Where?

Mostly the City – lots and lots of travel

Employers?

Big investment banks and corporate banking divisions of large clearing banks

Where does the role fit in?

This is the part of the business that advises companies and governments on the best way to raise money, make deals and acquire other companies. Americans sometimes refer to people involved in this type of work as Investment Bankers, and they may also be described as Corporate Bankers. Basically, all these terms are interchangeable.

Tasks typically involve

• Advising clients on how to raise capital for new projects, expansion purposes or acquisitions
• Liaising with regulatory bodies and knowing the relevant market place and strategy
• Attending client meetings and forming close board-level client relationships
• Developing and presenting appropriate financial and structural solutions to clients
• Carrying out financial modeling
• Gathering information and undertaking detailed data analyses and valuations
• Producing detailed prospectuses
• Negotiating and running transactions
• Coordinating teams of professionals, such as accountants and lawyers
• Assessing commercial risks and likely returns

A typical Corporate Finance deal – for example, a new share listing, a merger (corporate financiers advise on the funding) or arranging long term debt to help finance a company’s operations – may involve any or all of the above.

Corporate finance departments in big investment banks now usually consist of regional teams, tasked with finding new business in their region, such as Western Europe, Central Europe, the Middle East etc. Sitting behind these teams are financial product specialists able to give detailed advice on different types of funding.

These are high-powered jobs. When a deal is on the go, you can expect long hours and huge workloads – but in return for huge rewards. Bonuses can be enormous, but failure to generate business can mean a quick exit.

What you need to get the job

Generally speaking, these jobs are for top graduates from top universities, often with higher, masters-level degrees. The minimum requirement is usually a 2.1 in a subject with a mathematical content. Employers are looking for people with a wide range of skills and personal attributes

• First-rate maths skills - it all comes down to the calculations. Increasingly, this means a higher degree with a significant mathematical content, but a good first degree is sometimes enough
• Well developed interpersonal skills – these are top jobs, dealing with the top people in the customer organisation, so standards have to be very high
• Language skills. This is a global market, and the UK is very much the centre of it. If you want to finance the building of a new oil field in Kazakhstan, it is almost certain that the banker who turns up will be from London! At the same time, you can be sure that in most of the big investment banks, probably two thirds of your colleagues will not be from the UK. This is a market that buys in the best people - no matter where they are from. The language of international business is English, but cultural awareness and some language skills are usually important - although some corporate bankers can play a more domestic role
• A willingness to travel
• The ability to handle stress. Yes the rewards can be amazing, but the pressure and the hours can be vast
• Confidence – maybe the most important thing. You may have all of the above, but you need to be able to show it

As well as people directly out of university or business school (for those with top MBAs), there are alternative routes into this area. If you are a well-qualified chartered accountant, a barrister, or a top commercial solicitor, corporate finance could be the career for you. All three are traditional recruiting grounds.

Qualifications and career progression

Historically, this has been an area where education is important, but training and qualifications in the role are difficult because of the time constraints. However, a combination of regulatory requirements and the increasing complexity of the financial markets are making further role-specific qualifications more important.

Employees in the UK will be expected to take a regulatory qualification giving them the right to carry out financial advisory work. The main route for this is the Security and Investment Institute’s Certificate in Corporate Finance.

A professional qualification, such as the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), may be advantageous. This US qualification builds understanding of core financial calculations, investment models and corporate funding options, and is becoming a more popular option than UK-based alternatives and is more commonly taken by Analysts (see Financial Analyst)

The ifs' part-time degree qualification, the BSc (Hons) in Banking Practice and Management, offers a 60-credit Corporate Finance module, for more information on this module click here.

Income

Starting salaries

£0 - £40,000

On the surface, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. What it means is that a lot of people now do internships in order to get their foot in the door - so you may earn nothing in the first 3 months, or in the summer holidays. However, if you then go back to university and get selected in the Milk Round, starting salaries can be up to £40k.

Career incomes

£40,000 - £90,000

corporate finance analysts – basically those supplying support to the main people. Also expect bonuses of 30-300% plus in good years

£100,000 - £200,000 basic – Corporate Finance Director (and everyone is called a director or a vice president!) Plus bonuses potentially many time this.