Corporate Strategy vs FP&A
Hello - I am considering two job offers and I need help with considering the future ramifications of these two offers:
1) FP&A role at an Industrials company, meaning it has a Supply Chain to work through the FP&A function. I am currently a strategy consultant and I have always been curious / wanted to break into classical Finance.
- I would be coming in as a Senior Financial Analyst.
- The managers told me the work would consist of budgeting, modeling, financial reporting, and executive presentations.
2) Strategy Consultant (albeit a higher level than the one I am at currently), this role has greater pay but would require me moving to NYC. I would be working on executive presentations, leading smaller initiatives, and working with senior leaders on one-off/ad hoc projects.
- The work is classical strategy, which is what I do now: gant charts, creating beautiful executive presentations, supporting and clarifying business problems and solutions, crafting business narratives.
- The specialized work within this role is a bit unclear / ambiguous.
What are your thoughts on the difference in career opportunities? What about the difference in comp? What about promotions? Will one role yield greater promotional events?
Lastly, since I already have corp strategy experience (3 years as a strat consultant level 1), is it wise for me to pivot to FP&A to broaden my work experience? Is there a danger to keeping just within the corp strat lane?
Corporate Strategy/Strategy Consulting pays better and is far more transferrable and attractive than FP&A. People's eyes light up when you say you work in Strategy and the exit opportunities are significantly better. Additionally, there is often a set development and advancement schedule that you'll identify pretty quickly if you stay in strategy consulting. I'd follow up to learn what industry/function group you'd be joining. This information could alter your opinion no matter what I say in this comment.
FP&A is often grunt work validating someone else's intuitive decision and might pigeonhole you into the mid/back office. As a Senior FP&A Analyst, you'll most likely be a monkey doing what your managers or the supply chain managers ask. Depending on how many layers of management the industrials company contains, it might be tough to gain the VP or SVP exposure needed to separate your ability from your peers. Additionally, once you go corporate, your annual raises will become board approved merit increases of 2.5-3.5%. I'd also discount anything a corporate manager says about advancement timelines. Corporate advancement is equal parts gaining the competencies to advance and opportunities arising due to people leaving organization.
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