Certified Bookkeepers are to bookkeeping what CPAs are to accounting: the elite of the profession. Becoming a Certified Bookkeeper can increase your earning potential, enhance your professional status, and give you a decisive edge in any job market. This online program was created by the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB) to prepare experienced bookkeepers for the certification exam at any Prometric Test Center. The AIPB certification is the only national standard for bookkeepers.

The Web-based format of this program will allow you to move at your own pace while learning in the comfort of your own home. The program consists of six separate subject areas:

• Adjusting entries
• Correction of accounting errors (including the bank reconciliation)
• Book and tax depreciation
• Basic payroll
• Merchandise inventory
• Internal controls and fraud prevention

This program includes a set of six workbooks that will help prepare you for each of the exams.

Students will have one year (365 days) from the date of enrollment in the Certified Bookkeeper Online Training Program through ed2go to submit the Application for Certified Bookkeeper Designation form to The American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers.

Upon registering, you're given an initial six months to complete the program. Should you need more time, you may request a six-month extension at no additional charge.

Upon completion of this program, you'll be able to do the following:

• Describe the benefits, eligibility requirements, code of ethics, and maintenance requirements for the Certified Bookkeeper
• Apply the concepts of accrual accounting to transactions that span fiscal periods
• Trace the effect of accrual and deferral transactions to financial statements
• Apply accounting concepts and the basic tools of financial analysis in identifying and correcting errors
• Reconcile bank accounts
• Prepare payroll transactions, from paying wages to depositing and reporting taxes
• Apply accounting concepts to depreciation transactions, including various methods of calculating depreciation for book and tax purposes
• Value inventory, record costs, make entries, and report inventory on financial statements
• Help your company or client use basic internal controls to prevent theft, embezzlement, or check and credit card fraud by employees, customers, or vendors

1. Certified Bookkeeper Program
   1. Eligibility Requirements
   2. Testing Program
   3. Code of Ethics
   4. Maintenance of Certification
2. Accruals, Deferrals, and the Adjusted Trial Balance
   1. Why Accruals, Deferrals, and Other Adjustments are Made
   2. Accruing Revenues and Expenses
   3. Recognizing Revenues Collected in Advance
   4. Recognizing Expenses After a Prepayment
   5. Other Adjusted Entries
   6. Unadjusting Trial Balance Through the Adjusted Trial Balance
3. Correction of Accounting Errors and the Bank Reconciliation
   1. When and Where Accounting Errors Occur and How They Are Discovered
   2. Performing the Bank Reconciliation
   3. Finding and Correcting Errors on the Unadjusted Trial Balance
   4. Correcting Current-Period Accrual and Deferral Errors
4. Payroll
   1. How to Pay Different Types of Employees
   2. Federal and State Wage-Hour Law
   3. Paying Employees Under Federal Law
   4. Employment Records and Payroll Recordkeeping
   5. Form W-4 and Comparable State Forms
   6. Withholding and Depositing Federal Taxes
   7. Federal Employment Reporting Forms and Due Dates
   8. When Wages Become Taxable
   9. Other Reporting Rules
   10. Payroll Register and Journal Entries
5. Depreciation
   1. The Difference Between Book and Tax Depreciation
   2. Depreciation under GAAP
   3. Computing and Allocation Depreciation
   4. Depreciation Under Federal Tax Depreciation Rules
   5. Tax Depreciation of Vehicles
6. Inventory
   1. General Concepts of Accounting for Inventory
   2. The Perpetual Method
   3. The Periodic Method
   4. Weighted-Average and Moving-Average Methods
   5. First-In, First-Out (FIFO) Method
   6. Last-In, First-Out (LIFO) Method
   7. Lower of Cost or Market LCM Rule
7. Internal Controls and Fraud Depreciation
   1. How to Prevent or Spot Theft of Inventory and Other Non-cash Assets by Employees
   2. Preventing Employee Theft, Embezzlement, or Fraud by Hiring the Right Personnel
   3. Insuring the Company Against Theft
   4. How to Prevent or Spot Customer Check Fraud
   5. Signs that May Indicate Payroll Fraud
   6. How to Prevent or Spot Customer Credit Card Fraud
   7. Recommended Rules for Company Credit Cards
   8. Preventing Vendors From Cheating the Company

The Certified Bookkeeper Online Program is designed for experienced bookkeepers who want to prepare for national certification. Although you may sit for the AIPB Certification exam at any time, you must pass the AIPB Certification exam and be able to submit proof of at least two years of full-time or 3,000 hours of part-time experience in order to earn your Certified Bookkeeper designation.

Click here for a list of Frequently Asked Questions about requirements for the AIPB Certification exam.

This program is compatible with the Windows XP and later operating systems and IE 7 and later browsers.

This program can be taken on either a PC or a Mac; however, Microsoft Word and Excel are required and not included in course materials that ship to you.

Adobe Flash Player and Adobe Acrobat Reader are required for this program.
Click here to download the Acrobat Reader.
Click here to download the Flash Player.

The AIPB provides the six workbooks that are required for this program.

Wade Lindenberger is a CPA (inactive) with 20 years of financial, accounting, and management experience in public accounting and private industry. He is currently director of the governance, risk and compliance service line for Q5 Group, Inc, a regional professional services firm. Prior to that, Wade was director of the finance and accounting service line for the San Diego office of a global, publicly held professional services firm.

Before becoming a consultant, Wade was divisional controller for one of the leading health and fitness club chains in the world. He's also been internal audit manager and divisional controller for a division of a Fortune 500 global energy project management company. He began his career with Coopers & Lybrand, one of the "big four" CPA firms.

Wade is the author of the Certified Bookkeeper Online Training Program as well as an instructor for it. He's previously served as an instructor for programs at Coopers & Lybrand and, more recently, at the University of California at San Diego for the Extension Program. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Bookkeepers' Advisory Board, the American Institute of CPAs, and the California Society of CPAs.

Marlissa Phillips, CPA, MBA, is proprietor of MJ Phillips Company. For over 12 years, Marlissa has serviced many small businesses in various industries. She partners with her clients to help them reach their goals. Her firm has also launched Heart2Heart Services. This service focuses on the needs and concerns of nonprofit organizations. Heart2Heart combines stewardship and mission. Marlissa provides training to clients as well as accounting professionals. Her Web site, www.mjphillipscpa.com, has a host of accounting, tax, and QuickBooks information.

Marlissa graduated from the University of West Georgia with a B.B.A. in finance. She received an M.B.A. in accounting from DePaul University. Marlissa is a member of the Intuit Accounting Professionals Trainer Network and is an instructor for CPELink.com.