While a career in finance is itself very challenging and requires a lot of hard work, there are some jobs that are actually very competitive and are hardest to fill owing to the extensive experience and qualifications required for these. Here are the four top competitive financial careers for you.
With baby boomers retiring, recruiters are having problem finding suitable replacements for the jobs vacated by them. Most of these opportunities require at least an experience of 7 years and employers do not want to risk hiring less experienced candidates to replace an employee who had more than 20 years experience in that field. These are most difficult-to-fill positions as the responsibilities involved are huge and employers do not want to take any decision in a hurry. The positions are hedge fund controllers, fund and senior-level accountants, tax managers and valuation analysts.
Tax Managers
As the name suggests, tax managers take care of tax reporting and planning. Their responsibility is to make sure that tax returns are completed and maintain precise records so as to reduce the tax obligations of an organization. The managers have also to ensure that companies should comply with the local and international tax laws, rules and regulations.
In order to become a senior-level tax manager one must have a CPA designation and at least a MBA with a specialization in accounting or taxation. In addition to the educational qualifications, you must have at least five years of experience. Senior positions require even greater level of experience and expertise.
Controllers
Controllers are highly specialized finance professionals who are responsible for keeping the company’s financial planning and budget management in order. They formulate rules, choose accounting methods and ensure that best accounting practices are followed. The most common places where these professionals are employed include banks, government organizations and corporate. They are mostly at the helm of teams, making sure the team members produce quality work within set time periods.
A controller should have Master of Business Administration with a specialization in finance and accounting. You will also require a Certified Public Accountant certification. In order to apply to senior positions such as VP finance jobs you need to have at least five to 10 years of experience in senior-level finance or accounting positions.
A hedge fund controller is the most common type of controller finance job that we know about. A very hard to attain position, the salaries paid for this job are unbelievable.
Valuation Analysts
As the name goes, valuation analysts are responsible for evaluating the business worth or the ownership’s value when a business is bought or sold. As a business valuation analyst you must have a good understanding of accounting, economics, taxes and finance. Furthermore, the educational qualifications aren’t much different as analysts need to have a CPA certification to become certified. A strong mathematical aptitude is the most important requirement for exploring better growth opportunities.
Senior Level Accountants
The job profile of an accountant is to analyze the financial trends, costs and operations. They keep a watch on the financial health of the organization, its assets, profits and losses, financial activities, taxes owed and liabilities. Such senior level accountants can also apply to VP finance jobs, but only if they are supported by at least two to five years of experience in the industry and a certification such as CPA. Other roles that recruiters hire for include account managers, senior accountants, and fund accountant managers.
In order to land these roles, role-specific competency is the biggest requirement. Your educations isn’t the biggest thing that recruiters are worried about. However, if you have sufficient real world experience and expertise, companies are willing to pay hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars salaries.
