<p>If you wanted to be an accountant would you have to go to an undergrad business school, or could you be an econ major and get on the job training?</p>
<p>Essentially, no.</p>
<p>If you're looking to go into public accounting (which is the most likely case), most firms will not consider hiring you unless you are elligible to sit for the CPA exam, which requires (in almost every state) 150 credit hours of education and, essentially, either an undergradaute degree in accounting (or business with a concentration in accounting) or a MAcc. You can get an economics degree and sit for the exam if you also take the required accounting courses, however, it makes more sense to just get a business/accounting degree.</p>