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Jobs adding up fast in finance

Mukul K. Gupta, Chief Financial Officer and Head, Bancassurance, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company, has been part of the core senior management group involved in starting and managing the operations of the life company. Here, he outlines the future prospects in the field of finance:

Finance officers/finance analysts have specialised roles, based on their responsibilities/core function. They are responsible for analysis of financial statements of their company, benchmarking standards, and taking steps for proper procurement and utilisation of funds.

Apart from the much-needed technical expertise, finance professionals should be good at data analysis and interpretation, communication skills, and possess team spirit and leadership qualities.

How are the job opportunities`A0in the finance`A0sector expected to grow in the coming years?

The finance sector/ financial services have huge growth opportunities for future. It is growing at a fast pace because of the recent globalisation of the services sector. Global outsourcing, knowledge processing centers, stock analysis for foreign entities, growth of internal financial sector are just a few of the potential contributors to the growth of the financial services sector in India.

The financial sector can boast of being one of the best paymasters when it comes to the question of remuneration. Pay packages at the entry level in the financial sector are high when compared to the same in the manufacturing field.

Sundar Viswanathan, Director of Finance, CSC (India), spells out the work of finanical analysts:

At the start of the career a financial analyst is placed in the area of internal audit, accounting operations, taxation, treasury operations. He/she is also responsible for generating financial reports. The key attribute required for a young analyst is to understand the business model of the company he/she is working with. He/she also needs to have a clear understanding how his/her activities integrate with the company objectives.

A financial analyst should be able to identify all the key stakeholders of the business - customers, vendors, shareholders, employees and top management - and their respective expectations.

If an analyst is able to integrate the above qualities at the initial stages of his/her career he/she has all the chances of becoming a business controller in due course of time.

• The attributes required by a financial analyst are:

• Eagerness to learn

• High energy levels to accept more responsibility

• Positive energy

• Eye for detail

• Technology savvy

• Updated with all business/financial developments

An analyst should view finance as a business integrator and key business driver. He/she should focus on key operational indicators like ROI (Return on Investment), profitability, achieving cost optimisation in production and operation.

In the future we will see more financial analysts transforming themselves into the role of a chief operating officer (COO) and their key role will be driving business strategy for organisations.

The financial services sector will be a key contributor in the growth for the coming years as more and more foreign institution investors enter India.