CA Portal Blog for all CA, CS & Lawyers

Home > Blog > Professional Guide > What is the Difference Between Accounting and Law?

What is the Difference Between Accounting and Law?

Accounting and Law Profession

Accounting and law are both professions that draw various college students. Every field officer has a stronger income, upward mobility, and different career paths in the profession. 

Accountants and attorneys could find positions in the public sector  (a federal government agency, state, or municipality) and the private sector (businesses and nonprofits). In private practice, there are 2 normal kinds of employment environments: “external”—at a company, organized of additional accounting or legal professionals, that services a variety of outside clients, and “internal”—at a specific firm. Accountants and lawyers can work independently as well.

While both kinds of professionals would deal with the business concerns for the firms and individuals, they specialize in various things: attorneys with the concern of law and lawful procedures, accountants with numbers, tax statutory and codes. Both fields need other, specialized study above a normal college degree, and the passing of the exam to obtain the state license to practice (not essential for all accountants, but suggested straightly).

What is Accounting?

Accounting is the procedure of recording the financial transactions related to a business. The accounting process consists of summarizing, analyzing, and reporting these transactions to oversight agencies, regulators, and tax collection entities. The financial statements that have been used in accounting are brief summaries of the financial transactions for the accounting duration, summarising the company’s operations, fiscal positions, and cash flows. 

What is the Meaning of Law?

Law in India has engaged from religious prescription to the present constitutional and legal system we hold today, moving via secular legal system and the common law. 

India has recorded the lawful history initiating from the Vedic ages and some civil law systems might have been in place in the Bronze age and the Indus valley civilization. Law as a matter of religious prescriptions and philosophical discourse has an illustrious history in India. Emanating from the Vedas, the Upanishads, and other religious texts, it was a fertile field enriched by practitioners from different Hindu philosophical schools and later by Jains and Buddhists.

From region to region and ruler to ruler the secular law in India differs. The court systems for the civil and the criminal concern were mandatory specifications of various ruling dynasties of medieval India. Beneath the Mauryas (321-185 BCE) and the Mughals (16th – 19th centuries) was a good secular court system that lived with the latter providing the method to the current common law system. 

Build Your Modern Law Firm & Accounting Firm Websites

    A Brief Overview of Accounting vs Law:

    In the current business environment, pursuing a career in Law and Accounting enable college graduates to reap higher salaries, rapid promotions, and a multitude of career options. On one end, young graduated accountants can work for big public accounting firms. Similarly, they can also provide services like internal auditing and tax return filing to both individuals and companies.

    On the other hand, the law profession allows graduates to explore multiple career paths. Such young attorneys can work in different areas like the criminal, defense, corporate, personal injury law, and international law. Comparing both professions side-by-side, it can be stated that accounting requires less educational requirements whereas the law profession tends to pay more to individuals.

    Career in Accounting and Law:

    In terms of career prospects, any individual with a bachelor’s degree or even lesser sometimes can get an accountant job. However, in the case of top accounting firms like KPMG and Deloitte, it is essential for candidates to sit and clear the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam globally.

    In India, the students must have a commerce graduate degree and practical working experience under a certified CA for becoming an accountant. Students can also complete the CA and M.com degrees after the commerce graduate degree or B.com. Working as an accountant also requires one to be highly skilled, and organized along with strong diplomacy skills. The accounting profession also offers lifestyle bonuses like increased time for parental leaves, telecommuting, and flexible hours, but is also considered somewhat boring and socially maladjusted.

    Read Also: Benefits of Blogging for Accounting Firms and Corporate offering legal services

    On the other hand, a career in the law profession requires a bachelor’s degree in Law (i.e. L.L.B. in India) from a government-recognized and certified law institution. After completing the LLB degree, one should also enroll himself/herself under any State Bar Council and must clear the national exam (All India Bar Examination [AIBE] in India) to become a certified advocate whereas it is not mandatory to clear the CPA certification in accounting job in India.

    A career in law professions also requires a wide array of skills among college graduates. These skills include long-working hours ability, excellent communication skills, understanding of multiple languages, legal research skills, analytical and logical reasoning, IT competency, time management, and knowledge of substantive national law and legal procedures.

    Salary Comparison between Accounting and Law Profession:

    If we talk about salary, then in general, lawyers simply make more money in comparison to accountants right after getting graduated globally.

    In the case of India, the situation is more or less the same as the average salary of an accountant is around INR 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh per year whereas in the case of lawyers, the median average salary wage slab boosts up to INR 2 lakh to 4 lakh per year. Such statistics clearly show that choosing the law profession is undoubtedly more rewarding in terms of financial perks in India but requires more educational qualifications in comparison to accountancy.

    Here is a tabular comparison between Accounting and Law in terms of varied aspects like growth, salary, and job prospects:-

    Comparison between Accounting and Law

    Conclusion:

    Overall, it can be summarized that a career in accounting has less rigid educational requirements in comparison to the law profession. However, when it comes to financial earnings, lawyers are able to reap greater financial perks in comparison to accountants thanks to their engagement in diverse areas of work life.

    Despite this, choosing between both of these professions should be based on the criteria of one’s skill set. One should not choose the law profession just because it offers more financial stability, but it should be chosen when one possesses skills like excellent communication, logical and analytical thinking, and diplomacy.

    website for ca and law firm

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    

    Want to Get a Free Website Suggestion for Your Firm

    Our Team Members are Ready to Help You.

    WhatsApp chat

    accounting and gst offer

    Subscribe!