Path to a F500 Corporate finance/development career
Hi everyone, first post here after being somewhat of a forum stalker for a while. I am interested in a career working in corporate finance/development and just have a couple of questions I'm hoping can be answered here. In terms of background I'm based in the UK and will be starting university (offers from top 10 institutions - not Oxbridge though) in a few months time. Anyway, what is the best path to securing a role in CF/CD - would it be best to break in from an UG degree (though from research I understand this to be pretty rare as its not really targeted), work in IB and pursue an MBA or doing the same but from strategy consulting.
Another thing I'd like to do is to live and work in the US; is anyone familiar with how this would work in a corporate finance role? Would it be 'easier' to transfer whilst working for the company or attending a top MBA in the US and networking and being recruited from there?
Whilst I understand answers to the second question aren't very black and white and depend on several factors, any info on either would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks
CorpFin and CorpDev are different beasts. CD usually wants people with either IB or consulting, though there are exceptions. CorpFin it's not at all unusual to break in straight out of undergrad - though a lot of people go Big 4 -> corpfin too. For straight out of undergrad, most major companies have a finance development program. There's a lot of info on those in WSO's guide to finance development programs.
As far as being international and working in the US, there are companies that offer that option. You just have to look at them on a case by case basis.
Thanks for your reply, corp dev is more the area where I'd like to work, do you know if rotational programmes offer a period on the corp dev team where I could potentially network a FT offer or whether the 'best' way of getting in is through experience in IB. If you need IB, how would MM experience be for a corp dev gig; at my (first choice) uni only half of BB firms actively target there so obviously chances are halved in that sense.
Road to Corporate Finance/Corp Development (Originally Posted: 12/03/2012)
I was curious to find out what the best route would be to get into a F100 Corporate Development or corporate finance group?
I'm under the impression that MBB get a lot of love because, beyond their reputation, they experience a significant amount of modeling during their tenure, which allows them to have the modeling skill-set up there if IBankers. But for all the other consulting firms that may not necessarily be as modeling-heaving, i.e. some tier 2/3 consulting firms and Big 4, what would they need to do to break into to the Corp Dev/Corp Fin groups of the F100? Would they need to get some IB experience or something Finance/Modeling heavy?
I'm currently working for a Tier 2/3 consulting firm, but do very little modelling. I have an interest in pursuing this down the road, but want to know what I need to do to better position myself for that opportunity.
Don't count on building up a modelling skill set on-par with your IB analyst peers by going the MBB route. Sure, consultants build simple operating models and triangulate with market sizing data, but you will not learn to do pro-forma merger modelling, accretion / (dilution), valuation, LBOs, analyzing financing structures, or basically any other analysis that requires you to go below EBITDA or work with either of the other two financial statements. You will basically be building simple cash operating models.
Corp Dev groups often have an integrated strategy team that is made up of former MBB consultants, as well as a M&A execution team is usually filled with ex-baking analysts. The strategy side does more of the product / market diligence of the deal while the M&A execution team leads the modelling, financial due diligence, manages the process, etc..
So your next step would really depend on what you want to do... more on the strategy and product/market diligence side of Corp Dev or the M&A execution side. If strategy is your goal and you are interested in doing market / product diligence and setting corporate strategy - the standard management consulting experience should be fine. If you want to do the M&A execution piece, banking is by far the best way to go, but big 4 transaction services, valuation groups, etc. could also work, albeit to a more limited extent.
Often these responsibilities will be encapsulated within the same role, so depending on which side you come from you will have the opportunity to build the other half of the skill-set. Personally, I think the learning the strategy side with an IB background is easier than learning the IB side with a strategy background, but I have seen it done both ways. Just be prepared to ask a lot of questions and work your ass off.
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