Corporate Finance/Industry
Industry Overview/Job Titles
Corporate finance refers to the area of finance that deals with the financial management of corporations, including the planning, management, and allocation of financial resources to achieve a company's objectives. It involves managing a company's capital structure, making investment decisions, and managing short-term and long-term financial activities to maximize shareholder value.
The primary goal of corporate finance is to maximize shareholder value while managing financial risks. Some key activities in corporate finance include capital budgeting, raising capital, evaluating mergers and acquisitions, and managing working capital.
Common entry-level jobs in corporate finance include:
Financial Analyst: Financial analysts are responsible for analyzing financial data, forecasting financial performance, and helping make strategic financial decisions. They may be involved in budgeting, financial planning, and evaluating investment opportunities.
Junior Accountant: Junior accountants assist in maintaining and updating financial records, processing transactions, and reconciling financial statements. They often work under the supervision of senior accountants and gain exposure to various aspects of accounting and financial management.
Treasury Analyst: Treasury analysts are responsible for managing a company's cash flow, investments, and debt. They may be involved in tasks such as cash forecasting, risk management, and optimizing the company's liquidity position.
Credit Analyst: Credit analysts assess the creditworthiness of a company's clients or suppliers by evaluating their financial statements and credit history. This role helps manage risk by ensuring that the company only extends credit to financially stable counterparties.
Risk Analyst: Risk analysts identify, analyze, and manage financial risks faced by a company, such as market risk, credit risk, or operational risk. They develop risk management strategies and may work closely with other departments to ensure that risks are properly mitigated.
Corporate Development Analyst: Corporate development analysts support a company's growth by identifying and evaluating strategic initiatives, such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, or divestitures. They conduct financial analysis, market research, and due diligence to inform decision-making.
As you progress in your corporate finance career, you may have opportunities to advance to more senior roles, such as finance manager, controller, or director of finance. Ultimately, you could potentially reach executive-level positions, such as chief financial officer (CFO) or treasurer.
Corporate Finance Career Paths
Corporate finance career paths typically progress from entry-level positions to more senior roles with increased responsibility and authority. While the specific career path can vary depending on the individual and company, here's a general outline of a typical corporate finance career progression, along with approximate salary ranges based on data available up to 2021. Please note that salaries can vary significantly depending on factors such as location, industry, company size, and experience.
Entry-level positions (0-2 years of experience):
Financial Analyst: $50,000 - $70,000
Junior Accountant: $45,000 - $60,000
Treasury Analyst: $50,000 - $70,000
Credit Analyst: $45,000 - $65,000
Risk Analyst: $50,000 - $70,000
Corporate Development Analyst: $55,000 - $75,000
Mid-level positions (2-5 years of experience):
Senior Financial Analyst: $70,000 - $90,000
Senior Accountant: $60,000 - $80,000
Treasury Manager: $70,000 - $100,000
Credit Manager: $65,000 - $90,000
Risk Manager: $70,000 - $100,000
Corporate Development Manager: $75,000 - $110,000
Senior positions (5-10 years of experience):
Finance Manager: $80,000 - $120,000
Controller: $90,000 - $140,000
Director of Treasury: $100,000 - $150,000
Director of Credit: $90,000 - $140,000
Director of Risk Management: $100,000 - $160,000
Director of Corporate Development: $110,000 - $170,000
Executive positions (10+ years of experience):
Chief Financial Officer (CFO): $150,000 - $250,000+ (varies significantly depending on the size and industry of the company)
Treasurer: $120,000 - $200,000+ (also varies depending on the company)
These salary ranges are approximate and may not reflect the most current data. To get the most accurate and up-to-date salary information, consult resources such as salary surveys, job postings, and professional networks.
It's important to remember that corporate finance career paths can differ based on individual goals, interests, and opportunities. Some professionals may specialize in a particular area, such as treasury or risk management, while others may transition between roles or industries throughout their careers. Networking, continuous learning, and developing both technical and soft skills can help you advance in your corporate finance career.
Learn from Alumni
These alumni are all happy to talk to you more.
Watch Videos of alumni on our youtube channel
Many large companies offer leadership development programs (LDPs) or rotational programs designed to provide recent graduates with hands-on experience, mentorship, and training across various departments and roles within the organization. These programs often focus on building leadership skills and can fast-track participants for future management positions.
Network with Alumni!
Talking to people who work in marketing is one of the best ways to a) learn about the field and b) make connections that can help you get hired.
Here are a few people you can contact. BC login required.
FinTech
Although many career opportunities are heavily weighted towards programming the following careers for business majors are in demand as well:
Financial analysts study financial data to spot trends and make forecasts in order to assist with investment decisions. Similarly, business analysts study business strategy, models, processes and workflows, and IT systems to identify inefficiencies and unearth areas that can be improved in a company’s operations.26
Product manager
In the same way that fintech is synonymous with innovation, product managers also need to develop products by combining out-of-the-box thinking with customer empathy and unconventional techniques in order to drive business growth. Innovative growth should also be accessed through product development launches that other firms have adopted, integrating new technology with best practice in fintech products.27
US regulators are focusing more on compliance for technology startups , which is compelling fintech businesses to prioritise this. David Yermack, a finance professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business says, “Fintech companies tend to chase product growth above all else, as is common with many venture-backed businesses. But finance is one of the most heavily regulated parts of the economy, which leaves less room for creative interpretations of the rules – and a career opportunity for legal and compliance experts.”28
Cybercrime costs financial service organizations an average of $17 million per year,29 including the cost of prevention, which makes the appearance of cybersecurity analysts near the top of the high-demand list understandable. As cyberattacks become more sophisticated, so too the detection, prevention, and elimination of these through effective cybersecurity will become invaluable.30
Data scientist
Data scientists take raw data, clean it, and then analyse it in order to harvest useful information from it for financial service firms to predict an outcome. Data scientists often come with a talent mix of computer science, maths and statistics skills. Other science qualifications may also enter the field, particularly those with PhDs.31
Quantitative analyst
Quantitative analysts, or ‘quants’, are maths, computing and finance experts whose quantum computing skills are used to develop the algorithms needed by large investment banks and hedge funds to manage the data-driving trading technology used to trade securities and analyse risk. As big data grows, so will the demand for quantitative analysts, especially in fintech, to come up with business models that will allow trading to be a primarily automated process.32 The Wall Street Journal recently wrote that the quants now run Wall Street, with salaries as high as $500,000 per year.33
Who recruits at BC for Corporate Finance
This spreadsheet has a list of organizations that recruited at BC in FY 19-20 prior to Covid19 and migrating to Handshake. This list includes all organizations not just corporate finance, although highlighted in yellow are some specific to corporate finance and LDP programs.
Where previous alumni have landed
Alumni Placements in Finance (not banking or institutions)
49 Financial
AllianceBernstein
Ally
Alpha Square Group
Amazon
American Express
AngelList
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Barclays Finance
Beaver Visitec International
Bessemer Trust
Boston Properties
Build America Mutual
Charles River Development
Concord Advisory Group
Darling Consulting Group
Dell EMC
Dodge & Cox
General Atlantic
Hologic
HubSpot
IHS Markit
Jones Lang LaSalle
KPMG
LogicManager
Pfizer Inc.
PWC
Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd.
Shire
SMBC Nikko
Synchrony Financial
TE Connectivity
Tecnoglass
The Doman Group
The Michel-Shaked Group
The Riverside Company
The TJX Companies, Inc.
UC Funds
Walker and Dunlop
WeWork
WindSail Capital Group