Future of Finance Jobs

The future of finance jobs isn't as optimistic as it used to be. Many companies are becoming more picky about who they hire, leaving some people without a job. Companies are opting to hire seasoned individuals over new grads, for example. Or they may choose to hire a new grad simply because they are much cheaper than going with someone who has been in the business for many years.

Finance jobs that have a bright future include business analysts, financial analysts, compliance professionals, senior public accountants, forensic accounting, and legal professionals.

Public accountants are in high demand. Despite cuts in previous years, public accounting firms are looking to upgrade their staff, creating openings in higher-level accounting jobs. Public accountants examine financial statements to be sure that they are accurate and comply with laws and regulations, compute taxes owed, prepare tax returns, and ensure that taxes are paid properly and on time, inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency and use of accepted accounting procedures, organize and maintain financial records, assess financial operations and make best-practices recommendations to management, and suggest ways to reduce costs, enhance revenues, and improve profits.

There are four main types of accountants. Public accountants work for public accounting companies and do auditing, tax, and consulting duties. They also work at independent businesses outside of the company. Management accountants keep track of the money spent and the debts created by the company. Internal auditors ensure the company is utilizing its money according to rules and regulations. They work to detect fraud and embezzlement. Government accountants and auditors ensure that government accounting records are accurate.


Accounting jobs have a strong outlook. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of accountants and auditors is expected to grow 16 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations. This is great news for those looking to go into accounting.

Financial analysts help businesses make investment decisions. They recommend individual investments and collections of investments, which are known as portfolios, evaluate current and historical data, study economic and business trends, study a company's financial statements and analyze commodity prices, sales, costs, expenses, and tax rates to determine a, company's value by projecting the company's future earnings, meet with company officials to gain better insight into the company's prospects and management, prepare written reports, and meet with investors to explain recommendations

Forensic accountants specialize in finding economic damages calculations, whether suffered through tort or breach of contract; post-acquisition disputes such as earnouts or breaches of warranties;, bankruptcy, insolvency, and reorganization; securities fraud; business valuation; and computer forensics/e-discovery. Some forensic accountants specialize in forensic analytics which is the procurement and analysis of electronic data to reconstruct, detect, or otherwise support a claim of financial fraud.

A business analyst analyzes the organization and design of businesses, government departments, and non-profit organizations. They essentially act as a liaison among stakeholders in order to understand the structure, policies, and operations of an organization, and to recommend solutions that enable the organization to achieve its goals.