Business – Accounting

Post-Secondary Programs
Credential Earned: College Diploma (2 Year)
Campus: Haileybury, Kirkland Lake, Moosonee, Timmins, Distance
Program Length: 4 Semesters

Program Codes
B095-HL (Haileybury Campus)
B104-KL (Kirkland Lake Campus)
B006-PC (Timmins Campus)
-JB (Moosonee Campus)
B207-CK (Distance)

Claim your place as an essential member of the financial management team thanks to Northern’s two-year diploma in Accounting.

Year one focuses on Business Fundamentals. Then you’ll dive into curriculum that blends working-world case studies with ledgers and the latest technology.

You’ll learn how to balance the books and perform analyses that are critical to daily operations in finance as well as business strategy. You’ll design and implement an accounting system for a small business. You’ll even apply accounting concepts to prepare tax returns and forecast trends.

Plus, with additional courses in marketing, Canadian business law and human resources management, you’ll graduate knowing how the numbers affect decision-making on every level — from macroeconomics right down to personal income tax.

Contact Information

For questions about being admitted into the program, please contact Northern College Admissions at admissions@northern.on.ca or by phone at 705-235-3211 ext. 7222.

For questions about the content of the program, contact the Program Coordinator.

Jami Burns
Program Coordinator
Tel: 705-235-3211 ext. 2114
Email: burnsja@northern.on.ca

Admissions Information

Admission Requirements

  • Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD)
  • Grade 12 English (C, U)
  • Grade 11 Math (C, U)

Or equivalent

 

Academic prerequisites for this program may be obtained free of charge through Academic Upgrading.

Applicants who do not have a high school diploma or equivalent and will have reached the age of 19 years on or before the start of the program must undergo academic testing and may be required to complete Prior Learning Assessment & Recognition (PLAR) process to demonstrate equivalency of admission requirements prior to admission into a program.

For more details, please contact the Admissions Office at 705-235-7222 or admissions@northern.on.ca.

Additional Requirements for International Students

In addition to the admission requirements, international students must have proof of English Proficiency and meet the requirements below.

1. Proof of Senior High School Diploma/Certificate with an equivalent Grade 12 Mathematics (50% min.) and/or Business/Commerce stream.

2. English Proficiency (we will require one of the following):

  • IELTS Academic– International English Language Testing System: a minimum overall score of 6.0 must be achieved with no individual band score under 6.0; however, we will accept one band at 5.5.
  • TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) – Internet Based Test (iBT) overall minimum score of 79
  • PTE (Pearson Test of English) Academic: Graduate Diploma: 58+

If your country of citizenship has English as its official language, we may accept alternate proof of English Proficiency.

All educational documents must be submitted in English and will be dependent on the country of citizenship.

For more information, please contact admissions@northern.on.ca.

Additional Information

Fall Intake – Apply to this program on OCAS. When studies commence, you are automatically registered in the first year Business Fundamentals which is a common first year business program for Northern College’s two-year business programs in Accounting, Human Resources Management, Marketing, Global Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology, and Business General studies.

January Intake – Apply directly to the January intake program codes for the common first year Management Certificate program and upon completing this first year, you can register for the fall into the second year of the two-year business program of your choice.

What You Learn

The program synopsis with course descriptions can be found below.

Please note, course information are based on current offering and are subject to change. Current students can find more information on courses in their student account.

For questions about the content of the program, please contact the Program Coordinator.

Semester 1

In this course, students will be introduced to the accounting cycle and the preparation of financial statements. Topics include recording entries, preparing financial statements and accounting for merchandising activities. This course will be essential for further study in financial accounting.

In this course, students will learn how proper recruitment/selection strategies, and training and development methods, maintain an organization’s competitive advantage. The integral role of job design and analysis in affecting compensation management and performance appraisal decisions will be examined. Students will investigate a variety of employment and health and safety laws as they relate to managing a diverse workforce. In addition, the fundamental principles of the union-management framework will be explored.

In this course, students will be introduced to business in Canada, focusing on introductory topics for those interested in employment in a business management role. Topics of study will include the relationships between the areas of finance, human resources, marketing, and operations within an organization, business ethics and social responsibility, management concepts and practices, and an exploration of the entrepreneurial spirit.

Communications I is a practical course designed to help strengthen essential oral and written communication skills. Students will be exposed to a variety of learning methods and communication formats. Emphasis will be placed on the use of appropriate structure, writing conventions, tone and style as well as the enhancement of interpersonal, teamwork and presentation skills. Students will also develop discipline-specific documents, practice proper business etiquette and learn the importance of ethical behaviour and professionalism in the classroom and workplace. Attention to detail is emphasized.

In this course, students will gain practical experience with Microsoft Excel for Windows. Excel will be used to prepare various reports, presentations and applications which directly correlate to the critical-thinking requirements of the workplace. Students will gain practical experience working with formulas and functions, developing, and enhancing financial reports, organizing data with charts, data lists, and tables, managing multiple work sheets, workbooks, and external data sources, developing macros, using conditional functions, working with financial tools and functions, and performing what-if analysis.

In this course, students will begin with a review of basic arithmetic and algebraic manipulations, continuing topics that include ratios, proportions and percentages, math of merchandising that include mark-ups and mark-downs, various payroll scenarios, and the evaluation and calculations using simple interest.

This course is an informative introduction into marketing. Students will become acquainted with current Canadian marketing concepts, terminology and practices, examine strategies to apply them to contemporary marketing situations, and gain an understanding of how they affect an organization’s profitability. Students will also explore consumer and business marketing, product planning, building customer relationships and creating customer value. This course provides a basic understanding of Canadian marketing structures and techniques including defining and segmenting target markets and interpreting market research data.

Semester 2

In this course, students will examine, in more depth, select assets and liabilities found on the balance sheet as well as learn to account for equity transactions involving partnerships. Assets examined include cash, accounts receivable, notes receivable, plant, property, and equipment and intangibles. Liabilities studied will include short and long term notes payable, warranty liabilities and payroll& liabilities.

In this course, students will be introduced to managing and navigating organizational behaviour in a professional Canadian business environment, at the same time keeping in mind the increasingly interdependent nature of globalization. This course examines management and group dynamics from the manager as well as employee point of view, both in an professional setting. There is significant emphasis on how OB research into the area of workplace experience of managers and employees contributes to the productivity of the organization. The course brings in numerous examples of practical applications with the involvement of the learners from real-life situations and personal experiences to analyze the concepts discussed. There is also key emphasis on developing awareness towards corporate social responsibility and the relation between ethical practices and organizational behaviour.

This course is designed to introduce the student to the study of economics, beginning with the field of microeconomics. The course will use scientific theory in order to better understand the relationship and consequence of economic and business decisions. Additionally, this course will use mathematical procedures in order to predict and practically use economic models in real world settings. As oppose to Macroeconomics, Microeconomics will focus on the effects of business decisions on an industry or a single business specifically. Topics include: supply and demand, elasticity, consumer choice, and production costs in the short and long run.

Communications 2 is a one-semester course that applies the oral and written communication tools learned in Comm1 to specific business/technical applications as required by industry today. The student will enhance the writing skills acquired in COMM1 and learn to produce effective documents including business letters, emails, employment documents as well as reports applicable to their field of study. Students will also learn how to plan and participate in meeting situations and participate in mock interviews (as applicable) so that they are prepared to transition into the competitive employment market. Students will continue to learn and apply proper language and grammatical structures and apply editing strategies to business/technical documents through both in-class/online activities and through the usage of the customized Mylab online grammar tool. As with COMM1, the content will be inclusive and reflect the diverse workplace that students will experience in the future.

*Students for whom English is not their first language will receive additional language support through the concurrent delivery of CM2933 (Enhanced Comm2) which continues to focus on the foundational grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure skills introduced in CM1933.

In this course, students will develop their business mathematics skills expanding them to compound interest scenarios that include single cash flows of future value and present value, ordinary simple annuities, ordinary general annuities, simple and general annuities due, deferred annuities, perpetuities and perpetuities due. Throughout the course, students will not only evaluate the requirements but also use their critical thinking skills to evaluate appropriate investments to make and aspects of a variety of loans to consider all in a business environment whether that be in the private, public or not-for-profit sectors of industries.

In this course, students will follow the accepted concepts of marketing, current marketing principles/practices, and their applications as functional decision-making management tools. Topics will include all aspects of product/service marketing and management, price determination and pricing strategies, distribution-related strategies, marketing communications strategies (including advertising, personal selling, sales promotions, event marketing and sponsorship, public relations and direct marketing) and non-profit marketing and global marketing. This course builds on the foundation of MR1073 Introduction to Marketing I. Students will continue to examine current Canadian material on marketing and determine strategies for developing new products and services that are consistent with evolving marketing needs and principles of sustainability. Students will apply their knowledge in producing a marketing plan where they will set marketing objectives, develop a marketing mix, along with developing marketing strategies. Budgetary considerations will be taken into account, and evaluation criteria identified. Students will also contribute to the development of pricing strategies and participate in conducting market research to provide information needed to make marketing decisions.

This general education course will provide students with an introduction to Canadian Indigenous Nations’ history, sovereignty, land titles, cultural history and current critical issues. Topics addressed include the content of Indigenous rights, economic and social development, community and political processes, and business law and policies, justice & social services. Canadian Indigenous History and Relations is a general education course that has been incorporated into all programs at Northern College.

Semester 3

In this course, Students are introduced to a computerized accounting application as utilized by employees and managers in daily operations and decision-making processes. Using SAGE 50 Accounting Software Students will gain practical experience recording business transactions in the General Ledger, Receivables, Payables, Payroll, Inventory and Banking Modules using “real-world” companies and industries. Practical Experience is further obtained by the design, set-up, and implementation an accounting system for a Small Business.

In this course, students will acquire a comprehensive overview of topics and concepts in financial accounting at an intermediate level of complexity. They will learn about the accounting standards and conceptual framework for private and publicly accountable enterprises by completing, identifying and applying the proper presentation and disclosure requirements for all financial statements under ASPE and IFRS. Students will focus on the organization, operation and reporting in a corporate environment with emphasis on the asset section of the balance sheet and examine such topics as cash and receivables, inventory, investments, property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and goodwill.

In this course, students will be introduced to management accounting, a form of accounting used by managers to plan, control, and make decisions regarding operations. Topics include; Analysis of different types of costs, cost behaviour, cost-volume-profit analysis, job-order costing, activity based costing, variable and absorption costing, budgeting, variance analysis, and relevant costs in decision making for Add/drop, Make/buy, and joint product cost decisions.

In this course, students will discuss large-scale, economic phenomena to gain an understanding of the role and relevance of economics in business studies. Students will examine the behaviours of individual nations in a global economics context. This course will present the Economic Problem and discuss such concepts as scarcity, choice, opportunity cost as well as efficiency & unemployment. You will examine demand & supply and understand how and why economists measure the economy, while learning about GDP, national income and inflation. Further, students will explore business cycles and the aggregate expenditures model. They will review explanations for such things as prices and output in aggregate demand and supply from a macroeconomics perspective. And finally, students will consider federal government’s fiscal policy, examine technological change, global trade and the effect of tariffs.

In this course, students will apply the necessary mathematical skills for conducting descriptive and inferential statistical analyses with business applications. Topics will include data description and graphical presentation, calculating and interpreting variables relating to central tendency and dispersion, analyzing both descriptive and inferential probability distributions, sampling distributions and estimation, principles of confidence intervals and hypothesis testing in order to test the validity of statistical statements involving samples.

General Education Courses are selected online each semester by the student from a list provided and exposes students to a related area of study outside of their immediate academic discipline. Certain programs have predetermined electives. 

Semester 4

In this course, students will gain systems-based knowledge in the importance of Management Information Systems to Business Strategy. The 5 Component Model, characteristics of data, organizational strategy, and business processes, form the theory on which practical experience is gained with Business Intelligence Software, Microsoft Access, Artificial Intelligence, and Accounting Information Systems. Students will gain knowledge in Systems Development Life Cycle, Business Process Modeling, Data Modeling, Information Systems Security, the Cloud and Social Media Information Systems.

In this course, students will examine, at an intermediate level, transactions and statement presentation for Current and Long Term Liabilities with a focus on Bonds, Shareholders’ Equity presentation and recording, Complex Financial instruments, including convertible bonds and derivatives, Earning per Share, accounting for current and deferred income taxes, Pensions and Leases. In addition, the proper presentation and disclosure requirements for all financial statements

Students will become familiar with theoretical concepts and technical rules in the Income Tax Act, specifically those applicable to individual taxpayers, and learn to apply them to the determination of net and taxable income and to the calculation of income taxes payable. Students will use the knowledge acquired to prepare a personal income tax return using tax software. Students will specifically cover the following: By referencing the Income Tax Act, determine net income for tax purposes for all taxpayers as well as the calculation of taxable income and tax payable for individuals. Discuss the administration of the Canada Revenue Agency and describe the filing and tax payment procedures applicable to individuals and trusts. Discuss what constitutes Income or Loss from Office or Employment. Discuss tax credits for individuals used to determine taxable income & taxable payable. Distinguish between depreciation for financial reporting purposes and capital cost allowance for income tax purposes. Calculate Income or Loss from a Business in accordance with the Income Tax Act. Calculate Income from Property in accordance with the Income Tax Act. Calculate Capital Gains and Capital Losses. Identify other sources of income and other deductions used to calculate net income for tax purposes. Discuss provisions for retirement planning contained in the Canadian income tax system. Discuss loss carry-overs and the lifetime capital gains deduction in determining tax payable.

This course presents a practical study of Canadian business law, including the legal and administrative systems, torts, contracts, employment laws, and general legal considerations that arise for a business. In addition, students will assess intellectual property, patent, trademark, copyright, and franchising laws and apply them to business cases. Students will outline the structure of the Canadian legal system, describe torts and professional liability issues, determine the requirements that form contracts, explain the circumstances that enforce contractual obligations, describe legislation and its function in the marketplace, outline the concepts of real and personal property, and relate Ideas and information laws as they apply to business.

In this course, students will examine the goals and objectives of financial management with an emphasis on decision making. Students will evaluate data to prepare estimates, apply working capital management techniques, evaluate sources of short-term financing, calculate values and rates of return, and calculate the cost of capital. Students will also examine how to apply accounting concepts to finance, how to evaluate past and present data to prepare estimates and how to forecast trends. They will also learn how to evaluate working capital management techniques and sources of short-term financing. The course will end with a review of techniques used to determine if projects should be accepted or rejected based on common analysis criteria.

General Education Courses are selected online each semester by the student from a list provided and exposes students to a related area of study outside of their immediate academic discipline. Certain programs have predetermined electives. 

Tuition & Fees

Tuition and fees are updated yearly for the upcoming Academic Year by May 1.

Current amount may be based on last years amounts and are subject to change. Ancillary fees vary by campus and program.

If the tuition and fee information for international students does not appear on this page, visit northerncollege.ca/international/tuition to see amounts for general programs.

Please refer to your Student Account for the most up-to-date information.

Student Year Campus Program Code Tuition Ancillary Fees Total Fees
StudentDomesticYear2CampusTimmins - PCProgram CodeB006Tuition$2,720.56 Ancillary Fees$811.50 Total$3,532.06
StudentDomesticYear2CampusHaileybury - HLProgram CodeB095Tuition$2,720.56 Ancillary Fees$842.50 Total$3,563.06
StudentDomesticYear2CampusKirkland Lake - KLProgram CodeB104Tuition$2,720.56 Ancillary Fees$775.50 Total$3,496.06
StudentDomesticYear2CampusDistance - CKProgram CodeB207Tuition$2,720.56 Ancillary Fees$647.50 Total$3,368.06
StudentInternationalYear2CampusTimmins - PCProgram CodeB006Tuition$14,382.00 Ancillary Fees$1,422.58 Total$15,804.58
StudentInternationalYear2CampusHaileybury - HLProgram CodeB095Tuition$14,382.00 Ancillary Fees$1,340.58 Total$15,722.58
StudentInternationalYear2CampusKirkland Lake - KLProgram CodeB104Tuition$14,382.00 Ancillary Fees$1,298.58 Total$15,680.58
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