Accounting Finance is a combo term people sometimes use to refer to both accounting and finance fields together, since they’re closely linked in business and money management.
But individually, they are:
- Accounting = Tracking, recording, and reporting money
- Finance = Planning, managing, and growing money
📊 Types of Accounting:
- Financial Accounting
- Focus: External reporting (e.g. to investors, regulators)
- Uses: Balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements
- Based on: Accounting standards like GAAP or IFRS
- Managerial Accounting
- Focus: Internal reporting (for business managers)
- Helps with: Budgeting, performance tracking, decision-making
- Cost Accounting
- Focus: Analyzing the costs of production or services
- Helps businesses reduce costs and increase profits
- Tax Accounting
- Focus: Tax returns, tax planning, compliance with tax laws
- Rules vary by country (IRS in the U.S., etc.)
- Auditing
- Focus: Reviewing financial records for accuracy and fraud
- Types: Internal audit (inside company) or external audit (by outsiders)
- Forensic Accounting
- Focus: Investigating fraud, legal disputes, and financial crimes
- Often used in court cases or insurance claims
💼 Types of Finance:
- Personal Finance
- Focus: Individuals and families managing their money
- Includes: Budgeting, saving, investing, retirement, loans
- Corporate Finance
- Focus: Companies managing their finances
- Involves: Capital structure, funding, risk management, dividends
- Public Finance
- Focus: Government revenue and expenditures
- Covers: Tax systems, public debt, government budgets
- Investment Finance
- Focus: Investing money in assets (stocks, bonds, etc.)
- Roles: Portfolio managers, investment bankers, analysts
- International Finance
- Focus: Financial operations across countries
- Deals with: Exchange rates, foreign investments, global markets