Share my plan
Community of interest
Business, Cosmetology, Arts & Design
Award
AS Degree
Program code
01308.00AS
Department
Accounting
CIP code
52.0302: Accounting Technology/Technician and Bookkeeping.
TOP code
0502.00 - Accounting*
Students planning an accounting career should be detail-oriented, be able to analyze and interpret facts and figures quickly and accurately, and make sound decisions. They must also be able to communicate the results. Patience, persistence, self-discipline, and concentration are essential. High school students considering an accounting career are encouraged to take English, mathematics, computer, accounting, and related business courses. The Accounting program is designed to enable students to: set up, complete, adjust, and summarize records of business activities according to accepted accounting principles and techniques; use accounting information to enhance business planning, decision making, problem solving, and management control; and apply both financial and managerial accounting principles and techniques. Accounting employment opportunities are expected to increase faster than for many other occupations due to pressure on business and governmental agencies to improve their financial accountability. Demand for skilled accountants will rise as managers rely more on accounting information to make decisions. Knowledge of basic computer applications is essential.
Program detailsAward, code, department, CIP/TOP

Program Snapshot

Community of interest
BCAD Business, Cosmetology, Arts & Design
Award
AS Degree
Program code
01308.00AS
Department
Accounting
CIP code
52.0302: Accounting Technology/Technician and Bookkeeping.
TOP code
0502.00 - Accounting*

Next Steps

Map Class Schedule

Pick a term:

Fall 2026Winter 2027Spring 2027Summer 2027

This will open the term course schedule not including GE requirements.

Program Schedule ReportMeet with a counselor
Accounting
AS Degree — expand to learn about this award

The Associate of Science is typically awarded for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and Career Technical Education (CTE) programs. Like every Butte College associate degree, it has two parts: a general-education curriculum that gives you a broad base of knowledge, and an academic program where you specialize.

About General Education. GE is an integrated program of learning designed to foster intellectual curiosity, cultural understanding, critical thinking, creative reasoning, oral and written communication, and the capacity for ethical reasoning. By graduation, you'll have developed the ability to think critically, communicate clearly, apply quantitative reasoning, understand how the major academic disciplines ask their questions, comprehend diverse cultures and historical periods, and assess ethical problems — alongside the depth you build in your major.

See the 2025-26 Catalog for official program details

Semester-by-Semester Map

Term 1

Class Schedules

Pick a term:

Fall 2026Winter 2027Spring 2027Summer 2027

This will open the term course schedule not including GE requirements.

15–19 units
ACCT 20
Introduction to Accounting
3 units
course details

This course is an introductory accounting course designed for students with little or no prior training in accounting. Topics span the accounting cycle including analysis of business transactions, journalizing, posting, and preparation of financial statements using a hands-on approach. The course prepares students for entry level accounting careers, further study of accounting principles, or to help small business owners manage their own accounting records.

BUS 20
Introduction to Business
3 units
course details

This course is survey of business providing a multidisciplinary examination of how culture, society, economic systems, legal, international, political, financial institutions, and human behavior interact to affect a business organization's policy and practices within the U.S. and a global society. Students will learn about how this business context (including issues such as ethics and sustainability) influences the primary areas of business including: organizational structure and design; leadership, human resource management, organized labor practices; marketing; organizational communication; technology; entrepreneurship; legal, accounting, financial practices; the stock and securities market; and therefore affect a business' ability to achieve its organizational goals. (C-ID BUS 110).

General Education: Area 1A

about Area 1A

English Composition

Baccalaureate-level academic writing — expository and argumentative. The foundation for every other course you'll write in.

General Education: Area 2

about Area 2

Mathematical Concepts and Quantitative Reasoning

College-level mathematics or quantitative reasoning — the toolkit behind science, business, and informed citizenship.

General Education: Area 3

about Area 3

Arts and Humanities

How people and cultures, across time, respond to themselves and the world through artistic and cultural creative production. Visual and performing arts, art history, foreign languages, literature, philosophy, religion.

Term 2

Class Schedules

Pick a term:

Fall 2026Winter 2027Spring 2027Summer 2027

This will open the term course schedule not including GE requirements.

17 units
ACCT 2
Financial Accounting
4 units
course details

This is the study of accounting as an information system, examining why it is important and how it is used by investors, creditors, and others to make decisions. The course covers the accounting information system, including recording and reporting of business transactions with a focus on the accounting cycle, the application of generally accepted accounting principles, the financial statements, and statement analysis. Includes issues relating to asset, liability, and equity valuation, revenue and expense recognition, cash flow, internal controls, and ethics. (C-ID ACCT 110).

BCIS 13
Business Communication
3 units
course details

This course applies the principles of ethical and effective communication to the creation of letters, memos, emails, and written and oral reports for a variety of business situations. The course emphasizes planning, organizing, composing, and revising business documents using word processing software for written documents and presentation-graphics software to create and deliver professional-level oral reports. This course is designed for students who already have college-level writing skills. (C-ID BUS 115).

BCIS 81
Microsoft Excel for Business
1 units
course details

This course is designed for those who want to learn Microsoft Excel for Windows from the perspective of owning or running a business. Course content includes designing and analyzing worksheets and using formulas and functions with an emphasis on accounting principles.

General Education: Area 1B

about Area 1B

Oral Communication and Critical Thinking

Baccalaureate-level oral communication and/or critical thinking — speaking with structure to a live audience, analyzing arguments, identifying assumptions.

General Education: Area 4

about Area 4

Social and Behavioral Sciences

The systematic study of people as members of society — cultural anthropology, cultural geography, economics, history, political science, psychology, sociology — and the methods these disciplines use to ask their questions.

General Education: Area 6

about Area 6

Ethnic Studies

The histories, experiences, and contributions of the four autonomous disciplines: Black / African American / Africana studies, Native American studies, Chicano/a/x and Latino/a/x studies, and Asian American studies.

Term 3

Class Schedules

Pick a term:

Fall 2026Winter 2027Spring 2027Summer 2027

This will open the term course schedule not including GE requirements.

14–16 units
ACCT 4
Managerial Accounting
4 units
course details

This course provides students an in depth study of how managers use accounting information in decision-making, planning, directing operations and controlling. It focuses on cost terms and concepts, cost behavior, cost structure and cost-volume-profit analysis. Includes issues relating to cost systems, cost control, profit planning, and performance analysis in manufacturing and service environments. (C-ID ACCT 120).

Prerequisite: ACCT 2

ACCT 100
QuickBooks Pro-Computerized Accounting
2 units
course details

This course provides a transition from a manual accounting system to a typical computerized system. The objective is to collect, summarize and communicate information to decision makers and users via QuickBooks Pro accounting software. Microsoft Excel will be utilized for data summation. Typical documents produced consist of purchase orders, checks, invoices, deposit slips, job cost reports, financial statements, bank reconciliations, payroll tax returns and 1099 forms.

Prerequisite: ACCT 2 or ACCT 20

ACCT 110
Accounting for Payroll
3 units
course details

This course introduces students to the payroll function and the necessary record keeping needed to comply with California and federal laws and regulations. Both manual and computer applications are included.

BCIS 46
Business Math Calculations
2 units
course details

In this course, students use the features of a business ten-key calculator to solve business math problems including banking, payroll, invoicing, markups/markdowns, interest, present and future value, credit cards, student loans, types of insurance, installment buying, and mortgages. Students will develop ten-key speed and accuracy using the touch method.

General Education: Area 5

about Area 5

Physical and Biological Sciences

The physical universe, its life forms, and its natural phenomena — astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, meteorology, oceanography, physics — taught alongside the scientific method that makes them work.

Term 4

Class Schedules

Pick a term:

Fall 2026Winter 2027Spring 2027Summer 2027

This will open the term course schedule not including GE requirements.

16 units
ACCT 30
Accounting Capstone
4 units
course details

This course is intended to be taken in one of the final two semesters of the accounting program to consolidate training of students who are entering the accounting workforce. The course involves substantial accounting simulations where students apply the accounting cycle, prepare supporting work-papers, create budgets and variance analysis, and synthesize their accounting skills. This course will assist students in preparing for the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers' certification exam.

Prerequisite: ACCT 4 (or concurrent enrollment), ACCT 110 (or concurrent enrollment), ACCT 100 (or concurrent enrollment)

BCIS 33
Skills for the Working Professional
1 units
course details

This course provides an exploration of essential soft skills necessary for working professionals, focusing on both external and internal communication, effective conflict management, and cultivating a positive attitude. Students will also learn to develop interpersonal and self-management skills for creating a professional image, preparing them for success in today’s workplace.

BUS 8
Introduction to Business Law
3 units
course details

Fundamental legal principles pertaining to business transactions. Introduction to the legal process. Topics include sources of law and ethics, contracts, torts, agency, criminal law, business organizations, and judicial and administrative processes. (C-ID BUS 125).

BUS 35
Leading and Supervising Teams
3 units
course details

This course invites current and future managers to build foundational skills for leading teams of employees in a diverse, multicultural work environment. The focus is on self-assessment, analyzing to understand work situations, as well as developing leadership skills and strategies. This course emphasizes individual factors impacting success including communication skills, conflict resolution, motivation, decision making, leadership style, and business ethics.

BUS 64
Principles of Marketing
3 units
course details

This course explores the nature, function and importance of marketing. It focuses on conducting opportunity analysis, assessing consumer behavior, engaging in marketing research, and target marketing as the basis for devising marketing objectives and plans. Students will develop and assess marketing strategies to meet the needs of consumer and Business-to-Business (B2B) target markets using the "4 P's": product, promotion, price and place. The emphasis is on ethics, needs-satisfaction, and relationship marketing in today's global, technology-infused, competitive environment.

Graduation Requirement Choice (See GE Guide)

Career Connections

2-Year Degree Paths

Entry points students may pursue after associate-level study, technical preparation, or licensure pathways.

No locally mapped occupations in the current dataset point cleanly to an immediate 2-year outcome for this program.

4-Year Degree Paths

Roles that more often open up after transfer and a bachelor's degree.

Example roles: 2

  • Financial Analysts
  • Accountants and Auditors

Graduate School Paths

Advanced roles commonly associated with graduate, professional, or post-baccalaureate study.

No locally mapped occupations in the current dataset are grouped into the graduate-school pathway for this program.

Local Job Market

Financial AnalystsSOC 13-205173 nearby openings

Search keyword used: financial analyst · Search window: last 90 days, 100-mile radius · Avg listed salary: $109,105/yr

Top employers in sample

  • CX 2
  • Delta Dental 2
  • Inventure 2
  • Terracon 2
  • University of Nevada Reno 2

Where the postings are

  • Sacramento, Sacramento County 7
  • Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County 3
  • Reno, Washoe County 3
  • Santa Rosa, Sonoma County 2
  • Sonoma, Sonoma County 2

Sample current postings

  1. Financial Analyst IVSutter Health · Sacramento, Sacramento County · today
  2. Financial Analyst (Limited Term)Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. · Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County · today
  3. Senior Manager, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)Delta Dental · Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County · today
  4. Finance ManagerOrion Placement · Roseland, Sonoma County · today
  5. Senior Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) AnalystDelta Dental · Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County · 1 day ago

See all openings on Adzuna

Accountants and AuditorsSOC 13-20114 nearby openings

Search keyword used: accountant · Search window: last 30 days, 25-mile radius · Avg listed salary: $80,741/yr

Top employers in sample

  • Adecco US, Inc. 1
  • Amain.com 1
  • Golden State Farm Credit 1
  • USHA 1

Where the postings are

  • Butte Creek, Butte County 1
  • Chapmantown, Butte County 1
  • Chico, Butte County 1
  • Paradise, Butte County 1

Sample current postings

  1. Entry Level Account Rep - SalesUSHA · Paradise, Butte County · today
  2. Accountant IGolden State Farm Credit · Chico, Butte County · 12 days ago
  3. Staff AccountantAdecco US, Inc. · Butte Creek, Butte County · 3 weeks ago
  4. Senior AccountantAmain.com · Chapmantown, Butte County · 4 weeks ago

See all openings on Adzuna

Posting counts come from Adzuna's index of US job boards, covering the last up to 90 days within up to 100 miles of ZIP 95965. Coverage and salary visibility vary by employer. Empty searches expand the radius and posting window before the section gives up.

Source Notes

Course sequencing is generated from the Acadia Program Mapper cache. Career groupings use local CIP-to-SOC mappings and BLS occupation data when available. Confirm education plans with Counseling and Advising.

Career Connections used a same-family CIP fallback because this exact CIP was not in the NCES/IPEDS crosswalk (52.0301).

Live wage data was not available from the BLS helper for the mapped occupations, so some pay fields may be blank.

Last generated 2026-06-12T23:18+00:00