Every industry will have a financial department to look after the cash inflows, money management and salaries of the employees. It is a huge responsibility, and through this department, the company knows about its profits and standing in the market. From small financial responsibilities to big ones, this department takes care of it all. The growth of IT has also helped the finance industry to consolidate the most difficult procedures and concepts and put it in the form of programs.

The current day CPA or financial analyst can study the various financial procedures and also learn about the software’s that aid big companies by computing large balance sheets in a few seconds. A financial analyst is often a certified CPA, and it is a very difficult course to study by itself. Because the finance department responsibilities are huge, the education needed for it is also very intrinsic. Usually companies will ask for relevant experience for a few years in the finance industry before offering a financial analyst role to the candidate.

This person should have a good knowledge of using the financial software, and should also be able to design solutions using complex financial procedures in a simplified format. The candidate should also be able to understand all the financial transactions to put accurate information in the software.

Education

A person who wants to become a financial analyst should have a finance background and should be educated in commerce. A bachelor’s degree in commerce, a master’s degree in finance, or a post graduate course in CPA is required to get employed in the finance department.

There are no beginner positions for CPA’s in the industry, and one has to have 3 years of relevant experience to get employed as an analyst. Before that a CPA works as an apprentice on a stipend with an expert. This is not an industry specific job, and a person with the above education can fit into any industry which has a finance department.

To get bigger roles in the future, the person along with the appropriate education should also have gathered industry knowledge by then. To be able to work in any industry, one should eventually have the industry knowledge.

Many professionals in the finance industry do agree that the finance courses are not easy to study, because accounting is a difficult subject and involves a lot of fundamental mathematics. In addition to this, it is not easy to study a subject which is not based on logic, and many things have to be accepted and remembered studies wise.

The knowledge of formulas or procedures will also be applied while working. It is very important for a person to be equipped with the theoretical knowledge that is needed. Most of the beginner positions in the industry require this, as in the beginning any one would be performing tasks related to accounts which may be very complicated. Most of the course curriculums offered in colleges these days are computer based, and it is included in the course.

Education required

Bachelor of commerce
MBA in finance
CPA or equivalent course in finance

Skills

To be able to work in the finance department of a company, one has to have a lot of adherence and subject knowledge other than knowing how to use the computer software packages. A CPA analyst job is very responsible, and one might be required to analyze the financial information and make a presentation appropriately either for the viewing of the board members, or the public.

So it should be error free and one should have attention to detail in this job. They should catch errors easily and rectify them. The other responsibilities also include preparing financial reports. Many organizations use ERP solutions and Oracle solutions for their finance departments and the analyst has to know about the ERP software and the functionalities. The candidate will also be required to prepare the budgets for the company, and analyze the information of the budget. An analyst job can be an extremely stressful, and one should have the ability to execute it.

Expected Salary

Beginners: Not Available
Midlevel: $5000
Experts: $6500 and more