Let's say you're in college majoring in accounting. What internships/entry-level jobs/skills/credentials, etc. would you pursue to finally land a Sr. Financial Analyst (FP&A) role?
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FLDP definitely.
nearly anything within reason towards that career path can get you into an SFA position (Note: at most companies SFA is the most popular title in accounting/finance).
If your goal is only to become an SFA, Id recommend you starting in these positions, ranked in order: FLDP Big 4 Accounting Analyst for a company (preferably F500) Auditor at non-Big 4 firm
Honestly, SFA is easy as long as you're in an area with a decent amount of companies (preferably F500 headquarters). Get the best job you can out of school related to accounting or finance and then transition to an SFA position.
I am currently a SFA at a F100. The quickest/easiest way to becoming a SFA is an FLDP program. At my company after completing the program you are promoted to SFA. I however was an analyst on the corporate team for two years then transferred to our e-commerce team to be promoted to SFA.(There is more than one way to skin a cat)
In terms of what experience you will need while still in college, I would suggest internships where you can utilize your accounting knowledge to analyze financial data. In college, I was a Data Analyst for a small company where my role was to analyze their accounting/transactional data with guidance from the accountants and the controller. Experience like this will expose you to both accounting departments and the type of work that FP&A associates do.
Good luck! Corporate FP&A is pretty fun!
Hey, just want to know more about corporate FP&A. -what industries are you in? -how do you feel about the career development of FP&A? -how do you feel the daily job? Is there any "busy season" and how busy is it? -would you mind sharing the rough range for the experienced analyst of FP&A (3 yr finance experience, not directly related to FP&A)?
I'm actually thinking about back to financial service to continue the fund analyst position or take a different direction to become a FP&A. So any insights would be welcome. THank you!
Agree with others. Do an FLDP program or just be a bad-ass at your job for a couple years and things will work out. If you want be in corporate FP&A you need to stand out. Took me 4.5 years and I took a lateral internal job to get there, but it will pay off in the end. I've already learned more in 1 month than the last 1.5 years beforehand..
How to set myself up for a career in Corporate Finance (preferably FP&A) as a rising junior? (Originally Posted: 07/16/2015)
I am a rising junior at a well known state school who just switched my major to Finance, with a 3.4 GPA. Because I switched late, I have to stay an extra year and so technically I'm going into my 4th year atm. Last summer I had an Client Strategy internship at a well known company - but no direct finance experience to speak of, and this summer due to a family emergency I had to go overseas and wasn't able to secure an internship. So I'm trying to set myself up as well as possible this summer to secure a relevant internship in FP&A (what I'd like to go into), preferably at a F500 company if that is realistic, so I can get an entry level Analyst position at graduation and down the road hopefully follow the hierarchy to Director.
Based on research I see that a huge amount of FP&A is Excel work - what specifically should I focus on and how can I present this strongly in an interview? Are there any reputable Excel certifications to put on a resume? What are some CONCRETE steps I can take this summer to increase my value to companies? The internet focuses so much on "how to get a job in investment banking!" that there's not much concentration on how to get a job in FP&A haha. I'm not sure where to go - I just want to increase my chances as much as possible.
Also as a side note - I see that some sources tell me to get that breaking into CF is more difficult with a Finance degree than an Accounting. How much truth is there to this and how will it affect me? Thank you!
EDIT: Also, I was going to learn financial modelling but it's a large field - things like lbo models are more suited to M&A so I'm assuming it wouldn't help much with Corp Fin within a company? Or am I off base?
Certiport is pretty reputable for Excel.
IB models like lbo, m&a, etc. are not going to be very useful DIRECTLY for fp&a.. but like you said, you do need to know your way around excel so think of them as practice if you will... in addition do practice exercises that familiarize you with the effects of operations on the bs (buy new property, hire more ft employees vs contractors, etc.)
on a higher level, I would say prepare for consulting-type interviews but do not always expect a formal case study. You need to be able to solve/find a way to answer a question about your company a senior manager has .. basically fp&a is called upon to sift through a company's financial & operational data and present something that could sway corporate decisions one way or the other..
Hmm, okay, so you're suggesting to do a lot of research on my company before the interview to come up with general knowledge? I'll be sure to. Thanks! Would those type of questions come up even on a first internship interview?
Well, your assumptions are correct about mastering the art of excel for FP&A, and that there is a higher disposition towards accounting students. However, if you've taken financial accounting classes with your finance degree you will still be attractive. And no, you don't need to know about lbo's or other m&a transactions.
In my opinion (and I am at an FP&A summer internship at one of the largest 10 Canadian companies by market cap) you should take online courses to increase your proficiency. Don't bother spending money as so much information is available for free online. I'll pm you a course I took which was helpful. Also, learn how to use excel without touching your mouse. And if you really want to be a weapon, learn how to use VBA. If you can code it, great. If not, just learn how it works and take people's code off public excel forums to build your own macros.
Awesome - thanks. I have taken financial accounting but didn't do too well, although I doubt they'll ask for a transcript? Or am I off base?
Yeah I'm not really all for spending money for these courses haha, like BIWS is 300 bucks for modelling. And will do about the excel. I'm taking a free VBA course in August so that will undoubtedly help - it's an odd situation though so PM me if you want it as well!
The possibility you need to show a transcript depends on who you're recruiting with, and at what level. FT offers would most likely require a transcript. I had to send in mine just for an internship.
I must say if you did not do well in a financial accounting class, then you may want to reconsider, as I have taken everything up to the most advanced financial accounting class my university offers, and the knowledge is very important. A working knowledge of what certain accounts are used for, and how they function are almost prerequisites - without it you may be a failure to launch. If you think there's a real possibility of needing someone to hold your hand and walk you through financial reporting then I couldn't see you getting a job in FP&A, as that would be your role.
As a financial analyst doing FP&A a large part of your job is to babysit managers & directors of many departments who do not have accounting/finance backgrounds and help them meet targets. You need to catch people's mistakes. Unless you're working purely in a strategic ad-hoc project capacity where you will be modelling 100% of the time, then you will have to take more classes and work hard to ace them.
And I am curious... why do you want to do FP&A? Did you not do well in your accounting class for unusual reasons?
I haven't personally worked in FP&A but have done some informational interviews with analysts/management on our FP&A teams, this is what i learned.
From what it looked like, the job seemed excel and PowerPoint heavy. Completely agree with the above statement by Cutting Hedge Technology about learning how to use excel without a mouse. Also learn how to make solid graphs/charts that tell a story, these would in turn be used in presentations to directors/company executives. Research the company, its different business (if applicable), and try to do some industry research, too. Depending on if you're working in FP&A at a business or headquarter level, the work may change. You may have more involvement with Investor Relations/The Street and the companies quarterly/annual reporting and earnings calls at an HQ level if you're interested in that. Overall FP&A teams seem to be pretty small and hire employees who worked in various roles around the company, try to look into corporate FLDP's and then getting into FP&A.
I would think Free Cash Flow projections, general DCF, work capital statements, and debt schedules would all be helpful for projects in any division of a company.
Macabus.com's operating model turtorial is a great way to see how all these topics interact with the 3 financial statements also gives you great excel practice.
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