All You Need to Know About Finance Degree and Accounting Degree
 If you ask someone about the difference between accounting and finance degrees, it’s quite usual for them to reply that both of them deal with various aspects of finance and most probably are the same. However, these degrees have definite differences. For those who want to pursue their career in finance it is important to understand what each of the courses involve.
In this article, we will try to analyse the difference between these two degrees. On the whole, the students in both fields need to be proficient in business mathematics and analytics as well as have a good knowledge of financial regulations. The career opportunities available to graduates also differs.
A financial analyst is someone who has a strong working knowledge of financial markets, laws, and investments whereas, an accountant needs to be highly skilled in obtaining, organizing, collecting and analysing financial information. To be more precise about the concept, the finance is about shifting or manipulating money while accounting is about tracking those kinds of manipulations.
What is a Finance Degree?
An Undergraduate Degree in finance will prepare you to pursue a rewarding and high-powered career, dealing with financial situation of private as well as public organisations. This finance degree provides you with the skills that can translate directly into entry-level positions in areas such as banking, accounting and tax preparation.
A Finance Bachelor’s Degree is a four-year course that focuses on finance and opens up the gateway for different careers in areas such as commercial banking, investment banking, money investment management, financial planning, real estate and insurance.
While pursuing the degree, most of the students take on an internship with a local company to gain practical work experience, helpful in applying for placement in the companies as a financial analyst where they provide a highly useful guide to the companies concerning investments in the stock market. These internships may either be paid, or rewarded with college credits.
To enhance their career even further, the Bachelor’s Degree graduates continue their education to obtain a Master’s Degree. Obtaining Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) with subject specific as finance, or a Master’s Degree in Finance directly, can give a competitive edge in the industry. After completing their Master’s in Finance Degree, further, high-level qualifications, such PhD in Finance can also be pursued.
The education system has offered a wide range of finance courses for students, where they can choose their specialisation in Investments, Money and Capital Markets, Financial Accounting, International Finance, Risk Management and Corporate Finance.
What is an Accounting Degree?
Most of the colleges provide Accounting Degree courses as a diploma course, undergraduate course, associate course, etc. To start a professional practice as an accountant, a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting is a must.
Some colleges and universities offer accounting degrees as a combination of both Bachelor’s as well as Masters with a five-year duration. The curriculum of this course includes a wide range of subjects such as tax law, mathematics, real estate law, principles of accounting and much more. Students may go ahead with the internships with accounting firm, to gain practical experience.
After obtaining their degrees, the graduates will also have to pass an external examination in order to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). It allows them to practice within the field and offer services to the general public. CPA’s must maintain their active status by enrolling themselves continuously in education throughout their career. Thus, most of the Accounting Degree graduates go on to become registered accountants.
Their professional duties will include development, maintenance and analysis of financial records. Apart from working in the organisation, the certified accountants accountants can opt to work from home as freelancers.
Finance Degree or Accounting Degree: Which is the Best?
When it comes to choosing between a degree in finance or accounting, everyone has their own preference. If you are interested in global finance, then it may not be worthwhile to pursue a degree in accounting. In this case, they probably will not get much out of a finance degree if ever they have a plan to become a CPA.
If you are really ambitious and have the drive to succeed, it may be worth considering a double major degree in both fields during their undergraduate experience.
I hope this article, has provided you with some insight into the overall difference between finance degree and accounting degree. Before enrolling for the course, do a complete analysis to plan your career properly.
