Nichols develops accounting program for Boston firm

Courtesy/Lorraine U. Martinelle The Nichols College campus in Dudley.

Write a Comment

By Zachary Comeau

Nichols College has partnered with a regional accounting firm to offer a graduate curriculum tailored for the company’s employees.

The college is calling the partnership with Boston-based Wolf & Company, P.C., the first in the nation.

The graduate program will allow the company’s employees to earn 30 credits required to become a certified public accountant (CPA) while avoiding courses they may have already taken while pursuing an undergraduate degree.

The company will pay for the courses for its employees, according to a press release from Nichols announcing the program.

In a statement, Wolf & Company President and CEO Mark O’Connell said the firm couldn’t pass up the flexibility Nichols was offering.

The company has offices in Boston, Springfield and Livingston, N.J., but has clients throughout the Northeast. Remote classes made the most sense to the company, O’Connell said.

“Nichols College has a strong reputation to be an innovative higher education institution, and we are happy to provide our employees with this unique opportunity,” O'Connell said.

The two-year program, which begins this September, will offer technology and other skills, but also an increased focus on work/life balance and stress management.

According to Nichols, Wolf employees will take only one class during each seven-week cycle. The weekly synchronous session is 90 minutes long and is offered remotely via videoconference technology. There is a seven-week break provided during the firm’s busy season from January to February.