Business Administration

ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN
CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT

What Should I Expect from the Accounting Program?

Chabot offers three programs in Accounting: certificate in Bookkeeping, certificate in Accounting Technician, and AS degree in Accounting.  The Accounting Technician  certificate targets individuals that want to find entry-level accounting positions within accounts receivable and accounts payable departments, payroll units, income tax firms, and financial services organizations. Students learn the theory and practice of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), preparation of payroll documents, individual and business tax forms, basics of written and oral business communication, and accounting and payroll software. With a certificate in Accounting Technician, jobs are available in just about every corporate business and non-profit organization.

The certificate also prepares you for the AS degree in Accounting because all classes within the program are also required for the degree. 

Nature of Work (from Occupation Outlook Handbook)

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks are financial recordkeepers. They update and maintain accounting records, including those which calculate expenditures, receipts, accounts payable and receivable, and profit and loss. These workers have a wide range of skills from full-charge bookkeepers who can maintain an entire company's books to accounting clerks who handle specific tasks. All of these clerks make numerous computations each day and increasingly must be comfortable using computers to calculate and record data.

In large-companies? accounting departments, accounting clerks have more specialized tasks. Their titles, such as accounts payable clerk or accounts receivable clerk, often reflect the type of accounting they do. In addition, their responsibilities vary by level of experience. Entry-level accounting clerks post details of transactions, total accounts, and compute interest charges. They also may monitor loans and accounts to ensure that payments are up to date. More advanced accounting clerks may total, balance, and reconcile billing vouchers; ensure the completeness and accuracy of data on accounts; and code documents according to company procedures.

Accounting clerks post transactions in journals and on computer files and update the files when needed. Senior clerks also review computer printouts against regularly maintained journals and make necessary corrections. They may review invoices and statements to ensure that all the information appearing on them is accurate and complete, and they may reconcile computer reports with operating reports.

As organizations continue to computerize their financial records, many bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks use specialized accounting software, spreadsheets, and databases. Most clerks now enter information from receipts or bills into computers, and the information is then stored either electronically or as computer printouts, or both. The widespread use of computers also has enabled bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks to take on additional responsibilities, such as payroll, procurement, and billing. Many of these functions require these clerks to write letters and make phone calls to customers or clients.

Job Growth Projections and Salary Level (from California Employment Development Department)

In California, the number of jobs for bookkeepers and accounting clerks is expected to grow by 8 percent between 2004 and 2014 and 2016, with over 6,000 new jobs open each year.  The salary ranges between $28,858 and $43,851 with annual mean earnings of $36,795.  One of the fastest growing categories within this profession are Payroll and Timekeeping clerks.  This category is expected to grow over 21% in the same period of time, with the mean annual earnings of $38,754 (range, $31,114-45,943).

CORE COURSES -  UNITS

* - Business 7, Accounting for Small Business, is strongly recommended before you take Business 1A. 

The above listing is a suggested sequence only.  Some courses may have prerequisites.  Students may take courses in any sequence except where a prerequisite applies.