Career Switch from Accounting to Finance

Water Cooler Careers
#1

Hi guys,

Hope all is well. I am looking to switch careers into Finance from Accounting and would like some advice. I have passed level 1 of the CFA exam and will be taking level 2 in May. I am a CPA and have about 7 years of experience in Accounting but not much in Finance.

My thought is that in order to make the switch, I will need to start at an entry level position and take a significant pay cut. I am located in the NYC area. If you could also please let me know what are the career options as far as entry level.

Thank you all,

M.

#2

What do you mean by finance?

#3

I’m talking about FP&A, Portfolio Manager, Investment Banking. Like on the investment side.

#4

Those are very different jobs. I would spend some time to figure out what you actually want to do.

2 Likes
#5

^ +1.
Also, in my (admittedly very limited) experience, accountants who have worked in accounting for a long time don’t do well in finance. Accounting tends to be excruciatingly detailed and backwards-looking, with very little room for interpretation. Finance tends to be forward-thinking, with a lot of estimates and forecasts and nebulous information.

#6

What did you do in finance? If you’re at a CPA firm, is there an opportunity to do more finance-related work?