How Does Corporate Finance Differ From Investment Banking

Corporate Finance and Investment Banking, both form very essential divisions of any firm, dealing in the field of Finance. According to Investopedia, the most basic difference between these two is, that Corporate Finance deals with the management of a company’s finances, whereas Investment Banking deals with the financial growth of the company. Regardless of their differences, it has been seen that these two fields make for great, promising careers for finance aspirants. A professional working in either of these fields, has to deal with similar kind of challenges and prospects. Corporate Finance, is like a blanket term, used to refer to all things finance, including every vertical that deals with financial activities. In a very broad sense, Investment Banking can also be called a type of corporate finance, which makes their differentiation slightly difficult. While corporate finance can be used more like a general term, Investment Banking is a more of a niche concept.

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The field of corporate finance, is concerned with all the day-to-day financial activities of a firm. The main objectives herein are, to take decisions regarding investments, raising capital, maximizing the value of the company, distributing the resources throughout, issuing of securities, analyzing and identifying areas, where it would be necessary to raise capital. Investment Banking, by and large deals with the process of making a firm grow. This is done mainly through, the process of mergers and acquisitions, issuing of securities and various other functions, through which the capital can be raised. Investment Bankers are the professionals, who carry out these activities for a firm and are hired for their specialized knowledge and approach. Investment Bankers are known for their abilities to steer a company out of financial turmoil on to calm waters, this why in spite of being a sub-field, Investment Banking is still considered to be a separate field.

The education requirement for Corporate Finance is a background in either economics, business, or any other finance related field. A degree in accounting makes for a lot in this field due to the nature of the job. As this field covers a lot of job profiles, the skills required here are, good analytical abilities, thorough knowledge about corporate theory, financial analysis, strong communications skills and familiarity with other related concepts of finance. Investment Banking requires a more specific set of skills, but a base in finance, investments and other areas is expected. A lot of Investment Bankers complete their MBA degrees and a few other certification courses, which gives them expert knowledge about the field of Investments. Lately a lot of companies have begun looking for candidates with exceptional resumes, which is the reason for the increasing number of people doing certification courses.

There are eminent institutes like, Imarticus Learning, which offer certification programs specializing in both of these field. Their courses are available both in the classroom as well as online format and can be done by professionals who already have a job. While both of these fields are equally challenging and rewarding, Investment Banking has become a front-runner choice for a career in finance; while on the other hand, Corporate Finance offers a variety in terms of career roles. Differences apart, both the fields have great perks and opportunities to offer.

Make Career in Finance with non-finance Background

 If you are looking for a job in finance they say that it’s mandatory to have a finance degree, but if you really want to work in this field and you don’t have any relevant degree then what do you do?  Still there is a hope.

Every organization wants motivated, dedicated and smart employees to do their work. Finance degrees train students on skills such as financial modeling and data analysis, but may not do much to provide other skills required for success in almost any job, such as communication, problem-solving and time management.

Below are some of the ways to show potential employers that you possess the skills that they desire in an employee, as well as the passion necessary for a successful career in finance. We’ll rate each of these by degree of difficulty to achieve (for example, signing up for a financial course is easier than obtaining an internship) as well as the positive impact it may have on getting you closer to your objective of embarking on a financial career.

1.       Learn Jargon:
If you are looking to make career in finance, then you must have knowledge about Wall Street lingo, difference between dilution and dividend, or between NPV and DCF. Learn some financial terms and
concepts. If you are a non-finance graduate and if you don’t know about financial terms and concepts it will become very difficult to get pass in preliminary interview stages. Interviewers want knowledgeable applicant for finance position, irrespective of his/her educational background.

2. Round off Your Education

Even though you are a non-finance graduate, you can match your level by taking relevant finance courses as per your education level. If you are an undergraduate then courses in economics, accounting or financial analysis will be a great options. And for a graduate students can prefer MBA in finance or CFA/financial modeling program

3. Enroll in Best Financial Courses

There are lots of finance institutes who provide Intensive courses which will help you to boost your skills which are essential for career in finance, such as advanced excel techniques and financial modeling. This are short term courses, as they typically conducted over a few days. But due to these short span programs’, you may need to be familiar with basic financial concepts to derive the maximum benefit from them.

4. Improve Your Knowledge Base

It’s not necessary that you will get full-fledged knowledge from your college degree. You can get plenty of information from local library or online. You might get some paid resources from course providers. Being self-taught in a difficult field like finance demonstrates a number of desirable attributes to an employer such as initiative, passion and drive.

5. Link up with a Mentor

Linking up with a mentor is another way of boosting a financial career. A mentor can be anyone who can influence, who thinks highly of your capabilities and is willing to help you achieve your goals. A mentors can be your favorite professor at college, a family friend or relation with a successful career in finance or someone you know in a professional capacity, such as a supervisor during a previous internship. Don’t hesitate to approach a contact who you think could help you in your job search.

6. Score a Meaningful Internship

Scoring a summer internship still remains one of the best ways to lock in a prestigious full-time job in finance, as many Wall Street firms pick their new hires from the ranks of their summer interns. At the best business schools, an estimated one-third to half of MBA students work for their summer employer after graduation.

But since obtaining a paid internship in finance is likely to be very difficult for a non-financial graduate, one must consider other options such as an unpaid internship or volunteer work with a broker. The opportunity cost that arises from doing such unpaid internships or volunteer work may be offset in due course by the higher earning potential of a finance career.

7. Do Your Best to Get Your Foot in the Door

Grab opportunities! Expand your job search to other locations, and use your network to check for job openings in a financial organization. Try to get an entry-level position with a financial company, even for a non-finance role, may open doors to other career paths in finance down the line.

But for the vast majority of non-finance degree holders, getting a job in finance is likely to pose a significant challenge. This is more so because thousands of positions were reduced by banks and financial institutions in the effect of the 2008 global recession. However, using a combination of the tips discussed above should enable a non-financial graduate to substantially improve his or her chances of launching a career in finance.

So to become part of one of the fastest growing sectors in India, join Imarticus learning, we offer various finance and investment banking courses across many cities in India.

Reasons Why You Should Go for Finance Courses

                            

Finance courses are the study of how monetary assets are managed, traded and invested.  From the historic perspective, the study of finance seems to be one of the most archaic. The reason for this is that firstly, finance is everything related to money and the second being, since the dawn of civilization and the advent of money; there have existed monetary transactions. Finance thus is a very fruitful career with great benefits and rewards. As this field has such importance in worldly affairs, it is also one of the sought after fields with students, taking up various finance and investment banking courses. Here’s a list of 5 reasons why one should invest in a Financial Course.

The World is All about Finance

Take a person, who earns a certain amount of salary every month. Then, this person goes onto divide his salary for various things like household essentials, school fees, utility bills, loans and then at the end he tries to save some money, for the future or invest it somewhere. Now replace this person with a company and think about all the financial activities it goes through, from capital management to loans, debtor management, and equities and so on, are the things that the company needs to consider. Thus we can infer that at every level, the knowledge of managing finances comes to the fore.

World has Started Taking Notice

As the importance of this field increases, so does the number of aspirants. Lately, there has been a hike in the number of people opting for courses in finance. At the same time, there has also been an increase in the number of institutes providing for courses in finance. There are institutes that have started offering for short term and long term courses, in classroom as well as online format, in finance which are all certification programs.

Real Life Concepts

  Financial concepts like “price” and “value”, have real life usage and are not always confined to the hardcore financial sphere. There have been so many eminent personalities, who have drawn references from the two concepts and drawn parallels with their own works. Those two terms become very philosophically inclined as well, when we talk about the spiritual value and the price paid for certain things, thus in a way their concepts don’t become too dry to grasp. Thus other concepts like overvalue, undervalue also have their come into purview in terms of life.  

Finance is a Very Interesting Field

Money will always remain in fashion so, as long as money is on people’s minds, finance will be a prominent career too. Apart from being an indispensible part of the business world, finance in itself is a concoction of many intriguing theories, which when applied can lead to great results. One can either choose to be an investment banker and go on to achieve new heights, or choose to research all the possibilities and try to find newer concepts and theories.

 Great opportunities

This field offers many lucrative opportunities and the chance to get to one’s dream job possible. There are a number of courses, both short term and long term; offered by many institutes in Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi and other cities in India. A career in this field offers one with the opportunity to land their dream job, become an investor, start their own business and so on, thus making finance a very beneficial field laden with great many benefits.

While investing in finance courses, the important thing is your interest and will to learn. If one is determined then, there are a lot of avenues as well as many courses offered for the same. There are a number of institutes which offer courses in finance for those aspiring for a career herein.

Imarticus Learning is one such institute, offering a host of certification courses in corporate finance as well as financial modeling, retail banking, wealth management and others. 

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