Financial Analysis as a Career

Let's bust a myth that only MBAs can bag high level corporate jobs. M. Com. students too can bag fancy yet high profile jobs in the corporate sector. With our immensely rich academic background, we can rock the world. So, presenting to you a fancy and rich corporate career for master of commerce students: Financial Analysis.

In today's scenario, position of financial analyst is becoming one of the most coveted and demanded by the employers. From situations of outbreak which leads to market crash to situations of Sensex crossing 50000 mark, financial planning and analysis is utmost to ensure the very survival of businesses. Financial analyst bank jobs include investment banking, research, sales & trading, and commercial banking. Institutional jobs include private equity, research, and portfolio management. Jobs at corporations include investor relations, corporate development, treasury, and financial planning and analysis (FP&A).

SCOPE:

The market for mutual funds is expanding and upcoming mutual fund companies require talented and trained financial analysts. Moreover, investment banking is expected to expand and it would definitely require the services of F.As. so that funds can be generated and assessment for mergers and buyouts can be done. There would also be an increased demand for financial analysts to do analysis of sales, costs, commodity prices, tax rates and expenses of financial firms in the upcoming decade.

Top organizations that hire financial analysts are:

• SBI Capital Markets Limited
• Bajaj Capital Limited
• DSP Merrill Lynch Limited.
• Birla Global Finance Limited
• Housing Development Finance Corporation
• Karvy Group
• Centrum Finance Limited
• L& T Finance Limited
• PNB Gilts Limited
• CIL Securities Limited

ROLE:

Financial Analysts can have their own office and operate independently and develop a sound customer base or can kick start their career with companies. Whatever the case, their work includes:-

• diving deep into data to identify opportunities and evaluate outcomes for business decisions or investment recommendations,
• gathering a lot of data, financial modeling, and spreadsheet maintenance,
• spending time on developing investment strategies, discussions with management and other stakeholders,
• assisting customers in the investment process,
• preparing financial statements, auditing, or assess taxes,
• investigating and ascertain the financial position of business house for the purpose of issue of new shares, purchase or sale or financing of business, etc.,
• secretarial work in companies, account management and share valuation, etc.

EDUCATION:

Qualifications needed to become a financial analyst are much less rigid and no career-wide educational minimums exist. If one faces any required licensing depends on factors, such as the employer and the specific job duties. Still students who wish to make a career in financial analysis should start studying commerce and finance subjects from their school level. After that:

• A candidate must have done graduation with mathematics as one subject. Additionally, a degree in business administration, accounting, finance or statistics benefits a lot in getting a job in finance organizations.
• Other specialization looked upon favorably include mathematics of- finance, investment, statistics and general aptitude.
• Besides doing B. Com./M. Com. or CA and CFA students can do MBA in finance or finance analysis offered by various management institutes. Some management colleges offer diploma courses in financial management.

SKILLS REQUIRED:

• RESEARCH SKILL- As the name suggests analysis cannot be done without research, finding questions and digging answers.
• ANALYTICAL SKILLS- Analytical skills mean the demonstration of logical thinking, gathering of a variety of data and looking at them in different possible ways. However, analytical skills cannot be learned by reading books but has to be acquired through experience and a solid foundation.
• EXCEL SKILLS- Analysts are also expected to be good with databases and excel. These tools help in analyzing the data, comparing data and making presentations to the clients. Pivot tables, different types of graphs and excel formulas can all be used to analyze the data.
• LANUGAGES- SQL or Structured Query Language and several other computer languages, such as Python, SAS, and R are in demand by corporates.
• POWER POINT is a must.
• MATHEMATICAL SKILLS- Number Crunching is a must as FAs in equity research department and fixed asset analyst use DCF, MARKET COMPARABLES, CREDIT DEFAULT SWAPS to analyze value of companies.
• LEADERSHIP SKILLS- such as lead for a team, mentoring junior analysts and create a friendly and collaborative atmosphere.
• COMMUNICATION SKILLS, PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS, TEAM WORK SKILLS, TECHNICAL SKILLS.

ATTRACTIONS:

• The determination of salary of financial analyst is done on the basis of skills and knowledge.
• Any fresher financial analyst can earn any salary in the range of Rs.15,000- Rs. 40,000
• per month.
• After five or more years of work experience there is four to five times growth in the salary package of financial analysts.
• Qualified CFA can earn attractive salaries in the USA or Canada.
• Analysts with sound exposure and presentation skills can easily get employed in multinational hedge fund organizations and financial bodies including investment banks.

LAST WORD:

Candidates should be aware of the fact that financial analysis is career which can truly be considered tough as what matters all is the skills and wisdom. Starting as an intern with some finance organization helps freshers get practical knowledge and right exposure. The candidate can learn how to use spreadsheets, databases, power point presentations, etc. which in the end helps him get a job in finance company. Additionally, learning application software such as ERP can have additional benefit for candidates.

Sources:

1. proschoolonline.com

2. jagranjosh.com

3. corporatefinanceinstitute.com