How an online degree reaps dividends for your career in finance and accounting

Accounting and finance have evolved past the green eyeshades and bean-counting.

Dubbed the "language of business", accounting has become a mission-critical focus of corporations today. In the wake of the Enron scandal, more airtight regulations have triggered demand for well-trained accounting and finance professionals. The result: more jobs in accounting, auditing and finance. Whether you aspire to work in "Big Four" firm or a small private firm, your analytical acumen can take you far into the boardroom. According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Statistics, employment of auditors and accountants is expected to grow between 18 and 26 percent annually through 2014. It's estimated that accountants and auditors will hold over 5 million jobs by 2014. That higher learning equals higher earnings is common knowledge. But the globalized Information Age has reinforced the credo even more: Higher Learning equals Even Higher Earnings.

"Sarbox" unleashes an accounting boom

Dubbed "Sarbox", the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has opened the gates for accounting and finance professionals to really make an impact in the corporate realm. The key to furthering your career lies as much in education level as degree type. Lifetime earnings of Master's degree holders consistently double that of a high school graduate's at retirement ($2.5 million versus $1.2 million). Flashback to the Industrial Revolution: A high school diploma was optional for those working their way up. After all, "self-taught" steel and oil magnates Andrew Carnegie and John Rockefeller reaped billions in assets– sans diploma. But by 1975, full-time workers with a Bachelor's degree had 1.5 times the annual earnings of high school graduates. A Bachelor's degree began to look good, even mandatory. On average, a Bachelor's degree in accounting can net you $43,269, whereas those in the top tenth percentile earn more than $88,610 (source: Bureau of Labor and Statistics). Now, a Master's degree looks even better. The 21st Century also presents the challenge of balancing hectic modern-day schedules. With online education, juggling your accounting/finance education with work, play and career is more practical than ever. Current professionals can find online preparatory courses for advanced certification: • Certified Management Accountant • Certified Internal Auditor • Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

"Doing the books?" That's so 1970s

Online accounting degree programs have kept up with the times – and the software. Students learn to master accounting software programs like QuickBooks Pro and PeachTree as well as online research skills needed for auditing and corporate accountancy. Likewise busy accounting and finance professionals aiming to advance their skills beyond balance sheet basics can gain other skills beyond computerized accounting:

• Client portfolio management
• Advanced costing techniques
• Corporate taxation
• Business Security and Assurance
• International financial management
• Internal and external control auditing
• Securities and corporate Investment analysis
• Controllership

In the competitive world of Business Administration you'll need every edge you can get, including the skill upgrades that online colleges and online MBA programs offer. Literacy, critical thinking and problem-solving skills among graduates have declined over the decade, reported the Commission on the Future of Higher Education. Online colleges are responding to this void, offering different degrees in the specialized fast-growing fields projected by Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Whether your aspiration lies in audits, budget analysis, management accounting or tax, there is a role and a degree for you.