Accounting vs. Finance

[Aurovon]

If you want to suceed in the business world/work abroad or start your own independent company, which path do you think one should pursue? In other words, which one do you believe will have the upper hand in learning about the fundamentals of how a business runs, etc?

I believe Accounting seems like it has the upper hand, but maybe others might view it differently?

[krazy_desi187]

if u got ur own business or jus running a business then managerial accounting is what you would wanna know .. ie. keep track of what comes in/goes out, what ur spending on, ur fixed costs etc etc

[-Stax0-]

Have you tried Accounting? Some people can't handle it. It's a tad bit tedious.

I'm not sure how Finance is, you just read people's financial statements and shit?

[krazy_desi187]

Have you tried Accounting? Some people can't handle it. It's a tad bit tedious.

I'm not sure how Finance is, you just read people's financial statements and shit?

sum1 correct me if im wrong.. i cant remember some of this right now but

finance is when u make the statements n what not n handle the cash flow .. n with accounting theres internal n external .. internal is for the company to look at .. liek the managers, ceo's etc .. n external is other people lookin at the business's profits n loses, n to know if its a good idea to invest into the company they r lookin at ..

[Brown Siren]

I think if you want an "upper hand", Accounting and Accounting Information Systems is probably the way to go. With Accounting you learn how to make and interpret financial statements, realize when you can record profit, etc and you get all the background knowledge. And with Accounting Information Systems, you learn how to really make the company work in terms of diagraming the whole business process.

It never hurts to learn some Finance too. But Finance generally deals with investments. I know a bunch of Uni's that combine Acct. and Finance. I'm a corporate Finance major myself :D

oh, and Krazy Desi- you got the two backwards. Accountant make the statements, and Financial Analysts do the financial portfolios, loan, and investments. :D

[Aurovon]

I have not tried accounting yet, I hope I don't hate it. :p

Accounting Information Systems? I don't remember any uni's in US providing that major, just accounting. Although there is Management Information Systems.

[$H@MZ]

I have not tried accounting yet, I hope I don't hate it. :p

Accounting Information Systems? I don't remember any uni's in US providing that major, just accounting. Although there is Management Information Systems.

Accouting is not as easy as it sounds and it goes a lot deeper than just making balane sheets and p/l accounts.. I should know i have been studying it for the past 3years...

But its so boring! I agree with the gal above... managerial accountng is the way to go! Or even business management would be good.

Finance is more concerned with mathematics and business studies and comes in handy when you are going to make money decisions for a company ie investments and stuf..

[HiGHland~Heather]

Im from Tech background, but my understanding if you want to work big corp. and travel abroad and make lots of moeny working for someone else then Finance is the way to go, then branch into investment banking.

To open your own business, here in the UK u need to be ICAS or ACCA accredited Accountant -- I don't think a Management Accountant acan ever run a busines on his/her license? not too sure.

I opted for the former and my sister the latter, since it fit in with our long-term career goals.

[ewwwww]

Finance

[Aurovon]

Accouting is not as easy as it sounds and it goes a lot deeper than just making balane sheets and p/l accounts.. I should know i have been studying it for the past 3years...

But its so boring! I agree with the gal above... managerial accountng is the way to go! Or even business management would be good.

Finance is more concerned with mathematics and business studies and comes in handy when you are going to make money decisions for a company ie investments and stuf..

I bet it's not easy, but I've heard the math does not go further than basic calculus?

[$H@MZ]

I bet it's not easy, but I've heard the math does not go further than basic calculus?

oh my goodness how wrong are you. It takes calculus to another level and introduces how maths would work in the real world and the business world. It goes into matrices and concentrates heavily on statistics with some mechanics as well!

[alphaPAKI]

they are both crucial fields of business and worthwhile to learn

but for entrepeneurial purposes and business startup, accounting is more about keeping track of whats already happened whereas finance is more forward looking if you get what im saying, i think finance would be more pertinent since it teaches you how to effectively use your money and make decisions to maximize your return

go with what you prefer though

[alphaPAKI]

I bet it's not easy, but I've heard the math does not go further than basic calculus?
i had to take a linear algebra class and a calculus class which were for engineering majors, as well as 2 statistics classes for math majors as a requirement for my degree, the math isnt as simple as you think, but it also depends on what school you go to

[Brown Siren]

I have not tried accounting yet, I hope I don't hate it. :p

Accounting Information Systems? I don't remember any uni's in US providing that major, just accounting. Although there is Management Information Systems.

Hmm, thats interesting... San Jose State Uni College of Business and San Francisco State provides AIS as well as Corporate Finance- the latter is not a very common major since it infuses Accounting and Finance.

[Aurovon]

oh my goodness how wrong are you. It takes calculus to another level and introduces how maths would work in the real world and the business world. It goes into matrices and concentrates heavily on statistics with some mechanics as well!

Damn, nevermind then. I guess I'll take courses in both and see what I can handle.

[Aurovon]

they are both crucial fields of business and worthwhile to learn

but for entrepeneurial purposes and business startup, accounting is more about keeping track of whats already happened whereas finance is more forward looking if you get what im saying, i think finance would be more pertinent since it teaches you how to effectively use your money and make decisions to maximize your return

go with what you prefer though

i had to take a linear algebra class and a calculus class which were for engineering majors, as well as 2 statistics classes for math majors as a requirement for my degree, the math isnt as simple as you think, but it also depends on what school you go to

Yeah, I really don't know since I have not taken courses in either field. I'll just have to find out for myself.

[selina_786]

they are both crucial fields of business and worthwhile to learn

but for entrepeneurial purposes and business startup, accounting is more about keeping track of whats already happened whereas finance is more forward looking if you get what im saying, i think finance would be more pertinent since it teaches you how to effectively use your money and make decisions to maximize your return

go with what you prefer thoughYea thats 'only' financial accounting.

You ignored management accounting which moreso concentrates on making predictions for the 'future' from actual and, predicted results from the past.. It's more forward looking too, is it not?

[MolviCorleone]

Management Science and Information Systems is wheres its at.

Best of both worlds.

[reckless_4ever]

hey i think u should pursue accouting if u think u have difficulty in math n calculas area cuz finance requires a lot of algebra problems tho lot of modern devices like financial calculators have made it easy......

i c a lot of ppl in my finance class struggle with algebra n calculas related problems..... i took a lot of math (cal 1, cal 2, cal 3, differential equations, discrete maths) before i changed my major to finance.....

and for u looking at the above math courses ....kool it, they were ok......

[reaz]

hey i think u should pursue accouting if u think u have difficulty in math n calculas area cuz finance requires a lot of algebra problems tho lot of modern devices like financial calculators have made it easy......

i c a lot of ppl in my finance class struggle with algebra n calculas related problems..... i took a lot of math (cal 1, cal 2, cal 3, differential equations, discrete maths) before i changed my major to finance.....

and for u looking at the above math courses ....kool it, they were ok......

ex engineering student?

[dandiwal_jatt]

fuk i hate UCSD, it neither has finance as a major nor has Accounting nor that Accounting Information Systems major



i am thinking of majoring in Economics right now, but also study for the CPA exams side by side

[dandiwal_jatt]

ok seriously guys is there ANY chance of me breaking into investment banking w/ a undergrad from UCSD? like if i get the degree w/ honors and stuff and high GPA?

[RacingSoul]

If you want to suceed in the business world/work abroad or start your own independent company, which path do you think one should pursue? In other words, which one do you believe will have the upper hand in learning about the fundamentals of how a business runs, etc?

I believe Accounting seems like it has the upper hand, but maybe others might view it differently?

business management? :dunno:

[paulie walnuts]

ok seriously guys is there ANY chance of me breaking into investment banking w/ a undergrad from UCSD? like if i get the degree w/ honors and stuff and high GPA?no.

(honestly)

[dandiwal_jatt]

no.

(honestly)
fuck :mad:

really man?? :neutral:

what if i get gud gpa and other stuff in my first two years at UCSD, and i am able to transfer to say UCLA or UCB??

[lagaan]

to run an independent business, accounting is the way to go. if working for a big corporation / going into investment banking (such as Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, GS, etc.), go with finance.

[paulie walnuts]

fuck :mad:

really man?? :neutral:

what if i get gud gpa and other stuff in my first two years at UCSD, and i am able to transfer to say UCLA or UCB??if you got into berkeley's undergrad business school and did well, you would certainly be able to get a banking job.

realistically, i-banks almost exclusively recruit:

a) grads from top 10 business schools
b) econ (or other relevant) majors from ivy league schools

[Felonius Monk]

The quant guys they recruit can come from a pretty broad range of disciplines though. I know a couple of physics phds working in i-banks now. Anything highly mathematical makes the cut I suppose.

[paulie walnuts]

The quant guys they recruit can come from a pretty broad range of disciplines though. I know a couple of physics phds working in i-banks now. Anything highly mathematical makes the cut I suppose.yeah, that's true....quant recruits are from a different arena entirely. but even in the standard analyst track there are exceptions. my cousin did something totally crazy like japanese lit and took a junior analyst position at GS (granted, it was still a princeton degree and she probably had near a 4.0).

there are a lot of different positions within the bulge-bracket i-banks...but no matter how you cut it, the recruits are generally going to be top of the barrel material.

[RoMeO6969]

accounting has more oppertunites for not only jobs but sets u up for a better lifestyle as it opens up more doors

[sameer]

finance itself is a means to an end in itself. ie you can get rich off doing finance.

accounting is typically just a tool.

but i doubt you'd be able to make a career in finance so go for accounting?

[nikefc7]

first step to getting anywhere is stop smoking weed!

[reckless_4ever]

ex engineering student?
yeah........shud i assume u r also an ex-engineering student??

[nazimhamed]

Accounting definately.

You work with business leaders, entrepreneurs, SME's day in day out. You work with thriving, and struggling businesses, so you get an insight into what makes a business succeed, as well as where the pitfalls lie.

I'd like to work in practice, the main aim of it being to provide me with a knowledge and experience base, upon which I can build up my own successful business.

[Rohitbt]

Yeh i believe u need accounting if ur jus startin off. Like if ur runnin a business; entrepreneurship; then accoutnin isd key since u learn how to
organize and control ur assets. Finance gives u a better perspective on
how to run more effiecient as well as establishin urself well in the stock
markets. it also goes indepth into how to manage ur accounts to better suit
u in the future. Accountin is more the principles of business and the
foundation to run a business.

[reaz]

yeah........shud i assume u r also an ex-engineering student??

no i am an engineering ex student. i graduated with my engineering degree.

[BaByGirL24]

banging..

[RoMeO6969]

Yeh i believe u need accounting if ur jus startin off. Like if ur runnin a business; entrepreneurship; then accoutnin isd key since u learn how to
organize and control ur assets. Finance gives u a better perspective on
how to run more effiecient as well as establishin urself well in the stock
markets. it also goes indepth into how to manage ur accounts to better suit
u in the future. Accountin is more the principles of business and the
foundation to run a business.
i agree with u there

owning a buisness u need to learn how to make and keep the books and how to effectivly work with them, finance also helps out a bit but accounting is the corner stone of a buisness

[SKYHIGH]

Accounting has nothing to do with starting up a business. It requires your entrepreneurial skills. You have to know how to manage the resources. What accountants do, they just compile history and report on that. That’s it. On the other hand finance is all about interest. Just take the interest out the bubble of capitalism and finance will burst. Guys don’t let the Fed control the market merely changing the interest rate. Keep markets open, the independent sources i.e. demand and supply will determine the real price or equilibrium, either this equilibrium (balance) is of for employment, price, or justice. Let the freedom prevail leave the market open free of any interest rate hike and hawkish comments of Fed’s big B. However, in short, accounting is all about history, nothing else, and finance is all about interest. The real value is in your skill to manage resources. If you have an idea and you can put that idea into workable and marketable solution then you are the one who doesn’t need any advise from people like us (surly I don’t know nothing).

[Smartchild]

Acc. i think. but i would go for Acc. + Fin. lol.

[m0narch]

i still dont get it

what is finance about?

[bender]

i still dont get it

what is finance about?

Finance is concerned with the cash part of a business while acccounting is concerned with the profits. So, with finance you are dealing more with how to invest and grow the cash of the company, evaluating projects, determing the proper rate of return etc...

[urbannomad23]

Finance is concerned with the cash part of a business while acccounting is concerned with the profits. So, with finance you are dealing more with how to invest and grow the cash of the company, evaluating projects, determing the proper rate of return etc...


werd!

and plus, accounting is just working the books, so everything pans out. with acct you have better job security, and with finance there is more return on profit.

[m0narch]

thanks bender and urban