A Career in Finance

A Career in Finance encompass a broad range of work areas. It is a  popular career area with young graduates, even with those whose degree is not finance-related.

How Do I Get Into A Career In Finance?
Most large financial organisations will recruit from any degree discipline, but you must have a minimum 2:1 degree accompanied by 22 UCAS points. Employers may not want a degree in specific subjects, but they do want certain skills, including the ability to work with figures, chart and graphs.

A wide range of soft skills is also essential in this profession. These include good communication, ability to work as part of a team and the ability to absorb figures and analyse information. Training in finance and accountancy is comprehensive. A top accounting firm recently calculated its investment in graduate recruitment and training as exceeding £100,000 over the course of a three-year training contract.

Careers In The Finance Sector
Finance covers a broad range of careers, so to make life easier, here’s a brief list of the main ones.

• Accountants

Accountants generally conduct external audits, advise on tax matters, advise managers on financial policy and control the costs and benefits of projects.

• Actuaries

Actuaries are involved in applying theories of probability to financial     problems. They use compound interest and statistical techniques to do this and advise on investments.

• Bankers

Bankers work in the retail sector’s clearing banks. They are responsible for the bank accounts of both personal and business customers.

• Risk managers

Risk managers assess risks, evaluate information and make use of information available from actuaries.

• Management accountants

Management accountants work in commerce and industry and carry out all    accounting functions except external audits. They are responsible for preparing financial forecasts and budgets. Management accountants will evaluate existing financial information and recommend changes of improvement.

• Tax consultants

Tax consultants advise individual or corporate clients on legal ways of    reducing their tax bills.

• Pension managers

These manage pension funds and invest large sums of money.

Choosing The Right Career In Finance
As you can see, finance is one of Britain’s major service industries and is therefore an excellent source of graduate employment. A career in finance is exciting, lucrative and rewarding. If you are looking for a career with responsibility, where you can apply your numerical skills and work as part of a team, a career in finance may suit you. 

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