Discussion
Hi all
Long time lurker, first time poster.
Looking for some advice from any finance people re my next career step.
Background - ACA qual from national firm in 2011 then moved into industry for a couple of years and really enjoyed the role to begin with although things are now beginning to stagnate.
Progression looks like a case of dead mans shoes and at my level I think I need to get some staff management experience or begin to specialise.
I'd really like to get away from stat reporting / month end work, does anyone have any similar experience moving into a commercial type role? Also, i've been approached about a Corporate finance role within a small firm which sounds interesting - can anyone shed light on this as a career path?
Thanks
J
Long time lurker, first time poster.
Looking for some advice from any finance people re my next career step.
Background - ACA qual from national firm in 2011 then moved into industry for a couple of years and really enjoyed the role to begin with although things are now beginning to stagnate.
Progression looks like a case of dead mans shoes and at my level I think I need to get some staff management experience or begin to specialise.
I'd really like to get away from stat reporting / month end work, does anyone have any similar experience moving into a commercial type role? Also, i've been approached about a Corporate finance role within a small firm which sounds interesting - can anyone shed light on this as a career path?
Thanks
J
Top Lurking,
As Rog says it depends what you want, if you are looking for a CFO type role in the future then you probably need to do a bigger reporting role, or jump to FP&A for a bit to round off your core skills.
Corporate Finance is not for the faint hearted, you need to have a realistic prospect of personally being able to win work, especially in a small firm, to make serious money.
Of course that may come in time. Ask about recent transactions and the companyies role in it. If all they are doing is the due diligence, then it is a LOT less glamourous than it sounds. If they are actually in the discussions about the deal size or target list, then fine.
CF covers a really wide range of things, for smaller firms it is often selling retirees companies or trying to allow owner exit of SME's.
If you want more specific advice I would be happy to speak, you can PM me and I will provide some detail.
As Rog says it depends what you want, if you are looking for a CFO type role in the future then you probably need to do a bigger reporting role, or jump to FP&A for a bit to round off your core skills.
Corporate Finance is not for the faint hearted, you need to have a realistic prospect of personally being able to win work, especially in a small firm, to make serious money.
Of course that may come in time. Ask about recent transactions and the companyies role in it. If all they are doing is the due diligence, then it is a LOT less glamourous than it sounds. If they are actually in the discussions about the deal size or target list, then fine.
CF covers a really wide range of things, for smaller firms it is often selling retirees companies or trying to allow owner exit of SME's.
If you want more specific advice I would be happy to speak, you can PM me and I will provide some detail.
Thanks for the replies guys.
Initially I jumped into industry for an increase in salary, huge reduction in working hours and an opportunity to work for a reputable business in the region.
I don't dislike my job, but the routine of month end / year end is starting to drag. Long term I definitely do not see me being in my bosses (Group FC) position and enjoying it.
Very hesitant to leave what is really a cushy deal, however, in 2 years time i suspect i'd be sat in the exact same seat doing the same job if I dont do something about it.
What I do know is that I'm good with clients (also had good feedback both at appraisal and client level), I enjoy variety and that I lack any staff management experience - therefore specialising sounds like an option.
I'm still early in my career, 28, long term I think it has to be something thats's both adding value and not just reporting or Audit - whether an industry role or transactional role.
Garg, Rog - any ideas on workload / progression opps within CF or any other ideas based on the above?
Thanks
J
Initially I jumped into industry for an increase in salary, huge reduction in working hours and an opportunity to work for a reputable business in the region.
I don't dislike my job, but the routine of month end / year end is starting to drag. Long term I definitely do not see me being in my bosses (Group FC) position and enjoying it.
Very hesitant to leave what is really a cushy deal, however, in 2 years time i suspect i'd be sat in the exact same seat doing the same job if I dont do something about it.
What I do know is that I'm good with clients (also had good feedback both at appraisal and client level), I enjoy variety and that I lack any staff management experience - therefore specialising sounds like an option.
I'm still early in my career, 28, long term I think it has to be something thats's both adding value and not just reporting or Audit - whether an industry role or transactional role.
Garg, Rog - any ideas on workload / progression opps within CF or any other ideas based on the above?
Thanks
J
The trick with any finance career if you want higher salary and more interest is to move from looking at the past to looking at the future.
Don't record what actually happened, try to give insight into the what may happen in the future.
Corporate Finance is such a widely abused term you need to look at the different layers of it.
If you are thinking Harrison Ford and Melanie Griffiths CF, then join a large IB or Boutique firm and be prepare for very long hours and lots of advisory meetings with very few deals, but very big ones when they land.
If you want slight saner, then advisory can be good - ie non transactional - but it is a bit of a fifth wheel
Transaction Services can be steady, but is largely complaiance, due diligence and integration work.
Personally I would advise you to look at a larger business in FP&A - it is a good move towards more commercial roles and is closer to your core skills, to get to the top in CF you should have left Audit and gone to TS for two years then gone to a large bank.
However - the choice is of course yours. Loads of finance roles around for a young person, why not take an international gig now whilst you are still able, can really help build a better potential long term career. A foriegn Langage is also very very useful later on.
If you could get a role in a large multinational (growth) company then you may be able to get involved in the finance and modelling for acquisitions, disposals, restructuring, consolidations etc. This is what I do on the HR side but I always buddy up with a Finance guy. It would give you a lot of exposure to the operational business as well as elements like tax and legal.
Thanks for the thoughts guys.
The business I curently work in, c£200m t/over doesn't really have an FP&A department / M&A team so this would really necessitate a move. I suppose this would need to be a fair bit bigger to have those tye of roles.
Garg - You seem to have a really good understanding of lots of functions, could I send you a PM re the spec i've been approached with and would you mind having a look through? Just looking for a bit of insight that I may not have considered.
Thanks
J
The business I curently work in, c£200m t/over doesn't really have an FP&A department / M&A team so this would really necessitate a move. I suppose this would need to be a fair bit bigger to have those tye of roles.
Garg - You seem to have a really good understanding of lots of functions, could I send you a PM re the spec i've been approached with and would you mind having a look through? Just looking for a bit of insight that I may not have considered.
Thanks
J
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