Question

What are some possible career paths one can take with an educational background in finance?

What are some of the key steps someone should take in order to prepare for a career in finance?

What is the primary role a publicly traded company should pursue, and why?

Answer 1

1) The possible career paths one can pursue after an education in finance is to start with a entry level job as a finance executive responsible for accounting or take up an analyst job in a fund house. Then one can progress to a managerial role in a corporate finance or become a senior analyst and ultimately go on to become a Chief Financial Officer or the fund manager for a large fund house.

2) Some of the key steps one can take for a role in finance is:-

• Build robust math skills
• Understand the working of capital markets
• Understand various business models and the way these models generates profits and cash
• Have sound written and verbal communication skills to communicate the insights or findings through written reports

3) The primary role of a publicly traded organization is:-

• Work to maximize public shareholder’s wealth
• Ensure community interests are protected

The above roles are important because in most publicly traded organizations, the biggest owner is the public and hence the primary responsibility of the firm is to generate maximum returns for its owners i.e. the public without jeopardizing or harming other stakeholders.