Business Administration (Accounting Specialization)

Numbers tell the story of every business, and accountants are the people who read it first. The Business Administration (Accounting Specialization) at Assiniboine College is a two-year diploma taught at the Victoria Avenue East campus in Brandon, where students can start in September or January.

In year one, future accounting specialists sit alongside every Business Administration student in Financial Accounting 1 and 2, Economics 1, Marketing Principles, Human Resource Management, Organizations and Management, Math for Business, Communications, Personal Management and Software Applications. In year two the accounting stream deepens with Financial Accounting 3, Financial Accounting 4, Introductory Mgmnt Accounting and Taxation 1, so you learn to prepare and interpret statements, cost products and complete personal tax returns. Corporate Finance, Economics 2, Advanced Software, Research and Report Writing, Canadian Business and Society and Business Capstone finish the diploma.

Hands-on software training is part of the accounting stream: Sage Accounting Software gives practical experience with a commercial bookkeeping package. Students can add an optional 16-week co-op work placement to test their skills with an employer before graduating. Assiniboine’s two-year Business Administration programme is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), an international quality assurance body, and the college describes the accounting specialization as a foundation for career advancement towards the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation. Transfer agreements with other colleges and universities can carry credit into further study.

Graduates of the accounting specialization work as accounting assistants, bookkeepers, payroll administrators, accounts payable or receivable clerks and junior accountants in companies, accounting practices and public bodies. The diploma suits careful, detail-minded students who enjoy working with figures and want a structured route that starts with a broad business year and ends with Sage, taxation and advanced financial accounting skills.