Best Online Accounting Associate Degree Programs

Accounting professionals play a critical role in the operation of each organization as they create and maintain financial records. If this sounds like a career for you, an online accounting associate degree program will help you achieve your professional goals.

What’s great about online associate in accounting degree programs is that they take only two years to complete. These programs prepare you to enter entry-level accounting roles or pursue a more advanced accounting degree.

And since you’ll be learning online, you’ll have the flexibility to balance family and work obligations while you learn.

Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.

While each associate in accounting program is different, these programs tend to teach many of the same courses in order to meet accreditation standards. Coursework commonly includes the principles of accounting, managerial accounting, and microeconomics.

Introductory classes cover basic accounting procedures. You’ll learn about the uses of accounting in business and government. You’ll also examine business transaction monitoring, bookkeeping, and financial document creation.

Microeconomics courses focus on individual industries. This branch of economics teaches students about how the behavior of individuals, households, and their producers can determine the prices of products and services.

In microeconomics, you’ll explore concepts like market structures, pricing, consumer choice, competition and monopoly, welfare economics, and supply and demand. This course tends to focus on the economic outcomes created by these concepts.

Managers use financial documents to plan and make decisions. This course trains you in managerial accounting topics like budgeting, cost-benefit analysis, and performance evaluation. You’ll learn how to create financial documents for business decision-making.

The course covers income tax preparation for individuals and businesses. Topics include federal taxation policies, income tax deductions, capital gains taxes, and preparation methods. You’ll also explore auditing methods.

Computerized accounting refers to software used by businesses to record and organize financial transactions. This software includes digital spreadsheets to keep track of each transaction.

In computerized accounting courses, you’ll learn Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), information systems, and accounting theory, among other topics. You’ll also learn how to generate financial statements, analyze data, and automate bookkeeping tasks, using software to record and organize financial transactions.

As its title suggests, business law courses teach about laws that govern businesses. This course covers core aspects of business law, including secured transactions, the formation and disbandment of companies, and the government’s role in regulating businesses. You’ll also learn about intellectual property and how to read and design contracts.

With an associate degree in accounting, you can pursue work as a bookkeeping, accounting, auditing, or financial clerk. You can also sometimes qualify for junior accounting roles, though most of these positions require a bachelor’s degree.

After you earn an online associate in accounting, you can work in many different settings, including accounting firms, government agencies, and private businesses.

Many accounting careers, including jobs like financial accountant, managerial accountant, and auditor, require a bachelor’s degree.

After earning an associate degree, you can transfer into a four-year program to complete a bachelor’s in accounting. Many top-ranked colleges offer online bachelor’s in accounting programs if you prefer a distance-learning format.

With a bachelor’s degree, you can increase your earning potential and job opportunities. Accountants and auditors reported a median annual salary of $79,880 in May 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS.)

You can also pursue certifications or licenses to increase their earning potential . The CPA license, for example, allows accountants to work as certified public accountants.