Is an accountancy qualification essential for working in corporate finance?

Dan wrote:

Is an accountancy background/qualification essential for working in Corporate Finance?

I am currently working for a boutique specialising in lead advisory/broking for sale mandates. Whilst I very much enjoy the work, I would ideally like to gain employment within the corporate finance team of a top 10 accountancy firm or specialist boutique. I believe that this would provide me with the opportunity to develop my career and also to be able to access larger and more complex transactions.

Although I now have 2 years of experience handling deals from inception to completion (typically £0.5 - £5m in value), I am not an accountant by training. Prior to my current role, I was an IFA and worked in financial services for 8 years (including qualifying to AFPC level).

Do you think this will be possible and if so, at what level do you think I could enter?

Many thanks,

Dan W.


A manager of the corporate finance team replied:


Dan,

I hope you are well. Many thanks for your inquiry.

In answer to your question, an accountancy qualification is not essential to working within corporate finance, although being an accountancy recruiter, the majority of our clients do come to us purely because we focus on these type of candidates.

Many banks hire graduates to be analysts who then work their way through the banking structure, meaning that the majority of senior bankers in the City at present will have no more than maybe a straight-forward degree. Many US banks also like to hire MBA graduates with some work experience from another industry.

In short, an ACA or equivalent is not essential but it can help. As mentioned, many of our banking and advisory clients like to hire newly qualified candidates who have had three years of solid training and then will put them through their own training schemes.

In terms of me giving an opinion on whether your experience would suit our clients and at what level, I would have to see your CV. Please feel free to forward it to me at jobdoctor@markssattin.co.uk

All the best

Getting back into banking - international (continued)

Anonymous wrote:

Sorry, I did not mention that I am a British Citizen (recent). Also my IT experience is in Europe (mostly) and India. Will that make a difference?

Thanx


Marks Sattin's regional manager for the Middle East replied:

I am afraid that the relevant experience to us seems to come from India. Being a British citizen would help from a visa perspective, but the major issue is where your experience would have the most credibility.

Getting back into banking - international

Anonymous wrote:

Dear Job Doctor,

I have a Masters degree in Management and Systems and 20 years experience:

- 10 years in Banking (Credit Analyst- 6 years, Mergers Aquisitions & Business Turnaround

- 3 years, Investment Banking specially IPOs and Public Sector Privatisation investment) with a well known Indian bank from 1985 - 1996.

-From 1996 - 2005 I worked as Business Analyst and Project Mangaer in Banking, Energy Trading and Risk Management (Market Risk,Credit Risk. Basle 2.

In 2005 I went into a retail business woth a friend with a view to build a small chain of stores. The business expansion did not go as per plan because of reluctance of my business partner.

I am planning to get back into banking (IT or Credit or Private Equity)preferably in Dubai, France or Germany. Any suggestions will be welcome. I can be contacted on [email address removed]

Thanx


Marks Sattin's regional manager for the Middle East replied:

Thank you for your email and sorry to hear that your business did not go to plan. I am sure that, along with all the frustration, you have found that in setting up a business your commercial skills have developed considerably.

Realistically you may find some problems in the job market. Systems and processes involved in credit risk, market risk and operational risk have progressed significantly in the period, both as a result of regulatory drivers, but also more modern, business reactive techniques. I am afraid that you will have lost credibility against people with more current experience. This is particularly true with international recruitment when a candidate must have either a particularly niche skillset, or a market beating CV to make it worthwhile the relocation and imperfect recruitment process.

The option of freelance consulting is also difficult in many areas of the globe as working visas are available only with employee sponsorship and therefore only permanent. Marks Sattin is developing solutions in several locations, but the issue is worth bearing in mind.

I would suggest that you return to a role in your local market again, where your credibility will be higher, and gain more current experience before exploring international opportunities again.

Regards

Freelance consulting around the world

Rajen wrote:

Dear Job Doctor

I am a qualified and experienced Management Accountant specialised in the area of Activity Based Management and Performance Management.I am specialist in SAS ABM 6.x solution. I am interested in working as a freelance consultant in the differenet parts of the world. I am also interested in knowing more about the outsourcing work availble in this area. Hope to get the information.

Thanks and regards.

Rajen

A senior consultant at Marks Sattin replied:

Rajen,

ABC/M is a niche area where demand for exprienced professionals is growing rapidly, especially within Banking and Financial services. There are a number of consultancy's specialising in the provision of services both to Financial Services, Commerce and Industry as well as in the Government and Public Sectors. More important than specific ABC systems skills such as SAS, Metify, Oros etc is the in depth ABC experience itself, what the key drivers are, and being able to communicate this to both technical staff, finance and the business leaders.

We have placed numerous ABC specialists in 2007 and the trend looks set to continue into 2008 and beyond and more and more companies realise the benefits of effective activity based management and these jobs will be on offer for both temporary and permanent resources. Typical rates for contractors are £300-550 per day and perm salaries anything from £45k up to £90k depending on the size of the organisation.

If you would like to discuss further, please do give us a call.

The Doctor is back!

We hope you had a great festive season.

After an extended Christmas break, the Job Doctor is back!

Apologies to those that have posted questions in the last few weeks. The Doctor has been enjoying the apres ski in the French Alps and hasn't had access to his computer...

He will be doing his best to answer the backlog of questions over the next few days.

Please keep them coming in!