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Accounting Diploma

Earn a career-focused Accounting Diploma you can complete 100% online, in four semesters (60 credits). You will train on the same tools employers use every day, including QuickBooks, Sage, and Excel, and graduate ready to keep the books, run payroll, and prepare taxes for real businesses.

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Career Outlook

Graduates are prepared for bookkeeping and accounting-support roles. Here is what the work pays and how much hiring is happening.

¹ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks, May 2024. As routine data entry becomes automated, these roles are shifting toward analysis and advisory work, and steady openings continue as workers retire or move on.

Program Highlights

• Hands-on QuickBooks certification training
• Computerized accounting with Sage
• Excel spreadsheet applications built for accounting
• Payroll accounting and applied income tax preparation
• A capstone that helps prepare you for the ACAT / ABA credential exam
• Fully online, so you can keep working while you study

What You'll Learn

The diploma builds real accounting skills from the ground up:

• Principles of financial and managerial accounting
• Payroll accounting
• Applied individual and business income taxes
• Governmental, fund, and non-profit accounting
• Business math and spreadsheet applications

See every course in the program →

Where This Can Take You

With an Accounting Diploma, you can step into roles such as:

• Bookkeeper
• Accounting clerk
• Payroll clerk
• Accounts payable or accounts receivable specialist
• Tax preparer
• Staff accountant at a small business

Want to go further? Your diploma credits stack into the Accounting AAS, which opens the door to accountant and auditor roles. Those positions pay a median of $81,680 a year and are projected to grow 5% through 2034.²

² U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Accountants and Auditors, May 2024. A bachelor's degree is typically required for these roles.

A Day on the Job

In a typical day, you might record the day's transactions, reconcile a bank statement, run payroll for a small team, prepare invoices, and pull together the numbers a manager needs to make a decision. It is detail-focused, steady work, and you are the person who keeps a business's finances accurate and on track.

Paying for Your Diploma

Riverland is one of the most affordable ways to earn an accounting credential in southern ÐÇ¿ÕÎÞÏÞ´«Ã½. Beyond the North Star Promise, several scholarships can help lower your cost, and financial aid staff can walk you through every option.

Last Updated: July 1, 2026