Financial Advisory Services – more relevant now than ever?

Businesses today face some very serious issues: models and assumptions are being challenged and stressed in ways never previously assumed or dared; greater regulatory and investor scrutiny is creating the need for stronger financial analytics and investigation; valuations need to be rebased; relationships with financial sponsors and lenders need to be reconsidered and reworked; costs need to managed effectively and new ways of making profit found.

The demand level for very talented Financial Advisers is actually as great as it has ever been whether at a strategic or operational level.

Eclectic skills mix

The make up of the Financial Advisory practice groups in the larger professional service firms pulls together an eclectic mix of expertise and experience from amongst others: accountants, valuers, economists, analysts, investigators, bankers and engineers.

The common denominators of this practice grouping are based around a strong commercial intellect with an enquiring and analytical mindset. This allows you to identify and distil key issues quickly, in order to concentrate critical thinking in the right areas and create practical solutions.

This also requires well developed communication abilities both in written and spoken format. You have to be able to convey key messages about very complex situations accurately and succinctly – leaving nothing to misinterpretation or misunderstanding. Often you will have to do this with very senior executives who are typically very involved in these mission critical projects.

Career Opportunities in Financial Advisory

Whether you are a seasoned financial adviser or equally highly experienced in a directly related field there will continue to be interesting and challenging career opportunities for senior executives within this growing field of work.

Specifically those with an ability to create, develop and lead sustainable and robust practice groups will always be in demand. These individuals are rare but will always be sought out to first to respond to the ever changing demands of the business world.

Rob Stephenson is a Managing Partner at Maven Partners, a specialist recruitment services business.