10 Best Universities for Accounting and Finance in the World in 2024
Accounting and finance are unique courses to study at the university. You can study accounting at almost every university in the world, but what are the top universities for accounting and finance in 2024?
Career Opportunities in Accounting and Finance
Career opportunities in accounting and finance include roles such as:
- Financial Analyst: The job of a financial analyst includes analyzing financial data, preparing reports, and providing insights to support decision-making.
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA): A CPA provides accounting and auditing services, tax planning, and financial consulting.
- Forensic Accountant: A forensic accountant is in charge of Investigating financial discrepancies and fraud, often working with law enforcement.
- Internal Auditor: They evaluate and improve organizations' internal controls and risk management processes.
- Financial Planner: Planning is an essential part of every business. Therefore, financial planners are responsible for helping individuals and businesses plan for their financial future, including investments and retirement.
- Management Accountant: The decisions of a business today can have an impact in the next 10 years. Management accountants provide financial information for internal decision-making within an organization.
- Risk Analyst: Business owners face different kinds of risks on a daily basis. Risk analysts assess potential financial risks and develop strategies to mitigate them.
- Treasury Analyst: Big organizations hire treasury analysts. Their main role is to manage an organization's financial assets, liquidity, and risk.
- Financial Controller: The role of a financial controller includes overseeing financial reporting, compliance, and budgeting within a company.
- Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Analyst: They are in charge of evaluating potential mergers, acquisitions, or divestitures, including financial due diligence.
10 Best Universities to Study Accounting and Finance
The top 10 universities for accounting and finance in the world in 2024 is dominated by the US and UK, but also feature two Australian entries.
Find out more about the strengths and specializations of each of these top universities for accounting and finance degrees in the world.
1. Harvard University
Harvard University is the number one on our list of the top universities for accounting and finance in the world. In fact, it is the best in the world and well respected across many different subject areas. It’s ranked number one in 10 out of the 30 subjects covered in the 2022 QS World University Rankings by Subject.
But the prestigious Harvard Business School is undoubtedly among the university’s most famous schools. Research at the school’s accounting and management research unit currently focuses on the use of performance measurement systems to help businesses communicate with external investors, improve resource allocation and strategy, and build accountability.
2. The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Specializing in social sciences, LSE ranks highly across these subjects; for example, it’s also currently ranked second for politics and international studies. LSE’s Department of Accounting offers BSc, MSc, diploma, and PhD programs and has identified three key strands of research: regulation, financial reporting, and auditing; the economics of accounting; and the organizational and strategic aspects of accounting.
3. University of Oxford
The University of Oxford doesn’t have an undergraduate course specifically in accounting and/or finance, though these subjects are available within the economics and management degree. It offers several different masters programs in finance, either singly or in combination with a second subject, and its Saïd Business School is home to internationally renowned research groups focusing on both accounting and finance.
4. University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge doesn’t teach any undergraduate courses specifically in accounting and finance, though these subjects may be covered in other programs. It does offer several MPhil programs in finance. The university’s finance and accounting research group, based at the Judge Business School, focuses on business finance, financial policy, empirical corporate finance, investment management, financial reporting, and stock markets.
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
MIT, currently number one in the overall QS World University Rankings, also has its own world-renowned business school, the MIT Sloan School of Management. Again, the university’s accounting and finance programs are concentrated at the graduate level, with research groups dedicated to both fields. Relevant research centers include the Laboratory for Financial Engineering, the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, and the MIT Center for Digital Business.
6. Stanford University
Stanford’s business school is quite simply called the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Accounting research at the school currently focuses on issues relating to financial reporting and management control, including accounting-based valuation strategies and the design of performance measurement and incentive systems. Meanwhile, major topics for finance research at Stanford include asset pricing and corporate finance, including the analysis of investment decisions.
7. University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne offers accounting and finance programs from undergraduate level (as part of a Bachelor of Commerce) up to PhD, mainly through the Melbourne Business School. The Department of Accounting focuses on financial accounting, managerial accounting, auditing, and assurance services. Major topics at the Department of Finance include capital markets and financial institutions, investments and financial planning, corporate finance, and real estate finance.
8. University of California, Berkeley (UC BERKELEY)
Berkeley’s Has School of Business teaches courses in accounting and finance at the undergraduate level, as well as offering PhD and MBA programs. Research in these fields is based at the Center for Financial Reporting and Management, with specializations including financial reporting, financial statement analysis, managerial accounting, and managerial performance evaluation.
9. University of Sydney
At the University of Sydney Business School, which again teaches courses from undergraduate up to PhD level, current research in accounting covers areas such as international accounting, public sector accounting, corporate responses to accounting regulation, accounting for intellectual capital, and accountability. Meanwhile, the finance department’s major areas of focus are security market microstructure and corporate finance.
10. University of Chicago
Finally, the University of Chicago’s accounting and finance faculty are based at its Booth School of Business, which offers PhD and MBA programs. Relevant research interests include external financial reporting and disclosure issues, securities regulation, international financial reporting, and the role of accounting in contracting.
Conclusion: 10 Best Universities for Accounting and Finance
The top universities for accounting and finance in the world are Harvard University, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), the University of Cambridge, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Stanford University, University of Melbourne, the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), the University of Sydney, and the University of Chicago.
Additionally, there are several top accounting schools in Texas that are worth considering. These institutions offer affordable tuition rates and use modern accounting and finance curricula to ensure that students are up-to-date with the latest industry trends.
For people asking, "Where is the best place to study accounting and finance?", I believe that this article has answered your question. So what are you waiting for?
Get your study documents ready, along with your travel documents if you are an international student. You can also read our article on how to get an accounting internship to help you start your accounting career on the right track.
