accounting Degree Programs

Ranking schools that offer accounting degrees isn’t easy. It depends a lot on what aspects of the educational experience are most important to the individual student. When considering online schools, most of the social and residential aspects are not important. This ranking by the Online Education Data Base is based on acceptance, ability to get financing, graduation rate, number of years accredited, teacher-to-student ratio, and peer citations.

Campus-based Colleges & Universities Offering Accounting Degrees

Respected business and news publications have ranked the top ten accounting schools based on curriculum, faculty, grades, graduation rate, and financial status. According to Newsweek, the top ten are:

University of Chicago
University of Pennsylvania
Northwestern University
Harvard University
University of Michigan
Stanford University
MIT
UC Berkeley
Duke University
Columbia University

Famous Students of Accounting

Kenny G. Those seeking degrees in accounting will find a lot of colleges and universities both locally and online that will provide good training. It’s not difficult to find a good school, because accountants are in huge demand. Accountants have a long and noble history, starting with the first written accountant’s records in 1494. Cost accounting is even mentioned in the Bible. Luke 14:28 says, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?”

There are some famous people who hold accounting degrees that may surprise you. John Grisham, the famous novelist, is known as a being a lawyer before beginning his writing career, was an accountant before that. Saxophone player Kenny G. (pictured right, by minds-eye on Flickr) graduated Magna Cum Laude with an accounting degree. Gibby Haynes, lead singer of The Butthole Surfers, was voted “Accounting Student of the Year” at Trinity University. D-Lo Brown was an accountant before becoming a professional wrestler.

Bob Newhart worked as an accountant in Chicago after he got out of the army. He talked about his own “system” for petty cash in his comedy routines. He’d replace missing money from his own pocket! He actually began doing his famous telephone routines during this job.

Online Degrees