Finance Career Paths Explained

Hey everyone, my name is Ned.  I’m the founder and CEO of 365. We’ve helped more than 3 million people  worldwide acquire career-enhancing skills.

Today, I want to discuss one of my  favorite topics: finance careers. I’m a finance graduate, and throughout my  professional development, I’ve worked as a forex dealer, financial analyst,  M&A advisor, in-house M&A analyst, and financial consultant. So, I've held various roles and gained valuable experience that  I'm eager to share with you.

First, it's essential to understand the diverse fields  in finance careers—including corporate finance, investment banking, investment management,  traditional banking, financial services, and consulting. Each area demands specialized skills  and provides numerous placement opportunities. In this video, I’ll explore various finance job  roles, highlight the most intriguing career paths, and share my insights.

I hope you’re  excited because I certainly am! But before we continue, I want to say a few words  about our platform, 365financialanalyst. com.

Given that you’re interested in a career  in finance, I can confidently say that this is one of the best places where  you can learn practical skills to help you land a job and excel from day one. Unfortunately, university education often fails to prepare students for real-world work  challenges. Our 365 Financial Analyst Program addresses this gap by teaching practical  skills that my colleagues and I possess.

Check out the link in the description—I  highly recommend taking our courses. OK. First, we'll begin with corporate finance, which involves  working within a typical company's finance team.

Coca-Cola, Nike, Starbucks, and thousands of  other global companies require finance specialists for financial analysis, cash flow management,  treasury operations, working capital management, financial planning, accounting, and more. We distinguish roles into two main types: financial accounting-related  and financial analysis. In accounting roles, individuals maintain  and analyze financial records—ensuring the company's financial statements are  accurate and meet regulatory standards.

The typical positions in most firms include: • Accountants • Accounts receivables—responsible for payments to clients • Accounts payables—who monitor payments to suppliers and • The internal audit team The internal audit team ensures that the finance  team adheres to regulations and safeguards the company from fraud, errors, and inefficiencies. These roles manage the firm’s financial accounting—primarily generating  reports for external stakeholders. Of course, companies also need financial analysis  expertise for their internal decision-making.

This is why they hire financial analysts who  study financial performance and provide insights and reporting to management. Another noteworthy role is the financial controller, who is responsible  for uncovering the cost of producing a company’s products or services. We also have the Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) team, which forecasts revenue, costs,  and balance sheet items.

This team shares these insights across the organization to  enable all budgeting and planning efforts. If I had to pick my favorite  entry-level Corporate Finance role, it would likely be a financial analyst. As a financial analyst, I relished analyzing financial performance and engaging with  key stakeholders who valued my insights.

A fundamental benefit of being a financial  analyst is that, in most cases, you don’t specialize in just one or two types of activities.  You must perform various analyses—enriching and preparing you for more sophisticated roles. In corporate finance, career progression typically starts at an entry-level  position—such as a financial analyst—advancing through roles like finance  manager, director, VP, and potentially CFO.

Ok. Great! In addition to traditional corporate finance roles, finance  graduates can pursue the challenging and rewarding field of investment banking, which is frequently  favored by top candidates for its dynamic career development opportunities.

Investment banks  assist industrial and financial firms when they need to raise capital or financial advisory  for mergers and acquisitions or restructuring. Additionally, many investment banks  operate active trading desks that buy and sell shares for themselves or clients. Securing an entry-level position in investment banking could lead to roles like equity or  debt capital markets analyst, M&A analyst, trader, or investment researcher, which focus  on detailed research and analysis of financial markets and traded securities.

Becoming an M&A analyst is the dream of many finance graduates. The thrill of closing high-stakes deals, working on transformative transactions  that hit the headlines, and deepening one’s understanding of business strategy and  financial structuring is highly appealing. M&A analysts are crucial in mergers and  acquisitions.

They identify potential targets and handle financial modeling and business valuation. Once a deal is in the pipeline, M&A analysts are heavily involved in due diligence—investigating  and verifying the target’s financial, operational, and strategic aspects  to identify risks and opportunities. An investment banker's career progression  often includes roles like associate, VP, Director, and Managing Director.

But,  due to the industry's rigorous demands, fewer individuals stay at each level. Many  analysts and associates opt for opportunities in private equity and venture capital (VC). Private equity and VC are part of the investment management industry, which  is an essential branch of finance.

Asset managers and investment funds  aim to invest client funds and make more money. Depending on a client’s preferred  risk-return profile, asset managers choose an optimal investment portfolio combination. Typically, clients can invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate investment  trusts, venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, and alternative investment asset  classes, such as art or cryptocurrencies.

If you become a venture capital analyst, you’ll  be responsible for sourcing potential deals with companies in their early development stages. VC analysts' primary objective is to scout for revenue growth potential and great  entrepreneurs. They evaluate business plans, focusing extensively on deal  structuring and communication.

Private equity analysts, on the other hand,  work on significantly larger deals and typically look to acquire a majority stake or  full ownership of the firms they invest in. A private equity analyst works on financial  models, evaluates companies, and researches potential targets. This role requires significant  post-deal support from portfolio companies.

All right. Let’s switch to the next finance field. Most people associate finance with traditional banking, which historically involves deposit  taking and lending—familiar since ancient times.

Today, traditional banks offer digital  banking, forex, corporate banking, insurance, and wealth management. Concerning job roles, traditional banks need credit analysts to assess the  creditworthiness of individuals and businesses applying for loans. They analyze financial  statements, credit reports, and other data to determine the risk involved in lending and whether  the bank should be involved in this transaction.

Considering the large amounts of money  a bank uses, they need significant investments in risk management staff. The entry-level risk management position (Risk Analyst) involves developing financial  models, evaluating bank exposures, and proposing strategies to mitigate potential risks. Most banks have corporate divisions that offer tailored services to corporate clients  and hire dedicated relationship managers.

These managers get to know their clients well  and foster the relationship with the bank. I find this role highly stimulating because  working with corporate clients offers significant insights into their business and enhances  soft skills through direct interaction with top executives. All right.

Finally, let’s consider Financial  Services and Consulting. Thousands of financial consulting firms  worldwide assist businesses with M&A, restructuring, auditing, tax, compliance, risk  management, and performance improvement issues. In the auditing world, remember the  names Pwc, KPMG, EY, and Deloitte, which collectively employ over 1 million people.

An auditor collaborates with client companies to verify that their financial statements  are accurate and truly reflect the business's financial status—thereby developing  outstanding technical and accounting skills. Besides auditing, the Big Four and  financial consultants also offer compelling career paths in transaction services, including  due diligence for M&A, tax advisory, and more. The standard career progression in the consulting arm of a Big Four firm typically  includes consultant, executive, assistant manager, manager, senior manager,  director, associate partner, and partner.

(This illustrates the variety of position titles  across consulting firms' corporate hierarchies. ) I began my career in PwC's Transaction  Services unit—an enriching experience that allowed me to work on many deals, hone  my technical skills in Excel, accounting, and financial analysis, and, crucially, evaluate  the business strategies of numerous companies. Having the opportunity to engage with  entrepreneurs and finance directors and inquire about their businesses was truly invaluable.

Thank you for watching. I hope this video has provided valuable insights into diverse  finance careers and their opportunities. Please check out 365financialanalyst.

com  to start building the skills you need to succeed in your finance career. Until next time, take care and keep learning!