Which is harder accounting or finance?

Question

I'm a senior in high school and I'm sure I want to be in the business field. I'm good at math but not great. I hear accounting is really boring, tedious, and requires some serious math skills. What type of math is used is accounting and finance. Which should I major in, accounting or finance?

Answer 1

This is funny because I started out studying to go into accounting, got boarded and went into engineering.



I recommend finance for several reasons:

1) A finance focus is usually a better path to investment banking, venture capital, and M&A work. Those areas are far more interesting and lucrative than accounting.

2) Finance is more about business theory than reality. Accounting is all about the numbers.

3) The career path in finance is usually faster than accounting. If you start as an accounting clerk, you're likely to grow slowly into management. In finance, you can work as part of an M&A team, mention some good option to the leader, and you'll be fast-tracked as a result.



I hope this helps.

Answer 2

The difficulty level is hugely influenced by the school you attend. Another factor is how much you enjoy the material.



Assuming you are smart enough to be successful in either course of study, instead of choosing the field to study, consider what you want to do after you graduate. If you want to be a serious player in either field, you have to go beyond the B.S. For accounting, you need that fifth year so you can sit for the C.P.A. exam. That's a tough one; most people have to retake at least part of it before they pass. For finance, an MBA would serve you well.



Do you want to work for a consulting or accounting firm? Or would you rather work for a large company that is the consumer of the services from these firms. In a consulting or accounting firm, you will learn a lot in the first few years on the job. You will also work very hard, many hours. If you are successful, though, many career opportunities will be available to you.



Finally, what are your ambitions. Do you want to be a senior executive, work 60 hours a week, get fired a few times in your life, and make lots of money? Or would you rather a steady, dependable job where you get your weekends off, don't have to think about work when you are off, but still feel a sense of success and professional satisfaction in your work? (No wrong answer here, but it is good to be honest with yourself about this.)



Oh, one last thought. You don't have to make a decision right now. If your grades are good, and you have the option to attend a competitive school, start in finance, if you can. Then, after you have taken a couple of courses in each area, it will be easy to switch to accounting if that is what you want.



Good luck!

Answer 3

I am in my third semester of a degree in Accounting and I just started my first finance course - Financial Management. So far I have taken Principles of Accounting I, Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, and Intermediate Accounting I - and I have gotten nothing but A s in each accounting course! But honestly, from my point of view, Finance is SO HARD! I totally hate this course and do not understand all the symbols. OMG, Accounting is so much easier I think.

Answer 4

Accounting is less complicated, i think of. i'm in my third semester of procuring my buddies in Accounting. I actually are transforming into right this moment A's in all my accounting courses - concepts of Accounting I; economic Accounting; Managerial Accounting; and Intermediate Accounting I. i'm now doing economic administration and it is so problematic! The equations in Finance are 10x harder than Accounting. i do no longer understand each and every of the symbols - you may no longer use a generic calculator yet would desire to discover ways to apply a Finance Calculator.

Answer 5

Accounting is definitely not about serious math. It only involves basic skills in addition, multiplication, subtraction and division. What matters most in accounting is your good analysis. Thats where the answer lies.. how good are you at analysis? if you're fairly good in it, you can land to accounting but needs improvement. Generally, finance has a broader scope than accounting. Finance deals with budget, more on the management side, projection and other non-statistical datas. Finance deals with what has to be done, accounting deals what has been done.

Answer 6

accounting is harder