What's the difference between finance and accounting? (loans, accountant, real estate)

[avant-garde]

and which one is considered more "fun"???

[Sgoldie]

They're very different though they both involve working with numbers.

Accounting is recording, checking for accuracy, and compiling numbers in the form of money that was spent, when, and how. It is done for a couple of reasons. One being for analysis of profitability, seasonality, cost cutting, projection, and for management purposes. The other is for the government in the form of tabulating sales taxes, payroll taxes, corporate taxes, income taxes, etc.

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Finance is entirely different but can take a several forms. There is investment finance where one is analyzing stocks, bonds, futures, commodities, and the like either for oneself or others and investing money, or not.

There is also mortgage finance used by real estate people, mortgage brokers, bankers and such. This involves the analysis and application of mortgage rates, amoritization, terms of loans and similar things.

Closely related is finance involving large consumer purchases such as cars, boats, and so on.

Finance people also work for credit card companies and this is called revolving credit finance. Further there are various jobs within the finance category.

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As for fun that is entirely based upon personality. I would have to tear my hair out if I were an accountant but know how to do it if pressed. My preference is finance.

[Nepenthe]

Finance: fixed rules based on universal mathematical constants

Accounting: arbitrary rules decided by some committee that change every year

Okay, there's some bleed-over between them, but in general I have found this to be the case.