How important is an in-depth understanding of Accounting for IB?


Looking to get some advice as I plan out what my next few years will look like at school. I'm currently at a public ivy and since I started here, my plan has been to major in Finance and Accounting. However, since I got my internship at an EB, I'm wondering if there's a point where accounting knowledge has diminishing returns. In my specific instance, I'm debating whether to continue with Accounting and Finance, or Finance and a data science minor (there isn't a major offered, and my schedule likely doesn't allow me to do all 3).

I've taken 3 accounting courses so far, a basic managerial accounting course, and 2 financial accounting courses covering a lot of material except pension accounting (I'm assuming that most courses follow generally the same path?). I actually don't mind accounting at all, but the few data science courses I've taken already have been really interesting, and even if a minor doesn't necessarily have much weight, I do think at least having a base level knowledge of those concepts is going to be important in the future.

I feel confident that I can get a return offer, as I'll be coming in with a little bit of finance knowledge already from my courses, and I hope that I'll be able to make a positive impression through my work ethic and communication skills.  But, I want to be realistic, and I know that not every SA gets a return offer in IB, unlike my old Big 4 internship so I want to do what will make me more marketable in case I have to recruit again, but also set me up for future success. While I know Accounting is probably more directly applicable to IB, I'm just not sure how important stuff like pension accounting really is.

Basically my 3 options:

Accounting + Finance

Finance + Data Science Minor (and squeeze one advanced accounting course in next year)

Finance + DS (and have fewer/easier courses)

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Lazard Freres No 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 18 98.3%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 04 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (20) $385
  • Associates (91) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (68) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
10
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”