Some people balk at the thought of money—but those with the interest and specialized training to handle an organization’s finances help keep the business running. Finance and accounting professionals understand their business’s finances at the highest levels, creating value for themselves within their organization.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, accounting jobs are projected to grow 7% between 2020 and 2030, and finance jobs are projected to grow 6% in the same time frame. Organizations around the world value and would benefit from professionals with finance and accounting training. Whether you’re looking to move into a finance or accounting position, develop your finance and accounting skills, or understand fundamental concepts for non-financial managers—we have courses available to help you excel. 

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Differences Between Finance and Accounting

Many looking to enter into a profession in finance or accounting may misconstrue that both of those fields are the same. While they are similar, there are noteworthy differences. 

Finance

Finance entails the management of money and investments for individuals, corporations, and governments. Investment banking, financial planning and analysis, and wealth management are common career tracks for finance professionals. In essence, finance professionals manage capital to create value for individuals, businesses, and government entities. 

 

Accounting

Accounting involves the recording, maintaining, and reporting of an entity’s financial records. There are many different tracks for accounting professionals—you could work for individuals, at a corporation, or on behalf of other businesses at a public firm. As an accounting professional, your main responsibility will be to ensure that all financial transactions are entered correctly, that account balances are up-to-date and correct, and that any financial statements are without error. 

 

Types of Finance and Accounting

Finance

Finance professionals have many opportunities for employment or for job growth. With the skills developed in AMA’s finance and accounting training programs, you could move into several different types of finance jobs, such as:

Corporate finance
Corporate finance professionals handle the finances of a company or organization. You’ll ensure that the organization’s capital is creating further value for the corporation, oversee budgeting and forecasting, corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and much more.

Banking
Perhaps the most common job in finance, commercial banks offer a wide spectrum of opportunities to finance professionals. Banking professionals will work with individual checking accounts, savings accounts, loans, and IRA accounts. 

Financial planning and advising
As a professional in financial planning and advising, you’ll be responsible for meeting with individuals or clients and assisting them to create a strategy for their finances. Your skills in financial planning and advising could be immensely valuable to any organization. 

Investment
As a finance professional with a focus on investing, you will connect individuals and organizations with investors. Many individuals and organizations rely on the expertise of an investment professional to advise them on which investments will be mutually beneficial to all parties.  

Accounting

Professionals with skills and talents in numbers and attention to detail will find many opportunities in accounting positions. Here are some options for accounting jobs that you could explore with skills learned through AMA’s accounting training courses.

Controller

Controllers manage the accounting department at an organization; this is a senior-level position. They possess years of experience in accounting work and oversee the financial activities of a company.

CPA

Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) are accountants, financial auditors, and business consultants. CPAs oversee a range of financial responsibilities, including corporate finance and tax preparation.

Tax Accountant

Tax accountant professionals help their clients prepare state and federal income taxes. As a tax accountant, you could be self-employed, work within an accounting firm, or as part of in-house accounting staff.

Accountant

Professionals with skills and talents in numbers and attention to detail will find many opportunities in accounting positions. Here are some options for accounting jobs that you could explore with skills learned through AMA’s accounting training courses. 

Learn Effective Finance and Accounting Skills

Finance and accounting professionals benefit from analytical and detail-oriented skills to excel in a finance and accounting role. From helping to manage capital for an organization to entering transactions accurately, finance and accounting professionals must possess many skills, including but not limited to:

  • Accounting principles, standards, and techniques
  • Budgeting
  • Calculations
  • Cost analysis
  • Financial data processing
  • Financial management
  • Profit and loss analysis
  • Reporting
  • Tax planning, filing, and reporting
  • Risk analysis
  • Financial strategic planning
  • Financial modeling
  • Fluency in finance programs, software, and platforms

Expert-led finance and accounting training programs can help you develop these skills in a more accelerated way—rather than learning these skills on-the-job through experience or mentorship. AMA’s training programs can guide you to become a valuable asset to any organization looking for finance or accounting professionals. 

Advance Your Finance and Accounting Skills with Our Top Courses

Don’t know where to start? Our How to Speak Accounting course will teach you common accounting concepts and buzzwords used by accounting insiders.

Demonstrate your value. In the course Fundamentals of Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers, you will learn how to interpret financial information and how to communicate your contribution to the bottom line.

Dig into corporate finance. AMA's Finance Workshop for Non-Financial Executives is comprehensive training that covers all aspects of corporate finance, from understanding the essence of cash flow to corporate value creation.

 

Why AMA Will Help You Advance Your Career or Organization with Finance and Accounting Skills

Many general finance and accounting classes don’t reach the level of training that you need to succeed in an entry-level position or to get that promotion. AMA’s structured, industry-defining programs and hands-on instruction can help you expand your skill set.

Hear from real-world finance and accounting professionals who have completed our extensive training programs to learn if one of our programs is right for you

Testimonials 

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“The instructor is very knowledgeable and patient in the delivery of the course materials. He is very dynamic and kept us engaged at all times. I thoroughly enjoyed the course and would definitely recommend to others.”

- Walter C., Business Analyst, Software Industry
AMA's Advanced Financial Forecasting and Modeling Workshop, May 2020

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“We had a fabulous instructor. My eyes usually glaze over when dealing with financial matters but our instructor kept us engaged and brought the course to life. I have come away with so much more than I imagined and feel more confident in my understanding.”

- Deb B., Manager, Government Agency
Fundamentals of Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers,  Jan 2022

Find the Right Finance and Accounting Training You Need

We offer training programs across a spectrum to accommodate any level of professional, from entry-level to manager. If you need to build a foundation of finance and accounting skills or yearn to expand your experience, we have a course available for you.

Explore all of our finance and accounting training courses or discover the best class to take that meets your criteria:

View All Finance and Accounting Courses 

AMA’s Virtual Time Management Training

We’ve developed our training programs over decades of experience and across 40 locations. Our experts lead immersive, experiential training programs that can take your finance and accounting skills to the next level. And now we’re taking that expertise online with virtual class options. 

Look below at the various options for your next training program to learn at a pace that fits your schedule. 

Live Online
Our Live Online classes are the closest thing to an in-person experience, allowing you to work in groups and participate in lectures and breakout sessions. You’ll also get advice and personalized feedback from our course leaders.

OnDemand
For those who are self-starters with limited schedules, our OnDemand courses let you learn at your own pace. Our course leaders pack overviews, lessons, and real-world applications into pre-recorded seminars along with assignment prompts to level up your finance and accounting skills.

Webinars
If you’re pressed for time, you can still enjoy a live experience with lectures full of real-world expertise and examples. Plus, you have the option to revisit the webinar at any time, as paid registrants get a single-user license to access the recorded webinar for up to a full year.

Webcasts
Do you have limited time to join live sessions? Tune into our webcasts to glean valuable information. You will gain practical, real-world strategies to implement in your work.