I’m curious to get your thoughts on the position below. My recruiter sent it to me last week, and I initially wrote it off because it’s a Corporate Finance job. Then I looked at it in more detail, and it actually sounds somewhat interesting. The company is very well respected, apparently, and the employees there are highly recruited (but never leave). But, it seems like it’s MUCH more difficult to approach high earnings in this sector of finance than IB, AM or research. Not to sound like a money grubber, but I want my family to be comfortable. Anyway, have any of you worked, or considered taking a job, in Corporate Finance? Here are the responsibilities and quals required: Performs economic research work and prepares analyses of subjects such as rate of return, depreciation, working capital, investment, and financial and expense performance comparisons. Compiles or prepares reports, graphs and charts of data developed. Prepares forecasts and analyzes trends in manufacturing, sales, finance, general business conditions and other areas. Assists in the development of organization economic policies, conducts special economic studies and cooperates with other departments in the preparation of statistical studies. Adapts new developments in the field of economic planning and control. Utilizes computer in the creation, display and reproduction of charts, graphs, and econometric models relative to the operations of the organization. Develop and prepare sales reports, analyses and recommendations. Coordinate with all levels of management to gather, research, analyze and summarize sales data. Perform other duties as assigned. QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED: BA (in finance or accounting preferred) or equivalent from four-year college or university, or three years related experience and/or training, or equivalent combination of education and experience. Expert level knowledge in Excel and other Office tools. Excellent communication skills. Strong analytical skills. SAP (SIS) experience. 2-4 years experience working in an analytical capacity. Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public. Ability to comprehend and apply principals of advanced calculus, modern algebra, and advanced statistical theory. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.
From the sounds of it, this seems like it would be engaging work. But you’re right about the money. Simple fact is that you’ll never approach that kind of money without being a part of the process that brings it in. At the end of the day, no matter how exalted people make IB, ER or AM jobs out to be, if you don’t bring in the $$, you don’t get paid the $$. And, as we’ve seen lately, when the economy tanks, you’re ass is grass. A job such as this probably has the same level of intellectual stimulation as all the others, but with hopefully a more stable employment profile and MUCH better hours. Quality and comfort in life are relative, after all. You’re family might be comfortable if you’re in IB, but will you be when you’re working 100 hours a week?
darkhelmet Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > From the sounds of it, this seems like it would be > engaging work. But you’re right about the money. > Simple fact is that you’ll never approach that > kind of money without being a part of the process > that brings it in. At the end of the day, no > matter how exalted people make IB, ER or AM jobs > out to be, if you don’t bring in the $$, you don’t > get paid the $$. And, as we’ve seen lately, when > the economy tanks, you’re ass is grass. > > A job such as this probably has the same level of > intellectual stimulation as all the others, but > with hopefully a more stable employment profile > and MUCH better hours. > > Quality and comfort in life are relative, after > all. You’re family might be comfortable if you’re > in IB, but will you be when you’re working 100 > hours a week? Yes, there are certainly trade-offs. The recuiter swears there is plenty of room for growth there, which is very important to me. I don’t want to be running reports for staff meetings until I retire. What types of jobs would a person in this position tend to have available upon exit? Would it prevent me from going to the AM, Hedge Fund, or Research route eventually?
Consider this. Working in Corp Fin may not make much of a difference by itself for getting into AM, but it won’t hurt either. They are related in that both require similar fundamental skills. What is very important is that by working in Corp Fin you can still earn your charter. So assuming you pass the exams, get the Corp Fin exp, and get your charter. Maybe on a ramp up period for AM jobs you could jump ship succesfully. Another option would be to get an MBA. I’ve known people to make the transition from Corp Fin to AM post MBA. Lastly, you can make a killing in Corp Fin too. CFOs and Senior FP&A Directors can make hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars too. In general there are usually just less 150-250k positions in an FP&A/Corp Fin/Treasury environment. While an entire research team of 8 may be getting 150-250k , in a Corp Fin Dept maybe 2 of 8 are getting that. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon to earn 100K+ in Corp Fin, and 80K-90K is a piece of cake, especially if you have a grad degree or cert. to go with experience. One caveat. I’m basing this on what people are getting in CA i.e. LA and San Francisco where I live and grew up respectively. I know these markets well. Regardless, in big cities around the country, salarys would be similar.
“One caveat. I’m basing this on what people are getting in CA i.e. LA and San Francisco where I live and grew up respectively. I know these markets well. Regardless, in big cities around the country, salarys would be similar.” I can add some comments from a Dallas perspective. I am in corporate Finance (although my job is not as appealing as that listed) and I am at a small tech company, non-public (600M in revenue) and pretty much the VP level makes 150 and up. So I think my company is about as low as it would get, since we arent public…if public you start to have more incentives and generally more money. At a bigger public company (I know of 1 that is 3B revenue…so not that big, but public) you could probably have director level (how evey define it…but basically in a structure were this is at least one level below VP) making base of 150 and up with potentially decent bonus. At the lower levels non-MGMT position you would probably make 65-80 depending on a lot of factors (experience, certifications, etc). On caveat from my view point…typically, the growth in base is not that great. might get some Bonus, but usually at the lower levels the growth is low (from a salary perspective and often from a position perspective).
In Corp Fin. the way you get the growth in base is by sticking around long enough to get the experience you need. Then you leave their cheap asses and go to another firm where they will pay you market rates. Market (salary) rates always increase more than those internally. If you want to capture the gains, you have to put yourself on the markets.
What exactly is the function of a Treasury group of a company, and what kind of jobs would people do in this group?