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Colleges Preparing Bookkeepers for Certification Triple in 2004

ROCKVILLE, Md. - To fill the growing need for full-charge bookkeepers - the CFOs in today's small firms - continuing education programs at more than 150 universities and community colleges will offer a course in 2004 to prepare bookkeepers for the national certification exam, a threefold increase from last year that is expected to double in 2005.

The certification was developed by the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers, www.aipb.org, which gives the Certified Bookkeeper exam at over 300 Prometric test centers nationwide.

"Today's bookkeepers learned what they know on the job," says Steve Sahlein, co-president of the AIPB, the national association for bookkeepers since 1987, which offers the certification. "Only a few have college-level technical training. No business owner would rely on legal advice from someone who never went to law school but promised '8 years' legal experience. Yet every day business owners entrust the family heirloom - their business - to bookkeepers with little more than a list of previous jobs, but no evidence that they have any real knowledge of accounting or tax."

B

ookkeeper certification assures the skills and knowledge required to carry out all the bookkeeping and accounting functions through the adjusted trial balance for a company of up to 100 employees.

The requirements for becoming a certified bookkeeper parallel those for becoming a CPA, requiring two years' experience, signing a code of ethics, passing a national exam, and maintaining skills and knowledge with continuing professional education every year.

By PRNewswire