College Courses Needed for a Career in Corporate Finance
A successful career in corporate finance requires a mixture of specific skills and knowledge. The ability to grasp complex analytical ideas and apply them to real-world business situations is important. Much of this ability will be gained in an entry-level job in banking, consulting or in the finance group of a corporation. A combination of accounting, economics, statistics, finance, writing and computer coursework is the best preparation a college student can have to launch his/her corporate finance career.
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Accounting
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Understand financial statements and accounting rules and principles behind them. Take courses in accounting and financial statement analysis to build a strong foundation in the concepts and principles that businesses follow when they prepare and present financial data.
Economics
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Finance grew out of the economics field. Take college courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, international trade, money, credit and banking. This coursework is essential to understanding the concepts of supply and demand, the business cycle, competition and capital markets. More advanced topics such as comparative advantage, interest and capital, portfolio theory, marginal profit and cost analysis also are critical ideas to master.
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Statistics
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Develop quantitative analytical skills by studying statistics. Corporate finance involves a great deal of detailed work with numbers. Take courses in probability, variance, sampling, mean and standard deviation, correlation and regression techniques to firmly grasp how these concepts play a vital role in finance theory and practice.
Finance
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Bring together accounting, economics and statistics knowledge with introductory, intermediate and advanced finance coursework. These courses should focus on the time value of money, discounted cash flows, risk and return, valuation, debt and equity securities and derivatives. Choose electives such as international finance, mergers and acquisitions, risk management, corporate restructuring and futures and options to enhance core finance concepts and to prepare for the job interview process.
Writing
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Learn how to write well. Corporate finance is not just about numbers. The ability to explain ideas clearly and succinctly will be crucial to performing well in any finance field. If a business writing class is not offered, then take a nonfiction or journalism class to sharpen outlining and drafting capabilities.
Software
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Become a Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint expert. These three mainstays of the Office suite are used for almost every aspect of work in the finance field, regardless of whether it is a banking, consulting or corporate job. All corporate finance professionals must be able to analyze information and data in Excel, explain it in Word and then present it in PowerPoint. Adding expertise with more advanced software such as Minitab, Crystal Ball and @Risk will enable a college student to make a better case that he or she is prepared to tackle the analytical complexity that corporate finance professionals deal with.
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