How does accounting differ from finance in the type of work students learn to do?
Accounting focuses on recording, classifying, checking, and reporting financial information, including preparing accounts, analysing transactions, and considering tax or audit controls. Finance focuses more on using financial information to make decisions about investment, funding, valuation, financial markets, and risk. The subjects overlap, but accounting is more concerned with reporting what has happened, while finance also examines future choices and outcomes.
Key points
- Accounting work may include bookkeeping systems, financial statements, budgeting, audit procedures, and regulatory reporting.
- Finance work may include financial modelling, investment analysis, company valuation, portfolio decisions, and risk assessment.
- Both areas use quantitative analysis, business knowledge, and financial data, and some courses combine them.
Things to check
- The balance between accounting and finance can vary by university, course structure, and country, so check the modules and practical assignments for the specific programme.