Do you need an MBA in Corporate Finance?

Hey all,

Looking to get some discussion about the above question. I'm about to be a second year analyst for an FLDP and starting to think about MBAs. I know I definitely don't want to go back to school full time since I'm already in corp fin so no need to transition. This leads me to think about part time, but is that even necessary to slug through for 3 years? I know it's a really general questions, but does anyone have any thoughts? I know it will probably vary from company to company, but mines ever harder to gauge since it seems to be a 50/50 between those who have them and those who don't (company CFO doesn't, business unit level controllers/CFOs don't, but then various director-level folks do).

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Do you think though that the MBA is THAT advantageous that it's worth losing 2 years of experience though in the first place? I'm in a similar spot as the OP except I work in FDD and want to transition to FP&A in a few years. I too am struggling with whether or not it makes sense to get one because it'll be a large expense and the ROI will be significantly lower for me, since I"m only interested in finance/strategy jobs at a F500 and not MBB/IB, which will have the higher salaries.

Ceterus Paribus, of course the MBA will help, but in our situations, will the MBA be that much more beneficial when scanning resumes compared to the experience we could be getting during that time? After all, it's highly unlikely, outside of hypothetical scenarios, that two candidates will have that similar of experiences.

TL;DR Version: Would 3 years of CF experience + MBA really be more beneficial than 5 years of CF experience when scanning resumes?

 

It depends on the program and what your ultimate goals are. If you are in a T7 program...yes it is that advantageous to stop working for 2 years to attend school. If you are looking at a no-name state school then I would consider a part time program. It will help you jump around in the future as well.

For what it is worth I went to a no-name school part time while working full-time. The MBA has been a check the box and combined with my CFA charter and experience gets me quite a few looks. I work in strategic finance for a F500 tech company (closer to F250) and there isn't a single person on my team or in FP&A without a masters degree.

 

I didn't read the whole thread, but I've been through 2 F500 companies and know people in quite a few. My take is that there are a few organizations that give significant value to the MBA, but for most its more of a "nice to have".

If your goal is Corp Fin I would not even consider a full time MBA. I think it's rare that you'd get positive ROI out of it. Part time where you'll still be getting the work experience, salary and company support makes more sense. I've still chosen not to go that route and it hasn't hindered me at all, but I can see the appeal of pt mba.

The other thing to consider is that once you're at the Director level executive mba becomes an option. Many companies will pay for more of an executive mba and I think the schedule and learnings are more conducive to corp fin. That is that option that I've always toyed with, but now with a family I'm not pursuing that either (at least not at this time).

The other thing that becomes more of an option at Director is executive education. It can easily be argued that there's less value as well, but its easier and you can probably get the company to pay for more of it. Due to schedule and a new baby I haven't done it yet, but I intend to take a few of the executive education classes. Most will probably be at Kellogg or Booth (I'm in Chicago suburbs), but I'm optimistic about heading out to Stanford for a week maybe next year as well.

twitter: @CorpFin_Guy
 

Speaking for Corp Fin......I wouldnt get MS Finance. I honestly don;t think I know someone in Corp Fin with an MS in Fin. It seems to me to be more specialized and less relevant than an mba. No one on here wants to admit it, but if you think you want/need a masters and want to check the box a MS in Accounting is much more applicable to F500 Corp Fin than an MS Fin.

Realistically, if you're already out of school I'd go pt mba, exec mba or nothing. If you're in school still I think an MS in Accounting can serve you well. I may be biased BC that's what I did, but it worked out well for me and I've never been cast as the "accountant".

twitter: @CorpFin_Guy
 

If you like your company and want to stay forever then it doesn't really make sense. With that being said, if I were you'd I'd still push and try to get the company to pay for a part time MBA, especially if you're in an area that is close to a top PT program(NYU Stern type of school). You never know what will happen in life, maybe 5 years down the road you hit a glass ceiling or worse they fire you in a round of layoffs. Now you're an aged Finance middle manager with no other experience except for years of FP&A at the same company.

Also, it's anecdotal, but of all the senior level FP&A guys I see, most have some form of advanced degree whether it be the CFA or an MBA. If your goal is to be on a VP to CFO path, it will benefit you to pick up the extra degrees to stand out amongst your peers.

 
Best Response

I was in your exact same position, and quit my job for a full time MBA program. The 2 yrs off hurt, but it was worth it because I more than doubled my salary and escaped NYC at the same time. For me, the biggest plus came from how easy it suddenly was to recruit nationally. I'd spent all this time building a network of headhunters across the country pleading for interviews in mid-sized southern cities when all it took was 1 week of on-campus recruiting.

As for your situation, while every senior level person I know says they don't particularly care about the MBA, they do admit that in many cases it's used as a weeding tool for people advancing past middle management. If you can easily and/or inexpensively obtain one then it's worth it. If you like your company and prefer to stay, then do a local program and have your employer cover it. Otherwise, the cost isn't really justified for a corp. fin career unless you want to relocate or get into a "prestigious" rotational program of some sort. If you're already fast tracking it, give some thought to an online or part time program. It'll be much easier to get it out of the way while you're young, though Exec MBAs down the road are flexible enough for the busiest schedules.

 

I did a FLDP for a F500, and practically every senior level manager in corp fin had one (even FP&A). Our Corporate Development team didn't even hire pre-MBAs. Luckily, I saw some situations where the company would at least sponsor part-time business school.

Keep in mind MBAs are practically designed for the corporate world, as the skills learned are much more rounded versus investment-focused in order to make you a better business leader/manager. It will certainly be looked upon favorably if you're trying to climb the corporate ladder.

 

Absolutely not.

Speaking purely to the question of F500 corporations and 'other' finance roles, we have plenty of folks from schools I haven't heard of. I know that's a short answer, perhaps people who've actually done the non-M7 MBAs can chime in, but I've worked for and encountered a lot of upper level finance people from across the board schoolwise. Prestige is not nearly as much of a factor. I suppose it matters whether you're talking about Google or Kraft, but overall, you'll have plenty of open doors.

 

I'm curious about this as well because I'm in a similar boat as OP (will probably start off in accounting but want to go into a financial analysis role). For the people saying that VPs, etc. came from random schools, are these VPs doing the "interesting" finance jobs though? For example, even if they aren't in corp dev, are they still doing modeling work, analyzing the financial impacts of capital budgeting decisions, etc. or is it mostly variance analysis and supervising the monthly-close processes? I'm also kind of worried that, especially if I start off in audit, I may be limited to the later tasks I mentioned versus the "sexier" work so to speak. Does anyone have experience with regards to this?

 

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