The differences between finance and accounting mainly include the following aspects:
1. The concept is different. Finance is a decision-making system about the purchase, investment, financing and management of assets under a certain overall goal. Accounting is an economic management activity that takes currency as the main unit of measurement, uses special methods to conduct complete, continuous and systematic accounting and supervision of the economic activities of the unit, confirms, measures, records and reports transactions or events, and provides information such as the financial status, operating results and cash flow of the unit. ?
2. Different functions. The basic function of accounting is accounting and supervision, with emphasis on the reflection and supervision of funds. The basic functions of finance are forecasting, decision-making, planning and control, with emphasis on the organization, application and management of funds. ?
3. The basis is different. The basis of accounting is the unified national accounting system, and the specific accounting policies and accounting estimates are selected by enterprises according to the unified national accounting policies and the actual situation of enterprises. The basis of financial management is within the scope permitted by national policies and laws and according to the intention of management authorities. Units formulate internal financial management measures and enjoy independent financial autonomy. Independent decision-making power. ?
4. The time range is different. Accounting faces the past and must be based on past transactions or events. It is to confirm and record past transactions or events. Finance focuses on the future, based on certain assumptions, on the basis of analyzing historical data and current situation, forecasting and judging the future situation, focusing on forecasting and making decisions for the future. Whether economic business or events should happen and how much should happen are all financial issues that need to be considered. ?
5. The purpose and conclusion are different. The purpose of accounting is to get "real accounts", and the conclusion is legal, fair and consistent. Relatively speaking, the conclusion is "dead", and the purpose of finance is to maximize the wealth or value of the enterprise. Its conclusion is relatively "alive", with no extreme value, only appropriate and reasonable, and the result is not unique.
6. The factors influencing the results are different. Accounting conclusions are mainly influenced by accounting policies and accounting estimates. The relevant accounting policies and accounting estimates selected by enterprises are not only restricted by the unified national accounting system, but also restricted by the professional judgment ability of accountants. The degree to which financial management objectives are achieved is mainly influenced by the return on investment, risks, investment projects, capital structure and dividend distribution policies of enterprises. ?
7. Different classifications. Accounting includes financial accounting (external reporting accounting) and management accounting (internal reporting accounting), and finance is divided into investor finance and operator finance. Investors here refer to investors and creditors independent of the operators, including both actual investors and potential investors, such as those who have not yet contributed but are ready to invest or borrow from a certain unit.
First, the concept of finance and accounting: who is older and who is younger?
When people ask me what I study, I answer "accounting". When people ask me what I do, I answer "finance". Careful people will ask, is there a difference between "finance" and "accounting"? It is difficult for me to give a concise answer to this question. Whether "finance" includes "accounting" or "accounting" includes "finance" has been debated in academic and practical circles for many years.
According to the classification of disciplines, "accounting" is listed under "management" as two disciplines, and "financial management" is only placed under "accounting" as a third-level discipline. In universities, accounting majors, auditing majors and financial management majors are generally set under the "Accounting Department (College)". From this structure, it seems that "accounting" covers "finance".
Enterprises and institutions all have finance departments (departments and departments) with similar names, but it is rarely heard that there is a department called accounting department (departments and departments). The basic function of the finance department has always been accounting. With the improvement of management's financial requirements, the functions of the financial department in other aspects are also highlighted. After the expansion of functions, the finance department is generally divided into several parallel departments: accounting department, financial management department, fund management department and so on. From this perspective, the concept of "finance" is greater than "accounting".
As a false proposition, the dispute between "finance" and "accounting" has no practical significance. In the west, finance, as a branch of financial economics, is completely different from accounting. At present, the major of financial management can be found in the accounting department, management department and finance department of universities. This academic confusion confirms the fact that "finance" and "accounting" are two different concepts.
Two. The functions of finance and accounting: which is more important or less important?
From a practical point of view, the functional division and post setting of accounting and finance are clear and there is a significant watershed. Accounting conducts accounting according to actual economic and business matters, fills in accounting vouchers, registers accounting books and prepares financial and accounting reports. This is also a traditional and universal view and understanding of accounting. Financial work is based on accounting. Through the analysis, sorting and identification of accounting data, the corresponding conclusions are drawn, which provide effective data support for enterprise management and system improvement.
In terms of post setting, accounting consists of the following posts: cashier post, tax post, logistics post, subsidiary ledger post, general ledger post and financial statement post. Finance generally consists of budget post, financial analysis post and fund management post. Accounting work has strict legal system norms, such as accounting law, enterprise accounting system, enterprise accounting standards, etc., so the accounting positions of each company are similar.
The financial work is relatively broad, and the post setting is different because of the specific situation and focus of each company. For example, TCL has a large sales scale, and the finance department has a special sales credit post; Huawei's R&D scale is large, and there are R&D project posts in finance.
The weight of traditional accounting work in the financial department has been greatly reduced, and the proportion of accounting personnel has also decreased accordingly, and its position in the financial function of enterprises has become increasingly important. In the finance department of a considerable number of listed companies, there are unwritten rules: when recruiting fresh graduates, accounting posts choose undergraduates and finance posts choose postgraduates.