Quant Finance and Accounting

nst · August 23rd, 2002, 1:46 pm

Just a quick question. How important is knowledge of accounting( like financial statement anaylsis) for people interested in a career in quant Finance?nst

JabairuStork · August 23rd, 2002, 2:13 pm

Not very. We pretend that stuff doesn't matter.

mj · August 23rd, 2002, 3:24 pm

Derivatives pricing and accountancy are pretty orthogonal. No one asks accountancy questions at interview. It's useful in that it demonstrates a real interest in finance, however. MJ

falcon300 · August 24th, 2002, 5:52 pm

Hmmm, good question. My input is: It depends on how "quant" your job is. Here's my personal example. I was employed (before being laid-off) as a Manager of Finance which included responsibilities for quant. finance, analytics, planning, and management of accounting department. So, in my situation, not only did I have the opportunity to develop skills in commodities, derivatives, and risk management, but also developed skills in accounting for all transactions.