Overview
A degree in accounting and finance can be one of the best ways to kick off your career if you've got a good head for numbers, a driving interest in business and a keen eye for detail.
While some universities do offer undergraduate courses focusing just on accounting or finance, it’s common to find these subjects paired with others, or included under a broader title, such as business and management.
This reflects the multidisciplinary nature of these subjects, which intersect and interact with areas including information technology, law, statistics and economics.
Generally, however, you can expect a strong focus on quantitative methods and data analysis, including descriptive statistics, probability, statistical inference and hypothesis testing.
Other topics covered may include: preparing and interpreting financial reports; budgeting, costing and performance management; national and international regulations and standards; market structures and business cycles; the use of accounting data in planning and decision making.
Studying at master's or PhD level? Read our graduate-level guide >
Specialization
\Within accountancy and finance degrees, possible fields of specialization include:
Audit: This involves analyzing and assessing a company or organization’s financial statements. Auditors may be called upon to check for errors or inconsistencies, but also to provide feedback on the effectiveness and efficiency of the systems being used.
Tax: Specialists in this field prepare tax statements for organizations and/or individuals, and give advice on tax-related issues – for example, helping companies assess the tax implications of various cash flow or investment options.
Risk assessment: This is the use of accounting data to make informed decisions, based on the probability of particular outcomes, and the possibility of offsetting risks.
Career Options
Employment prospects in accountancy are strong even compared to other sectors of business and finance.
In the US, for example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts an additional 190,700 accountancy and auditing jobs will be generated between 2010 and 2020, largely as a result of increases to financial regulations and growing demand for business accountability.
Combined with management analysts – 157,200 new jobs forecast in the same period – these roles are predicted to account for some 30% of jobs creation in the US business and finance sector.
The financial rewards are also promising. In 2010, the median salary for accountants and auditors in the US was US$61,690 per year – slightly higher than the overall median for the business and finance sector, and almost double the overall national median of US$33,840.
Accountancy jobs don’t just pay well; they also offer challenging and stimulating work. Accountants are involved in developing systems for tracking companies’ financial performance, advising on mergers and acquisitions, and calculating the costs and rewards of new technologies, ventures and strategies. Many go on to become Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of large companies.
As well as working within businesses or government agencies, accountants may also work as part of a public accounting firm – of which the best-known are the so-called ‘Big Four’: Ernst & Young, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and KPMG.
It’s also possible to go solo, as a self-employed accountant, which may appeal if you like the sound of being your own boss and interacting personally with a range of smaller clients.
Key Skills
Transferable skills gained from a degree in finance and accountancy should include:
- Ability to analyze complex data sets
- Excellent numeracy and technology literacy, including statistics and financial modelling
- Presenting findings in written and spoken form to an acceptable academic standard
- An understanding of academic literature and general academic research skills
- Problem identification and solving
- Ability to approach issues from multiple perspectives
- Ability to work both independently and in groups
- Good time management
Top 10 Universities for Accounting & Finance
Like many of the 30 subjects ranked in the 2013 QS World University Rankings by Subject, the top 10 universities for accounting and finance is dominated by the US and UK, but also features two Australian entries. Find out more about the strengths and specializations of each of these world-leading universities for accounting and finance…
1. Harvard University
Harvard University is well respected across many different subject areas – in fact it’s ranked number one in 10 out of the 30 subjects covered in the 2013 QS World University Rankings by Subject. But the prestigious Harvard Business School is undoubtedly among the university’s most famous schools. Research at the school’s accounting and management research unit currently focuses on the use of performance measurement systems to help businesses communicate with external investors, improve resource allocation and strategy, and build accountability.
2. London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Specializing in social sciences, LSE ranks highly across these subjects – for example, it’s also currently ranked second for politics and international studies. LSE’s Department of Accounting offers BSc, MSc, diploma and PhD programs, and has identified three key strands of research: regulation, financial reporting and auditing; the economics of accounting; and the organizational and strategic aspects of accounting.
3. University of Oxford
The University of Oxford doesn’t have an undergraduate course specifically in accounting and/or finance, though these subjects are available within the economics and management degree. It offers several different masters programs in finance, either singly or in combination with a second subject, and its Saïd Business School is home to internationally renowned research groups focusing on both accounting and finance.
4. University of Cambridge
Likewise, the University of Cambridge doesn’t teach any undergraduate courses specifically in accounting and finance, though these subjects may be covered in other programs, but does offer several MPhil programs in finance. The university’s finance and accounting research group, based at the Judge Business School, focuses on: business finance, financial policy, empirical corporate finance, investment management, financial reporting and stock markets.
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
MIT, currently number one in the overall QS World University Rankings, also has its own world-renowned business school – the MIT Sloan School of Management. Again, the university’s accounting and finance programs are concentrated at graduate level, with research groups dedicated to both fields. Relevant research centers include the laboratory for Financial Engineering, Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, and MIT Center for Digital Business.
6. Stanford University
Stanford’s business school is quite simply called the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Accounting research at the school currently focuses on issues relating to financial reporting and management control, including accounting-based valuation strategies and the design of performance measurement and incentive systems. Meanwhile major topics for finance research at Stanford include asset pricing and corporate finance, including analysis of investment decisions.
7. University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne offers accounting and finance programs from undergraduate level (as part of a Bachelor of Commerce) up to PhD, mainly through the Melbourne Business School. The Department of Accounting focuses on financial accounting, managerial accounting and auditing and assurance services. Major topics at the Department of Finance include capital markets and financial institutions, investments and financial planning, corporate finance and real estate finance.
8. University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley)
Berkeley’s Haas School of Business teaches courses in accounting and finance at undergraduate level, as well as offering PhD and MBA programs. Research in these fields is based at the Center for Financial Reporting & Management, with specializations including financial reporting, financial statement analysis, managerial accounting and managerial performance evaluation.
9. University of Sydney
At the University of Sydney Business School, which again teaches courses from undergraduate up to PhD level, current research in accounting covers areas such as: international accounting, public sector accounting, corporate responses to accounting regulation, accounting for intellectual capital, and accountability. Meanwhile the finance department’s major areas of focus are security market microstructure and corporate finance.
10. University of Chicago
Finally, the University of Chicago’s accounting and finance faculty are based at its Booth School of Business, which offers PhD and MBA programs. Relevant research interests include external financial reporting and disclosure issues, securities regulation, international financial reporting and the role of accounting in contracting.
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