Hey pixonman
Well, accounting is not particularly helpful in the 'real world', but then again that's true of pretty much every VCE subject
Accounting at VCE level is all done through a manual system (all entries by hand), which is hardly ever used by businesses anymore as computers are much more efficient, both for time and money. However, the theory that you learn can help a little if you want to go into the field of accounting for tertiary studies, though I'm led to believe that what we do is really quite basic.
However, in relation to taxes and other finance-y thingys, no it's really not helpful for the average person at all. We don't learn how to do our taxes or manage bills (but I wish we were taught this at some point!!!!!). So it's not really a useful subject if you mean in relation to 'real world' stuff. Sorry!
It is an AWESOME subject though, my absolute favourite!