What do financial services CEOs go through to get to where they are now? Read this article to learn more
Among one of the most fundamental finance skills that virtually each financial services enthusiast needs to establish should focus on their finance and economic expertise. Many people tend to believe that accounting and finance skills are just required if you are seriously thinking about an occupation in accountancy. Nonetheless, as William Jackson of Bridgepoint Capital would likely know, the financial services world is interconnected, and every single role within finance requires you to recognize the 3 primary economic statements to at least an intermediate level. Companies depend on these economic reports to handle budgeting, performance evaluation, and plan for the expense of operations through the selection of the most suitable economic investments that might include bonds, stocks and property. This is why you see many finance professionals, insurance underwriters, and even asset managers coming from a chartered accountancy foundation, and that is simply because of the essential understanding accountancy and finance can give you prior to you focus in your financial career.
Nowadays, one of one of the most obvious hard skills in finance would certainly include your quantitative skills. Numbers and quantitative information in general are the backbone of every financial services career. As Ferdi van Heerden of Momentum Global Investment Managers would understand, numerous financial institutions tend to employ their graduates, interns, or pupils from numerical degrees, such as maths, financial services, chemical engineering, and information technology. This is because, as an economic analyst, you are required to go through lengthy data sets that are filled with quantitative data that you will require to analyze, and being comfortable with numbers is absolutely a vital tool to have in this situation. One could suggest that even back-office positions that do not always involve data sets still require candidates to have some level of numerical or data-focused experience, and this once again reinforces the point around quantitative information being the cornerstone of every operation within an economic services organisation nowadays
One can quickly argue that soft skills in finance are as crucial as technical know-how. As Toby Raincock of Shard Capital would understand, being client focused in a financial context is probably one of the most demanding positions you can ever before find yourself in. This is because customers are entrusting you with their personal money and investments, and as a result, you need to have the capacity to form lasting working connections with these clients, serving as their partners, and making their problems your very own. The stronger your connection is with the client, the simpler your role will be. Such relationship-building abilities means that interaction skills are also essential in the world of financial services, particularly when it comes to providing insights and guidance to customers. Additionally, you should also be able to adapt your style when interacting with various audiences, adjusting among internal and external stakeholders, depending upon their level of financial understanding and familiarity.