Comments on: The Corporate Finance Career Path: From Analyst Monkey to CFO

By: M&I - Brian

M&I - Brian — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 19:42:34 +0000

In reply to Dimitar. Sorry, I can't say for sure, but "contract analyst" to me doesn't really sound like a role on the path to CFO. You normally want to move up to a Director-level position and have good audit/compliance/regulatory experience to get there.

By: Dimitar

Dimitar — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 20:58:57 +0000

As im at this point, where im Senior consolidator and aiming at CFO role , but on a very smaller scale in a company, but have an offer as a Sponsor contract analyst in another firm. Is it exiting the path to CFO, or it just gives you a good new perspective, thanks to communication with client finance and operations and is still possible to return to F&P and CFO subsequently?

By: M&I - Brian

M&I - Brian — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 03:11:17 +0000

In reply to Neha Negi. Not that much really helps for FP&A. If anything, maybe something like the CPA or another accounting-heavy certification because FP&A roles are mostly accounting and financial statement knowledge.

By: Neha Negi

Neha Negi — Sun, 16 Oct 2022 12:24:32 +0000

I’m final year MBA student with finance specialization. I’m really interested in FP&A role. What kind of certificates can I acquire which can help me in this role?

By: M&I - Brian

M&I - Brian — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 13:57:52 +0000

In reply to Ricky J..

It’s extremely difficult to break in at this point because banks don’t hire many Associates to begin with, the ones they do hire tend to come from the top few MBA programs, and hardly anyone wins post-MBA Associate offers without completing an IB internship during the MBA program.

All you can really do at this stage is network aggressively and target boutique banks that might have a need for Associates. You will also need an amazing answer for how/why you completed an MBA program without discovering IB/PE until the last several months of the program because that will be the first question in any interview.

By: Ricky J.

Ricky J. — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 05:28:45 +0000

Hi Brian,

Thanks for all the work you do.

I want to break into IB/PE. I’m in my mid 20’s and recently began a post-MBA 2-year Finance rotational program at a CPG company. Unfortunately, I didn’t discover the world of IB/PE until my last few months in my MBA program.

How can I leverage my experience within the rotational program and break into IB/PE at the conclusion of the program in two years.

I would appreciate any advice.

By: M&I - Brian

M&I - Brian — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 19:47:11 +0000

In reply to Saffan Khan. I'm not really sure what you're asking. Certifications generally do not help much for corporate finance roles. But the CPA could be useful for audit/related roles such as tax if you want to go that route.

By: Saffan Khan

Saffan Khan — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 12:57:27 +0000

So I am in my last year of degree which is (bachelor’s of management studies in finance )
I am aiming for corporate finance but Confused between which certifications to choose CMA US OR CPA US as I am planning to go for my masters in Japan whatever certification or charter i choose it will kinda affect my job role.
Can you guide me also I am more into FP&A in manufacturing companies.

By: Kristian

Kristian — Wed, 04 May 2022 20:16:13 +0000

In reply to M&I - Brian. Awesome I appreciate the advice, and great article!

By: M&I - Brian

M&I - Brian — Wed, 04 May 2022 18:35:41 +0000

In reply to Kristian.

I don’t think you really “need” a treasury or accounting role before moving into FP&A, but it can help. If you’ve put serious effort into applying to both FP&A and Treasury roles and have only gotten good responses from Treasury positions, then focus on applying there and then move around internally once you’re working. It’s usually easier to switch to a different team within CF once you’re already at the company.