The careers available with an MBA in Finance can be found in the fields of economics, accounting, real estate, investment, banking and international business. This MBA degree trains students how to execute priorities in fast-paced environments and multi-task between finance, operations and leadership tasks.
Cost Improvement Manager
A cost improvement manager will be responsible for driving productivity programs and continuous improvement initiatives. They execute plans to decrease costs and risks while increasing productivity and asset integrity. They are expected to develop corporate policies, office procedures and internal controls that institutionalize financial accountability and responsibility. For example, they may implement organizational restructuring, audits of cost records or information system upgrades. They also work with management to build continuous pipelines of financial and investment projects for major expenditures. Most cost improvement managers will have at least five to 10 years of work experience. Employers want candidates who know how to lead cost reduction initiatives and continuous improvement programs. They must be comfortable interfacing with senior management and working in a manufacturing setting. They must have excellent analytical, communication, problem solving and financial modeling skills.
Financial Analyst Supervisor
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a financial analyst supervisor will be responsible for overseeing corporate departments of analysts, researchers and other staff. They will supervise variance, expense and ad hoc analysis reports. They may also assist with the preparation of monthly reporting packages and the creation of the annual strategic business plans. Financial analyst supervisors may attend board meetings, so they must know how to explain and present financial reports that focus on finance, market and business trends. Financial analyst supervisors conduct thorough reviews of capital expenditures and associated costs by analyzing invoices. They may train non-financial staff on how to access and use capital expenditure software programs. Those who deal with real estate may review leases in order to understand key financial components and important trigger dates. Those who deal with treasury tasks may manage daily bank processing and participate in bank reporting activities.
Chief Financial Officer
Chief financial officers are senior leaders who work closely with all departments to ensure fiscal integrity, data transparency and internal control compliance in highly regulated environments. They define and update their company’s master financial strategy throughout the year. This includes the optimization of capital structure and asset management decisions and directions. They prepare monthly financial reports for the management committee or the board of directors. Chief financial offers work with executives to closely monitor departmental budgets in order to identify and minimize waste, risk and errors. They develop alternative solutions to improve business processes and reporting accuracy. Chief financial officers may work with financial analysts to monitor and improve financial data and systems. They must often manage relationships with third party banking, auditing, accounting and insurance companies.
Related Resource: What is a Human Resources MBA?
Other careers available with an MBA in Finance include investment, business risk, asset investment and financial systems manager. All of these careers require sound decision making skills, an understanding of operational best practices, the ability to develop performance measures and experience with effective enterprise-wide communication tools.