Accounting vs. Finance

Accounting and finance sit side by side in most business schools, share a few courses and are often confused. They are different fields with different training, and a school can offer either one, both as separate degrees, or a single combined program. This guide explains how the two are defined, how they overlap, and what to check before you assume a program covers the one you want.

How the two fields are defined

The federal Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics, gives each field its own code. Its definition of Accounting (52.0301) describes a program that prepares individuals to practice the profession of accounting. Instruction includes financial accounting, managerial accounting, cost accounting, tax accounting, auditing, reporting procedures, statement analysis, accounting research methods and professional standards and ethics.

Finance, General (52.0801) is defined as a program that generally prepares individuals to plan, manage and analyze the financial and monetary aspects and performance of business enterprises, banking institutions or other organizations. Its listed instruction includes financial instruments, capital planning, funds acquisition, asset and debt management, budgeting, financial analysis, and investments and portfolio management.

Read side by side, the pattern is simple. Accounting is organized around recording, reporting, verifying and taxing financial activity. Finance is organized around deciding how money is raised, invested and managed. Finance's own definition lists "principles of accounting" as one topic, which is why finance students take some accounting; the reverse is not built into the accounting definition.

Where the fields overlap

The CIP also has a code for programs that combine the two. Accounting and Finance (52.0304) is defined as an integrated or combined program that prepares individuals to function as accountants and financial managers or analysts. A program under that heading is a blend, not a version of one field with the other's name attached.

Schools handle the overlap in different ways, and the examples below come from the program catalogs in our research data:

• Bentley University lists Corporate Finance and Accounting as a Bachelor of Science major, described as an 11-course major jointly offered and delivered by its Accounting and Finance departments. It is a separate major from Bentley's Accounting major. (program page)
• Wilmington University offers an Accounting and Finance (Integrated Degree), Bachelor of Science, which its curriculum page says integrates both disciplines with a selected flow of courses. The research record for this program notes that it does not require the advanced accounting courses typically needed for CPA candidates, although they can be added. (program page)
• Bryant University lists a Managerial Accounting and Finance concentration inside its Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, which the school describes as background for the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification. (program page)

These are three different structures: a joint major, an integrated degree and a concentration. Our directory treats a degree title, a major and a concentration as different things, and you will see that distinction on each program page.

Why the difference matters for licensing

The clearest practical difference is professional licensing. According to NASBA, a CPA is a certified public accountant licensed by a state board of accountancy, and earning the license requires meeting educational standards, passing the CPA exam and completing a specific amount of general accounting experience. Licensing is set by each jurisdiction, so the details depend on where you plan to practice.

Finance has no comparable single license that the degree leads to, though finance careers often involve other credentials issued by separate bodies. If CPA licensure is a possibility for you, accounting coursework is the part to examine closely, and you should confirm the current requirements with the state board of accountancy in the state where you intend to be licensed. A combined accounting and finance degree may or may not include the accounting courses a given board looks for, as the Wilmington example shows. Read the course list, not only the title.

A school statement that a program supports CPA preparation does not establish eligibility for every applicant in every state. Education, the exam, experience and other requirements are separate steps. Our guide on accounting degrees and CPA requirements walks through them.

How to tell which field a program really is

The words in a title are a starting point. A few checks separate an accounting program from a finance or blended one:

1. Read the course list. Look for intermediate accounting, auditing and taxation courses (accounting) versus corporate finance, investments and portfolio management (finance).
2. Check the credit split. In a combined program, count how many credits fall on each side.
3. Look at the award name. "Bachelor of Science in Accounting" and "Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Finance concentration" are structurally different programs.
4. Ask who teaches it. A program delivered by an accounting department differs from one delivered by a finance department, as in Bentley's joint offering.

Our directory lists only programs where accounting is the subject of the degree or of a named concentration or major. Programs that are mainly finance are outside its scope, while combined accounting and finance programs appear under accounting and finance. You can filter for programs whose degree title is accounting with dedicated programs, or see accounting inside a broader business degree with concentrations.

Choosing between them

There is no ranking of the two fields, and neither is a better degree in general. A practical way to decide:

• If you want to prepare for CPA licensure, audit work, tax work or financial reporting, start with accounting programs and verify the accounting course requirements for your state.
• If you are drawn to investing, banking, corporate financial planning or risk, finance programs fit that direction better.
• If you want both, a combined or joint program can work, but check which accounting courses it includes and whether you can add more.
• If you are undecided, a business-administration degree with an accounting concentration keeps options open, though it is a different structure from a dedicated accounting degree. Our guide to BA, BS and BBA degrees in accounting explains that difference.

Browse the full program directory and read how listings are verified on the methodology page.