Accounting and bookkeeping began as far back as ancient Mesopotamia 7000 years ago. From there, it got to the turn of our grandfathers to practice it. But today, it has evolved into a well-organized financial sector, driven by technology and data.
Some of the careers in finance in 2023 are Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, and cloud computing. If you are an employee in the sector, you must possess the practical skills to adapt to the ever-evolving technical and digital environment.
In this guide, we’ll give you vivid illustrations of why a career in finance should be the preferred desire. Carefully read through.
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Trends in the Finance Industry
The ancient accounting was tedious and daunting. Book-keeping was performed manually. Just about ten years ago, computers could take over some of the financial jobs. However, today everything relating to finance has been automated that even apps and software can handle practically every simple task in the sector.
This has reduced the workload for the human accounting and finance team, leaving them with no other option than to focus on complex tasks. This also allows employers to hire professionals who can work in an automated environment.
Despite that there are professionals in the field of finance and accounting, it is likely that between now and 2028, 23,000 new jobs will emerge in the sector. Sadly, only 21,700 new entrants can penetrate the market. Therefore, there is a need for more skilled professionals in the sector.
Blockchain, cloud-based accounting, and AI are making waves in the financial industry today. They provide safe, secure, and easily accessible options while helping approaches that integrate remote work. According to Wall Street Journals, labor-intensive tasks like budgeting and forecasting will be handled by AI and automation, offering enough time and energy to financial advisors to provide more meaningful and career-driven insights to their clients.
Big data is also playing a great role in the finance sector, just like many other sectors. Financial professionals can leverage data to predict future trends in the sector for businesses while supporting successful decision-making by company executives.
Analyzing data and transmuting it into actionable insights and patterns help in saving costs, increasing returns, and creating investment avenues. Therefore, you need to have a skill set that involves data analytics, as many businesses, including financial organizations are only hiring the best brains in this area.
With the above trends, it may be safe to say that technical skills will be critical in the financial sector for future businesses. That means professionals outside the field may be needed and they could be in the form of software developers, data analysts, and cybersecurity personnel.
Just like every other business, careers in finance are shifting from core in-house roles to hybrid and remote roles. To succeed, hiring trusted people who can manage themselves and work in a remote environment is imperative.
Having a great deal of understanding of trends in finance, hiring the right professionals will ensure that firms remain competitive. Paying the professionals handsomely will also enable them to work beyond limits and project the company to the face of its core clients in the long run.
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Is Finance a Good Career Path?
To answer the above, you must know that there is no straightforward answer to it. Career choices are individually made. Hence, what works for you may not work for another person.
To acquire a career in finance solely depends on what you want. For you to pursue a career in finance, you must know where the path leads. You may not want to hold a degree to a path you actually would not want to make anything out of. First, you must know what finance is all about before deciding whether it is the best choice.
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What is Finance All About?
The model of finance revolves around money. It focuses on the acquisition and management of money. You need money to start a business and handle other personal and professional needs. Finance is not just a course or career, it is the static need of every society.
There are countless career paths you can follow as long as finance is concerned. However, it is more important to understand them individually to know what area to focus on.
What is Finance made up of?
Finance has three broad areas in both public and private organizations. They are:
- Public Finance
- Corporate Finance, best known as Investment Finance
- Business Finance or Sales and Trading
1. Public Finance
It is an activity of the government and has to do with financial processes that generate money for the government. It involves managing the finances of government entities like the public sectors, agencies, and organizations. Finance is funded in the public sector through tax collection, exempted securities, and investment banking. There must be people who control the flow of money, including financial managers, accountants, financial controllers, and risk managers.
2. Corporate Finance
This deals with the management of the organization’s finance in the long term. Corporate finance involves the way and manner large organizations and multinationals manage their finance, with the intention of increasing the shareholders’ wealth.
Finance is funded in the corporate world internally (through shares, Initial Public Offer (IPO), sales of stock, return on investment, and retained earnings) or externally (through debt and borrowing).
Corporate finance is managed by raising money by selling shares and stocks and borrowing. Then, the money is invested to make returns after which the amount left is shared among shareholders to increase their wealth. There are abounding careers you can choose in the field of corporate finance.
3. Business Finance
Business finance involves a smaller business activity. A perfect example of such a business is a sole proprietorship or partnership. Its activities are not as complex as those of corporate finance. In business finance, the business owner can solely fund the business.
With a set amount, a business owner can start the business. Moreover, they have a second option in the form of borrowing which they can use to source for the organization’s financing. The borrowing can be from financial institutions like banks or non-financial institutional authorities like friends and families.
To manage their finance, businesses gather money and invest to purchase fixed assets like buildings, machinery, and plants. Then, working capital like raw materials, repairs, and advertising are put in place to enable the business to kickoff. Once the business starts selling goods, the finance managers keep managing the working capital, accelerating the company. Then, financial reports in the form of cash flow statements, income statements, profit or loss statements, balance sheets, etc. are managed and monitored.
In summary, in business finance, the business get funds by the owner(s), while the employees oversee its management.
Having known what finance is made of, it is good to know the career path you can choose under these aspects of finance.
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Available Careers In Finance You Can Choose
Finance consists of a whole lot of careers you can choose from. All you need is a business finance degree in specific areas like research officer, business planner, investment banking, financial analyst, etc.
Below are some of the available careers in finance:
1. Financial Analyst
Financial analysts are needful in both the private and public sectors. They employ their research strategies and knowledge of securities to offer investment advice to organizations. Financial analysts foresee the company’s ability to repay their debt and sense risks in prospects. They also go by the title, research analyst, investment analyst, and rating analyst.
To go for a career in financial analysis, you will need a degree in finance.
2. Financial Accounting
A financial accountant handles the firm’s financial statement in the form of balance sheets, profit or loss accounts, income statements, cash flow statements, etc. They know the money that pumps into the company and what goes out. They understand the amount a company should invest into certain projects and have an overall view of its profit. Financial accountants can be found in public, corporate, and business accounting. You can apply for this position with a finance degree from a reputable school.
3. Investment Banker
They help the government and private firms to issue debt and securities. Investment bankers also give sound advice regarding transaction decisions in mergers and acquisitions. Professionals in this field are versed in their knowledge and so, are in high demand. With a finance major, you can opt for this career.
4. Audit Manager
These managers conduct an internal audit by adhering to the firm’s policy and plans. In summary, the major roles of audit managers are to check the financial and operational balance. They can do this by ensuring the firm is not mistakenly following illegal practices.
A major in finance can apply for this position. However, having a certificate in chartered accounting will offer you more prospects.
5. Security Traders
These professionals help to sell securities to potential buyers in a financial market. They do not earn much money in each deal. However, if there is increased activity through larger deals, it will help them to attain higher financial earnings.
If you have a major in finance, this career is good for you.
Other careers you can choose as a finance major include market research analyst, operations manager, customer relations builder, sales manager, tax manager, audit manager, actuary, etc.
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Why should I Choose A Career In Finance?
Finance is a good career choice if you have everything to be in this field. It is all-encompassing and involves many fields. The following will give you the conviction to choose finance as your career if you have a passion for money:
1. It is a lucrative career
While most of the careers in finance are taxing and might not pay well at the entry level, they can build the necessary skillset in you to enable you to excel in your chosen career path. You can earn a six-figure as you progress, though your experience and qualifications play many roles here.
2. You can set up your finance firm
Choosing finance as a profession will build you up with the right expertise and enable you to stand on your own as you progress. You can set up a small business in that respect and gradually grow into whatever you choose to. You are not restricted to a 9-5 job as a finance professional.
3. It encompasses various specific fields
Finance as a career is in several areas of expertise. You can choose to work as a financial advisor, financial manager, financial accountant, and other areas under finance. You can toe specific finance career lines under these fields such as financial executive, financial manager, etc. This means that looking for a job is not one of the problems you will face after graduation.
4. It is a promising field
Finance is one of the fields that will never go out of fashion in the future. It is lucrative and offers one peace of mind to go about their business. There is no prediction yet as to when finance will stop yielding careers. Therefore, rest assured that your decision to choose a career in finance will not be a waste.
Conclusion
With the above explanations on finance, you always have your decision to make your choice. Getting into the job market does not stop you from aiming higher. To excel in your career in finance, you need to keep upgrading your skills. Take courses and certifications and make sure you are on top of the game. With that, the top becomes a playground for you.
References
- Finance Job Trends Employers In The Sector You Should Know About
- Preparing For The Future Of Finance Now
- Is Finance A Good Career?
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