It turns out, as a Banker or Accountant you’ll be liaising with/advising clients, investors, managers, etc on the best move for their businesses. Financial functions are involved in either role. What’s more, Accountant works in banks, plus the financial statement prepared by an Accountant is useful to a Banker for making a judgment on business eligibility for a loan, for example.
So my point exactly? Regardless of the cozy relationship between the Accountant’s and Banker’s job, there are differences in key areas.
Continue reading if you want to find out information relating to what you should major in (Accountancy vs Banking and Finance), career paths available to Accountants and Bankers, what each job entails and what the workplace looks like, what pays more, and the criteria for higher pay, etc.
5 key Differences Between A Banker And An Accountant
Jumping right into it, below are eight key differences between an Accountant and a Banker.
-
Duties/nature of work/area of specialization
Accountants, in particular, engage in multiple tasks given the vast nature of the Accountancy field. Therefore, listing all the duties of an Accountant will go beyond the scope of this article.
To stay on topic and to put it simply, an Accountant is responsible for the books of accounts and ultimately the financial reports.
Keep in mind, however, that while an Accountant’s job involves auditing, bookkeeping, and accounts analysis, a Banker, on the other hand, focuses on deposits, settlement, account opening/checking/closing, lending, fundraising, etc.
-
Education and training
To become an Accountant, you first need to get a degree in Accounting from a university or college. You’ll then apply to become a chartered accountant or professional accountant through accounting professional bodies like ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) or ICAN (The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria).
On the flip side, although nowadays banks employ people who didn’t study any finance-related courses in the university or college as Bankers, a degree majoring in finance (Banking and Finance) is a requirement.
-
Workplace
An Accountant can work in a variety of places; a large professional firm or organization or smaller firms based in the suburbs, banks, etc. Conversely, a Banker can not work anywhere outside the banking industry–Bankers can only work in banks.
-
Professional bodies
The existing professional bodies for Accountants include amongst others ICAN (The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Nigeria) and ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants). The CIBN (Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria) is the principal professional body for Bankers.
-
Earnings
The salary of Accountants (median) in 2020 according to BLS is $73,500. The median pay of Investment Bankers in the same year is $64,700.
In theory, it does look like the Accountant earns more. In reality, however, earning is mostly down to the skills/experience/knowledge of the Banker or Accountant (a partner, perhaps?) and the size of the client’s firm. Also, there are additional forms of compensation including profit sharing, commissions, equities, and bonuses that could sometimes exceed the base salary.
Conclusion
The job of an Accountant and Banker is related but different.
A Banker’s duties incorporate financial activities (payment, deposits, loans, account opening/closing, savings, etc.) and fundraising and advisory/liaison services.
An Accountant is a person making sure to maintain records of the financial dealings in a bank or at other businesses/organizations.
While a Banker works in a bank similar to a bank worker, one shouldn’t be confused for the other as the former (the one discussed throughout this blog) is an executive role.
Lastly, the Accountant or Banker roles– either pay well at the highest level (of experience, skills, and expertise) and depend on the designations and the size of the firms (director vs. partner, analyst vs. accountant, multinational vs. domestic, bulge bracket vs. boutique, etc.).