Business Management vs Accounting: Key Differences

A successful business is always well-managed, keeps track of all transactions, and follows accounting best practices. Business management helps manage all business operations and ensures that all departments work cohesively. This helps a company meet its goals and generate revenue.

Accounting is the process of recording, analysing, and reporting a business’s financial transactions. This helps to determine the company’s financial health. The documents prepared by accountants help guide strategic decisions.

In this article, we will understand the difference in business management vs accounting, available career opportunities, and how these departments overlap.

What is Business Management?

Business management takes a broad view of the business and helps guide the various departments’ activities to meet quarterly and annual objectives. Business managers oversee all aspects of a department or a company, from accounting to supply chain management. 

One of the main purposes of business management is to create efficiency, increase productivity, and boost profits. This is one of the main differences between business management and accounting.

These are the various types of business management:

• Financial Management: Helps to plan and direct a company’s capital resources towards investment while avoiding risk.
• Operations Management: This focuses on production, supply chain management, and logistics. Here, managers work to optimise operations and maintain quality control.
• HR Management: These managers hire, train, and retain employees. They also develop employee policies and help create a safe working environment. 
• Strategic Management: It helps guide the company to its targets by evaluating operational, financial, and marketing performance. Strategic management helps to align resources with objectives. 
• Marketing Management: Marketing management is responsible for the company’s image, reach, reputation, and recall. It also oversees offline and online marketing strategies.

Business managers are skilled leaders and decision-makers who help organise and direct activities that can positively impact business objectives. It involves organising teams, delegating roles and responsibilities, leading employees, and overseeing operations, including progress. 

The key elements of business management can be broken down into the following:

• Planning
• Organising
• Leading 
• Controlling

What is Accounting?

Accounting is an integral part of businesses, as it helps determine the company’s financial health. The accounting department prepares various financial documents, such as an income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow, to clearly understand a company’s performance.

Once these documents have been prepared, they are released to relevant stakeholders so they can make informed decisions. This is a key difference between business management vs accounting.

Management Accounting:

This field of accounting prepares financial statements and forecasts for a company’s management to help them make informed decisions. This can allow management to assess risk, operational costs, overheads, etc and make decisions that have a positive economic impact.

Financial Accounting:

This branch of accounting refers to recording, organising, and reporting a company’s financial data to external stakeholders. These are shareholders, investors, supplies, and lenders. 

Read more on Management Accounting vs Financial Accounting – Key Differences

What is the Difference Between Business Management vs Accounting?

When discussing business management vs accounting, we can notice that business management has a more broader scope while accounting is limited to the financial transaction side of the business. 

Business management is responsible for guiding a company towards its growth projections, while accounting is responsible for helping keep track of transactions that take place during that process. In some instances, business management relies on accounting or financial transactions to support the strategic decision-making process.

The table below helps to clarify the difference between business management vs accounting.

Aspect	Business Management	Accounting
Definition	Overseeing and managing business operations	Recording, analysing, and reporting financial transactions
Core Focus	Strategy, marketing, finance, HR, operations	Financial reporting, auditing, and taxation
Primary Objective	To efficiently run an organisation to help it meet it objectives and guarantee long-term success	Maintaining accurate financial records, meeting regulatory compliance, and offering an analysis of the financial health
Skills	Leadership, negotiation, communication, project management, strategic planning	Mathematical competency, knowledge of accounting rules, attention to detail, ability to use accounting software
Educational Path	Bachelor’s in Business ManagementMaster’s in Business Management (MBM)	Bachelor’s in AccountingMaster’s in Accounting or FinanceChartered Accountant (CA)Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Typical Job Profiles	Business Manager, Operations Manager, Marketing Manager, Project Manager, CEO, Entrepreneur	Accountant, Auditor, Financial Analyst, Tax Consultant, Controller, Bookkeeper

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What are Some Career Opportunities in Business Management?

Business management professionals help grow businesses and can go on to lead organisations. Therefore, a business management degree allows graduates to explore various industries. The ability to find work across industries is similar when discussing business management vs accounting.

Professionals with a business management qualification can work in a general capacity for a small business, but the role is more specialised in large corporations. They can work their way to becoming operations managers, sales managers, HR managers, etc.

Job Profiles

• General Manager
• Operations Manager
• Sales Manager
• Entrepreneur

Industries

• Consulting
• Retail
• Healthcare
• Non-profit
• Government

Qualifications

• Higher Certificate in Business Management
• Bachelor of Business Management (BBM)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management

What are Some Career Opportunities in Accounting?

All businesses must follow best accounting practices to help track and record all transactions and indicate their financial health. While most private companies are not required to release their financial documents, publicly listed companies are required by law to release their accounting information.

These documents allow internal and external stakeholders to review and make informed decisions regarding further investment. When companies continuously follow good accounting practices, they create credibility and trust in the market.

Job Profiles

• Accountant
• Auditor
• Tax Specialist
• Management Accountant

Industries

• Logistics
• Advisory firms
• Government
• e-Commerce
• Start-ups

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Accounting Science

What are Some Overlapping Areas In Business Management vs Accounting?

As one gains a deeper understanding of business management vs accounting, it is possible to notice that there are certain overlapping areas. This is because a business cannot function if each department or if each manager is working independently.

In any successful business, collaboration and sharing of resources ensure that the company meets its targets. Business managers rely on accounting data to help guide them in their decision-making process.

At the same time, the strategies set forth by business managers can also help guide accountants when they plan budget allocation for the upcoming financial year. 

Collaboration

• Accounting provides the financial data that business managers use to help set strategy.
• Accountants can rely on business strategy when planning budgets
• Accountants help to provide cost structures for projects, while business managers help them stay on a timeline.
• When business managers need to implement cost-cutting measures, they rely on accounting data to identify inefficient areas.

Shared Skills

• Financial literacy
• Data analysis
• Decision-making
• Problem-solving
• Strategic thinking
• Teamwork

Common Roles

• Financial Manager
• Business Analyst

How to Choose Between Business Management and Accounting?

Both business management and accounting can be rewarding career choices that allow professionals to gain industry experience. When deciding between business management vs accounting for their higher education, students must consider several factors such as personal interests, career path, etc.

In addition to this, students must also do independent research and speak with their parents or a guidance counsellor to help guide them towards a higher education programme.

The table below can help students decide the path they are more inclined towards between business management and accounting.

Aspect	Business Management	Accounting
Personal Interest	Managing teams and driving strategy	Working with numbers and analysing financial data
Industry Demand	High demand across industries in leadership roles	Consistently high demand
Specialisation	Usually more general at the undergraduate levelCan gain specialisation through experience or an advanced degree	SpecialisedOption for professional qualifications
Career Growth	Wide range of opportunities in entrepreneurship and leadership	Defined career path to become a CA, CPA, auditor, etc
Work environment	DynamicPeople-centric	StructuredData-driven
Salary	Competitive for higher positions	CompetitiveHigher salaries for certified professionals
Core Skills	LeadershipCommunicationStrategic thinkingProject management	Financial analysisBudgetingTaxationRegulatory Compliance

Read more on How to Choose A Career That is Right For You?

What are Available Opportunities in South Africa?

South Africa is a leading economy in Africa with several multinational companies operating in the country. Several regional headquarters are also located here. This is a testament to the growth and development companies are forecasting for the country in the future.

As such, business managers and accountants will find several job opportunities in South Africa. In fact, the country is facing a shortage of skilled accountants in positions such as general accountants, financial analysts, and auditors, making this one of the most in-demand fields.

For businesses to grow, they need to stay on schedule with production. This is where business managers help liaise between departments. They help resolve disruptions and inefficiencies in the supply chain and boost productivity in the long run. Business managers are needed in hotel management, consulting, e-commerce, retail, etc.

When examining business management vs accounting career opportunities, we can understand that both fields are much sought after in South Africa.

Conclusion

Companies require strong business managers who can steer and guide departments towards efficient practices to help meet targets. Accountants help to keep track of transactions that are generating when running a business.

Business management vs accounting might feel like distinct fields, but at time they rely on each other. These managers also share some common skills such as leadership, data analysis, teamwork, and decision making.

Students interested in a career in business management or accounting must check the various management and accounting programmes offered by Regenesys.

Business Management vs Accounting – FAQs