Accounting Operations is a Career Certificate program offered by Suncoast Technical College in Sarasota, FL. Tuition is $2,196 total.
Program Overview
Do you have a taste for numbers, data, and financial reporting? Are you looking for a career that is challenging and rewarding? Gain the skills to enter the workforce as an Accounting Clerk, Bookkeeper, Payroll Clerk or to advance your current position!
As an accountant, you will analyze, record, and interpret financial information. Analytical comprehension of accounting documentation is needed to excel and also be able to solve problems quickly. You will be skilled in excellent written and verbal communication skills. With the right training and experience, you will be able to excel in this field.
Students will learn about computers, Microsoft programs, time management, goal setting, attention to detail, communication and employability skills, and can earn Florida Ready to Work credential.
recording business transactions, preparation, and analysis of financial statements. Additionally, students will learn about account and transaction analysis, inventory methods and depreciation
Upon program completion and meeting eligibility requirements and industry certifications, students may be awarded credits towards an Associates Science Degree in Accounting by State College of FL. Students must enroll in SCF within 2 years of their STC program completion.
What sets this Program apart
- Learn about double-entry accounting principles,
- Develop skills in processing payroll transactions, records, and tax forms.
- Gain an understanding in the application of accounting principles to service, merchandising businesses, and accounting for sole proprietorships, partnerships, & corporations.
- To further their skills, students are given the option
- Students who complete this program are eligible
- to articulate to State College of FL and receive credit for work they completed in their STC Program.
Admission Requirements and Process
Entry is governed by the 2025–2026 Suncoast Technical College academic catalog. The requirements and the application steps are listed below.
General Requirements
- A completed STC application, submitted online through the college’s application portal.
- Language, mathematics and reading competencies are assessed; speak to a school counsellor about basic-skills assessment and exemptions.
- Proof of Florida residency where the Florida-resident tuition rate is claimed; non-residents pay an additional out-of-state fee per clock hour.
School Information
Location
Why Accreditation Is Important
Attending an accredited institution means your education has met independently reviewed quality standards designed to protect students.
This program: Suncoast Technical College is accredited by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education (COE).
- A reliable indicator of educational quality
- Eligible for federal Title IV financial aid
- Recognised by employers across Florida
- Credits toward a state licence or industry certification
Accreditations
Application Process
- 1
- 2Basic skills assessmentLanguage, mathematics and reading competencies are assessed. A school counsellor can explain the assessment and the exemptions that apply to it.
- 3Meet with Student ServicesContact the campus you plan to attend to arrange the next step. Health Science programmes additionally require attendance at a Health Information Session before registration.
- 4Register and payRegister for your programme and settle fees. Suncoast charges by the clock hour at the published Florida-resident rate, so the cost is set by the length of the programme.
Program Schedule
The programme is 900 clock hours. The 2025–2026 catalog describes it as approximately 9 months (900 hours). Start dates are published on the college’s Start Dates page and vary by programme and campus.
Curriculum
The Occupational Completion Point sequence below is the course list printed in the 2025–2026 academic catalog. Its hours sum to exactly 900 — matching both the programme’s stored clock hours and the catalog’s own printed Program Length.
The college’s web page for this programme prints a different course sequence under a different program code, which does not add to the same total. The catalog is the governing document, so the catalog’s sequence is the one shown here.
Required Courses
| Subject # | Name | Total |
|---|---|---|
| A | ||
| OTA0040 | Info Tech Assistant | 150 |
| Subtotal | 150 | |
| B | ||
| ACO0040 | Accounting Clerk | 300 |
| Subtotal | 300 | |
| C | ||
| ACO0041 | Accounting Associate | 300 |
| Subtotal | 300 | |
| D | ||
| ACO0042 | Accounting Assistant | 150 |
| Subtotal | 150 | |
| Program Total | 900 | |
Cost of Attendance and Financial Aid Information
Suncoast charges by the clock hour rather than by the term. At the catalog’s Florida-resident rate of $2.44 per clock hour, plus the financial-aid fee of $0.24 and the capital-improvement fee — $2.92 per clock hour all in — this 900-hour programme comes to about $2,196.00 in tuition and $2,628.00 all in.
Lab and programme-specific fees vary and are not included in that figure; fee sheets are provided to each applicant during admissions. Florida non-residents additionally pay a $7.34 out-of-state fee per clock hour and higher per-hour fees. Federal financial aid is available to those who qualify — Suncoast is accredited by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education (COE), which is what makes its programmes Title IV eligible.
Tuition about $2,196.00; about $2,628.00 all in, at $2.44 per clock hour for Florida residents ($2.92 all in).
Career Outcomes
Suncoast publishes the industry certifications and state credentials attached to each programme on its own Industry Certifications page, and links career information for every programme to O*NET. Talk to a school counsellor about which credentials this programme carries and when they are earned — for some programmes they are earned within the programme’s own time frame, for others within a year of completion.
What to expect as a Suncoast Technical College student
Suncoast is a public technical college run by Sarasota County Schools, and its career and technical programmes are measured in clock hours against Florida’s Occupational Completion Point framework: you earn a documented OCP at each stage of the sequence rather than only at the end. That is why cost, length and progress are all quoted in hours here rather than credits or semesters.
Expect the work to be hands-on and the schedule to be set by the programme rather than chosen course by course. Language, mathematics and reading competencies are assessed before or during the programme, and a school counsellor can explain the exemptions. Uniforms are required for several programmes and are ordered separately — the college asks for them at least seven days before your start date.
Frequently Asked Questions
School Information
Location
Why Accreditation Is Important
Attending an accredited institution means your education has met independently reviewed quality standards designed to protect students.
This program: Suncoast Technical College is accredited by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education (COE).
- A reliable indicator of educational quality
- Eligible for federal Title IV financial aid
- Recognised by employers across Florida
- Credits toward a state licence or industry certification