Skillsets For Senior Manager Financial Alliances And Strategy At LiquiLoans

I've held three jobs, so I'll briefly walk you through the skillsets needed for all of them.

If you want to get into a highly technical field like accounting or auditing, or work for a firm like EY or KPMG in a statutory audit role, an accounting certification is very helpful. For those in the US, a CPA is highly beneficial as it helps you understand how accounting works. Formal accounting training in college would also be advantageous.

Understanding financial reporting standards is crucial. You likely follow US GAAP and IFRS. Basic accounting rules are also essential. A profit and loss statement and a balance sheet are universal to any country. Understanding how to analyze these is very important.

It's also important to understand how businesses operate. When I worked at EY, we built a template called "Understanding the Business." Our partners would advise us not to focus solely on standards and reporting first, but to understand what the company does and the systems they have in place. This allows you to identify gaps and make recommendations, starting with processes and systems rather than just auditing and checking numbers.

Auditing is an interesting starting role, often considered a foundational profession. You can use auditing experience to identify companies or fields that interest you and transition into them.

Another field I moved into within a year was investment banking. Investment banking allows you to learn about specific sectors in depth. While audit might focus you on a niche like mutual funds or banks, investment banking often involves working across one or more sectors like oil and gas or financial services. This develops an understanding of a wide variety of industries.

For investment banking, professional certifications like completing one or two levels of the CFA can be helpful, especially if you don't have a finance background, as firms look for quantitative ability. If you know finance, accounting, or tax, you'll be better positioned for interviews. Many MBA students without finance backgrounds successfully pivot into investment banking after developing quantitative skills.

Investment banking requires knowledge of finance, financial concepts, industry knowledge, and the ability to deal with stakeholders.

Finally, for internal strategy, it's a combination of skills. If you have a tech background, you can focus on the technical aspects, analyzing code and identifying gaps. A finance background allows you to examine financial products, investments, and treasury management, recommending improvements. An operations background lets you analyze the company's various operations.

Understanding the company is critical in all these professions, especially in finance and strategy. The ability to crunch financial numbers can be developed through courses like CFA or CPA, or through self-study and asking questions.

Developing an interest in learning about industries is key. Consuming news from reputable sources like the WSJ or The Economist is very helpful. An intellectual curiosity, where you continually seek to learn more and ask questions, is valuable in all these roles.