Careers in Finance
Accountancy & Finance
Within all medium to large companies, Accountancy and Finance is going to be one of the most important functions. This definitely remains true within the retail industry. A typical role within finance can involve financial accounting; producing monthly/annual accounts, managing expenditure, credit control & payroll, tax planning & compliance, or management accounting; analysing the performance of the business to create monthly/annual forecasts, profit & loss accounts, budgets, cash flows and variance analysis.
Finance is at the root of all major business decisions and accurate financial planning is vital to allow plans to be made for the future. Therefore a career in finance will take you right to the core of a retail organization.
Career Paths and Salaries for Finance Staff
Opportunities for finance professionals tend to follow the route of the 3 main accountancy qualifications;
• CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants);
• ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) or
• AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians.
Both CIMA and ACCA will accept applications from graduates of all disciplines, although a relevant business or finance degree may yield more exemptions from the initial stages, and lead to faster qualification and career progression. There are no minimum entry requirements for AAT, and although a qualification in its own right, it is often seen as an access course onto either of the more highly regarded CIMA or ACCA courses. Larger retail companies have structured training schemes for graduates, where you enter into a mentoring program and your course tuition fees are sponsored. Within this you are given exposure to a wide range of functions, enabling you to move into financial management at a later date. Typically, it takes 2 to 3 years to become qualified, when you will take on higher responsibilities within a finance department or move into a more strategic business management role.
Trainee Assistant Accountant £14,000 to £25,000 .Typically you will assist senior finance colleagues in providing a full accounting service across the business. Prepare, produce and take responsibility for a wide range of financial information for interpretation and analysis by business managers. Support the business managers and staff in budget setting, forecasting and cost control techniques. Maintain month end routines and carry out financial performance reviews with business teams. Act as a representative for the department on cross functional projects
Part Qualified Accountant - £25,000 to £35,000 Once part qualified you will play a pivotal role in the day-to-day activities of a finance function. You are likely to be involved in the preparation of full management and/or financial accounts along with assisting with statutory accounts.
Newly Qualified Accountant - £35,000 to £50,000 + car A newly qualified accountant immediately becomes a key partner to the business, and with this comes heightened responsibility. You will ensure all financial reporting is timely, accurate and provided in the right format to assist the Finance Manager in the management of the department. Included in this is likely to be the supervision of junior members of staff.
Finance Manager/Controller - £50,000 to £70,000 + car A Finance Manager will take a key role in the management team. Reporting to a Director, these are high profile positions, highly visible both within their businesses and externally. Typically they will involve the management of all financial aspects through effective financial controls, budgeting and forecasting systems, preparation and reporting of accounts, project refinancing, maintaining and updating the financial models and direct control of invoicing processes.
Finance Director - £70,000 to £100,000 + car A Finance Director will take overall charge of the finance function and will have a broad commercial and strategic input into the business. In partnership with the CEO and senior management team, you will play a vital role in growing top and bottom line results and increasing shareholder value. Your remit will include the delivery of strong financial control and cash management and the development of reporting to provide incisive decision making information, and communicating this through finance and non-finance colleagues throughout the organisation.
Job responsibilities for finance staff
• bookkeeping to trial balance;
• producing monthly and/or annual accounts;
• monitoring staff expenses;
• overseeing budgetary control;
• monitoring cash flow;
• providing and interpreting financial information;
• auditing financial systems;
• liaising with other functions to communicate financial viewpoint;
• liaising with internal and external auditors;
• assessing the financial implication of new ventures;
