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100% Online BS in Business: Accounting

Accountant checking data on paperwork

Prepare for Success in Accounting

Overview

Major Courses

Career Outlook

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  • Duration 3.5 Years
  • Cost per Credit $410
  • Credit Hours 120

Program Benefits

  • Gain core business knowledge and experience in a fully online program
  • Build skills specific to accounting with accelerated 6-week courses
  • Learn directly from industry professionals with a choice of 5 career-focused majors

Learn How Accounting Impacts Key Areas of an Organization Differently

As an accounting manager, it’s important to understand what the numbers mean throughout different departments of an organization to help companies meet their goals. The online BS in Business: Accounting degree at The American Women’s College is designed for you to build technical skills in accounting alongside an understanding of the relationships among business activity, economic outcomes, and business evaluations.

Build Real-World Experience and Skill Sets

40 Courses

6 Weeks Each

Within the curriculum for our online BS in Business: Accounting degree, you’ll build your technical accounting skills, studying financial reporting, managerial accounting, taxation, auditing, and more as you learn to understand how the numbers impact different areas of business.

You’ll get expert-level instruction and leadership training from industry professionals who will prepare you for the real challenges of advanced roles and ensure you can thrive throughout your career.

To view the complete list of program courses, visit the curriculum for all business programs.

Required Accounting Major Courses

This course’s objective is to develop the ability to read, interpret, identify the differences and the relationships between the primary financial statements. This objective is met not only by analyzing the effect of business transactions on financial statements and financial ratios but also by recording essential transactions, measuring the amounts of assets, liabilities, owner’s equities, revenues, and expenses, and preparing the primary financial statements. This course also explains the difference between the cash and accrual bases of income measurement, the use of t-account analysis in determining important measures of business activity, and how the time value of money affects the measurement of liabilities. This emphasis on financial statements is facilitated by a semester-long study of the content of corporate annual reports culminating in a comprehensive annual report project.

Prerequisite: sophomore status with the exception of highly qualified first-year accounting majors

The primary objective of this course is to introduce the use and control of computerized and non-computerized accounting information systems. This objective is facilitated by using small business software to illuminate course concepts. Key course topics include internal control, documentation, transaction cycles, database management systems and network technology, control procedures in automated environments, an introduction to the new digital syntax called XBRL mandated for use in financial reports, and ethical considerations in accounting information systems. Students are required to analyze a small accounting system using industry software. Prerequisite: ACC 101
The primary objective of this course is to provide volunteer income tax return assistance to members of the local community and invaluable training to students in how to complete an individual federal income tax return. This special course is open to all Bay Path University sophomores, juniors, and seniors regardless of major who want to become certified as volunteer income tax preparers for low-income community members. The course requires students to complete a 6-hour training session authorized by the Internal Revenue Service and a minimum of 30 hours of volunteer tax return preparation over a six-week period. Prerequisite: Sophomore status or higher
The primary objective of this course is to explore the historical development of financial reporting and the conceptual framework, the concepts associated with revenue and expense recognition, and the principles governing the measurement and reporting of assets. Topics include a review of essential accounting concepts and the accounting process, accounting changes and error correction, financial statements and their elements including financial statement disclosures and valuation issues related to cash, receivables, long-term construction contracts, inventory, depreciable assets and natural resources. Students are required to complete a comprehensive intermediate accounting level practice set in Excel. Prerequisite: ACC 101 and Junior Status
The primary objective of this course is to introduce the use of present value techniques in the measurement of long-term liabilities. Topics include investment and intangible assets, current liabilities, time value of money concepts applied to notes, bonds, and leases, stockholder’s equity, stock options, earnings per share, and the statement of cash flows. Students are required to complete a continuation of the Excel practice set begun in ACC 300 as well as a comprehensive annual report project devoted to financial analysis. Prerequisite: ACC 300

The primary objective of this course is to provide a more advanced treatment of the topics introduced in ACC 101, an expanded treatment of product costing including process costing and activity-based costing, and such new topics as regression analysis, variable costing, target costing, cost allocation for joint products and by-products, and capital budgeting. Students must complete a case analysis project.

Prerequisite: ACC 101 and Junior Status

The primary objective of this course is to introduce financial statement audits and other assurance and attestation services conducted by the public accounting profession. Topics include the audit report, risk assessment, audit sampling, internal controls, standards of ethical conduct, fraud, work paper preparation and report writing, and the current nature of the public accounting profession. Both internal auditing and operational auditing are also introduced. This course includes a case analysis project to demonstrate specific techniques used in a real audit.
The primary objective of this course is to introduce the fundamental concepts of the federal income tax system with an emphasis on individual returns. Topics include determination of gross income, deductions and losses, tax credits, basis considerations, property transactions, deferral techniques, capital gains, and nontaxable exchanges. Students will fill out the various tax forms used in the preparation of individual income tax returns as part of a comprehensive project. Corporate taxation, basic research techniques, and tax planning are also introduced.

This course provides the 21st Century foundation for business students who will need newly shaped perspectives, solid research and communication skills, positive ethical spirit, and new technological resources to work and make decisions in global economy. Students learn the basics of business, the process of innovation and the role that business plays in society. Students are encouraged to develop their own innovative capacities, whether they want to start up a business of their own, augment the capabilities of a small business, step up to the myriad of non-profit challenges, or excel in corporate America. Students learn how to think systematically as business professionals, innovators and/or entrepreneurs. By first exploring the economics of business, in this country and beyond, students begin to recognize that all businesses are subject to ongoing trends, discoveries and breakthroughs that must be accommodated. Some represent threats; others opportunities. None can be ignored. Learning that the form of a business should follow the functions it must provide, students discover the range of options available to them as they contemplate career paths that may be of interest to them. Finally, students are provided with insight into each of the areas of functional expertise found in all organizations; i.e., finance and accounting, marketing and sales, customer support, operations, logistics, et. al.

This course provides a manager’s persepective on the law for business students. Students learn the practical implications of law in their own lives and what they must be ready for as they encounter civil and criminal legal issues and business formation issues. Students are introduced to the court systems, parts of the government that impact business, and how they affect and impact the life of the individual and businesses. Students learn about contracts, different types of business, and areas of regulation surrounding the relationship between employers, employees, and the government.

This course builds a bridge from students’ general education to the work they do in the field of business. With the aim of preparing students for both professional life and graduate work, this writing-intensive course introduces disciplinary strategies for preparing routine business correspondence, for investigating provocative issues, and for communicating to others about them. In this way, the course offers students time to learn and to practice more advanced skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening; in using appropriate software support in presentations; and in mastering information literacy in the field of business. The course emphasizes fundamental principles of communication with time-on-task and real world, discipline-specific models for communication tasks.

Prerequisite: ENG 114 and ENG 124 or ENG 134

The BS in Business: Accounting program requires 28 credits of major electives:

  • Career Electives (6 credits)
  • General Electives (22 credits)

Learn more about which courses apply to these credits by speaking with an enrollment counselor.

Choose one of the following

Organizational Development and Change provides students with the opportunity to learn critical theory and application in the field of Organizational Behavior and Change and how to use that knowledge to improve organizational development to adapt quickly and effectively to change. Students apply proven methods to help organizations achieve goals and build capabilities to meet future challenges.

Prerequisite: BUS 235

Leadership requires a balanced understanding of human behavior and applied managerial skill. This course introduces organizational studies and organizational behavior. It examines the history of the field as well as the critical role that theory and research play in the discipline. Topics include the characteristics of effective leadership and organizational power, different frameworks for leadership and leadership styles, building and managing high-performing diverse teams, managing a diverse and inclusive organization, supporting diverse employees, and effective and ethical managerial decision-making.

Choose one of the following

This course is all about connecting the dots, linking various functions of business and understanding the interdependency between marketing, sales, advertising, operations/supply chain and other business functions. The purpose of this course is to enable the student to integrate the lessons learned in previous business, accounting, finance, international business and management courses through the use of case studies analyzed from the general manager’s point of view. Students will also learn the importance of score card and metrics that are essential for running a business.

Prerequisite: BUS 327 and ECO 212 or ECO 240

The primary objective of this course is to provide a capstone experience for accounting majors that assists them in preparing for professional exams. Topics include accounting for pensions and income taxes, earnings management, and government and not-for-profit accounting. In addition, two emerging developments in financial reporting that are cutting edge in nature are presented. These are the recent moves to using fair value measurements, and the emergence of international financial reporting standards that are expected to supplant GAAP as we know it. This course includes a case study and an international financial reporting project.

Prerequisite: ACC 400

What You’ll Learn

With a business degree that has a major in accounting, you’ll have the tools for intelligent analysis, planning, control, and decision-making in leadership roles.

Knowledge of organizational dynamics, coupled with outstanding communication and leadership capabilities and experience, bring you confidence in knowing you’ll be an asset to the team.

By Graduation, You’ll Have Skills to:

  • Use a broad foundation of core business concepts
  • Put fundamental accounting theories into practice
  • Have the opportunity to pursue professional licensure
  • Succeed in a wide range of accounting-based professions

Take the Next Step in Your Career

The online BS in Business with an Accounting Major expertly prepares you to step into roles such as a budget analyst, payroll manager, auditor, and more, with starting salaries as high as $79,940.1-3 The major also provides you with an excellent foundation to enroll in graduate programs in business (MBA), public administration, accounting, and law.

Explore Major Careers

Learn from Industry Experts

At The American Women’s College, your learning is expanded by the rich workplace experience our faculty bring to the classroom. Faculty are professionals who hold an array of titles in the fields they teach. Their involvement in the day-to-day challenges of their role and industry brings curriculums to life with real-world examples as you connect what you learn to what they share.

Faculty Spotlight

Each faculty member at TAWC incorporates real industry experience into each lesson. As a student, you’ll receive personalized, one-on-one support and graduate fully prepared to face the challenges of your chosen field.

Megan Piccus, Senior Director of Business Programs at The American Women’s College

Megan comes to Bay Path with years of business and academic experience and is delighted to bring her enthusiasm for teaching and business expertise to The American Women’s College.

Megan is the program director for the Business programs that include business administration, accounting, business analytics, operations management, strategic HR management, entrepreneurship, and marketing and digital strategies. She is additionally responsible for the leadership and organizational studies program.

Megan has worked in business for United Technologies Corporation (UTC). She was most recently at Pratt & Whitney based in East Hartford, CT, where she managed talent development for the Manufacturing Engineering population for all Pratt US operations. She also worked at United Technologies Aerospace Systems, another UTC company, where she had various operations and management roles.

Megan has 18 years of teaching experience at Springfield Technical Community College as a tenured professor with a teaching specialty in operation management (Quality/6 Sigma/Lean).

Review More Career-Focused Majors

Explore other possible majors in our business degree that deliver deep knowledge and experience in the current theories, technologies, and strategies in a business area with strong growth rates and above-average salaries.

BS in Business: Business Administration

Take a deep dive into business topics including sales, project management, purchasing, planning, and marketing.

View Program

BS in Business: Marketing and Digital Strategies

Create, manage, and analyze digital marketing strategies and earn industry-recognized certifications.

View Program

BS in Business: Human Resource Management

Effectively manage and coordinate employees using data-based decision-making and new technologies.

View Program

BS in Business: Operations Management

Learn to organize people, products, services, and information to streamline processes and save time and money.

View Program

Frequently Asked Questions

Explore our frequently asked questions for in-depth answers. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, reach out to us.

The average time it takes to earn your bachelor’s in one of the BS in Business programs is three and a half years. Please see our curriculum page for the courses and their descriptions.

Tuition is $410 per credit hour. You’ll need to complete 120 credits for a total tuition of $49,200. Please be sure to review our tuition page to review all costs.

Yes, the BS in Business programs accept up to 90 transfer credits. You can learn more about our admissions policy on our admissions page.

You’ll complete a total of 120 credits to earn the BS in Business: Accounting degree. Take a moment to view the curriculum if you haven’t already. The total number of credits earned at The American Women’s College depends on the number of transfer credits you have (up to 90).

  • A completed application
  • 2.0 GPA or higher
  • Transcripts

You can learn more about our admissions policy on our admissions page.

Earning your BS in Business: Accounting degree prepares you for careers as a payroll specialist, auditor, payroll manager, treasurer, and more.

Visit our FAQ page

Sources

  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook. “Budget Analysts.” Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/budget-analysts.htm.
  2. Payscale. “Average Payroll Manager Salary.” Retrieved from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Payroll_Manager/Salary.
  3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook. “Accountants and Auditors.” Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/accountants-and-auditors.htm.