Financial Analysis for Corporate Managers - Research Proposal Example

Financial Consultant as a Profession The Location: Where are these jobs found? Financial consultancy is quite a challenging career choice, where there would be cutting edge options to pursue the line of business. However, the financial consultant may have a diverse array of expertise within the discipline, depending on which an appropriate workplace can be chosen. A financial consultant may have to assess the financial situation of a client or a firm, after which he will have to design strategies and plan accordingly considering the preferences of the clients and the market in mind. Sometimes, the post-implementation phase must also be handled by the consultant. Unlike medical professionals or CIA agents, the job for a financial consultant isn’t just limited to one particular kind of location or job. In fact, the job description for the financial consultants is usually quite diverse and generic, and mostly, almost all kinds of firms and companies need to hire financial advisors at some point in their business lives. A few of these firms hire a full time financial consultant to meet the complicated financial requirements; some may even hire a team of financial consultants if the business is too widely expanded. Others may also independently hire a financial consultant to suit their needs from time to time. The kind of financial consultancy service an aspiring professional is seeking to offer determines where he`s going to land and what kind of a culture you`d have to adopt to. Since for the most part, a financial consultant is more of a wealth manager, it would be crucial to determine the domain of the career early on. For instance, he`s have to make a choice on whether he wants to be merely wealth manager in generic terms or rather more of a portfolio manager. Depending on that, if a financial consultant is a wealth advisor, he`d have a rather holistic approach leading towards planning and design for asset management based on which accounts and funds could be dealt with (Eliot and Elliot 2013). Such a professional could end up in corporate sector and globally renowned firms, with an employee friendly corporate culture with chances of getting up on the career ladder and ending up at a point where the future has been secured. Similarly, a portfolio manager will be more of an in-house finance manager who will be responsible to keep the wealth secure and safe. Such a professional may also have chances at a sleek career, if there are affiliations with a high-end firm, however, usually they may also end up working with a small company depending upon the competitiveness of the individual. Once a financial consultant is well equipped with the necessary skills and educational requirements, he can then look forward to a promising career for finance companies and insurance firms. However, it may not just be limited to that since security companies alongside, commodity brokers and bank may also require the services of a financial consultant. Also, research indicates that around four out of ten such consultants are self employed offering services via small advisory firms functioning in the urban areas. To avail such job opportunities, one needs to have strong sense of building contacts overtime. This includes attaining internships early on, offering favors to others and maintaining good relationships and building a strong reputation in the market. This will give an edge once the well reputed firms require relevant services. Most importantly, being a multi-tasker, being independent and biased always helps in the market. Preparation: How do people get these jobs? To get into the career leading towards the position of a financial consultant, the candidate must have a background degree in finance, accounting, business, mathematics, law or other relevant subjects. However, a basic degree doesn’t usually give the comparative edge in the highly competitive market. Thus, further courses in investments, taxes, estates or even risk management can prove to be advantageous in this context. More so, financial advisors seeking a high-end career go for much advanced certifications. These include certifications like Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Financial analyst (CFA) or Chartered Financial Consultant (CFC). Though the job is a financial consult is quite complicated involving legal implications as well, yet a license isn`t required to do the job (Muro 1998). Yet, if the consultant ought to deal with funds and bond, a series 6 or 7 license may be acquired. Once a candidate has fulfilled all other requirements, the other major task in to look for potential clients requiring such services. The secret to success for a financial advisor lies in the customer base, since the financial advisor will only succeed after they have a positive word of mouth. Thus, a financial consultant must be very specific and careful in choosing the clients and seek referrals from satisfied clients to acquire more business. There are many different ways to reach out to the clients, i.e. for instance by hosting seminars and lectures which will reflect the deeper insights one has on the subject. Similarly, attending social events where one may get a chance to meet potential clients may also turn out to be a good idea for a start. In addition, an aspiring financial consultant must also send out business cards or make cold calls, since the traditional marketing techniques may also do wonders for the success of a struggling candidate in the field (Financial consultant 1996). Thus, financial business goes hand in hand with a broad social network, and for this reasons people from different backgrounds opt for a career in financial services if they have a strong network. However, to stay here, a technical knowhow of not only the field of finance, but also of the market is necessary. Just like any other profession, a financial consultant needs to know his target audience well alongside the trends in the market to protect the wealth of companies and individuals. Recruiters in well reputed firms are looking for candidates who are quite updated with the latest industry shows and social gatherings to explore the market. Moreover, getting acquainted with other professionals in the field is also important, and better acquaintance with other professionals in the industry will lead towards better chances in get hired. Reason being that not only will these professional be a competition in the industry, but also in case of complicated financial issues, help from external sources may be sought and their areas of expertise can be exploited. Also, having a professional approach is also necessary in this context. For instance, having a sound business model for instance working on a fee-only perspective and offering biased and objective analysis must be principal to the professional approach. Prospects: Research indicates that the profession of Financial Advisory services is expected to boom in the future. The Bureau of Labor Statistics implies that the employment rate of financial consultants is only expected to rise to about 27% in the coming years (Liu 2013). This number is higher than most of the other high end professions dominating the globe. Since businesses and individuals operating in the corporate environment are plummeting their business investments, the risks involved with the finances are even higher. Also, further research indicates that financial advisory careers are expected to be one of the most demanded careers by 2020 (Figure & Magazine 2013). Employment experts have concluded that with the complications in tax laws and other estate laws it would become crucial to hire financial consultants. Also, the numbers of seniors have been growing and self-retirement plans are quite common as for now. In such a scenario hiring a financial consultant becomes not a luxury, rather a necessity. It has also been observed that the best of the financial consultants are those who love their jobs and are as effective of financial experts as they are the sales professionals. Once they enter this field, they are in it for the long-run. Thus, they actively involve themselves into establishing client acquisition goals, owing to which they own corporate referrals and an effective strategy to expand their structure and clients market. Also, the lot of financial consultants who have found to make up the advisory elite have found expanding their expertise and deliberating credibility by acquiring degrees on CFP entitlement. These credentials act as a cherry on the top of all the competencies explored by a financial expert. Though the salary structure for the employees’ class of financial consultants is quite high once they reach up the career ladder, yet there are other prospects for such candidates. Some of them may opt to acquire a managerial position in the firm they`ve invested their time and energy in, which ensures job security and further expands prospects for the future (Niblick 2013). Other candidates may consider opening up their own branch or rather a small operative firm offering a range of financial services if they`re aiming for something very ambitious. Though the career path for a financial consultant may seem to be quite traditional in context and typical as well, however, a financial consultant himself has to be unorthodox. In other words, though a financial consultant will have to function under hard and fast rules, yet an out of the box approach is much appreciated in the market. Finding creative and innovative financial solutions and strategizing the right financial path will lead to a comparative advantage in the market, thus, the career path is determined by the level of motivation of the individual and his approach to business. Future of the Occupation The economics and culture of financial firms globally revolves around consultancy. Thus, financial consultancy is the future of the global economic, social and political market, as finances drive the interests of individuals, firms and even states. Even the firms which huge investment stocks around the globe have advisory off-shoots which guarantee a bright future for financial consultants, however another aspect to the occupation has emerged with promising future prospects (Williams & Parker 2012). This domain of financial consultancy lies in the domain of development financing. In other words, firms nowadays are taking their social responsibility, and thus, a lot of finances have been funneling into development work. Thus, where finances are involved, consultancy and advisory services naturally follow the lead. It is no more a hidden fact that a huge chunk of finances nowadays are going into tackling global issues like climate change, public health or conflict prevention. Though these are issues of global concern, it isn`t a hidden fact anymore that huge stakes are involves especially in context to the finances. Coalitions are partner to such initiatives, with both public and private sectors involves which further enhances the need for financial precision and quality, increasing the demand for financial consultants. Thus, while considering a career choice, this aspect must be kept in mind. For instance auditing firms functioning in conflict ridden Afghanistan region hire quality financial consultants who can make a fortune after having worked on such high profile projects. (Evolving into the role of consultant 2013) However, at the same time, the profession will also have to foresee a range of challenges in the future. Earlier, when technology wasn’t as enhanced and the stakeholders weren’t as involved, a financial consultant could get away with his meager knowledge on the subject. However, nowadays even the most naïve clients are much more involved with the entire financial process and demanding real value for the money invested on their financial advisory services (Khanna 2008). Also, technology is also contributing towards commoditizing the financial consultancy and minimizing the need for professionals. In addition, owing to the prospering prospects in the business, many companies are flocking inside to take advantage enhancing the competition. For this reason, chances are that orthodox financial consultants still sticking to the old ways of business will soon run out of business and replaced by another lot of professionals. Similarly, a professional with a meager degree and not an advanced more credible qualification will also have issues adjusting to the needs of the time. Thus, any candidate aiming at getting into this field must be prepared in the context that an out of the box approach must be adopted and new innovative ways must be thought of to succeed in the future. Another challenge the financial consultants will have to face is the dominance of large firms with immense resources in the industry. Every aspiring financial consultant entering into the market aims at investing into his own small firm in the future to work out the after-retirement plans (Ainsworth 1997). However, large firms have completely monopolized the market, and thus, it has become very difficult for the small firms to operate. This implies that the large firms have many resources so as to function with declining profits for a while, however, in such a scenario if profits for a small firm declines, it would run out of business. In other words, the large firm would look for intrinsic value in business with their clients to build long-term relationships which would be at the expense of the loss of small firms. Thus, this is a huge challenge in the future for the occupation of a financial consultant, which must be kept in mind while choosing the career. However, this doesn’t imply that there is no way out, with professional and innovative approach, the issue may be resolved. Limitations of the Study Though an effort has been made to reduce the errors in the study and make it as impactful and resourceful as possible, yet due to time constraints there may have been a few loopholes. Though a serious effort has been made to analyze the market conditions objectively, yet a personal bias may have been incorporated in the interpretation of the results unconsciously. Though all patterns were indicating that the career choice is quite compelling in context to the market conditions, yet there may have been shortfalls in accurately listing the challenges which a consultant may have to face. However, this may have been a loophole in the methodology itself as more of the emphasis was put on identifying the demand of a financial consultant in the industry and his demand as well as the future aspects. However, the fact that the job may turn out to be quite challenging as well was ignored. More so, since a financial consultant deals with numbers and complicated cases which may consummate even his personal life at times, is also ignored in a study, as a few individuals are also looking towards a balanced work life in addition to a promising career. Furthermore, most of the details have been extracted via literature review and analysis by observation of a few close ranged cases. Case study method may also have been incorporated in the study to come up with an unbiased view and the real picture. Literature review indicated numbers and other details which rationally indicate the real world scenario. A case study may have been appropriate in the context that a holistic view of the life of a financial consultant could have been more appropriately analyzed. However, literature review is the base of the study and in any circumstances couldn’t have been ignored and thus, this was the most accurate study that could have been designed. Also, subject interpretation of the fact may have been flawed at a few points, which have led to minor error in research. Data collected, as acknowledged above, is also subjective in nature, though the aim was still to be as objective as possible. The patterns emerging out of the study, however, complied with the subjective interpretation validating the results of the study. Yet, understanding the job description and prospects of a financial consultant isn`t a very simple job. In fact, it involves understanding of complex financial concepts, including hard-core accounting and other high-end politics involved with the profession. Thus, considering the view, the results may also be different if an expert view is taken on the study. In other words, the study lacks an expert opinion, rather an analysis of a group of experts of the field, to fully understand the nature of work expected in the market and whether or not the rewards are appropriate for the value the professional is giving to the profession. Conclusively, there are a few limitations to the study, however, the methodology and technicalities in research are sound and reliable, thus, the chances of error are quite low. References: Top of Form Ainsworth, J. H. (1997). How to become a successful financial consultant: Making a living investing other peoples money. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Elliott, B., & Elliott, J. (2013). Financial accounting and reporting. Harlow: Pearson. Evolving into the Role of Consultant. (January 01, 2013). 55-69. Figure, S. E., & Magazine, E. (2013). College Planning Consultant Business: Your Step-By-Step Guide to Success. New York: Entrepreneur Press. Financial consultant. (1996). New York, NY: Institutional Investor, Inc. Khanna, A. (2008). Straight through processing for financial services: The complete guide. Amsterdam: Academic Press. Liu, C. (July 01, 2013). XBRL: A New Global Paradigm for Business Financial Reporting.Journal of Global Information Management (jgim), 21, 3, 60-80. Muro, V. (1998). Handbook of financial analysis for corporate managers. New York: AMACOM. Niblick, J. (2013). The Profitable Consultant: Starting, Growing, and Selling Your Expertise. New York: Wiley. Williams, T., Parker, N. A., Rutgers University., New York (State)., & City University of New York. (2012). Consultant management estimating tool: Final report. Piscataway, N.J.: Rutgers University, Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation. Bottom of Form Read More