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Major · Business, Management & Marketing

Accounting fundamentals paired with a general management foundation

Accounting and Business/Management is a combined major that pairs core accounting (financial, managerial, audit, tax) with general management coursework (organizational behavior, operations, strategy). About 780 degrees are awarded annually across 100 colleges, split between bachelor’s and associate’s programs — a hybrid built for the corporate-accounting and controller career track.

Schools offering
100
Annual completions
780
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$69k

About this major

Accounting and Business/Management is structured as a combined major that runs an accounting core alongside a general management curriculum. The accounting side teaches you to measure, record, audit, and report the financial activity of organizations — financial accounting, managerial accounting, tax, audit, and accounting information systems. The management side adds organizational behavior, operations, and business strategy, with electives often available in HR, marketing, or business law. The CIP definition describes it as integrated preparation to function as accountants and as business managers, and the curriculum lives up to that framing — graduates leave with a vocational accounting credential alongside the general business literacy that helps in cross-functional corporate roles.

The major tends to attract students who want technical accounting skills without committing to a pure accounting track. Comfort with rule-bound, standards-driven work helps on the accounting side; interest in how organizations actually function — people, operations, decisions — helps on the management side. The combined load is heavier than a pure accounting major in pure coursework volume, since both core sequences need to be covered, but it leaves graduates better positioned for in-house corporate roles than a single-track accounting major would.

At scale, this is a focused field. About 780 completions are recorded annually across 100 colleges, split between bachelor’s and associate’s programs. That count is low relative to the parent fields — pure Accounting at 41,743 completions and Business Administration and Management, General at 193,432 — and most of the gap is administrative grouping rather than student preference: many universities roll combined-track students into separate Accounting or Business Management majors. Career outcomes lean on the same destinations as those parent fields, with accountants and auditors at an $81,680 median wage and financial and investment analysts at $101,350 as typical mid-career titles.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Accountants and auditors $82k +4.6% Bachelor's degree
Financial managers $162k +14.8% Bachelor's degree
Financial and investment analysts $101k +5.7% Bachelor's degree
Business teachers, postsecondary $97k +5.7% Doctoral or professional degree
Financial risk specialists $106k +6.5% Bachelor's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$69k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$49k

Bachelor's

$74k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you want a vocational accounting credential without committing to the pure-Accounting CPA-and-Big-Four pipeline, if your career picture leans toward corporate accounting and the controller-to-CFO trajectory rather than public audit, if you find the combination of standards-driven accounting work and broader management coursework genuinely useful rather than diluting, and if the bachelor’s-level earnings premium of about $25,300 over the associate’s level reflects the kind of investment you’re prepared to make. The major also fits students who plan to layer the CPA, CMA, or CIA credential on top of the degree — the 150-hour CPA rule effectively means a 5th-year MAcc for most students who go that route.

Think twice if you already know you want public audit and the Big Four — pure Accounting (41,743 completions per year) is the cleaner pipeline for that path, and the management tilt of this major adds coursework that recruiters in public audit don’t weight heavily. Reconsider also if your interest sits more in financial markets and investment analysis than in corporate accounting — Accounting and Finance or Finance, General will fit that trajectory better. And if the 150-credit-hour CPA requirement sounds like a barrier rather than a milestone, the bachelor’s alone still opens staff-accountant and AP/AR roles at $55,000–$70,000, but long-run earnings in accounting are credential-driven — the degree is the floor, not the ceiling.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Accounting and Business/Management

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
NUC University Bayamon, PR 0 94 94
Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA 0 48 48
Drexel University Philadelphia, PA 0 46 46
Touro University Worldwide Los Alamitos, CA 0 42 42
Strayer University-Global Region Washington, DC 0 40 40
College of the Marshall Islands Majuro, MH 36 0 36
Southwest University at El Paso El Paso, TX 32 0 32
Oakland Community College Auburn Hills, MI 31 0 31
Lewis-Clark State College Lewiston, ID 0 19 19
Strayer University-Georgia Chamblee, GA 0 19 19
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Business Administration and Management, General

193,432 completions/yr

Finance, General

42,214 completions/yr

Accounting

41,743 completions/yr

Business Administration, Management and Operations, Other

6,667 completions/yr

Accounting Technology/Technician and Bookkeeping

5,742 completions/yr

Agricultural Business and Management, General

1,697 completions/yr

Accounting and Finance

1,209 completions/yr

Actuarial Science

1,022 completions/yr

Considering this direction?

We've taken a hard look at the debt, earnings trajectory, and degree-level tradeoffs for the Accounting and Business/Management field. Read our verdict before you commit.

Is Accounting and Business/Management worth it? Read verdict
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Accounting and Business/Management majors actually study day-to-day?
Coursework runs on two parallel tracks. The accounting side covers financial accounting, managerial accounting, audit, tax, and accounting information systems — standards-driven work tied to GAAP and professional rulebooks. The management side adds organizational behavior, operations, business strategy, and sometimes HR or marketing electives — broader, less rule-bound material focused on how organizations actually run. Upper-division courses tend to integrate both: building a budget model that reflects operational realities, or analyzing how a strategic decision flows through the books.
Do I need a bachelor’s, or is an associate’s enough for this major?
The earnings gap is large. Bachelor’s completers report five-year median earnings of about $74,286, while associate’s completers report about $48,978 — a difference of roughly $25,300. Every career listed in the data, from accountants and auditors at $81,680 to financial and investment analysts at $101,350, names a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry credential. If the CPA license is part of your plan, most US states require 150 semester hours of coursework — typically a 5th-year master’s in accounting (MAcc) on top of the bachelor’s.
How does this major differ from pure Accounting or Accounting and Finance?
The three majors share an accounting core but tilt in different directions. Pure Accounting (52.0301, ~41,743 completions per year) is the deepest accounting track and the cleanest fit for the Big Four CPA pipeline. Accounting and Finance (52.0304, ~1,209 completions) keeps both the CPA and analyst doors open through graduation. Accounting and Business/Management (52.0305, 780 completions) trades some accounting depth for management coursework and aims at the corporate-accounting and controller career trajectory rather than public audit. The CPA exam itself is the same regardless of major, but the management tilt here makes this version slightly less optimal for Big Four recruiting and slightly stronger for in-house finance roles.
What kinds of jobs do graduates of this major end up in?
Direct entry-level destinations include staff accountant, accounts payable or accounts receivable analyst, junior auditor, and internal-audit roles — typically $55,000 to $70,000 at large firms or Fortune 500 corporate departments, lower at smaller regional firms. Mid-career titles in the data include accountant or auditor at an $81,680 median wage and financial and investment analyst at $101,350. Financial manager appears at a $161,700 median, but that is a 5- to 10-year mid-career outcome reached after a CPA or significant industry experience — not an entry role. Typical employer pools are Big Four (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG), mid-market firms (RSM, BDO, Grant Thornton), corporate accounting at Fortune 500, and government audit offices.
What credentials should I plan for after this degree?
The CPA license is the highest-value credential for this major and the one most students plan around. The 150-hour rule applies in most US states — you need 150 semester hours of coursework to sit for the exam, which is roughly 30 hours beyond a standard bachelor’s and is usually fulfilled through a 1-year MAcc or extra undergraduate coursework. Beyond the CPA, the CMA (Certified Management Accountant) is well-aligned with the management tilt of this major and is recognized in corporate-accounting departments. CIA (Certified Internal Auditor) fits internal-audit roles. Each credential adds a multi-part exam plus qualifying work experience.
How competitive is the job market for these graduates?
Demand is steady. Accountants and auditors show 4.6% projected growth — close to average — but the occupation is large, so even modest growth produces substantial annual openings. Financial and investment analysts run at 5.7% growth, financial risk specialists at 6.5%. The 780 annual completions in this major are small compared to the 41,743 in pure Accounting and 193,432 in Business Administration and Management, General, so candidates here generally compete in the broader applicant pool rather than as a distinct cohort. Internships during school and a clear credential plan (CPA, CMA, or CIA) tend to differentiate candidates over the first five years.