Degrees in finance and accounting are less about keeping track of numbers and more about using financial data to make informed and wise business decisions. Financial degrees first and foremost prepare a graduate to become a valuable part of a team of professionals that runs businesses ethically and minimizes risk through the practice of wise financial principles. Finance majors learn to help guide businesses in making merger and acquisition proposals or evaluating the profitability of a new product or service.
Many finance degrees are targeted to an individual industry. For example, a degree in business administrative technology / finance is a bachelor's level diploma in finance. This degree focuses on the use of financial decision-making tools when applied to technology fields. Technology-based businesses face specific decision-making challenges that often involve high costs of product development and a short time window during which a specific technology would be useful to buyers. Finance majors in these fields help companies considered technological decisions through the lens of business financing.
Two highly sought after diploma courses in finance are bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration / finance. Although the diploma courses are found in the business-administration fields, the degrees are designed for those looking to hone their business-administration skills and learn how financial decision-making and financial management are important aspects of a successful business. Students pursuing these degrees learn about personal finance, risk management, real estate financial management and financial modeling, as well as how each of these fields affects business administration.
An MBA in finance and financial management prepares the graduate to slide into the chair of a chief financial officer or financial controller for a business enterprise. An MBA in finance is for those who excel in making charts and reports and evaluating financial data to determine the long-term affect on a company's health. An organization's CFO should be a person of high ethical standards who is willing to view her position as one of a steward, responsible to others for the management of the company's assets and resources.