in finance Finance, which is another specialization of business schools, is related to accounting. However, accounting scholarship focuses more strongly on distinctive bodies of knowledge such as financial reporting, financial management, auditing, information management and taxation. Finance, on the other hand, is oriented more towards management of investments and other liquid assets. Others differences between scholarship in finance and accounting include the number of citations articles receive, word count, and length of the publication process. Accounting and economics The theoretical basis of the central concepts with which accounting is concerned, including profit, cost, revenue and capital is derived from economics. In turn, accounting concepts play an important role in economics, most notably in relation to national accounts. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, many Professors of Accounting are members of one of four registered auditors and Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies members including ACCA, ICAEW, ICAS and ICAI recognized under the Companies Act. Refer to the articles on Chartered accountant and Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) for more information about UK government policy for top MBAs in 2004. It is, however, by no means compulsory. The key criterion for being offered a professorship, or chair, is the contribution to research evaluated on the basis of published articles in scholarly journals. United States In the United States, the minimum requirement for appointment as an instructor at an accredited university is a bachelor's degree in accounting and an additional eighteen credits of accounting post-graduate study. A post graduate degree, such as an MBA or Masters of Accountancy, is highly recommended. A Ph.D. in accounting or a related field is required for an appointment at a top tier business school, especially one in which research is undertaken. Being licensed as a Certified Public Accountant is also strongly recommended. The outlook for accounting programs in the United States is looking up. While the number of accounting students had dropped from its peak in 1993 and 1994 when there were 60,000 students enrolled in accounting programs, there were 37,000 undergraduate degrees awarded in 2002–2003. This represents a 6% increase from the previous year. There were also 12,655 graduate degrees awarded, a 30% increase. The causes of this increase have been ascribed to the loss of jobs in Information Technology due to the recent dot com crash, as well as the full-employment aspects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the effects of all of the recent accounting scandals.