Business administration is a business specialty in which an individual helps an organization to make routine business decisions. (It is important to note that business administration is not considered to be an accounting career, but is instead a subfield of business in which an individual can focus on another business discipline, such as accounting.) Business administrators with an accounting concentration typically use a number of different accounting analysis techniques, such as cost-benefit analyses, cost-volume-profit analyses, life-cycle cost analyses, variance analyses, and a number of decision-making models, including Pareto analyses and force field analyses, to analyze financial reports.
In addition, business administrators analyze performance reports; design management and/or manufacturing procedures to lower costs; determine whether the return on a specific investment is worth the risk; identify solutions to problems that the organization is experiencing; identify methods that the organization can use to legally lower their tax burden; implement management and/or manufacturing procedures to lower costs; and perform other similar tasks .
Individuals in business administration are typically required to perform a number of different tasks that vary from position to position, and an individual may be given any of a number of different job titles depending on the specific responsibilities of a position.
Some of the more common job titles for an individual in business administration with an accounting concentration include administrative executive, administrative service manager, business analyst, chief effective officer, financial analyst, financial controller, financial manager, financial officer, chief financial officer, and staff accountant.
The specific degree that a person must have in order to obtain a position in business administration with a focus on accounting varies from position to position. Many employers require an individual to have one of the following
- a bachelor’s degree in accounting with a series of courses in business administration,
- a bachelor’s degree in business with an accounting concentration or an accounting certificate,
- a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with an accounting concentration or an accounting certificate,
- a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA), or
- another similar degree from an accredited accounting school.
Some employers may also require an individual to obtain a Certified Business Manager (CBM) certificate, a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certificate, or another similar certificate. An individual may not, however, be required to have a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree for every position and that there are some administrative positions that require an individual to have only a high school diploma, a General Educational Development (GED) credential, an associate’s degree in business administration, and/or experience in a related field (accounting, management, etc.).