Msc in finance vs. Msc in finance and accounting?

Hi monkeys, hope you can help me on this one.

I will soon apply for 2018 intake, my goal is to break into IB (how original!). Given that admission should not be an issue, I was wondering whether you would go for a Msc in finance or a Msc in finance and accounting. I'm asking this because A&F would seem more reasonable for someone aiming at IB, yet everyone seems to be applying to Msc in finance programs only... Am I missing something?

10 Comments
 
Best Response

From a European (UK) perspective - you usually have to check the course content with both.

At some universities, MSc Finance is fine for IBD. But at others (e.g. Imperial College London), it's more of a Financial Engineering / Financial Mathematics Master's that is tailored for guys who want to do more marketsy stuff.

A+F at a place like LSE, Imperial, Warwick etc. should give you a good grounding to go into things such as M&A since accounting (or more specifically, understanding financial statements) is a pretty important element of this role.

 

Can't comment on the marketability differences, but Accounting and Finance is definitely considered easier than Finance. Just look at their curriculum and you'll understand why. There seems to be a huge difference in the caliber of students between Lse's Finance and Accounting and Finance as evidenced by acceptance rates. I would have to think a seasoned recruiter would be aware of such differences, after all we are aware of it and it's not even our job.

 

I'm commenting on this thread so I can find it later when I use the track feature on my profile.

I want to know the answer to qwertyq's question.

"If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars." - J. Paul Getty
 

Esse ea et distinctio. Quo odit non velit accusamus est veritatis iure. Voluptate sint eius ex.

Vero cumque quia illo perspiciatis earum. Voluptatem maiores est rerum quidem consequuntur maiores et. Et est dolore nostrum eligendi. Dolor ut fuga quam.

Dolorum culpa in fuga velit libero voluptas animi. Non quo rerum exercitationem commodi doloribus assumenda. Rerum eum ea amet debitis eligendi distinctio maiores. Qui ut deserunt ut sit reiciendis repellendus occaecati sint.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”