What finance career path should you follow

The demand for specialised financial professionals increases every year. And as pointed out in our 2018 salary survey, salaries are increasing correspondingly Ireland. Why choose a career in finance and what does it take to make it big?

A talent for finance usually becomes apparent in high school. A knack for maths and a sharp analytical mind form a perfect basis for getting a degree in economics or accounting and a promising career.

Career paths

With a Bachelor of Accounting degree and without too many further qualifications, you can start in a a basic accountant role. From there you can develop towards a position with more responsibilities, such as finance manager. Grads often aim to fulfil a more commercial role, where they function as a sparring partner for sales and marketing. For example a role as manager business control, or business controller.

The ultimate goal for many finance professionals is to one day become CFO. If this is what you aspire to achieve, you’ll need a post-master title like ACA or ACCA, fulfill several roles in finance and gain deep knowledge about every financial aspect of an organisation.

For any finance professional with aspiration to take on a more senior role such as business control or financial planning & analysis, taking on a financial controller role is a smart step in the right direction.

An auditing role in a Big 4 accounting firm is a great way to kick-start your career and get a wealth of accounting experience and a feel for many different organisations. After a couple of years, Big 4 professionals will come to a point where they’ll consider staying in Big 4 and progress there (with becoming partner being the main ambition), or transition to a long term position in industry.

A career in finance is not something that you can jump into with some quick on-the-job training. The skills that you need are complex and professionals that combine the right technical skills with an analytical mind and good soft skills are very much in demand. This makes for a career path with lots of freedom in choosing an employer with a cultural fit, and above average wages.

Read more on the different finance career paths in Ireland here:

Corporate Finance
Financial Accounting
Financial Controlling
Internal Audit
Management Accountant
Regulatory Reporting
Technical accounting
Trainee Accountant
Business or Commercial Analyst

See our latest accounting & finance jobs in Ireland here.