Accounting Assistant Program
If you’re someone who cares about details and likes working with numbers, this 3-month accounting assistant program might be a great fit for you.
Semesters: Spring | Summer | Fall | Winter
- Surrey | Abbotsford | Kelowna Campus
- 288 Hours
- 3 Months
Program Overview
In the Accounting Assistant program students will learn accounting and office skills. Upon successful completion students will have knowledge of office programs, manual accounting, computerized accounting, and payroll.
Course Highlights
Hours of instruction: 288
Full-time duration: 3 Months
Homework hours: 10-15 hours per week
Attendance Expectations: Students are required to maintain their attendance as per the FC attendance policy.
Graduation Requirements: To graduate, students must successfully complete all courses with minimum C grade (50% to 59%).
We offer instructor-led on-campus, online, and Hybrid classes delivery through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on training.
You will need the following supplies for this program:
- Classroom equipped with windows computers with a minimum of 8 Gigabyte RAM, a Minimum of 512GB – 1TB Hard drive, and required accounting and other software(s).
- Windows 10 or 11
- Office 2019
- Sage 50 Accounting software
- QuickBooks software
This program has been approved by the Private Training Institutions Regulatory Unit (PTIRU) of the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills. This program is not eligible for PGWP.
Career Opportunities
- Clerk
- Bookkeeper
- Accounting Assistant
- Accounts Receivable Clerk
- Accounts Payable Cleark
- Payroll Clerk
- Office Assistant
Salary Range
Accounting Assistant
Anticipated Salary Range
*This estimate is based on available employment data at the time. Actual salary will be based on numerous factors.
Source: Glassdoor
Course Curriculum
Life Skills & Success Strategies – 15 hours
This course covers the soft skills required to obtain and retain employment, including communications skills, emotional intelligence, goal setting, stress management, problem solving, teamwork, learning styles, developing a personal mission statement, and time management.
Word Processing: Word Levels 1 & 2 – 35 hours
This course teaches how to create different kinds of business documents using a variety of core and intermediate skills such as letters, memos, forms, newsletters, and reports. Students will develop the ability to work with graphics, illustrations, tables, references, columns, building blocks, merging, and more.
Spreadsheets: Excel – 25 hours
Microsoft Excel teaches the information worker how to work with different types of documents using a variety of core and intermediate features to create and edit professional-looking spreadsheets for a variety of purposes and situation.
Presentation: PowerPoint – 20 hours
Microsoft PowerPoint course covers basic and advanced topics needed to create and manage presentations. Some topics included are charts & tables, slide masters, adding multimedia elements, and delivering the presentations.
Internet / E‑mail / Scheduling: Outlook – 15 hours
This course teaches the information worker how to use the various elements such as Mail, Calendar or Contacts to coordinate communications and collaborations with others. The user will acquire fundamental concepts and skills, building on this foundation as they increase their productivity in communication and sharing information with others.
Business Writing (Letters, Memos, Reports) – 20 hours
This courseware teaches students how to write every form of business writing, from traditional business letters, reports, and memos to e-mail and other electronic communications. The course emphasizes that effective business English begins with mastering grammar and sentence structure and presents a brush-up review of grammar and correct English usage. It is further focusing on achieving an appropriate business style that conveys the writer’s message succinctly without resorting to stilted, overly formal language or meaningless jargon.
College Accounting 1 – 40 hours
College Accounting 1 covers a solid coverage of accounting concepts and principles. It establishes a foundation of accounting procedures within the traditional framework of a proprietorship accounting cycle, then builds on the framework as it examines additional methods of accounting for asset, liability and equity accounts.
Sage 50 Accounting Levels 1 & 2 – 39 hours
Sage 50 Premium Accounting Level 1 and 2 teaches the student how to perform daily accounting tasks in the General Ledger, Inventory and Services, Customers and Accounts Receivable, Vendors and Accounts Payable, and Employees and Payroll modules. This is an introduction to accomplish basic accounting tasks using Sage 50 Premium Accounting. It further offers practices and exercises for a wide variety of accounting transactions and produces the financial statements and year end procedures, setting up data files for a new company and customizing settings as well as doing bank reconciliation and working with debit/credit card transactions and petty cash.
QuickBooks Levels 1 & 2 – 39 hours
Upon successful completion of this course, students will have learned accounting basics, introduction to QuickBooks, setting up chart of accounts, creating items, entering transactions for incoming funds, entering transactions for outgoing funds, maintaining financial information and working with reports. Students will complete an accounting cycle using QuickBooks, do adjustments, and complete month-end and year-end procedures for small businesses as well as setting up data files for a new company and customizing settings in addition to doing bank reconciliation and working with debit/credit card transactions and petty cash.
Payroll Principles – 30 hours
This course is designed to educate the students with the basic rules and procedures for calculating payroll and payroll deductions. The course focuses on both manual and computerized payroll calculations.
Employment Strategies – 10 hours
This course gives an overview of skills required for employment. Instruction covers orientation of job skills, training required in the new millennium, job interview skills, resume writing, cover letters, and references.
Admission Requirements
- Grade 12 (or equivalent) Canadian high‑school credential OR
- Relevant professional experience / mature‑student status
Applicants must provide proof of English language proficiency through any one of the following:
- Completion of 2 years of secondary education (including English 10 and 11 with a grade of ‘C’ or higher) from a country where English is one of the principal languages
- Completion of 2 years of full-time post-secondary education at an accredited institution where English is the language of instruction
- An English Language Proficiency Test with one of the following minimum scores:
- International English Testing (IELTS) Academic: Minimum overall score of 6.0
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) IBT: Minimum overall score of 67 (TOEFL-Home test not accepted).
- Canadian English Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP): Listening 7, Speaking 7, Reading 7, and Writing 7
- Duolingo English Test: Minimum overall score of 105
- Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic: Minimum overall score of 52
See full English Language Proficiency Requirements for details.
- Reliable high‑speed internet and a device capable of running online‑class software (e.g., Microsoft Teams)
Approximately 10-15 hours/week homework is required from students to be successful in this fast-paced and intensive program.
Tuition Fees
- Tuition Fee: $3,620
- Application Fee: $250
- Assessment Fee: $250
- Administration Fee: $50
- Books: $1,000
- Course Material Fee: $300
- Archive Fee: $30
- Total Fees: $5,500*
*Domestic students may qualify for financial aid or Focus College scholarships. Complete the application form or visit our Financial Assistance page to learn more.
- Tuition Fee: $4,120
- Application Fee: $500
- Assessment Fee: $250
- Administration Fee: $50
- Books: $1,000
- Course Material Fee: $300
- Archive Fee: $30
- Total Fees: $6,250
Student Success Stories
Posted on Danish Veer Singh15 April 2026Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. College is very awesome specially the teachers and staff was very nice specially the arvind mam was very helpful and very nice and the focus college is very nicePosted on Shruti Shruti15 April 2026Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Great faculty, supportive staff, and a very practical learning environment ..highly recommended! 👍Posted on Kirandeep Kaur Sidhu14 April 2026Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Arvind ma’am is truly amazing. She is extremely helpful, supportive, and kind. I had a great experience and really appreciate her guidance. Highly recommended!Posted on ILYN LEE21 March 2026Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Our instructor is enthusiastic her goal was her students learn more a lot and gain more knowledge.Posted on A K17 March 2026Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Amazing experience at Focus College,all instructors ,staff are helpful .Posted on Amrit Grewal17 March 2026Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. My experience at this college has been good overall. The teachers are helpful, and the environment is suitable for studying. The college is strict about attendance, which helps students stay disciplined.Posted on Harman Singh17 March 2026Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Every profession is very helpful.Posted on Sandeep Kaur17 March 2026Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. My experience at Focus College has been very positive. The faculty members are knowledgeable and dedicated to student success. The curriculum is well-structured and focuses on practical learning. Additionally, the staff is approachable and supportive. I would highly recommend Focus College to prospective students.