Certified Bookkeeper Course

Online Certified Bookkeeper Training Course

Bookkeeping forms the backbone of every organization’s need to carefully account for its financial activities. Bookkeepers are crucial to every organization, and certified bookkeepers are the elite of their profession. This 100% online course will prepare you for certification by the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB).

Excelsior took all of my credits. I was able to jump right into upper-level courses.

Kevin Feeley
BS in Electrical Engineering
HVCC Class of 2005

Job Outlook for Bookkeepers

  • According to PayScale.com, bookkeepers earn on average $17.37 per hour. Top bookkeepers’ earnings exceed $56,900.
  • CareerBuilder.com cites bookkeeping skills as highly transferable to financial supervisory, analysis, or managerial roles. The site calls bookkeeper an “ideal choice” for those who are motivated to keep organizations on financial track.
  • Technology is highly relevant to the bookkeeper’s role. Mastery of software applications is the key to matching bookkeeping skills with expanding requirements for analysis, visual data presentation, and reporting that provides added value to the traditional bookkeeper’s duties.

Certified Bookkeeper Course FAQs

Bookkeepers serve on the front lines of a person, company, or organization’s financial health. Strong bookkeepers set up, deploy, and manage systems that record the flow of funds into and out of an entity’s coffers. Using reporting tools and systems, bookkeepers help individuals and operational managers stay aware of and improve financial status and performance.

Technology has had a huge impact on the bookkeeping field. However, the bookkeeper’s underlying organizational skills and precise attention to detail are as valuable as ever to their employers and clients. Programs like QuickBooks® or Microsoft Excel® have widely replaced the manual entry functions of traditional bookkeeping. However, organizations still rely heavily on human input and processing.

Certification in any profession signals to employers, colleagues, and clients that a professional is committed to the highest standards of excellence and accountability. Certified bookkeepers meet the AIPB’s highest standards for financial accounting, business practices, and ethical conduct.

To earn your AIPB Certified Bookkeeper designation, you must pass the AIPB certification exam and be able to submit proof of at least two years of full-time or 3,000 hours of part-time experience.

Because bookkeeping relies heavily on technology and can be done almost entirely using digital tools, it is considered an excellent prospect for remote, contract, and work-at-home career opportunities.

Certified Bookkeeper Course Objectives

  • Prepare to take and pass the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB) certification exam
  • Understand eligibility requirements, code of ethics, and maintenance requirements for bookkeeper certification
  • Apply the concepts of accrual accounting to transactions that span fiscal periods and trace the effect of accrual and deferral transactions
  • Record book and tax depreciation, using various methods of calculating depreciation
  • Perform basic payroll duties, including paying wages, handling payroll deposits, and reporting taxes
  • Know how to value inventory, record costs, make entries and report inventory on financial statements
  • Use basic internal controls to prevent theft, embezzlement, or check and credit card fraud by employees, customers, or vendors

Prerequisites and Requirements

This course is designed for experienced bookkeepers with at least two years of work experience in bookkeeping or accounting. This course is 100% online. Start anytime.
You have 6 months of access to this course.

Curriculum

  • Becoming a Certified Bookkeeper

    Eligibility requirements, code of ethics, and certification maintenance

  • Accruals, Deferrals and The Adjusted Trial Balance

    Why accruals, deferrals, and other adjustments are made; recognizing revenues collected in advance and expenses after a prepayment

  • Correction of Accounting Errors and the Bank Reconciliation

    When and where accounting errors occur and how they are discovered; finding and correcting errors on the unadjusted trial balance

  • Payroll

    How to pay different types of employees; federal and state wage-hour law

  • Depreciation

    The difference between book and tax depreciation; depreciation under GAAP

  • Inventory

    General concepts of accounting for inventory; the perpetual, periodic, FIFO and LIFO methods

  • Internal Controls and Fraud Depreciation

    How to prevent or spot theft of inventory and other non-cash assets by employees; preventing employee theft, embezzlement or fraud by hiring the right personnel

Instructors

Wade Lindenberger
Wade Lindenberger is a CPA with more than 20 years of financial accounting and management experience in public accounting and private industry. He is the director of finance and administration for New Children’s Museum. Before his current position, he worked as the National Finance and Accounting Service line leader for Premier Alliance Group, a national professional services firm. Lindenberger was also director of finance and accounting for the San Diego office of a global, publicly held professional services firm. He has previously served as an instructor for courses at Coopers & Lybrand and at the University of California at San Diego for the Extension Course and is currently an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego School of Business.

Helene K. Liatsos
Helene K. Liatsos is business advisor and QuickBooks certified advisor with more than 25 years of experience. She consults for a range of companies, from travel agencies to startups. Her company, Home Office Management Experts, was awarded the 2004 Home-Based Business of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Liatsos holds a Bachelor of Arts from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

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