Running head :FINANCE CAREER OPTIONS

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Introduction
FINANCE CAREER OPTIONS

FINANCE CAREER OPTIONS

Introduction

Venturing into any business, institution, corporation or system requires financial

knowledge. Finance professionals bring to the table interventions to grow, maintain and operate
any of the above’s Capital bases, maintain apt procedures and most importantly give insights.
This paper will, therefore, look at two career options that a finance professional may venture into
as well as the value such positions bring to a firm (Kholeif, 2015).

Public accountants

Accounting is one of the most viable positions for individuals in the finance sector. It is
worth the mention that each company needs an accountant. For instance, a hospital is a basic
facility for the provision of medical care and remedy, but it would not operate without
accountants as the foundations – financial grounding could therefore collapse(Cadez etc al.,
2015).

Accountants offer a wide array of services in a firm. These include recording or daily
financial transactions through the books of original entry to the preparation of financial
statements for the firms that an accountant work for. Accountants generally operate through the
generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Further, accountants in a firm have
categorizations. The most basic level is the staff accounting positions where with experience
such may be promoted to internal auditors or tax accountants (Cadez etc al., 2015).

Role of accountants in a firm

Accountants play a number of functions as discussed below

Financial data management

An accountant is versed with the responsibility of managing and maintaining the

confidentiality of financial data. They, therefore, ensure that all details are in compliance with all
laws and regulations. Under the function, accountants may, for instance, be required to run a
financial database or checking into the effects of spending procedures in a firm(Byard, 2013) .

Advising management

Accountants form a key component in decision-making procedures. Through financial

data analysis, their opinion is revered by management as it regards to making investment
decisions(Byard, 2013) .

Compliance officers
FINANCE CAREER OPTIONS

Accountants are financial compliance officers. They ensure that all operations run on the
required laws and regulations such as taxation through the GAAP.

Skills required

High organization

Accounting is a highly systematic profession which requires practitioners to e highly

organized both at the personal level as well as at the professional level (Kholeif, 2015).

Trustworthiness

Given the nature of financial information, accountants ought to be highly honest and
trustworthy individuals. Contrary to this, there would be definite inconsistency such as in
misappropriation of funds which is all about business success (Kholeif, 2015).

Financial analysts

Financial analysts are professionals whose work is evaluating various conditions and
therefore recommending the most appropriate investment decisions for businesses. They are
specialists with in-depth knowledge of economies, financial practice as well as sectors which
directly affect the business they practice in economically. Knowledge of current activities in the
field one practices is therefore highly revered as it forms the base for the preparation of financial
models through which they advise the management basing from(Cadez etc al., 2015).

Functions and value to the firm

Determination of lucrativeness

Financial analysts often analyze complex financial data. In doing such, they weigh
options and ultimately determine the best option for a company to take. Some investment
decisions or ventures more often than not pose a consequential dilemma on management these
financial analysts come in. They can analyze data to the finest details and therefore offer best
investment decisions to a firm(Cadez etc al., 2015).

Research
FINANCE CAREER OPTIONS

Owing to the fact that their basic function is giving advice on economic viability,
financial analysts are mostly involved in research. They often research on competitors, industry
attractiveness, government interventions and policies, international practice and so on. They
ultimately form this information from research to reach out t managers and offer their word on
investment decisions (Kholeif, 2015).

Skills required

Translating complex information

Financial information may be difficult to understand to nonpractitioners. Financial

analysts ought to communicate complex structures, models and financial logic in simple
language especially to managers as they are the ones who finalize any investment ventures
(Kholeif, 2015).

Research ability

Financial analysts ought to have high research and analytical skill capability. The field is
multidimensional and therefore requires practitioners to be able to dig for information and string
it all together to make meaningful inferences(Byard, 2013).

Public accounting comes out as a more appealing career option. In all firms, accountants
are required, and it may not be the case with financial analysts. Further, accounting comes with a
lot of flexibility, contrary to financial analytics. In support of the statement above accountants
can be promoted to various positions in a firm as mentioned earlier. Financial analysts are quite
limited in their mandate that there lacks flexibility in their practice. They may as well remain to
be financial analysts, plainly as long as they work(Byard, 2013).

A feature which also makes accounting quite a covetous profession lies in its activity
levels. Accountants are basically engaged throughout all seasons as businesses must run.it is for
this reason that accountants come out as highly innovative individuals as they handle new cases
every day. This may not be the case for financial analysts. Businesses may not be involved in
looking out for investment channels throughout therefore the career option may be quite passive
in some instances(Byard, 2013).

Conclusion

Choosing the right career path is quite taxing as it influences one’s life to a very large
extent. Looking at our case, finance professionals often have a wide range of options to venture
FINANCE CAREER OPTIONS

into. Accountants play a big role in firms as they check and cross financial information while
financial analysts are effective in running firms on giving investment decisions(Byard, 2013).

References

Jack, L., & Kholeif, A. (2015, March). Enterprise resource planning and a contest to limit the
role of management accountants: a strong structuration perspective. In Accounting Forum (Vol.
32, No. 1, pp. 30-45). Elsevier.

(Jack & Kholeif, 2016)

Aver, B., Aaver, B., & Cadez, S. (2015). Management accountants' participation in strategic
management processes: a cross-industry comparison. Journal for East European Management
Studies, 310-322

(Aver, Saver & Cadez,2015 )

Byard, D., Li, Y., & Yu, Y. (2013). The effect of mandatory IFRS adoption on financial
analysts’ information environment. Journal of accounting research, 49(1), 69-96.

(Byard, Li & Yu, 2013)