# What is better Major in Accounting or Major in Finance?



## SkyFall (Jun 19, 2012)

I was wondering whats better if I want a career in the financial world, nothing specific maybe IB or something else but whats better? I talk with someone and he told me everything returns to accounting, and he told me in most of the big firm the big guy has all their accounting degree and certification because accounting guys can do financial guys job but not the opposite


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## Max (Apr 4, 2009)

I have had bright and clueless colleagues from either camp. I think the degree is not really that important, but just a matter of preference in terms of where you want to go.

Finance seems to pay better, but the scope of their development is much more limited. From talking with finance majors, its a highly competitive class environment where everyone thinks they are Gordon Gecko Jr. If you want to succeed in finance, you almost certainly have to combine finance degree with an MBA, and get into a position with growth prospects right away rather than languish somewhere vaguely related with your discipline hoping to build up experience (in other words, you want to be in the corporate back office of the bank, not in the retail investment advisor position).

Accounting majors seem to have very rigid thinking molded by years of taking tests that measure whether you memorized and followed a huge number of accounting and tax rules precisely. Depending on personality type, they can follow pretty diverse development paths as they gain experience, but you will probably not move outside of traditional auditor or corporate accounting roles until 5-10 or more years into your career.

Personally, I got my accounting degree, began as a cost accountant, shortly after transferred into treasury, and am just now moving back to cost accounting having kept close ties with accounting throughout my career. In my opinion, the type of work you I did in finance carries more responsibility. However, my career may not be representative of the entire discipline of accounting/finance.


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## Robillard (Apr 11, 2009)

It really depends on what you want to do in the finance industry. Also, it is possible to learn the material to work in the investment industry after you graduate, whereas I think it's harder to become an accountant if you didn't study accounting in unversity. 

I studied finance and economics in university, and 6-years after graduating and after earning my CFA charter, I'm not managing anyone's money. However, I am working for a financial institution's tax department. It's sort of a weird outcome, but I'm doing pretty well for myself. You don't necessarily need to be a money manager or an investment banker to make decent money with a accounting or finance education. There are finance-related jobs in risk management, asset & liability management, and treasury that aren't necessaily accounting-related. That being said, it's hard to go wrong with an accounting education. In retrospect, I shouldn't have been drawn by the glamour of finance and turned off the possibility of studying accounting in university.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Well....if you want to work in IB, I personally think a Finance degree is marginally more useful than an Accounting degree. However (I work in private wealth management, but do not manage money) it seems to me that employees live and die by their credentials here. The most sought-after degrees would be the MBA but no one is getting anywhere without a CFA. A Masters' of Finance is useful and I think is edging out the MBA but in general an advanced degree plus the CFA charter are required, full stop.


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## Square Root (Jan 30, 2010)

I would echo Max's comment. i have all of the degrees/designations discussed and have worked with people who had them as well. There are many paths to success but if I were to do it now, I would (as MG said) go for post grad degree in finance or risk management. You may want to pick up a CA (soon to be CPA) which takes about 3 years and is very useful. You could then get a job in financial services, after which you can work on your CFA. Actually, thats not much different from what I did 35 years ago.


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## Ethan (Aug 8, 2010)

I don't think the distinction between finance and accounting in your undergrad is overly important, your undergrad just gets your foot in the door. Depending on how your university is structured, you could get a double major. The university I went to doesn't offer double majors but also doesn't restrict what electives you choose, so I declared myself a finance major but took all the requisite accounting classes to do an accounting designation. When I started applying for jobs in my final semester, I found out that there are 100 CFA charterholders in my province, vs. nearly 3,000 CA's. Consequently, most employers were looking for accounting designations, with a CFA being a bonus. So I went to a firm and got my CA designation last year. I'm considering pursuing my CFA, but that is dependent on my next job. I've always been about getting the experience/education to land the job I wanted, then looking at what further education could get me to the next level. I've seen too many people focus on the education at the expense of experience, resulting in them being very educated yet unemployed. It's difficult to land a job as an MBA with no experience (how can you be a "master" of business if you haven't worked in business?)

The moral of my story is to focus on getting the job first and line up your education later. Do coop or internship programs while in university, and start your career before advancing to a professional designation or masters degree.


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## Square Root (Jan 30, 2010)

Agree that getting a job is the most important factor. That is why getting your CA works so well. You can't get a CA without working for a CA firm. This initial job experience will make it much easier to get subsequent jobs.


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## Feruk (Aug 15, 2012)

Finance then onto your CFA if you want to work at a company like IB. Looking from an outside perspective (I work as neither), I've got friends with both degrees across different industries. What I've found is the finance guys typically make more and like their jobs a lot more.


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## Max (Apr 4, 2009)

Definitely agree with Ethan's comment about too many people focusing on the education instead of the experience. I have seen people actually try to hide their MBA from their resume while they are applying for entry level jobs, since employers know that they will have huge expectations in salary and have huge egos, but will still require lots of training to get them up to speed with what happens in the real world.

In my case, I was top of my business class, just won the world championship for a business strategy competition, won our classroom stock market challenge, and got hired straight after that. I imagine how bloated my head was coming into the job. What did I end up doing the first week? Waiting.... Waiting for my computer, waiting for access to be assigned, waiting for someone to come tell me what to do. Finally I am given some tasks by my boss who shows me how it is done in a blur of key strokes and rapid paced instruction. Got it?. Oh yeah, I got it.... (I don't got it). I fumble my way through the report, and my boss is asking why I am so slow. Excuses, excuses. He comes over and sees that I am wasting a lot of time because my skill with Excel is very poor (I was a lot better than my classmates in school). Then the dreaded talk from my boss after the first review. We are expecting a big improvement. OK, message received (I actually got it this time). I start staying late. Every day from 9AM - at least 10PM (often later). I didn't miss a single day including weekends or holidays for months and didn't take a single day of vacation my first year. I studied everything and miracle of miracles I became good at my job. The first 2-3 years was pretty much long hours all the time. I never forgot that feeling of having my ego crushed. Of thinking I was a superstar and being shown that I knew next to nothing. It is a very good motivational kick in the ***. But nothing last forever. At the 5 year mark, I realized I had achieved something. Excellent performance reviews, good salary increase, things were looking pretty good. I started getting a little complacent. Then they ask if I want to switch jobs. For a moment, panic sets in, since I wonder if I am going to be any good at the new job, I wonder if I am up for all those nights of long hours again. Then I remember how bored I have been getting and that I have been complaining that I am not being challenged enough. So I take the new job, and again, I realize I am back at the start trying to learn new things. I realized after a while that this is how a good career goes again and again. Panic learning, maturity, complacency, and change.

The accounting degree gave me instincts, not knowledge. I knew what direction to look in order to find the right answer. I can barely remember most of the technical information I learned in school, but the important point is that you have proven you were able to study a number of diverse subjects under tight deadlines and become competent at them quickly when necessary. Its the ability to learn, not the content itself that matters.


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## SkyFall (Jun 19, 2012)

Wow I really appreciate all those wonderful answers guys! Thank You!


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## AGHFX (Aug 31, 2012)

Square Root said:


> You may want to pick up a CA (soon to be CPA) which takes about 3 years and is very useful.


+1 for promoting the CA/CPA but I thought I should clarify a couple facts. The CA (soon to be no more) takes 30 months to receive your designation (assuming you pass the UFE your first try and are able to complete your tax hours). The CPA will take exactly two years. I'm in university right now and am working co-ops with one of the big four. I will be the 2nd year to complete the CPA.


*Skyfall* - to answer your question, it really all depends on your interests. You can't generalize this question because if you're good at what you do, you'll make it far in either field. There may be more money to be made in the finance world but you basically eat what you kill and there's a lack of job security. If you're interested in accounting I highly recommend completing your CPA. There are 6 core competencies and then you pick two electives in which you will specialize: financial reporting, strategy and governance, management accounting, audit and assurance, finance, taxation. If you want to practice public accounting (like the traditional CA) you must specialize in audit and assurance and taxation. However, as you can see from the different competencies, you can specialize in finance.

I'm doing my Canadian Securities Course next fall and once I complete my CPA I plan on attaining my CFA. It's too early to say if I will be an auditor but I feel accounting is a much safer field where you can learn and practice finance as well.

The best way to test the water is to complete a degree with co-operative education. It has benefitted me and my colleagues immensely. If you're interested in learning more about the CPA I suggest you read the CICA's unification framework: http://cpacanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/CPA_Certification_Program.pdf


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## AGHFX (Aug 31, 2012)

Square Root said:


> Agree that getting a job is the most important factor. That is why getting your CA works so well. You can't get a CA without working for a CA firm. This initial job experience will make it much easier to get subsequent jobs.


I just read this after my first reply. You can now complete your CA/CPA with some companies in industry (industry meaning not an accounting firm). Irving, Sobey's, and Bell Aliant are three companies where you can complete the designation. If you work in industry the starting pay is higher than with one of the big four (by about $10,000) but you're locked into that salary for a good 5-7 years. If you can get with one of the big four you will start with a small salary but you receive frequent and large salary increases. Within 2-3 years (depending on performance) your salary will surpass that of someone in industry.


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## Square Root (Jan 30, 2010)

AGHFX said:


> I just read this after my first reply. You can now complete your CA/CPA with some companies in industry (industry meaning not an accounting firm). Irving, Sobey's, and Bell Aliant are three companies where you can complete the designation. If you work in industry the starting pay is higher than with one of the big four (by about $10,000) but you're locked into that salary for a good 5-7 years. If you can get with one of the big four you will start with a small salary but you receive frequent and large salary increases. Within 2-3 years (depending on performance) your salary will surpass that of someone in industry.


Interesting, I wasn't aware of that. Got mine a long time ago,(1977)


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## AGHFX (Aug 31, 2012)

Square Root said:


> Interesting, I wasn't aware of that. Got mine a long time ago,(1977)


It has only started a couple years ago. Some people prefer that environment but I've been told there isn't the same support going through ASCA or CASB or whatever part of the country you're in.


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## Ethan (Aug 8, 2010)

In Saskatchewan you can get your CA at Viterra, Cameco and BHP Billiton. There are likely other companies offering the CA program that I'm not aware of.


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