5 reasons to choose finance over accounting

It is a common myth that finance and accounting stem from the same domain of expertise—hence, choosing a degree in either subject would mean the same thing. While the former part of the earlier sentence is technically true, finance and accounting are very different streams. Depending on your career aspirations, choosing a degree in either subject can bring its own set of benefits and disadvantages.

Although finance and accounting are both excellent domains to start a career, there are distinct benefits of choosing a finance course over an accounting programme. Read this blog to learn more about the advantages of choosing a finance course over an accounting degree.

What are the advantages of pursuing a degree in finance?

Here are the different benefits of going for a financial career with a finance course rather than accounting.

  1. Greater diversity in career options: Since finance is a broader domain as compared to accounting, you can opt for a much wider range of career options than what would be available with an accounting degree. A finance degree can open the doors to streams like investment banking, corporate finance, equity research, financial management, business finance and risk management. On the other hand, an accounting degree can only lead to accounting and auditing roles in government and private institutions.
  2. Access to a wider range of academic programmes: The broadness of the finance domain also translates into a wider range of subjects and disciplines within the domain. Hence, you can have a wide variety of academic programmes and qualifications such as bachelor’s degree in finance or business management to choose from in the finance domain. There are only a handful of accounting disciplines to choose from if you opt for an accounting degree.
  3. Better work life balance: Finance graduates can expect roles with a work life balance that is much better than accounting roles. Career roles in accounting may require you to put in long hours and an enormous amount of focus and concentration. On the other hand, finance has several sub-domains like business management or economics which provide some room for flexibility.
  4. Better chances of switching career domains: Depending upon the chosen area of interest, finance offers multiple chances of career migration if you wish to switch career domains. Investment bankers can move to private equity, economists can migrate to debt management and corporate finance professionals can move to corporate law. On the other hand, accounting qualifications build more of industry-specific skills rather than transferable ones which makes it harder for accounting graduates to switch domains.
  5. More networking opportunities: Owing to the broadness of finance degrees, it is easy to meet people from other domains within your professional space. Hence, it can be much more feasible to expand your professional network with a finance degree rather than an accounting degree.

Choosing a finance degree can allow you to choose from a wide range of career options that offer benefits like exciting work and excellent pay. You should establish a successful business career with short finance course today.