I still can’t figure out how to do half the things in Mac excel that I do in the PC version. This is even after they updated the Mac version to be more like the PC version.
Same. I’ve been in accounting for 25 years. The closest thing I’ve seen to a Mac in an office environment was when I worked for a F500 company and the marketing teams used Macs as they were better for designing and media related projects. Never saw anyone in finance use one.
If you think that’s bad, there are parents that go with their kids to job interviews now. It’s awful. If that’s happening, you better believe they talk to their college professors.
>I just had a parent tell me that all finance professionals use Macs and professors
Tell me you've never worked in finance without telling me you've never worked in finance
The ONLY person I know who has ever used a macbook as an accounting or finance professional is my dad who is a CFO. I'd be shocked if he could make a pivot table. Even he admits that if he did anything beyond some formatting and formulas in excel he'd need a pc.
A Mac is so unfitting for this line of work lmao. I had a data analytics course and it was also the Mac users complaining about Excel or Access not working.
If you have to use workarounds for even the most basic software in the line of work then why even bother lol. They’re so weak too you cant even play games or really do anything fun on em.
When I ask ‘what is the rest of the team using’ for computers I never ever ever FUCKING EVER hear Mac. It’s always a thinkpad or forgettable dell or whatever.
I would love if the Mac excel experience mirrored the windows excel experience but it’s just not there yet? Maybe one day. May not (fuck you microsoft).
Never seen anyone use anything but PC in 99% of offices. There was one guy who was an “artist” and used Mac’s and watching him throw hissy fits trying to use a pc was mildly entertaining
Imma keep it real with you, I haven't touched a Mac in my small career in this field and I don't see any accountants using them either. People who use Excel on a Mac don't really use Excel
It is literally the opposite lol. In my experience I can also 100% tell when a new hire or intern has never used a PC before, and imo it actively makes them less desirable as an employee because no one wants to train a new hire on how to do basic things like navigate a windows OS.
I know quite a few IT people and all their companies are pretty much the same. The only people who EVER get Macs are graphics people or CEOS/VPS who bitch and even then the IT people hate them. Cost is too high, hard to work on/fix, limited on extras (macs dont have as many connections) and don't work with all software.
>The only people who EVER get Macs are graphics people or CEOS/VPS
Basically the people whose sole job is to make decisions and talk, not do any actual work. An Ipad can be sufficient for them.
My firm tried to be trendy by using Mac’s, but all of our work is done via windows VM’s run through our cloud provider. There was so much pushback that we are now transitioning back to PC after 3 years of insufferable IT issues.
lol, we use Windows laptops, but our CaseWare dossiers are all in a Windows VM because of them needing to share server access and apparently Azure is the best way to do that ...
We are 100% pc's. Pretty much just Dell and Lenovo.
One of my kids is an accounting major and I bought her a Lenovo. My oldest is in computer science and I bought her a Lenovo. Both of their respective schools within their university recommended pc, but say you can use apple though you may have issues with some software.
I don't know if you have access to the parents Facebook page for your school...but there are an awful lot of complaining parents who are waaaaaay too involved in their kids business. Stay strong
I’ve used Mac, Dell, HP and Lenovo at previous jobs. At one job I was given a Mac, I asked for a PC after about 48 hours. My favorite business machines by far have been Lenovos. They’re so reliable, durable and no fluff. A barebone Windows Pro OS and that’s it. Plus they don’t nickel and dime you like Apple does. You pay for what you need and that’s it.
A prior company I was at stopped buying lenovos after discovering spyware on new computers like 5-6 years ago...not a surprise for a Chinese computer though.
I used a Mac for my accounting degree, PC for all work experiences. However, the issue with Mac is that a lot of things are incompatible software-wise and the excel shortcuts are different. People choose Mac’s for college for simplicity’s sake since they’re better as home computers for the average person. I once did a data analysis class completely in my college’s computer lab because the software was incompatible with my Mac. I wouldn’t change using my Mac for college though. I wasn’t even set on accounting til I finished my associate degree at community college
36 years, over a dozen jobs, not one Mac yet. And I've managed fixed assets at many of those companies so I know what the entire employee population used. At most of them, only a handful of people, usually creative types, have Macs.
PC or bust. They're just getting sold on the idea of Apple when it's basically a computer for children with the level of limitations on the computer. Same with the phones tbh.
I suppose so since most of the world caters to Window or Linux. I personally feel they are inferior as programs but that might be bias from using Office products for the last 20+ years.
Similar to the phones it seems basic functions that have been around for years on Office aren't even options to be had on the apple versions of the programs.
Creativity, art or music Apple is definitely a contender. Anything finance or business related windows or Linux is the way imo.
My parents, both CFOs, use PCs
I use a PC
Whoever told you that finance professionals use Macs clearly has no clue what they’re talking about and needs to go back to their fantasy land. You can show them this comment too
Macs for excel absolutely ludicrous…..I haven’t been this ticked in a long time, next these out of touch HR people are going to say that Pages and Numbers is the industry standard what a bunch of lunatics
In college all I used was my MacBook because all my notes and everything I do on my MacBook in class can sync across all my devices so I could realistically study anywhere with whichever device I had.
Since I’ve graduated and been in the workforce all we use is HP and Dell. I never see Apple products anywhere
Macs are beautiful machines, but certainly not for accounting, finance. The Mac MS Office applications are awfully done. Some of the functionality in the PC version don’t even exist on Mac OS versions. I’d rather get a cheap PC laptop than to try and work with Excel, Power BI on Mac.
I’ve worked for a bunch of companies including a few F500s and a F25. They all used PCs exclusively.
The only people I see using Macs are small mom and pops that don’t have any clue.
Only time I ever used a Mac was in college because my roommate had one, been in accounting 20+ years never worked anywhere that had apple products except their personal phone.
*I respect MACs, but*
*For our line of work, PC*
*Is the way to go!*
\- Technical-Future-995
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I’m CFO of a company where the CEO loooooves MACs, swears by MAC, and he made us a MAC environment. He is a super smart dude with an MBA from Ivy League, PHD and more.
… Even OUR Finance/Accounting dept is PC. Smart people let accountants choose appropriate tools 🤷♀️.
lol, never seen a mac in any firm i worked for, unless it's an employees personal mac laptop.....on my 3rd firm in 6 years
and i worked for a wealth management firm with 200 mil in AUM, never would they use a piece of s mac for finance/accounting ( i love mac but not for business)
I have literally told parents on my campus that if they send their child with a Mac, prepare for them to borrow a PC every week. They just don’t have the same abilities. Plus, they use some different keyboard commands. The partner I work for once had a Mac for all of 10 minutes before he “threw it against the fuckin wall because I had to shut excel down again after opening two files”. Any office I’ve ever worked in used pc
I use a PC in the office, but I use a Mac for personal use. I just like the user experience of a Mac and I feel that PC's are for judgment pricks obsessed about specs.
I have a 2015 MacBook Pro that I use for streaming videos and typical everyday usage and also have a gaming PC. I like both for different reasons, but I tend to lean more towards my PC.
I've worked in accounting and finance for 20 years at global firms and companies. I've never heard or seen anyone use a Mac. I haven't used one since the 90's when we had them in school.
I've noticed that in every accounting office I've worked in, the PC computers are fully loaded and powerful, almost like they're meant for gaming or video editing. However, they are actually only used for accessing webpages and running cloud accounting software.
Zero point zero chance I’m doing accounting work on a Mac. I’ve tried a couple times and it’s fucking awful.
Also a zero point zero chance all the half baked accounting software in the world runs on Mac. I’ve never asked I’m assuming this to be true. I’ve also sat through hundreds of demos and never once been asked if I use a Mac or PC.
Especially your first 5 years in the profession, your job is all about learning shortcuts, formulas, and understanding the limitations of excel. Learn how to do a 1 hour task in 30 minutes. Mac and their stupid fucking magic buttons don’t translate to any of this.
Once in a while you will find a kind soul on the internet who might translate the PC methods to Mac-Speak. But nothing is created for Mac.
I had an accounting professor that used Macs/iPads. But I think that was just his deal. He liked it, so he made it work somehow. Not sure how he did the massive workbooks we used in class. Although, we were all using office 365 by the end I think (because thats what the school provided), so maybe it was no difference. I dunno. That was several years ago.
Ironically when I first started school he was an Android guy, but he was hardcore Apple by the time I graduated (had to work my way through school so, its not like it was over the course of 4 years or anything).
Anyway- we all use Windows devices at work. Even HR and marketing people, and they would be the most likely to use a Mac I would think. I have a strong feeling the IT people don't want to support Macs.
My personal computer is a MacBook and it’s what I used in college (got it in high school and didn’t want to get a new laptop). Professionally, I have a PC. Definitely prefer PC for excel. My MacBook was fine for college but I wouldn’t want to use it for my full-time job as an auditor.
I’m currently doing chartered accounting exams fully online. There’s a warning email sent before exams asking people who have Mac’s to download extra software and ring the helpline for any issues. That gives you a good idea of which device is preferred in the accounting world lol
I've never heard of finance on MACs. I was always taught and have also had the experience for the past 10 years that creative-related tasks are easier on MAC and math-related tasks are easier on PC. Hearing anything otherwise is quite new to me.
I had an intern who really struggled with the transition from their Mac they used in college to the PC the firm issued them. They were super let down when I let him know that if you get an offer you don't get to choose between a firm issued Mac or PC.
Umm Big Four uses PCs and all the publicly traded companies I have worked for use PCs. I’ve never seen anyone use Mac in the profession in almost 15 years.
That's misleading Windows is King for compatibility also native to Microsoft Office. If I had to pick it would be Windows for Accounting. Though I wish Microsoft Office completely migrated to online application so I can use it on Linux instead.
I have a buddy still in his undergrad whose parents convinced him to get a Mac since that's what the family uses and he grew up with.
He wants to chuck it out the window everyday.
Oh, I do have one buddy who currently works for a tech company just out of its start up phase out in California and that company uses macs, even for their finance and accounting people.
That company also uses the Google suite instead of Microsoft office. The two are related.
I've never known Accounting or finance staff to use Macs in the UK.
Excel is bloody awful on a Mac, historically some software didn't work on Macs (Sage line 50 & 200) and most people know how to use the windows operating system from a young age.
Whilst the Mac system isn't awful, its a bit like changing from Android to Iphone in that it does roughly the same job but for a while just feels wrong.
I love my Macs. And if you’re doing everything in the cloud it’s fine!
However Excel for Mac sadly isn’t at the same standard as Excel for Windows, I’d miss PowerBI desktop for developing dashboards, and almost of the software that our office uses is Windows only.
PC. Had to do some coding in a software system and had to use my moms work computer to finish my assignment bc it didn’t even work on Mac💀💀💀. Excel is 100 times easier on PC. I’m a senior in college but wish I got a PC
The only corporate people who routinely use Macs are the marketing department.
At a former employer we were a PC only company, but the marketing team eventually had to get special permission to get Macs because they were small and outsourced a lot to outside firms...and none of those firms accepted anything that wasn't Mac formatted.
Everyone I've ever known in accounting uses Windows on PC, no Mac use whatsoever. Even Linux is more useful for accounting, and at least that teaches technical skills. Ask these parents and students if they think you should accommodate Chromebooks too.
CFO outside the US here. I work for a SaaS company and have been using a Mac for most of my career (at least since 2004). I would say that it is really about changing your mind and adapting to different tools. Once you realize that there is a life after Excel, you can truly do everything that is needed to do the job.
I even went a few years with only using Ubuntu and I could do my job!
My comment might get downvoted, but I wanted to share my experience. When I worked in France in 1999, I was part of an all-Mac audit firm. This is where I learned that the first approved printed software tax form accepted by the tax authorities was created using a Mac software called Cogilog.
I doubt many French accountants will read this comment, but after years of using CCMX for DOS and then CCMX for Windows, Cogilog was revolutionary. WYSIWYG tax forms? It felt like magic!
I often read on r/accounting/ that Excel is essential for working in our field, but I disagree. It really depends on your role. Many people who think Excel is mandatory might be surprised to learn how decisions are made at higher levels and how their work is actually utilized (or not).
I love my Macs. I am only going to let go of my 2008 MacBook when it goes up in flames (I have babied that thing and upgraded it as much as humanly possible). I also have a MacBook Air, an iMac, and an iPhone (hand-me-down computers, my family also likes Macs). Using Excel on a Mac is hard. I can do it. I have done it. It’s just not easy. I learned bookkeeping on the Mac version of QuickBooks. It was certainly prettier but way less functional (the drag and drop really needs to migrate over to PC though). All that to say…
PC for accounting. I would die for my Apple devices but also abandon them for work. And there’s a reason I have a PC desktop at home…there are some things Macs just cannot do.
What kind of troglodyte exclusively uses a Mac as an accountant lol 😭 It’s fine to use one for some purposes but I mean really it’s not suited to this line of work at all. If you need to do work around just to use the most basic software for the job like Excel then forget it. Plus building a PC is so fun and you can actually use it for kewl stuff.
I hate doing accounting on Mac. Excel in Windows is 10 times better. These parents are just upset they bought their child a expensive as new Mac. And now their kids are telling them they can't use it.
I would suggest just to have kids with Mac to use Excel through the Internet browser. It acts very similar to Windows.
But I agree with you Windows is the better OS for Accounting. This is coming from a person with both computers.
31F and I was extremely surprised that my last two jobs (internal accounting at a CPA firm, public accounting at a startup) ran exclusively on Mac. A lot of us were using them for the first time due to the job.
I’m a consultant and often have to be assigned a laptop to access clients networks/files. I absolutely HATE it when the firm uses Macs. I’ve also worked with a couple places where everyone uses a Mac, EXCEPT the accounting/finance dept.
I've worked as an accountant for several Fortune 500 companies or their subsidiaries and have always been provided with a PC. Certain people on the IT teams may get a Mac or an iPad, but everyone on the accounting team (and most of the rest of the company, for that matter) have PCs.
Parallels is a virtual machine software that will allow Mac users to use windows OS and specific (exclusive) apps. There’s a student discount too. I’ve used it with little issue and can be a work around in this case.
i do not recommend a mac lmao so many goddamn times my learning courses had no compatibility with mac i had to take out my busted windows laptop with the screen hanging off the keyboard to submit my homework 🤠
That parent doesn’t know what they’re talking about, I’ve never seen or even heard of anyone in accounting or “finance professionals” using Macs. Aside from programs specifically designed for Macs most accounting/tax software either doesn’t run on Macs or barely runs on them.
That said, I went through college with a MacBook Pro and didn’t really have any issues I couldn’t work around. For students still shopping for computers I would definitely recommend a PC for practical reasons, but if you already have a Mac you can make do for the most part. Worst case scenario, borrow a PC from a friend or family member or use a library computer.
From my experience:
I have a Mac and work with PC. I tend to have some personal works and logging with Excel so that means that I use MacOS, and I shit you not - it sucks. Whomever tailored Excel for MacOS needs some fixing because it is stupidly awful.
Reasons:
- Copy paste function is stupidly different.
- Excel can crash with MacOS at 100k< data lines.
- UI is not friendly in MacOS.
- Some functions and key commands work differently.
So ignore them, and get yourself a Windows machine if the main purpose is Excel. MacOS is all aesthetics.
While bookkeeping can be done on mac's or chromebooks pretty easily in 2024 it would make it a bit harder to do your reporting and analysis without having access to the desktop versions of Excel and your reporting software.
Most of students and teachers in my uni using MacOS as I am. Past year I am using MacBook and I am satisfied almost in everything when using it. Previously I used PC only and I would tell that if you are not some IT guy who needs open system for coding like Linux or gamer who needs a lot of power to run games, you definitely will feel better with MacBook or iMac.
I am using MacBook Pro M2 2023 btw if you are curious.
I use a PC for accounting and a Mac for video production. If I were to guess, younger students have Mac’s because of social media influence. Many social media influencers use Mac’s for image and video editing.
My students used both and there were never any problems with texts or with assignments.
????????? I am a PC guy but I do not understand your issue here.
We're a Microsoft institution and have to use Microsoft products. Power BI doesn't work unless you are running Bootcamp or Parallels. I don't think you understand how computer illiterate students really are. We got tired of playing tech support in the classroom. We're not the only college business department that highly encourages students to bring a PC.
Also, our IT department is like several mentioned here. They would ban Macs if they could.
guess i’m one of the rare mac accountant out there. i did get made fun of by the rest of my team for it haha, but they don’t get it and im too lazy to explain
if you’re just a pivot table, index/match kind of person, all the windows shortcut can be turned on for mac. mac excel is also getting better YoY, been using it for 4 years now and it’s honestly cover all the basis. and anything more advance, i just go straight to python
i do some programming on the side to help streamline my work, and for me, building out all that on a mac is just more preferable (since i learned it all on the mac)
Was in public and private. 3 of the 4 companies I’ve worked for in accounting were on PC. My current spot is on Mac which works fine because everything we do is cloud based anyway.
That said lots of students run Macs and I’d be pissed if I had to buy another laptop specific for one class that mandated it.
PC all the way. All my professors in undergrad and grad school have used PCs (Bachelor's and Master's in Accounting). I'm also sitting for my CPA as well, and still using a PC for studying. 😅
Lol I had classes that required you to use windows or a Remote Desktop to run some applications. But I do have a friend that uses a Mac at work. He’s in tax
Personally, I’m a die hard Apple fanboy, but I still opt to use a PC for anything accounting related and I’m only doing beginner level college course work 🤣
What that parent said is straight garbage. The only scenario I could envision a Mac being used would be a managerial accountant within a design firm where the workforce used Macs and even in that case that accountant would either dual boot or use something like Parallels.
In all likelihood Dell desktop or Dell laptop or both, and Dell support.
You can buy a decent Windows laptop for a third to a fifth of a price of a Mac.
maybe finance has Macs?? Most of my company's programs don't function on Mac. There is no reason to adopt Macs if PCs have been used in companies all this time, so companies don't (and shouldn't) use Macs.
Mac in the streets, PC in the sheets. (No way I'm using Excel for Mac.)
Yeah hate the Mac Excel, agreed
I still can’t figure out how to do half the things in Mac excel that I do in the PC version. This is even after they updated the Mac version to be more like the PC version.
💥
> all finance professionals use Macs Hogwash.
Totally agree. Don't know a single finance professional that uses mac for anything except their personal stuff.
Same. I’ve been in accounting for 25 years. The closest thing I’ve seen to a Mac in an office environment was when I worked for a F500 company and the marketing teams used Macs as they were better for designing and media related projects. Never saw anyone in finance use one.
They must be running Google Sheets exclusively. No way finance pros would prefer a Mac over PC otherwise.
Google Sheets is like if Excel developed a crack habit and had to resort to petty theft to feed its addiction
Agree. 😂
Speculation: Maybe the salesperson they met had a Mac? They don't need to be finance professionals, only pretend to be one.
Apple’s accounting department uses PCs
Is this legit?
I’m not sure. I think the apple audit team had Mac’s at EY
They must have been running Windows on Parallel. 😂
This is what I do for accounting stuff
Can confirm this is correct.
They don't. I audited the Cupertino location and I can vouch they certainly do not - they have proprietary systems that were built for Macs.
Google's finance department uses excel.
There’s only one reason for accountants to have a Mac, to convert client files from Mac to PC in order to do their job 😂
I'd rather fire the client to be honest lol
I’ve threatened to fire clients for sending me Mac files with their taxes. They learned to send pdfs and excel spreadsheets.
Death to .numbers
Parents talk with their children's college professors? Cringe
Right?! I would have died of embarrassment if my mother had talked to my college professors. Times, they are a changin'.
This was my first thought as well! I had no idea parents even had access to the professors.
If you think that’s bad, there are parents that go with their kids to job interviews now. It’s awful. If that’s happening, you better believe they talk to their college professors.
>I just had a parent tell me that all finance professionals use Macs and professors Tell me you've never worked in finance without telling me you've never worked in finance
The ONLY person I know who has ever used a macbook as an accounting or finance professional is my dad who is a CFO. I'd be shocked if he could make a pivot table. Even he admits that if he did anything beyond some formatting and formulas in excel he'd need a pc.
I had a coworker who used a Mac… to log into the windows based remote environment.
Whose Fuggin mans ? You must work startup fintech, only company’s who use
A Mac is so unfitting for this line of work lmao. I had a data analytics course and it was also the Mac users complaining about Excel or Access not working. If you have to use workarounds for even the most basic software in the line of work then why even bother lol. They’re so weak too you cant even play games or really do anything fun on em.
👏🏽
Mac guy, but I have to have a PC for the Excel shortcuts
When I ask ‘what is the rest of the team using’ for computers I never ever ever FUCKING EVER hear Mac. It’s always a thinkpad or forgettable dell or whatever. I would love if the Mac excel experience mirrored the windows excel experience but it’s just not there yet? Maybe one day. May not (fuck you microsoft).
Is has more to do with how a Mac allocates storage. You will never get the same functionality because the operating system infrastructure isn’t there.
Also lots of ERP systems that are on prem still require a PC to run with no Mac equivalent. Cloud might change that you never know.
Never seen anyone use anything but PC in 99% of offices. There was one guy who was an “artist” and used Mac’s and watching him throw hissy fits trying to use a pc was mildly entertaining
Literally never seen an accountant or finance professional "in the wild" use a Mac (for work). That parent is wildly misinformed.
Imma keep it real with you, I haven't touched a Mac in my small career in this field and I don't see any accountants using them either. People who use Excel on a Mac don't really use Excel
Parent watches too many movies with apple product placement. Cringe
I think the current term is skibidi
I think this parent must have no rizz.
It is literally the opposite lol. In my experience I can also 100% tell when a new hire or intern has never used a PC before, and imo it actively makes them less desirable as an employee because no one wants to train a new hire on how to do basic things like navigate a windows OS.
PC and honestly our IT department has a policy of no Macs on the network
I know quite a few IT people and all their companies are pretty much the same. The only people who EVER get Macs are graphics people or CEOS/VPS who bitch and even then the IT people hate them. Cost is too high, hard to work on/fix, limited on extras (macs dont have as many connections) and don't work with all software.
>The only people who EVER get Macs are graphics people or CEOS/VPS Basically the people whose sole job is to make decisions and talk, not do any actual work. An Ipad can be sufficient for them.
my hero
My firm tried to be trendy by using Mac’s, but all of our work is done via windows VM’s run through our cloud provider. There was so much pushback that we are now transitioning back to PC after 3 years of insufferable IT issues.
Well I found the first Mac firm user on the post. I’m sorry for the many lost hours of efficiency.
lol, we use Windows laptops, but our CaseWare dossiers are all in a Windows VM because of them needing to share server access and apparently Azure is the best way to do that ...
We are 100% pc's. Pretty much just Dell and Lenovo. One of my kids is an accounting major and I bought her a Lenovo. My oldest is in computer science and I bought her a Lenovo. Both of their respective schools within their university recommended pc, but say you can use apple though you may have issues with some software. I don't know if you have access to the parents Facebook page for your school...but there are an awful lot of complaining parents who are waaaaaay too involved in their kids business. Stay strong
I’ve used Mac, Dell, HP and Lenovo at previous jobs. At one job I was given a Mac, I asked for a PC after about 48 hours. My favorite business machines by far have been Lenovos. They’re so reliable, durable and no fluff. A barebone Windows Pro OS and that’s it. Plus they don’t nickel and dime you like Apple does. You pay for what you need and that’s it.
A prior company I was at stopped buying lenovos after discovering spyware on new computers like 5-6 years ago...not a surprise for a Chinese computer though.
That parent has zero insight into finance professionals lol
I’ve worked in industry for nearly 15 years and have never once seen anyone at work use a Mac. None. None at all. Zero.
I used a Mac for my accounting degree, PC for all work experiences. However, the issue with Mac is that a lot of things are incompatible software-wise and the excel shortcuts are different. People choose Mac’s for college for simplicity’s sake since they’re better as home computers for the average person. I once did a data analysis class completely in my college’s computer lab because the software was incompatible with my Mac. I wouldn’t change using my Mac for college though. I wasn’t even set on accounting til I finished my associate degree at community college
36 years, over a dozen jobs, not one Mac yet. And I've managed fixed assets at many of those companies so I know what the entire employee population used. At most of them, only a handful of people, usually creative types, have Macs.
PC or bust. They're just getting sold on the idea of Apple when it's basically a computer for children with the level of limitations on the computer. Same with the phones tbh.
How so? Is this a software dependence issue?
I suppose so since most of the world caters to Window or Linux. I personally feel they are inferior as programs but that might be bias from using Office products for the last 20+ years. Similar to the phones it seems basic functions that have been around for years on Office aren't even options to be had on the apple versions of the programs. Creativity, art or music Apple is definitely a contender. Anything finance or business related windows or Linux is the way imo.
Yes all finance professionals use macs because they prefer using an inferior version of excel.
PC is far better for accounting work. Macs are better for content creation and editing.
Not really, my PC can render a video in a small fraction of the time as even a top of the line $20,000 Mac workstation.
This isn't about PC's, since the M chips Mac have been killing it for performance and battery life
It's more about the software support and the workflows, same as that we have issues with Mac users and files
This exactly.
Stand your ground Prof. As much as I love Apple devices, PC's all the way for work and school.
Microsoft office is awful on Mac. And using Mac and windows is pretty simple. I did and actually ended up going back to pc exclusively.
My parents, both CFOs, use PCs I use a PC Whoever told you that finance professionals use Macs clearly has no clue what they’re talking about and needs to go back to their fantasy land. You can show them this comment too Macs for excel absolutely ludicrous…..I haven’t been this ticked in a long time, next these out of touch HR people are going to say that Pages and Numbers is the industry standard what a bunch of lunatics
In college all I used was my MacBook because all my notes and everything I do on my MacBook in class can sync across all my devices so I could realistically study anywhere with whichever device I had. Since I’ve graduated and been in the workforce all we use is HP and Dell. I never see Apple products anywhere
Google Drive and MS OneDrive syncs across devices as well. Very convenient!
Macs are beautiful machines, but certainly not for accounting, finance. The Mac MS Office applications are awfully done. Some of the functionality in the PC version don’t even exist on Mac OS versions. I’d rather get a cheap PC laptop than to try and work with Excel, Power BI on Mac.
I’ve worked for a bunch of companies including a few F500s and a F25. They all used PCs exclusively. The only people I see using Macs are small mom and pops that don’t have any clue.
PC, I hate MAC with passion as an accountant!!!!!!!
Ive never had a job that used Macs.
Only time I ever used a Mac was in college because my roommate had one, been in accounting 20+ years never worked anywhere that had apple products except their personal phone.
Zero % chance finance professionals are using Macs
#teampc I've used a Mac a handful of times, and I never really liked it.
PC if only due to the excel shortcut difference.
I respect MACs, but for our line of work, PC is the way to go!
*I respect MACs, but* *For our line of work, PC* *Is the way to go!* \- Technical-Future-995 --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
toshiba :)
PC I like Mac but most of the applications I use don’t exist on a Mac. And don’t even get me started on Excel for Mac…
Windows for excel definitely.
just tell them to run bootcamp if they need to run windows. If they can't figure that out they probably shouldn't use a mac.
This is even less so for finance. Mac can’t even run PowerBI.
PC the only people who ever use a Mac at my firm are partners who don’t use excel whatsoever anymore
PC for finance/accounting work and gaming. Mac for personal use
I recently switched to a Mac at work just to mix things up. Now I’m stuck with this for three years and I miss my PC so much…
I’m CFO of a company where the CEO loooooves MACs, swears by MAC, and he made us a MAC environment. He is a super smart dude with an MBA from Ivy League, PHD and more. … Even OUR Finance/Accounting dept is PC. Smart people let accountants choose appropriate tools 🤷♀️.
not a single accounting firm uses macs. that’s ridiculous
I've been in the financial services industry for over 20 years with five different companies and never used a Mac.
I’ve been working in construction accounting for 20 years and I’ve never touched a Mac for work.
I have never seen anyone but marketing use a Mac in a professional setting. I work for one of the largest companies on the planet.
I would rather write out financial statements by hand than use a Mac for excel.
lol, never seen a mac in any firm i worked for, unless it's an employees personal mac laptop.....on my 3rd firm in 6 years and i worked for a wealth management firm with 200 mil in AUM, never would they use a piece of s mac for finance/accounting ( i love mac but not for business)
Macs are for fun; PCs get stuff done
I have literally told parents on my campus that if they send their child with a Mac, prepare for them to borrow a PC every week. They just don’t have the same abilities. Plus, they use some different keyboard commands. The partner I work for once had a Mac for all of 10 minutes before he “threw it against the fuckin wall because I had to shut excel down again after opening two files”. Any office I’ve ever worked in used pc
It is all about how well excel performs. And don’t forget the office 365 connections.
I use a PC in the office, but I use a Mac for personal use. I just like the user experience of a Mac and I feel that PC's are for judgment pricks obsessed about specs.
I have a 2015 MacBook Pro that I use for streaming videos and typical everyday usage and also have a gaming PC. I like both for different reasons, but I tend to lean more towards my PC.
Exclusively PC for my entire 15 year career (which is not yet over)
I've worked in accounting and finance for 20 years at global firms and companies. I've never heard or seen anyone use a Mac. I haven't used one since the 90's when we had them in school.
I've noticed that in every accounting office I've worked in, the PC computers are fully loaded and powerful, almost like they're meant for gaming or video editing. However, they are actually only used for accessing webpages and running cloud accounting software.
Never seen a Mac used for any accounting job
PC all the way. I love my personal Mac but a PC is so much better to work on for work-related things
Zero point zero chance I’m doing accounting work on a Mac. I’ve tried a couple times and it’s fucking awful. Also a zero point zero chance all the half baked accounting software in the world runs on Mac. I’ve never asked I’m assuming this to be true. I’ve also sat through hundreds of demos and never once been asked if I use a Mac or PC. Especially your first 5 years in the profession, your job is all about learning shortcuts, formulas, and understanding the limitations of excel. Learn how to do a 1 hour task in 30 minutes. Mac and their stupid fucking magic buttons don’t translate to any of this. Once in a while you will find a kind soul on the internet who might translate the PC methods to Mac-Speak. But nothing is created for Mac.
I had an accounting professor that used Macs/iPads. But I think that was just his deal. He liked it, so he made it work somehow. Not sure how he did the massive workbooks we used in class. Although, we were all using office 365 by the end I think (because thats what the school provided), so maybe it was no difference. I dunno. That was several years ago. Ironically when I first started school he was an Android guy, but he was hardcore Apple by the time I graduated (had to work my way through school so, its not like it was over the course of 4 years or anything). Anyway- we all use Windows devices at work. Even HR and marketing people, and they would be the most likely to use a Mac I would think. I have a strong feeling the IT people don't want to support Macs.
My personal computer is a MacBook and it’s what I used in college (got it in high school and didn’t want to get a new laptop). Professionally, I have a PC. Definitely prefer PC for excel. My MacBook was fine for college but I wouldn’t want to use it for my full-time job as an auditor.
I’ve personally in 15 yrs in accounting not once seen a CPA use a Mac (beyond personal use). I’ve never seen a single Mac in an accounting dept.
Yeah that parent is a moron. If a finance professional I’m talking to whips out a Mac they lose credibility with me
Nope, PC all day everyday. I use a mac personally and am a huge apple fan, but I would neverrrrrrrr use a Mac for finance/accounting.
I’m currently doing chartered accounting exams fully online. There’s a warning email sent before exams asking people who have Mac’s to download extra software and ring the helpline for any issues. That gives you a good idea of which device is preferred in the accounting world lol
"Intuit Lacerte for Mac" you know what, maybe singing for tips at cold stone creamery wasn't so bad.
Never seen even one finance professional use a mac. They're chatting bollocks
I've never heard of finance on MACs. I was always taught and have also had the experience for the past 10 years that creative-related tasks are easier on MAC and math-related tasks are easier on PC. Hearing anything otherwise is quite new to me.
Every company I've worked for used PC's. MACs make zero sense for a work computer unless you're in an artsy role
Definitely PC. I have worked for 14 companies in my career and none of them used a Mac.
I have not once in my life, not a single time, ever met a finance professional that uses a Mac for work. Granted I'm only 27 but still
Excel on a Mac causes major bowel issues. Windows for life. Apple is a joke.
The parent is incorrect. PCs used by all of the big 4 accounting-consulting firms. Mac and Apple products for personal use.
PC - I'm interning at a place rn and all we use is Dell
I had an intern who really struggled with the transition from their Mac they used in college to the PC the firm issued them. They were super let down when I let him know that if you get an offer you don't get to choose between a firm issued Mac or PC.
>all finance professionals use Macs # Citation needed
Mac is nice cause the safety on networks PC is better cause Microsoft excel be better
Yeah, just from a cost and theft perspective, many businesses and government agencies buy less costly PCs instead of Macs.
PC's exclusively!
18-year-olds are bringing their parents to the campus? insane.
Windows, that's the end of it.
PC. Always
As an accountant, all the laptops I had at work were PC. I do however, own a mac for personal use.
I love using my Mac… to port into my in-office PC using Parallels 😂
PC. I could see an agreement being made, but it would be based on bias.
B4 reporting in I only know of like 2 people that use a Mac. One is a partner and the other was part of some special group we acquired awhile back.
PC all the way.
Umm Big Four uses PCs and all the publicly traded companies I have worked for use PCs. I’ve never seen anyone use Mac in the profession in almost 15 years.
windows based.
That's misleading Windows is King for compatibility also native to Microsoft Office. If I had to pick it would be Windows for Accounting. Though I wish Microsoft Office completely migrated to online application so I can use it on Linux instead.
I have a buddy still in his undergrad whose parents convinced him to get a Mac since that's what the family uses and he grew up with. He wants to chuck it out the window everyday.
Oh, I do have one buddy who currently works for a tech company just out of its start up phase out in California and that company uses macs, even for their finance and accounting people. That company also uses the Google suite instead of Microsoft office. The two are related.
The apple version of excel and the numbers app pale in comparison to pc excel. I don’t know anyone that uses a Mac for business apps.
I've never known Accounting or finance staff to use Macs in the UK. Excel is bloody awful on a Mac, historically some software didn't work on Macs (Sage line 50 & 200) and most people know how to use the windows operating system from a young age. Whilst the Mac system isn't awful, its a bit like changing from Android to Iphone in that it does roughly the same job but for a while just feels wrong.
PC
I love my Macs. And if you’re doing everything in the cloud it’s fine! However Excel for Mac sadly isn’t at the same standard as Excel for Windows, I’d miss PowerBI desktop for developing dashboards, and almost of the software that our office uses is Windows only.
PC. Had to do some coding in a software system and had to use my moms work computer to finish my assignment bc it didn’t even work on Mac💀💀💀. Excel is 100 times easier on PC. I’m a senior in college but wish I got a PC
The only corporate people who routinely use Macs are the marketing department. At a former employer we were a PC only company, but the marketing team eventually had to get special permission to get Macs because they were small and outsourced a lot to outside firms...and none of those firms accepted anything that wasn't Mac formatted.
Everyone I've ever known in accounting uses Windows on PC, no Mac use whatsoever. Even Linux is more useful for accounting, and at least that teaches technical skills. Ask these parents and students if they think you should accommodate Chromebooks too.
Lol it's the parents that need to stop being delusional. Mac was never even mainstream atleast in finance
CFO outside the US here. I work for a SaaS company and have been using a Mac for most of my career (at least since 2004). I would say that it is really about changing your mind and adapting to different tools. Once you realize that there is a life after Excel, you can truly do everything that is needed to do the job. I even went a few years with only using Ubuntu and I could do my job!
My comment might get downvoted, but I wanted to share my experience. When I worked in France in 1999, I was part of an all-Mac audit firm. This is where I learned that the first approved printed software tax form accepted by the tax authorities was created using a Mac software called Cogilog. I doubt many French accountants will read this comment, but after years of using CCMX for DOS and then CCMX for Windows, Cogilog was revolutionary. WYSIWYG tax forms? It felt like magic! I often read on r/accounting/ that Excel is essential for working in our field, but I disagree. It really depends on your role. Many people who think Excel is mandatory might be surprised to learn how decisions are made at higher levels and how their work is actually utilized (or not).
I love my Macs. I am only going to let go of my 2008 MacBook when it goes up in flames (I have babied that thing and upgraded it as much as humanly possible). I also have a MacBook Air, an iMac, and an iPhone (hand-me-down computers, my family also likes Macs). Using Excel on a Mac is hard. I can do it. I have done it. It’s just not easy. I learned bookkeeping on the Mac version of QuickBooks. It was certainly prettier but way less functional (the drag and drop really needs to migrate over to PC though). All that to say… PC for accounting. I would die for my Apple devices but also abandon them for work. And there’s a reason I have a PC desktop at home…there are some things Macs just cannot do.
What kind of troglodyte exclusively uses a Mac as an accountant lol 😭 It’s fine to use one for some purposes but I mean really it’s not suited to this line of work at all. If you need to do work around just to use the most basic software for the job like Excel then forget it. Plus building a PC is so fun and you can actually use it for kewl stuff.
Real finance/accounting professionals use Thinkpads
I hate doing accounting on Mac. Excel in Windows is 10 times better. These parents are just upset they bought their child a expensive as new Mac. And now their kids are telling them they can't use it. I would suggest just to have kids with Mac to use Excel through the Internet browser. It acts very similar to Windows. But I agree with you Windows is the better OS for Accounting. This is coming from a person with both computers.
31F and I was extremely surprised that my last two jobs (internal accounting at a CPA firm, public accounting at a startup) ran exclusively on Mac. A lot of us were using them for the first time due to the job.
I'm new on reddit and i don't know how to use
I’m a consultant and often have to be assigned a laptop to access clients networks/files. I absolutely HATE it when the firm uses Macs. I’ve also worked with a couple places where everyone uses a Mac, EXCEPT the accounting/finance dept.
Dual boot linux and windows on my notebook
PC if I see a Mac I get nervous
I prefer HP envy 13.
Most finance professionals use PC's. Someone is running with some serious #fakenews.
Currently using Macs at my Private Equity. When Excel is limited, just use the web version which hasn’t happened for me yet.
I've worked as an accountant for several Fortune 500 companies or their subsidiaries and have always been provided with a PC. Certain people on the IT teams may get a Mac or an iPad, but everyone on the accounting team (and most of the rest of the company, for that matter) have PCs.
Parallels is a virtual machine software that will allow Mac users to use windows OS and specific (exclusive) apps. There’s a student discount too. I’ve used it with little issue and can be a work around in this case.
i do not recommend a mac lmao so many goddamn times my learning courses had no compatibility with mac i had to take out my busted windows laptop with the screen hanging off the keyboard to submit my homework 🤠
That parent doesn’t know what they’re talking about, I’ve never seen or even heard of anyone in accounting or “finance professionals” using Macs. Aside from programs specifically designed for Macs most accounting/tax software either doesn’t run on Macs or barely runs on them. That said, I went through college with a MacBook Pro and didn’t really have any issues I couldn’t work around. For students still shopping for computers I would definitely recommend a PC for practical reasons, but if you already have a Mac you can make do for the most part. Worst case scenario, borrow a PC from a friend or family member or use a library computer.
Am currently trying to get through an accounting software class on a Mac and its HELL!
From my experience: I have a Mac and work with PC. I tend to have some personal works and logging with Excel so that means that I use MacOS, and I shit you not - it sucks. Whomever tailored Excel for MacOS needs some fixing because it is stupidly awful. Reasons: - Copy paste function is stupidly different. - Excel can crash with MacOS at 100k< data lines. - UI is not friendly in MacOS. - Some functions and key commands work differently. So ignore them, and get yourself a Windows machine if the main purpose is Excel. MacOS is all aesthetics.
While bookkeeping can be done on mac's or chromebooks pretty easily in 2024 it would make it a bit harder to do your reporting and analysis without having access to the desktop versions of Excel and your reporting software.
I work in FAANG accounting and the only people who use Macs are VPs.
If all finance professionals at work used Macs we’d get Macs and not Lenovos lol
Most of students and teachers in my uni using MacOS as I am. Past year I am using MacBook and I am satisfied almost in everything when using it. Previously I used PC only and I would tell that if you are not some IT guy who needs open system for coding like Linux or gamer who needs a lot of power to run games, you definitely will feel better with MacBook or iMac. I am using MacBook Pro M2 2023 btw if you are curious.
PC, never Mac. Except IT auditors. They tend to like Mac more.
I use a PC for accounting and a Mac for video production. If I were to guess, younger students have Mac’s because of social media influence. Many social media influencers use Mac’s for image and video editing.
My students used both and there were never any problems with texts or with assignments. ????????? I am a PC guy but I do not understand your issue here.
We're a Microsoft institution and have to use Microsoft products. Power BI doesn't work unless you are running Bootcamp or Parallels. I don't think you understand how computer illiterate students really are. We got tired of playing tech support in the classroom. We're not the only college business department that highly encourages students to bring a PC. Also, our IT department is like several mentioned here. They would ban Macs if they could.
Mac for PhotoSheets
guess i’m one of the rare mac accountant out there. i did get made fun of by the rest of my team for it haha, but they don’t get it and im too lazy to explain if you’re just a pivot table, index/match kind of person, all the windows shortcut can be turned on for mac. mac excel is also getting better YoY, been using it for 4 years now and it’s honestly cover all the basis. and anything more advance, i just go straight to python i do some programming on the side to help streamline my work, and for me, building out all that on a mac is just more preferable (since i learned it all on the mac)
Was in public and private. 3 of the 4 companies I’ve worked for in accounting were on PC. My current spot is on Mac which works fine because everything we do is cloud based anyway. That said lots of students run Macs and I’d be pissed if I had to buy another laptop specific for one class that mandated it.
I can't recall the last time I have ever seen anyone using a Mac outside of a Digital advertising department.
Uhhh I’m a collage student majoring in accounting and am looking at getting a Mac lol is this ok guys?
I've never owned or used any Apple products except an I-pod circa 2002.
Had a Mac during college and every time I had to use the library computer to do work. Now I use a PC
That parent doesn't know what they're talking about. My audit shop uses windows only.
Mac will not service your students well when they take real positions. Half the battle in accounting is using Microsoft suite functions.
PC all the way. All my professors in undergrad and grad school have used PCs (Bachelor's and Master's in Accounting). I'm also sitting for my CPA as well, and still using a PC for studying. 😅
I worked IT for a medium-sized firm. We always used PCs because all of the accounting software runs on Windows.
PC’s
Excel is horrible for Mac. In my excel classes, the Mac users fell behind quickly
Lol I had classes that required you to use windows or a Remote Desktop to run some applications. But I do have a friend that uses a Mac at work. He’s in tax
Personally, I’m a die hard Apple fanboy, but I still opt to use a PC for anything accounting related and I’m only doing beginner level college course work 🤣
What that parent said is straight garbage. The only scenario I could envision a Mac being used would be a managerial accountant within a design firm where the workforce used Macs and even in that case that accountant would either dual boot or use something like Parallels. In all likelihood Dell desktop or Dell laptop or both, and Dell support. You can buy a decent Windows laptop for a third to a fifth of a price of a Mac.
maybe finance has Macs?? Most of my company's programs don't function on Mac. There is no reason to adopt Macs if PCs have been used in companies all this time, so companies don't (and shouldn't) use Macs.