The Top 5 Accounting Movies of All Time

We all know that if there’s one thing better than movie night, it’s accounting themed movie night!

by Josh Tarica on October 20, 2014
Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/17851866@N00/

 

So to fill your Netflix queue, we’ve scientifically (completely subjectively) ranked the Top 5 Accounting related movies of all time based on the following point scale:

  • 0-5 points – Educational Value
  • 0-5 points – Accounting Coolness Factor
  • 0-10 points – Entertainment Value
  • 0-5 points – Accounting Pop Culture Importance
  • Bonus Point – Morgan Freeman Monologue

 

#5.  Dead Man – 13 points

Ok – so this one is a bit obscure, and a bit on the stranger side…but it’s honestly one of my favorite all time movies.

It stars Johnny Depp (before he became a walking, talking pirate zombie) as an accountant that goes out west to pursue a new job opportunity during the Gold Rush.

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#4.  Hitch – 13.5 points

You know that we had to include a Rom Com on this list!

Watch Will Smith turn Paul Blart Mall Cop Kevin James into a debiting, crediting, lady-swooning machine.

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#3.  The Untouchables – 17 points

This movie is a classic.  It hits so many topics – the mob, prohibition, FBI, accounting, Sean Connery and…baseball (if you’ve seen the movie, you know what I mean).

If you don’t know the story of Al Capone, I’m not going to give you any spoilers.  Just watch the movie – you’ll be proud to call yourself a CPA!

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#2.  Enron:  The Smartest Guys in the Room – 20 points

The only documentary to crack our Top 5, ‘Enron:  The Smartest Guys in the Room’ is arguably the most important accounting movie you’ll ever watch.  It’s interesting, educational, suspenseful and brilliantly crafted.

Plus, this movie is almost like a 2 hour crash course as to why and how the public accounting landscape has changed since the infamous fraud.  This is a great movie to give you something to say around the accounting water cooler!

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#1.  The Shawshank Redemption – 21 points

If you haven’t seen Shawshank, three things:

  1. It’s incredible.
  2. It’s amazing.
  3. It’s on TV at least 12 times a day, everyday.

The #1 movie was never really in question.  Shawshank is the perfect accounting movie to watch over and over again on a rainy day after a Tax 1 test.

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Other notable mentions:

  • Midnight Run
  • The Informant!
  • The Producers
  • Too Big to Fail

 

What do you think about the list?  We’d love to hear your thoughts….Tweet at us or email us (brad@rocketgrad.com and josh@rocketgrad.com).

Josh Tarica

Josh Tarica

Josh is a co-founder of RocketGrad.com, the premier network for Accounting and Information Systems students to land jobs and internships with leading firms.