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Website
of the Month: American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers
By
Susan B. Anders
The
resources on the American Institute for Professional Bookkeepers
(www.aipb.org)
website will be of interest to bookkeepers as well as their
employers. The website’s purpose is clear, straightforward,
and reflects well on the AIPB. Most resources are available
free to all visitors.
This
neatly organized website is separated into five main sections:
membership benefits, certification program, jobs site, continuing
education, and members only. All are easily located via
large index buttons on each main page. The index also connects
to a free bookkeeper hiring test and more than 150 useful
accounting and tax links.
The
website uses minimal graphics, and navigation is easy. Subsidiary
webpages provide obvious links to take the user to more
detailed information.
Resources
for Professional Bookkeepers
CPAs
who work with professional bookkeepers will be interested
in learning about the AIPB and the resources that can help
bookkeepers improve their professional skills and recognition.
AIPB membership includes a monthly newsletter with technical
tips and techniques, a free answer line for accounting and
payroll help, and continuing education. Employers may also
be interested in the free bookkeeper hiring test that can
be ordered through the website.
Certification
and Continuing Education
The
AIPB certification program for professional bookkeepers
includes an experience requirement, a national examination,
and a code of ethics. The website offers a free booklet
about the certification program that can be downloaded or
ordered for mail delivery. The certification exam is available
at Sylvan testing centers.
Fourteen
different continuing education courses are available for
bookkeepers, covering taxation, accounting information processing,
payroll, financial statement analysis, and collections.
Courses can be ordered from the website, although they do
not appear to be available online. However, several of the
courses offer free samples of selected course materials,
which can be downloaded as PDF files. Additionally, detailed
tables of contents provide an outline of the topics covered
in each course.
Jobs
Site
The
jobs site section of the website offers resources for both
job seekers and employers. The main page provides links
to pop-up screens with job descriptions for several categories:
certified bookkeeper, full-charge bookkeeper, bookkeeper,
assistant bookkeeper, and freelance bookkeeper. New users
may want to familiarize themselves with these descriptions
before proceeding further. Employers can search resumes
and bookkeepers can search job listings without registration
or AIPB membership.
An
excellent feature is the standardized format for “job
benefits and options” and “candidate qualifications”
found on both the position pages and resume pages. Employers
and candidates can check the required or desired descriptions.
For example, job benefits and options include health/dental
benefits or paid holidays, vacations, and sick leave. Candidate
qualifications include hands-on experience with Excel, or
the ability to prepare depreciation schedules.
The
website provides links for potential employers and candidates
to contact each other. Registration is required for posting
positions or resumes. Job seekers can post a resume online
on the website or can copy and paste their resume in drop-down
boxes on the application screen, then submit their application
to the employer.
Accounting,
Bookkeeping, and Tax Links
The
website’s many links to accounting and tax sites are
organized under a number of logical, easily understood headings.
Under each heading, topics are listed alphabetically. The
links are practical and basic, and useful for bookkeepers,
new staff accountants, and even experienced accountants
new to the Internet.
Susan
B. Anders, PhD, CPA, is an associate professor at
St. Bonaventure University, N.Y. |