One of the sought-after careers in the financial industry is being a financial analyst. This can be said for the financial industry in Canada. Financial analysts are essential in every company.
This is because they can see what drives a company up or down based on its performance. They have the skills required to recommend what a company can do to maintain their high ranks in the industry or improve to soar to better heights.
Canada is a large economy, with tons of businesses and industries needing financial analysts. Job prospects are booming, with Toronto and Vancouver requiring the most financial analysts due to the economic activities in the said areas.
So, you want to become a financial analyst? Here is everything you need to know about becoming a financial analyst in one of the biggest economies in the world, Canada.
Duties and Responsibilities
Financial analysts are tasked with collecting and analyzing valuable financial information for their clients’ growth and performance, such as economic forecasts, financial backgrounds of companies, bonds, and other investment instruments.
They also analyze investment projects that their clients enter and advise them on what to do to soar or maintain a high ground.
Financial analysts prepare regular risk profiles for debt portfolios. They assist in preparing budgets for operations and investment purposes. They are also in charge of planning for long-term and short-term cash flows and assessing financial performance.
The junior financial analysts take care of simple tasks such as data gathering, spreadsheet maintenance, and financial modelling. The more senior members spend more time speaking with company management teams, thinking of marketing ideas for their clients, and developing an investment thesis.
They have all the skills and capabilities to help companies soar and maintain their high positions in the economy. That’s why a lot of people get financial analysts for their businesses.
Education Requirements and Other Needs
To become a financial analyst, you have to first get a bachelor’s degree, preferably with a major in business-related aspects, such as statistics, finance, and economics.
If you have other majors, including math, accounting, and even engineering, that would be perfect. These are needed, especially if you want to specialize in those areas.
It is widely known that graduates from Canadian Ivys get more lucrative positions in businesses such as central investment banks. However, that doesn’t mean that people who graduated from schools, not in the Ivy League, are at the bottom of the race to becoming financial analysts.
They can obtain an MBA from other highly-reputed business schools. MBA graduates almost always get a job as senior analysts when they step out of their business schools.
Skills Required
Aside from your bachelor’s degree and/or MBA, you must have strong quantitative skills, great use of logic, above-average communication skills, and expert-level problem-solving abilities.
One of the tasks of financial analysts is to crunch numbers data and ensure that the reports from these data come across as straightforward and easy to understand for the clients. These skills are essential for financial analysts to thrive and survive in this highly competitive industry.
Required Certification Programs
It is required for financial analysts to get a certification from the provincial regulatory authority before they can start working. In provinces like Manitoba and Saskatchewan, financial analysts are given certificates regulated by their respective provincial regulatory bodies for them to be able to work as financial analysts.
Once you get certified in a Canadian province, it would be much easier for you to transfer from one province or territory to another. This is because you already have the required certification.
Experience Required
As soon as financial analysts step out of business schools, they quickly get jobs as senior analysts because of their MBAs. Graduates from top universities often get higher positions when they graduate.
Most well-paid financial analysts have at least six to ten years of experience, which equips them with everything they need to thrive and survive as financial analysts in Canada.
As soon as you show your employers that you have the skills and capabilities to back you up, you will be able to get more experience and traction since many people would be talking to you, asking for advice about their companies and other financial matters.
