Career Potential

• Both associate and bachelor's degrees in accounting prepare you for the responsibilities of accounting-related jobs. Each degree, however, leads to different types of positions. Generally speaking, an associate degree in accounting qualifies you to work as a bookkeeper, an accounting clerk or an auditing clerk, while a bachelor's degree qualifies you to work as a financial adviser, a financial analyst, an auditor or a tax assessor. If you want to become a certified public accountant (CPA), then you must -- in addition to earning a bachelor's degree -- pass the Uniform CPA Examination and meet other requirements that the U.S. State Board of Accountancy determines.
  
  

Requirements

• Associate and bachelor's degrees in accounting, like other associate and bachelor's degrees, vary by type of school, credits, time to completion and general education. Community or junior colleges typically offer associate degrees, which take two to three years or approximately 60 credits to complete and have less general education requirements than bachelor's degrees. On the other hand, universities typically offer bachelor's degrees, which take four to five years or approximately 120 credits to complete and have more general education requirements than an associate degree.
  
  

Breadth of Study

• A bachelor's degree in accounting is an option at some universities, but many universities offer bachelor's degrees in business with an emphasis in accounting. In both cases, however, the breadth of accounting-related studies in a bachelor's degree program is considerably greater than that experienced in an associate degree program. Associate degree programs tend to focus more heavily on the accounting essentials, while bachelor's degree programs tend to provide a more-complete view of the subject and related fields.
  
  

Depth of Study

• Associate degree accounting programs tackle subjects such as financial accounting, managerial accounting and taxation. Bachelor's degree accounting programs provide the opportunity for a more in-depth study of accounting and its various facets, such as nonprofit accounting, income tax accounting and auditing.