Debating between
Undergraduate in Accounting & Master’s in Accounting
or
Undergraduate in Finance & Master’s in Accounting
I want to in the long-run work as a financial manager or controller (possibly even CFO). Any advice?
Note: I will meet my state’s requirement for a CPA either way (total credit hours & total accounting credit hours).
This is a decision I will be making in the near future and I’m leaning towards undergrad finance and masters accounting. If you will meet state CPA requirements either way I would go for the finance undergrad as it is more varied and opens up more than an undergrad accounting in case you realize accounting is not for you.
I’ve actually heard the opposite, that most people say if you were to only get an undergrad, then you should get an accounting degree because an accounting degree can get you any finance job but a finance degree can’t get you any accounting job. Or that both degrees can get you to the same place but accounting is known to be harder therefore a 4.0 with an accounting degree is better than a 4.0 with a finance degree.
So would love to here from people to either support one or the other. I’m really curious of 3 things; will an accounting undergraduate degree make getting M.Acc easier (allow me more time to studying for the CPA exam), will a finance undergraduate degree improve my chances of getting a finance managerial type job, and which degree will give me the most opportunity to find a relevant part-time job while I go to graduate school?
I have heard differently. Accounting is known to be an easier major, mostly consisting of basic arithmetic. Finance, on the other hand, can get complex as the classes progress.
I would diversify your skillsets. Go for Finance undergrad. Since you have CFO aspirations, finance will prove to be more valuable to you.
Or if possible there is the option of going for a double major undergrad and majoring in finance and accounting.
@jvapor12 Definitely possible but in my opinion, the ROI is way too low.
@AnewCrown I swear the general consensus I’ve read on CC & other business forums is that accounting is the hardest business major. I think from a math standpoint, you’re absolutely right but there’s quite a bit of law that goes into accounting that makes it difficult.
If you want to try for an internship with an accounting firm (most of which lead to full time jobs) the summer before you start your grad degree than accounting would be a better option for your undergrad major. Otherwise it won’t really matter.