Finance Industry Snapshot

Trends

The finance industry has changed significantly over the decades. Innovations and competitions shape the industry for a new and more sophisticated future. The globalization of the economy and the increased sophistication of companies have led to an expansion in the type of finance careers available. While areas such as structured finance and strategic planning have shown growth in the past couple of years, there is a current trend towards risk management and corporate restructuring. Today the positions at offerings are in wide arrays. Hiring of MBA graduated with little or no experience is at associate or analyst positions.

Lifestyle

It is said that individuals are panicked twice, once when they have money and second when they don’t have money। Thus the learning is that in the financial industry life is not smooth as it is job of higher responsibility involving millions and billions. However, lifestyle varies significantly based on your function, the culture of the company and the current trends in the industry. Positions at investment will have the greater number of hours (ranges from 10 – 16 hour days). Positions involving capital budgeting and strategic initiatives (M&A, Structure Finance) within a corporation tend to have better hours than banks but will fluctuate based on the current projects of the company (i.e. acquisitions, IPO’s, debt offerings, etc.) Traditional finance paths such as treasury, risk management, etc. will have hours closer to a 40-hour workweek.

Corporate Finance Functions and Career Paths

Job Functions:

These job functions are basic format that most of the companies follows. They may vary based upon the industry and size of the company.

Some examples of finance careers include:

· Banking Analyst
· Trust Officer
· Stockbroker
· Treasurer
· Securities Analyst
· Financial Reporter
· Portfolio Analyst
· Investment Counselor
· Bank Officer
· Corporate Reporter
· Capital Budgeting Manager
· Mortgage Broker
· Consultant
· Loan Officer
· Financial Analyst
· Financial Planner
· Institutional Broker
· Mortgage Banker
· Pension fund Manager
· Bank Officer
· Real Estate Appraiser
· Underwriter
· Insurance Agent
· Options Trader
· Floor Trader
· Real Estate Lender
· Risk Manager
· Cash Manager
· Chief Financial Officer
· Mutual Fund Manager
· Investment Banker
· Credit Manager


Careers in corporate finance include funding a business, growing a business, acquiring new assets, and planning for the financial future of the business. You might work for a large multinational company or a smaller player with high growth.

Skills and Requirements for Success

· Problem solving
· Strong quantitative and analytical background
· Strong knowledge of spreadsheet and word processing applications
· Leadership distinction
· Academic excellence
· Client relationship expertise
· Superior interpersonal skills
· Demonstrated work ethic