Business Accounting Specialist

The Business Accounting Specialist programme is offered via traditional delivery and distance education delivery. It provides training for an entry-level technical support career in the accounting and bookkeeping profession, including training in billing, payroll, inventory, financial reporting, and computerized accounting software.

Students train on computer equipment using application software to create standard business reports used for collection, management, and evaluation of information, explore standard office equipment including telephones, copiers, 10-key calculators, and fax machines, and use computerized accounting software. Graduates will be able to perform standard accounting tasks at each step of the accounting cycle, use QuickBooks to create standard business reports, prepare income statements, statements of owner’s equity and balance sheets, and assess how business risks relate to risks in internal controls, financial reporting, and audit.

The programme includes an 86-hour on-the-job externship, payroll, financial reporting and business operations training, hybrid learning, preparation to sit for as many as four certifications, and 18 career skill badges. The Intuit QuickBooks Online Certified User exam fee is included in tuition if the exam is taken within three months of completion; Microsoft Office Specialist Word, Excel and PowerPoint exams are available at additional cost.

Southern Careers Institute was founded in 1960 and received its initial accreditation from the Council on Occupational Education in 1991. It trains students at eight Texas campuses and online, and its campuses are authorized testing sites for the National Healthcareer Association and Certiport. Students earn skill badges as they progress, and SCI Connect, the school’s career services portal, lets students build a profile with their resume, skill badges and videos of them performing job tasks for employers who post jobs there.

Before you start. Prior to the start date, you must visit the school and tour the campus (if you are enrolling in a programme with on-campus classes) and complete an interview with a licensed representative in the Admissions department.

Age and education. You must be at least 16 years of age. An applicant who is under 18 at the time of admission must provide proof of a high school diploma or GED and have written permission from a parent or legal guardian, who co-signs the enrollment agreement. You must provide verifiable official documentation of completion of secondary education within 21 calendar days of starting school: a high school diploma or transcript showing the graduation date, a home school transcript, a recognised high school equivalency certificate, an associate degree from an institution accredited by an agency recognised by the US Department of Education, or a foreign credential evaluated by a NACES member or a TEA-listed evaluation service.

Criminal history. Prospective students must provide criminal history information. Anyone with a convicted or pending felony violent crime, a convicted or pending serious felony drug crime, any sex offense conviction or pending felony sexual case, or who is a registered sex offender is not eligible for enrollment in any programme. SCI reserves the right to conduct criminal background checks.

English. SCI does not provide ESL instruction; classes are taught in English. Students whose primary language is not English must document English proficiency, for example graduation from an English-speaking secondary institution, a TOEFL iBT score of 61, an IELTS level of 6, or a grade of C in an intermediate ESL course.

SCI admits students without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, religion, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, age, disability, or any other factor prohibited by law.

Technology requirements. To be admitted to a programme that includes virtual or online learning, you must have regular, daily access to a computer (minimum a Windows 10 or newer PC/laptop or a MacBook with 8GB RAM, 256GB storage and a Core i5 processor) with speakers, a microphone and a webcam; regular, daily broadband or 3G/4G/LTE internet access; the ability to use email, a web browser and the learning management system; and word processing software such as Microsoft Word or OpenOffice.

Shifts. The estimated completion time is 33 weeks on the morning or afternoon shift, or 48 weeks on the evening shift. Allied Health and Business day classes run Monday to Thursday from 8:00 am to 3:10 pm.

Modules. SCI programmes run in three-week modules scheduled continuously; the externship module is six weeks. For ground programmes on the flex schedule, assignments and in-person lab classes are scheduled on two set days a week, and lectures are completed online through video instruction that can be watched at any time of day before the hands-on labs. Schedules are representative and may vary by campus and programme.

Externship. The externship is the final course; students start at their assigned site on the first business day after their last classroom course. Externship schedules should be 40 hours per week, are available only during the day (including for evening students), may require commutes, different shifts or weekend work, and are unpaid.

Tuition: $18,450.00; mandatory fees: $0.00; total: $18,450.00.

Graduates may pursue careers as accounting clerks, billing clerks, collection workers and bookkeeping clerks in a variety of businesses.

Business Accounting Specialists can work in a variety of settings, including small businesses, large corporations, non-profit organizations, and government agencies, recording and analyzing financial transactions, preparing financial statements, and ensuring that financial data is accurate and up to date.

Career services. Career Services are available to active students and graduates. Staff strive to meet every student before graduation for an exit interview that includes a customised job-search profile, an entry-level resume and a mock interview; they provide resume and interview help and work with local employers to match their needs with graduates’ skills. SCI does not guarantee employment or a specific starting salary.

Orientation. Before beginning their programmes, all new students attend an orientation session to hear about the campus and the learning experience and to meet the administrative staff, faculty and other students. Campus department directors explain the student support available and clarify students’ responsibilities and expectations. Students registered for distance-education courses also attend an online orientation that introduces the learning platform and the standards for postings, plagiarism, online etiquette and attendance.

Classes. SCI programmes run in three-week modules scheduled continuously (the AAS in Nursing runs in 15-week terms), and the externship module, where a programme has one, is six weeks. Learning new material may require at least five additional outside hours for every 20 hours spent in lecture or laboratory. To graduate you must complete all courses within the maximum time frame and earn a cumulative grade point average of 2.0; graduation ceremonies are typically held twice a year.

Support. Student services include tutoring, attendance advising and academic advising, and SCI gives referrals to community resources for housing, childcare, employment, transportation, mental health services and alcohol and drug counselling. SCI does not provide housing. Students receive skill badges to mark milestones and help market their skills.