MBA Finance

Description

Financial jobs can be broken down into those that take place within a corporate organization (often called corporate or company finance) and those whose setting is a particular financial institution, such as with an investment bank. The array of job possibilities within financial institutions is extremely broad, thus the below areas outline the major career options within each arena.

Corporate/Company Finance

The structure of finance within a corporation consists of internal finance (controllership) and external finance (treasury) activities. Jobs concerned with the collection, measurement, and evaluation of financial data generated from internal operations are typically placed under the controller's supervision. An organization's relations with financial markets and institutions are often grouped under the supervision of the treasurer, including management of bank lines and other credit facilities, communication with shareholders, and oversight of offshore financing arrangements. In many companies, strategic and long-range planning has considerable finance content and may also report to the Chief Financial Officer. Duties of a finance job in a corporate organization can vary widely, but commonly involve financial planning, raising funds, cash management, and acquiring and disposing of assets. Analysts determine financing needs, analyze competitors, implement financial plans, monitor the company's securities and manage financial risk.

Investment Banking - Corporate Finance

Investment banking associates in corporate finance serve the sellers of securities, either Fortune 1000 companies that are looking to raise cash to fund growth, or frequently, private companies that are looking to go public. Corporate finance bankers are financial consultants to corporations, advising companies on how to finance their operations, structure their balance sheets, move ahead with plans to sell or acquire a portion of the company. Activities can range from providing pure financial advice to implementing the sale of a new stock or equity issue. As a result, industry or product knowledge is key, and many investment banks divide the corporate finance department into specialty sub-groups such as energy, high tech, oil and gas, pulp and paper, and telecommunications. The corporate finance group will do any and all of the following:

Underwrite equity offerings - buy shares for sale from the corporation or government entity and then sell them on the market to investors.
Underwrite fixed income (debt/bond) offerings.
Help firms analyze their financial needs.
Help firms devise and implement financial strategies, such as what foreign currency exposure to have and when and how to proceed with funding initiatives.
Determine valuations for offerings.