The choice of a career is the most critical decision in life as it has a long-term impact. The decision to choose a career path is difficult as there is very less exposure to the real world and, hence, it is to be made with prudence.
For financial management, students who choose finance as their specialisation have ample opportunities in the current business ecosystem. Finance has become a preferred choice of many B school graduates as this sector has tremendously boomed in recent times at the global and national levels.
The finance career is a socially respected career option which is performance based on faster career growth. The technological advancements and financial inclusion in the country has broadened the resource base of the financial system and thereby created a lot of opportunities for qualified professionals.
The growth of the financial sector in India at present is nearly 8.5 percent per year, resulting in new horizons for MBA students.
The best career opportunities for financial management students in India can be:
1. CORPORATE FINANCE
All corporate entities have a finance department to perform all the finance functions. These functions provide job roles in functional areas like Accounting, taxation, auditing, budgeting and finance control. A professional with good analytical skills and well versed in financial modeling and with high work ethics can pursue a career in corporate treasury management.
2. FINTECH
Fintech is the extensive use of modern technology in all finance functions. With the amalgamation of technology into finance, there is a huge demand for professionals in the BFSI sector especially in the field of Fintech and other emerging technologies in finance. These career opportunities include job roles in the block chain, cognitive technology, robotic process automation and payment gateway experts.
3. INVESTMENT BANKER AND CREDIT RISK ANALYST
The key role of the investment banker is to conduct research and valuations to execute finance deals, to assess and suggest investment opportunities. An investment banker is required for the implementation of long and short-term financial plans and recognising new business opportunities.
Assessing creditworthiness of existing or prospective clients for the company is the key responsibility which requires specialise domain knowledge. You will be examining financial transactions and the credit history of the prospective clients to evaluate the level of risk.
4. INSURANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT
The uncertain nature of the pandemic has increased the need for a sense of security and assurance. The flourishing insurance sector in the country provides various roles such as actuaries and analysts to data scientists and marketers.
With the advent of technology, understanding of new technologies such as AI and Machine Learning (ML) has become a prerequisite in the sector and has opened up several avenues in the sector. The insurance sector possesses opportunities for actuaries, advisors, marketing specialists, customer service representatives, human resource professionals.
5. BANKING AND NBFC
There is wide scope for finance professionals in banking services such as corporate lending, SME lending, agricultural lending, micro finance and foreign exchange management. The banking sector has a wide range of financial services in each function of modern banking; a career can be made in business development, marketing of banking services, treasury operations of banks and risk management.
6. FINANCIAL ANALYST & WEALTH MANAGEMENT|
The financial analyst career provides a career in forecasting future revenues and expenditures, as well as modeling capital structure and budgeting and being responsible for keeping track of a company’s financial plan. Finance specialised professionals can become successful analysts.
Wealth managers hold in-depth consultations with clients to learn about their financial goals, risk tolerance, and current asset allocation. The roles available are financial planning, investment management, and preservation and generation of wealth.
By: Amrit Das