Although there are hundreds of career paths graduates of Accounting, Finance and Economics degrees can take, we thought we would focus on one job per course to give you a little taste of your options after you graduate.
Accountant
Related degrees: Accounting and Finance
As a personal accountant, your job would be to manage the accounts of individuals, either independently or as part of an accounting firm. You’ll monitor your clients’ spending and savings, ensuring they are paying their taxes correctly and preparing for their retirement.
As a business accountant, you’ll be doing all of the above but on a corporate scale. Businesses have a lot of different internal accounts (marketing may have a separate account to manufacturing, and so on), so companies want in-house accountants to stay on top of everything, working alongside colleagues in finance to make sure everything is running smoothly.
Finance Manager
Related degrees: Business Finance
If accountants are concerned with the money being spent, finance managers are concerned with the money that will be spent. Tasked with providing advice for their businesses on future financial opportunities and risks, finance managers need to have great analytical skills.
Finance managers are also in charge of compliance with the law – corporate finance is a highly regulated area, so constant checks are needed to ensure a business is operating correctly.
Business at BCU
View our business courses.
Economist
Related degree: Economics
The most obvious career path for an Economics graduate, an economist is interested in analysing resources, processes and outcomes on a large scale.
For example, an economist who works for a local council could analyse the amount of money and resources spent on a project, and forecast how successful the project will be long-term. They could estimate how much a new row of shops will cost - in terms of resources, labour hours and investment needed - and predict the return on investment over the first five years, be that how much profit it could make, impact on the local economy, and so on.
Investment Analyst
Related degrees: Finance and Investment
Investment analysts look into the viability of corporate investment. They inform the people or businesses they work for if an investment opportunity is right or wrong based on their own research.
Investment analysts investigate things such as market forecasts and financial histories to put together a report for fund managers in charge of corporate investment. It requires good financial knowledge and a keen eye for detail.
Risk analyst
Related degree: Economics
In uncertain economic times, companies become more cautious in their business dealings. They want to make sure every decision they make is the best for everyone involved. That is where risk analysts come in.
Risk analysts will be tasked with exploring every outcome of a potential business decision, and take into account multiple factors from financial implications to the impact on public perception.