What Does a Corporate Financial Analyst Do? (TT - S1E8)

Podcast Version:
www.buzzsprout.com/803279/346...
What does a corporate financial analyst do? I asked myself this question as I was going to school for my BBA in Finance however I never found an honest response. I thought it would be a boring job as many people seemed to be talking all about investment banking or IB as they liked to call it. I decided in undergrad that I would try and work on the trading side or the investment banking side as it required more driven people.
To my surprise I was actually doing corporate finance and I didn't really realize it. I had been working at a start-up manufacturing company for a few years and I slowly transitioned into helping with the finances and accounting as well as many other jobs. The job was so busy all the time I just viewed myself as someone doing business. Looking back on the experience, one of my main jobs was to do corporate finance. I was involved on gathering data, analyzing the data, and making presentations about the results. This in a nutshell is what corporate financial analysts do. They provide a financial perspective to the business problems.
Many of the skills needed to be a financial analyst were taught in my finance undergrad. Discounted cash flow models (DCF), debt pricing (bonds), and ROI were common tasks. Some of my projects including financial reporting, profitability of custom projects, developing pricing models, reviewing supply and demand of markets, creating and presenting PowerPoint presentations to investors and customers, conducting cash flow analysis, and providing information on decision making for manufacturing costs including raw materials and labor.
The career is slower than other areas of finance however the job is much more stable. The environment is fairly cyclical with reporting while allowing some creativity in ad hoc projects. People are usually friendly and you get the opportunity to work with a variety of departments as finance effects every part of a business. Many of these jobs have a relaxed dress code or casual Fridays. You might work a 50-60 hour week when deadlines arise however most of the time you will work around 40 hours and be able to have a life outside of work.
CFI Financial Analyst Skills:
corporatefinanceinstitute.com...
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[@cameronclark1845]

Thank you for making the videos that you do. This one specifically is very impactful on me right now as I have an education and am currently learning the day in the life of this role before I go out and give it my best rip. You and you’re content in very encouraging, so thank you for contributing to us.

[@arpadnagy1354]

Hats off Dimitri Bianco! Finally someone who shares everything important from the beginning to the end, without other bullshit.

[@Dagothdaleet]

I’m working on a career transition into corporate finance. This video was very helpful to give me what appears to be a genuine insight into what the job is. After listening to you, this is essentially the same work I did as the treasurer of a small non-profit. From forecasting to analysis to monthly and annual reporting (with accounting and bookkeeping work hidden in there). I think I’ll do great in this line of work.

[@EnigmaTanker]

You've literally listed out everything I do on a day to day basis. I join a manufacturing firm as a FA and in 10mo became a SFA. Everyday adds more responsibilities and experiences.

[@TheTwizted]

What’s the hours like? 40? Or more so 80+

[@EnigmaTanker]

@@TheTwizted tbh they were 80 But I realized a lot of my respirting responsibilities were cyclical and repetitive. So I used python to automate a lot of the reporting. Now, it's more like 25-35hrs at max / week

[@TheTwizted]

@@EnigmaTanker how do you like being a financial analyst ?

[@vickiliu4887]

thanks for sharing! very useful

[@GavinPotter]

Great video, I've just been offered a job in financial analysis, i'm moving over from Financial management, looking forward to the change.

[@FrankmontanaUk]

What’s the difference between financial management and financial Analyst pls

[@chrislionspride1666]

just curious why did you make the move offer to analyst

[@gamerio9945]

This video was so amazing for me as a student! Thank you! Subbed and liked :)

[@DimitriBianco]

Thanks!

[@ferdinandkurian1800]

Thanks Dimitri!

[@Confidential84]

Excellent summary. I'm currently looking for a new role but this is basically what I have been doing at a FTSE100 listed British plc for over a year. I've used this video to remind myself how to update my CV😄

[@DimitriBianco]

Glad it was helpful!

[@all_grace_za]

Thank you

[@shravanr8264]

Mate so close to 10k

[@tee9443]

Great video

[@DimitriBianco]

Thanks!

[@kimdahyun2893]

do you need excellent communication skills in finance cause i want to work in USA after graduation and english is not my first language

[@sonsangsom]

Most of them are Accounting tasks

[@lucasvasconcelos9156]

Dimitri, could you make a video about banking? what does a guy from credit analysis, leverage finance or investmentedn banking do and what are the skills required?

[@DimitriBianco]

Unfortunately I have not worked in a wide array of departments within a bank. It also varies a lot by bank size. Large banks hire quants to do a lot of the modeling around credit risk for example while smaller banks utilize business/finance people to review loans manually. Investment banking require a fancy high profile degree for the most part. The number one skill is Excel.

[@madbruh1371]

10k

[@federicobidone7789]

off-topic, do you think it is possible to work as quant in the United States having studied in Europe?

[@Olle_Green]

Federico Bidone +1

[@Sam-yu4ve]

unlikely but not impossible. employers prefer us degrees and u will have to compete with a large local talent pool

[@DimitriBianco]

As @smenary451 mentioned, it's possible but really challenging. The main reason is due to the large number of graduating students every year in the US. A creative route is to get a quant job at a company that has offices in Europe and the US and then transfer. A student in my MFE program already had an MFE from Europe but couldn't find a quant job in Europe. He came to the US for the second MFE just so he could get a job.

[@iliasaarab7922]

How common is it to apply Real Option Anlaysis in corporate finance?

[@kapetannemo]

The channel is set to automatically translated into Vietnamese! ?????

[@srog113]

Do you have an online course that you would recommend to learn about this further?

[@DimitriBianco]

Unfortunately I'm not a big fan of online classes so I wouldn't know. Maybe someone else will add some of their insight in the comments.

[@ShoutingMeatball]

Am i screwed if i have a general business degree and not finance

[@DimitriBianco]

You should be okay with a general business degree.

[@faisalfayyaz9788]

Doesn't the marketing department forecast revenues?

[@DimitriBianco]

I have never seen the marketing department doing revenue forecasting for the business however it could exist somewhere. The marketing department might create marketing campaigns and then predict the revenue from that campaign however this is different than predicting the overall revenue for the business.

[@faisalfayyaz9788]

@@DimitriBianco so does that include researching about economic and industry trends? Also, do corporate financial analyst help firms in investment decisions on products or projects? Lastly, a lot of people say that corporate finance wont exist 15 years from now do you think its true?