Are numbers and calculations your thing? With an accounting and finance degree you will get to see how effective companies spend their money, how they optimise their Cashflow, and how you can contribute to that. Let us guide you through then!

Accounting and Finance.

What is Accounting and Finance?

An Accounting and Finance degree will not only teach you about money and how to control it, but also about management, business, and the relationship among these three things.

There is a slight difference between accounting and finance. Accounting focuses more on precautions within a business by doing information analyses. These analyses will clear up the financial problems and solutions.

Finance is related to management and its funds. Although they differ a little bit from each other, there are aspects that include both.

Why Should You Study Accounting and Finance?

1. Wide range of employment

An Accounting and Finance degree is pretty much the same everywhere. You get to learn the same things no matter what school you attend, because it is all about numbers and calculations. If you work in a company – any company, industry or sector for that matter – it will be easy for you to apply your knowledge and theories because you don’t have to work in a particular company to practice what you have been learning. You can also work for a retail shop, a magazine, or a launderette.

2. Everyone needs accountants

Money is what keeps the economy growing. Every business needs to know what their revenue, losses, costs, and investments are. As a businessman or businesswoman you do not have the time (or the financial skills) to keep track of your cash flow, so you have to let someone else do it for you, someone who spent their education learning about it.

3. Career diversity

Studying this degree does not necessarily mean you have to be an accountant. With this degree you can also get to work as a tax consultant, a budget analyst, an auditor, or a financial director.

What Skills do You Need?

A. Organisational Skills

Accountants are very busy people. They have a lot of responsibilities to manage. All those companies you have to work for have different cash flows and are from different sectors, so it can get very confusing. You as an accountant or financial employer, need to organise your work by using tools such as agendas, calendars, and programmes that can help you stay organised.

B. Communication

Having math skills and being good with numbers is not all that is required from you. Your communication skills need to be excellent, no matter what job you have or what sector you work in. It will help you with the interaction between your clients, your boss, and your team. Having good communication skills will also be useful for networking, and that could get you even more clients.

C. Leadership

A leader is someone who will guide you through your career. They are the role models of a company, and they make themselves approachable. As a leader you also have to be a visionary to foresee the future and see what solutions it can bring. In order to do that, your skills in strategic thinking need to be good as well.

D. Decision-making Skills

With this degree, a lot of analysing and information digging will happen. You will find out about where the losses come from, what revenues are the highest in what months, and how a company can optimise their return on investments (ROI). You might need to decide how a company can reduce costs or how to improve their ROI.

Key skills in Accounting and finance.

What are the Job Opportunities?

1. Accountancy

Accountants manage financial data such as liabilities, profits and losses, and assets. They will analyse these records and prepare a report. They also prepare accounts and tax returns. Accountants could work for a private firm, a professional accountancy firm, industrial organisations, or for governmental bodies.

2. Banking

A lot of people do not know how to handle their income and savings. They like to spend money not knowing what the future will bring them. Bankers are responsible for helping these clients to manage their money and to balance their income and expenses.

3. Financial Controller

A Financial Controller undertakes all aspects of financial management. They will be writing financial reports, prepare budgets, establish and maintain internal controls, and oversee tax compliance.

4. Tax Consultancy

A Tax Consultant works for public accounting firms, law offices, or financial consulting firms. They collect information for the client to prepare the return. Once they have done that, they will help them to file it. Taxes can be very complicated, so it is also their responsibility to explain tax issues to their clients.

5. Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Chief Financial Officers oversee their companies’ financial operations. The CFO is responsible for the administrative, financial, and risk management of the company. Their responsibilities include formulating the company’s future direction, developing financial and tax strategies, provide leadership in the accounting and budget efforts of the company, and develop internal control policies.