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Accounting or Finance?

I'm trying to decide between studying accounting or finance. After a year of learning both, I find finance to be more interesting, but it's also very competitive (not saying that accounting isn't). I think the job market for accounting might be larger, offering better job security too.

Even though I'm more drawn to finance based on the course modules in my uni, Idk if liking it is enough. A degree in accounting is essential to becoming an accountant, which might make it more valuable compared to finance?

Should I choose accounting for better job prospects, or follow my interest in finance?
plus I'm not in an ivy league uni and most people say if you are not in an ivy league uni better take accounting instead.
Original post by kan112233
I'm trying to decide between studying accounting or finance. After a year of learning both, I find finance to be more interesting, but it's also very competitive (not saying that accounting isn't). I think the job market for accounting might be larger, offering better job security too.
Even though I'm more drawn to finance based on the course modules in my uni, Idk if liking it is enough. A degree in accounting is essential to becoming an accountant, which might make it more valuable compared to finance?
Should I choose accounting for better job prospects, or follow my interest in finance?
plus I'm not in an ivy league uni and most people say if you are not in an ivy league uni better take accounting instead.

Just to clarify:

Which country are you based in/which country are you doing your degree in?

Which country do you intend to work in? If you are based in the US or Canada, include your province or state

Which specific role in finance do you intend to get? Do not say any, because there are 20+ different roles to choose from all with different requirements, even though the industry doesn't employ that many people relatively speaking


To my knowledge, a degree in finance is not a legal requirement to go into any role in finance anywhere in the world. A degree in accounting is only legally required in the US, from what I know. Although you strictly don't need a degree to get into accounting in Canada, it's recommended.

Reply 2

We need to know which country you are in to advise. Accountancy degrees are in no way essential for a degree in accounting in the UK.

Reply 3

Original post by MindMax2000
Just to clarify:

Which country are you based in/which country are you doing your degree in?

Which country do you intend to work in? If you are based in the US or Canada, include your province or state

Which specific role in finance do you intend to get? Do not say any, because there are 20+ different roles to choose from all with different requirements, even though the industry doesn't employ that many people relatively speaking

To my knowledge, a degree in finance is not a legal requirement to go into any role in finance anywhere in the world. A degree in accounting is only legally required in the US, from what I know. Although you strictly don't need a degree to get into accounting in Canada, it's recommended.

Thanks for the reply

I am studying in the UK (Lancaster Uni) and plan to work here too. My first plan was to get into wealth or asset management, but I heard these careers require a lot of sales skills, so I'm having second thoughts. My second choice is to become an analyst.

But do you think that working in the accounting industry would be strategically better as the job market itself is more demandable? Like you don't need to compete/ work as much?

I didn't know that an accounting degree is not essential here sorry. They probably look for certifications like the CFA, etc? If an accounting degree isn't required, is there any difference between getting a degree in finance vs accounting to become an accountant?

*Just to add (might be useful info?) right now I'm doing a Finance degree and just finished my first year. I'm thinking of switching to Accounting and Finance, but this program I've taken a look into the courses it is definitely accounting-focused so I just wrote it as accounting, I thought it would be too lengthy to explain.
Plus for the first years, those 2 programmes have the same modules so I wouldn't miss a thing if I change before the second year starts.
(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 4

Original post by ajj2000
We need to know which country you are in to advise. Accountancy degrees are in no way essential for a degree in accounting in the UK.

Thanks for the reply

Same answer to the one I've just answered I guess, if you could take a look at the reply before this please.

Any difference between getting a degree in finance vs accounting to become an accountant then?
Original post by kan112233
Thanks for the reply
I am studying in the UK (Lancaster Uni) and plan to work here too. My first plan was to get into wealth or asset management, but I heard these careers require a lot of sales skills, so I'm having second thoughts. My second choice is to become an analyst.
But do you think that working in the accounting industry would be strategically better as the job market itself is more demandable? Like you don't need to compete/ work as much?
I didn't know that an accounting degree is not essential here sorry. They probably look for certifications like the CFA, etc? If an accounting degree isn't required, is there any difference between getting a degree in finance vs accounting to become an accountant?
*Just to add (might be useful info?) right now I'm doing a Finance degree and just finished my first year. I'm thinking of switching to Accounting and Finance, but this program I've taken a look into the courses it is definitely accounting-focused so I just wrote it as accounting, I thought it would be too lengthy to explain.
Plus for the first years, those 2 programmes have the same modules so I wouldn't miss a thing if I change before the second year starts.

I am studying in the UK (Lancaster Uni) and plan to work here too.
In which case, note that you don't need a degree to become an accountant in the UK as per above. You will need to be working under an accountant who completed the same professional accounting qualification (not necessarily a degree) in order to become fully qualified.
I don't know what you intend to do in your home country, but if it's amongst the 179 countries that accept ACCA, you should be able to act as an accountant in your home country as well with minimal paperwork. If it's somewhere like the US or Canada, then you might have a more difficult time to become qualified there. If it's somewhere that's mutually recognised by ACA (see: https://www.icaew.com/membership/support-throughout-your-career/working-internationally), then I recommend getting the ACA over the ACCA (if you have to choose).
However if you do work for the Big 4, they should have international offices around the world, so chances are you should be able to do the appropriate qualification that would allow you to work pretty much in the UK and your home country, provided you get in (not easy).

My first plan was to get into wealth or asset management, but I heard these careers require a lot of sales skills, so I'm having second thoughts.
Pretty much. If you don't have strong interpersonal skills, you will struggle in front office. However, if you do, going into accounting doesn't make much sense; you would need the appropriate professional qualifications for wealth management, but asset management doesn't strictly require you to have a degree.

My second choice is to become an analyst.
Sell side or buy side? Sell side requires you to write reports and sell them as part of a branch in investment banking. On the buy side, you would need to provide recommendations to your fund manager.
Despite the high salary. you don't actually net a lot from the role. Do beware of this.
Typical requirement would be to do the CFA qualification.

But do you think that working in the accounting industry would be strategically better as the job market itself is more demandable? Like you don't need to compete/ work as much?
The accounting industry is less competitive than that in finance, but I wouldn't approach it in such a manner. If you go into a competitive role such as those in finance or accounting, the employers would expect you to choose your role wisely and stick to it. It's very difficult to change from accounting to a role in finance later on; if you keep switching between roles, it can demonstrate lack of knowing what you want. With the industries as competitive as it is, coming across as indecisive makes you come across as a weak candidate.

I would look to ask @ajj2000 for information in this area though.

I didn't know that an accounting degree is not essential here sorry. They probably look for certifications like the CFA, etc?
See the following: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_qualified_accountants#Titles_of_British_accountancy_qualifications
CFA is not required to become an accountant. The CFA is for something different.
Do be careful about which qualification to pick. In fact, if you do choose to go into an accounting graduate scheme, it's probably better to apply for the scheme and then let your employers pick the appropriate qualification for you. The top accounting qualification is an ACA.
Whilst it's not necessary to do an accounting degree, you should get exemptions towards accounting qualifications (I know Lancaster's accounting degrees definitely do). The main ones being ACCA, ACA, and CIMA. Do check on your degree course page.

If an accounting degree isn't required, is there any difference between getting a degree in finance vs accounting to become an accountant?
In terms of job prospects and applications, no. Despite an accounting degree would offer you more exemptions towards your professional accounting qualification, the employers from what I have seen don't really care which degree you get. The extra exemptions don't seem to matter to them in general. There was only one case where a small accounting firm in the country that I have seen (nowhere near the top 50) was hiring 1-2 candidates and they specifically want an accounting graduate.
In fact, you can do a degree in anything as random as engineering, modern languages, English literature, geography, classics, ancient history, medicine, etc. and still be able to get into accounting. You can look through the accounting firm prospectuses of the graduates who got through and see the range of degree subjects that they did. What does matter are your A Level (or whatever your equivalent in your home country is) grades - these matter even if you get a first class degree.

I'm thinking of switching to Accounting and Finance, but this program I've taken a look into the courses it is definitely accounting-focused so I just wrote it as accounting, I thought it would be too lengthy to explain.
Yeah, the joint accounting degree at Lancaster is generally more accounting focus with less financial mathematics i.e. the maths would be a lot more straightforward.
Personal preference: the finance degree is a lot more rigorous with more demanding mathematics. If I want to do a degree to give myself a mental workout, the finance degree is my preferred choice over that of accounting.

Reply 6

Original post by kan112233
Thanks for the reply
Same answer to the one I've just answered I guess, if you could take a look at the reply before this please.
Any difference between getting a degree in finance vs accounting to become an accountant then?
Well - broadly speaking - not much difference in terms of getting a job and career as an accountant in the UK as someone with the right to work in the UK.

There are very valid reasons students from East/ South East Asia focus on A+F degrees if that is the route they expect to take, and likewise why people in other countries think they need an accounting degree to train as an accountant. These reasons probably don't apply to most people in the UK.

For larger recruiters onto grad schemes it almost never makes a difference. I think it can be a bit easier to get a break into non grad scheme roles/ entry level positions with an accounting degree but not by some massive margin compared with the Finance Bsc from Lancaster which I think gives 3 exemptions from ACCA in any case so you are not at a standing start.

Anyway - it sounds like you are really enjoying your finance degree and looking forward to the future years? Is that fair? Has someone been putting you off the course?

I can drop some notes about how doing a finance vs A+F course might work once you start working as an accountant (should you look to go that route) if you like.

Reply 7

Original post by ajj2000
Well - broadly speaking - not much difference in terms of getting a job and career as an accountant in the UK as someone with the right to work in the UK.
There are very valid reasons students from East/ South East Asia focus on A+F degrees if that is the route they expect to take, and likewise why people in other countries think they need an accounting degree to train as an accountant. These reasons probably don't apply to most people in the UK.
For larger recruiters onto grad schemes it almost never makes a difference. I think it can be a bit easier to get a break into non grad scheme roles/ entry level positions with an accounting degree but not by some massive margin compared with the Finance Bsc from Lancaster which I think gives 3 exemptions from ACCA in any case so you are not at a standing start.
Anyway - it sounds like you are really enjoying your finance degree and looking forward to the future years? Is that fair? Has someone been putting you off the course?
I can drop some notes about how doing a finance vs A+F course might work once you start working as an accountant (should you look to go that route) if you like.

Thanks for repying,

Yeah that would be great, the notes will definitely help me gather more information before deciding whether to switch or not.

I am enjoying the finance degree so far and haven't been discouraged. My initial concern was due to the job market. Also, I've noticed that most finance careers are closely related to communication, and I would prefer a job with less emphasis on that. While I understand that communication is an important skill, I'm not sure if I want to stay in an industry that heavily relies on it. I reckon I might enjoy working as an accountant more.

However, I'm having a hard time deciding to switch to the A+F degree. As @MindMax2000 said, the math would be more straightforward, and I enjoy the challenge that finance offers. On the first year, I studied both subjects and I enjoyed finance more. This is the main reason I'm hesitant to switch; as weird as it may seem it is the feeling of missing out on the 'mental workout' that finance provides.

Reply 8

Thanks for your detailed response, very very useful! Apologise for the hassle
Original post by kan112233
Thanks for repying,
Yeah that would be great, the notes will definitely help me gather more information before deciding whether to switch or not.
I am enjoying the finance degree so far and haven't been discouraged. My initial concern was due to the job market. Also, I've noticed that most finance careers are closely related to communication, and I would prefer a job with less emphasis on that. While I understand that communication is an important skill, I'm not sure if I want to stay in an industry that heavily relies on it. I reckon I might enjoy working as an accountant more.
However, I'm having a hard time deciding to switch to the A+F degree. As @MindMax2000 said, the math would be more straightforward, and I enjoy the challenge that finance offers. On the first year, I studied both subjects and I enjoyed finance more. This is the main reason I'm hesitant to switch; as weird as it may seem it is the feeling of missing out on the 'mental workout' that finance provides.

Have you consider careers in the following?:

Actuary

Quants

Risk management

Buy side analyst


If worse comes to worse, have you considered?:

Economist - especially economics modelling

Data analyst

Business analyst

Academic research in a quantitative subject

Reply 10

Original post by kan112233
Thanks for repying,
Yeah that would be great, the notes will definitely help me gather more information before deciding whether to switch or not.
I am enjoying the finance degree so far and haven't been discouraged. My initial concern was due to the job market. Also, I've noticed that most finance careers are closely related to communication, and I would prefer a job with less emphasis on that. While I understand that communication is an important skill, I'm not sure if I want to stay in an industry that heavily relies on it. I reckon I might enjoy working as an accountant more.
However, I'm having a hard time deciding to switch to the A+F degree. As @MindMax2000 said, the math would be more straightforward, and I enjoy the challenge that finance offers. On the first year, I studied both subjects and I enjoyed finance more. This is the main reason I'm hesitant to switch; as weird as it may seem it is the feeling of missing out on the 'mental workout' that finance provides.

Cool - please remind me if I haven't responded in the next couple of days.

Reply 11

Original post by kan112233
Thanks for repying,
Yeah that would be great, the notes will definitely help me gather more information before deciding whether to switch or not.
I am enjoying the finance degree so far and haven't been discouraged. My initial concern was due to the job market. Also, I've noticed that most finance careers are closely related to communication, and I would prefer a job with less emphasis on that. While I understand that communication is an important skill, I'm not sure if I want to stay in an industry that heavily relies on it. I reckon I might enjoy working as an accountant more.
However, I'm having a hard time deciding to switch to the A+F degree. As @MindMax2000 said, the math would be more straightforward, and I enjoy the challenge that finance offers. On the first year, I studied both subjects and I enjoyed finance more. This is the main reason I'm hesitant to switch; as weird as it may seem it is the feeling of missing out on the 'mental workout' that finance provides.

Well - lets contemplate a likely position for when you apply for summer schemes/ years in industry and then grad jobs.

I'd imagine you would apply for some finance type schemes and also some accounting ones. You then see how you get on with the applications and if fortunate enough to have some offers decide between them when you've had real chance to compare.

For routes into accounting and how each degree might have a bearing, the most common routes you would look at would be:

ACA type grad schemes - generally audit or tax in larger accounting firms.


The employers for these have never really been swayed by the type of degree you did. If you studied more accounting courses you may well get more exemptions from professional exams but you won't qualify more quickly or progress in your career more quickly.

In general exemptions can be a double edged sword. Great if it works for you but a real issue if you find that you are under-prepared for later exams. So - overall - no real pro or con to doing an accounting degree.

Big company industry positions. These again tend not to have a preference for accounting degrees although some prefer business or numerate courses - so you are fine here. You might find passing the exams more arduous than someone with an accounting degree but most people don't find that a major pain.


The third route is just getting an entry level job in an accounts position and doing the exams mainly through distance learning options after working hours. This is the situation when having lots of exemptions really can be beneficial. Employers may prefer candidates with some knowledge, and it gives you a head start studying for the exams.

We do need to note that most people who go this route don't have accounting degrees so its a long way from impossible! Also - the Lancaster finance degree does give at least 3 exemptions from ACCA so its not a standing start.

Once you are in work, progressing with qualifications and then moving into qualified level work the degree doesn't really make an impact other then additional skills you pick up while doing it. It sounds like you are really developing skills with the finance courses which could be really beneficial if you enter an accountancy career.

Reply 12

Original post by ajj2000
Well - lets contemplate a likely position for when you apply for summer schemes/ years in industry and then grad jobs.
I'd imagine you would apply for some finance type schemes and also some accounting ones. You then see how you get on with the applications and if fortunate enough to have some offers decide between them when you've had real chance to compare.
For routes into accounting and how each degree might have a bearing, the most common routes you would look at would be:

ACA type grad schemes - generally audit or tax in larger accounting firms.


The employers for these have never really been swayed by the type of degree you did. If you studied more accounting courses you may well get more exemptions from professional exams but you won't qualify more quickly or progress in your career more quickly.
In general exemptions can be a double edged sword. Great if it works for you but a real issue if you find that you are under-prepared for later exams. So - overall - no real pro or con to doing an accounting degree.

Big company industry positions. These again tend not to have a preference for accounting degrees although some prefer business or numerate courses - so you are fine here. You might find passing the exams more arduous than someone with an accounting degree but most people don't find that a major pain.


The third route is just getting an entry level job in an accounts position and doing the exams mainly through distance learning options after working hours. This is the situation when having lots of exemptions really can be beneficial. Employers may prefer candidates with some knowledge, and it gives you a head start studying for the exams.
We do need to note that most people who go this route don't have accounting degrees so its a long way from impossible! Also - the Lancaster finance degree does give at least 3 exemptions from ACCA so its not a standing start.
Once you are in work, progressing with qualifications and then moving into qualified level work the degree doesn't really make an impact other then additional skills you pick up while doing it. It sounds like you are really developing skills with the finance courses which could be really beneficial if you enter an accountancy career.

Is it worth doing bachelors in business management keeping in mind future prospects

Reply 13

Original post by Xr king
Is it worth doing bachelors in business management keeping in mind future prospects

Do you mean business management as opposed to a degree in accounting and finance?

Which A levels are you taking and which courses are you considering?

Reply 14

Original post by ajj2000
Do you mean business management as opposed to a degree in accounting and finance?
Which A levels are you taking and which courses are you considering?
Yes, as opposed to a degree in accounting and finance. I got offers from bayes business school ( city university of london) and university of Birmingham for bsc accounting and finance. But now I am planning to switch to business management

Reply 15

Original post by Xr king
Yes, as opposed to a degree in accounting and finance. I got offers from bayes business school ( city university of london) and university of Birmingham for bsc accounting and finance. But now I am planning to switch to business management

I think thats a perfectly decent call if you are not committed to accounting at this stage.

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