Industry Insight...


Working in Corporate Finance

Corporate financiers advise clients on acquisitions, disposals, valuations and capital-raising. 

Corporate financiers typically work in investment banks, although they can also work in smaller ‘boutique’ corporate finance firms and larger professional services firms. Some large companies also employ corporate finance professionals in corporate development-related roles.  
Corporate finance advisors oversee the disposal, acquisition or capital raising process from start to finish and an overview of a typical project is as follows: the owners of a company want to sell their company or float it on a stock market. Hence, the owners invite a corporate finance team to undertake a ‘strategic review’, in order to explore the options available – which could be to sell the company to a competitor or an investment house, to float the company on a stock market, or to wait until a future time in order to achieve a higher sale price. The corporate finance team decides which option or options to pursue, usually with the aim of maximising the price the company is sold for, and oversees the process from start to finish.

To be successful in corporate finance one needs to be comfortable analysing financial information and if working on larger deals, financial modelling skills become increasingly necessary. Graduates entering this profession are usually very numerate.

The confidence to communicate and negotiate effectively with management teams at target companies, potential buyers, lawyers and banks is desirable. In order to make a deal go smoothly, diplomacy, tenacity, strategic thinking and a degree of creativity are useful attributes.  

The pros: it is fast paced, intellectually stimulating, there is the opportunity to work with very bright individuals and it is one of the highest paying graduate destinations.

The cons: the hours can be very demanding and there are high attrition rates at junior levels.