The accounting program at Harper College offers day, evening and online courses for
students preparing for a career in accounting or bookkeeping in business, industry
or government. Through the Associate in Arts program, students can prepare to transfer
to an accounting program at a four-year university.
Start at Harper. Finish at a Four-Year University.
The Associate in Arts (AA) degree prepares you to transfer to a four-year college or university to complete
a bachelor's degree in accounting, business administration, economics, financial services,
international business, management and marketing. Speak with your advisor about the
best courses to take to meet your academic goals.
Harper also offers institution-specific transfer information to help prepare you to
transition to a four-year university. To learn more, visit our Transfer Information page or see your advisor.
Earn a Career-Ready Degree
The Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree is designed to prepare you for immediate entry into this career field. Coursework
in the AAS may also prepare you to transfer to a four-year college or university.
Jumpstart your career by learning new skills through a certificate program. Many of
Harper's certificates are stackable to a degree program through additional coursework.
Learn more about career outcomes for Harper's Accounting degree/certificate programs.
Each career profile offers a complete picture on the local job market, including salaries,
open positions, top local employers and more. To learn more, visit our Accounting Careers page.
* Data sampled April 2025. Visit the Accountants and Auditors career profile for most current data.
$80,657 Median Salary
0.8% Projected Job Growth (2025-2032)
1,706 Job Postings
Description:
Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements,
give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others. Install or advise
on systems of recording costs or other financial and budgetary data.
Core tasks:
Prepare detailed reports on audit findings.
Report to management about asset utilization and audit results, and recommend changes
in operations and financial activities.
Collect and analyze data to detect deficient controls, duplicated effort, extravagance,
fraud, or non-compliance with laws, regulations, and management policies.
Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use
of accepted accounting procedures to record transactions.
Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal
visit to solicit payment. Duties include receiving payment and posting amount to customer's
account, preparing statements to credit department if customer fails to respond, initiating
repossession proceedings or service disconnection, and keeping records of collection
and status of accounts.
Core tasks:
Record information about financial status of customers and status of collection efforts.
Locate and monitor overdue accounts, using computers and a variety of automated systems.
Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal
visits to solicit payment.
Advise customers of necessary actions and strategies for debt repayment.
Compute, classify, and record numerical data to keep financial records complete. Perform
any combination of routine calculating, posting, and verifying duties to obtain primary
financial data for use in maintaining accounting records. May also check the accuracy
of figures, calculations, and postings pertaining to business transactions recorded
by other workers.
Core tasks:
Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze
information.
Check figures, postings, and documents for correct entry, mathematical accuracy, and
proper codes.
Comply with federal, state, and company policies, procedures, and regulations.
Operate 10-key calculators, typewriters, and copy machines to perform calculations
and produce documents.
For more information about starting your college education at Harper, please contact
Admissions Outreach at 847.925.6700 or fill out our request information form.
