Career Research Report: Skills and Trends in the Finance Profession

This career research report provides an overview of the finance profession, focusing on key trends impacting the industry, such as digital technology, globalization, and regulatory changes. It highlights the skills, knowledge, and expertise required for a role as a process developer, including data analysis, reasoning, communication, time management, and organizational skills, along with expertise in accounting, financial management, and information technology. The report evaluates the individual's skills and knowledge against the job requirements and concludes that continuous skill development and practical experience are crucial for professional growth in the finance sector. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering study tools and resources for students.

Career Research
Report

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK ..............................................................................................................................................3
General Trends that impact the profession of Finance ...............................................................3
Requirement of Skills, Knowledge and Expertise .....................................................................4
Evaluation ..................................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
Appendix..........................................................................................................................................9
Job Advertisement.......................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Career growth refers to the growth process of professional life of the individuals that
contributes to the improved skills of the individuals. After completing the graduation, individuals
look for various professions to grow their career. They focus on developing their knowledge and
skills regarding a particular profession they look for. It is imperative to have thorough
knowledge of the field one wants to enter and develop career in (Derrington and Brandon, 2019).
It is also required to do research of the job market relating to their profession to gain experience
about particular area of specialization in the profession. This report will deal about the career
research for the individuals. It will cover the general trends that affect the profession of Finance.
To gain knowledge about finance related aspects, the chosen job after graduation is of process
developer that deals in accounting. The report will also cover the knowledge and skills required
to enter in the finance profession.
TASK
General Trends that impact the profession of Finance
There are various technological or organizational factors that impact the profession of
Finance in many ways. So, individuals need to consider those impact to remain adaptive to the
technological as well as financial aspects for gaining the entire knowledge of finance. Also, the
economic policies and taxation policies impact this profession because financial professionals
are required to remain update of the tax rates, accounting and auditing standards and other
international financial information. The trends that affect the Finance profession are explained
below :
 Impact of Digital Technology : It is the biggest trend of finance and accounting due to
the emerging use of accounting softwares. There are various technologies that are used
for financial management. Such as Automation and robotics assists in process
improvement to record the financial information. Also, the role of process developer is to
record the journal entries and posting etc. that require use of information systems. Data
visualization in IT facilitates the individuals in real time and quick understanding of
financial information. The basic analytics of information systems also support the users
of financial statement in decision making (Bae, 2017). The role of technology is of much
importance in financial sector such as core banking system in banking sector. Also, the

finance professional get hired at tax consultancy services that includes use of technology
for calculation of tax payable by the clients. So, technology has a major impact on
finance profession.
 Globalization : The globalization of financial market impacts the finance profession. It
means the integration of economies in specialization that leads to increment in trade
activities of financial services. Due to the globalization of financial markets, investors
tend to invest globally and expand their portfolio. As, a result they require finance
professionals to get consultancy over their investments portfolio and to measure the
associated risks (Sher, 2019). So, finance professionals are affected by globalization as
they are required to get knowledge of global economy to consult their clients and support
their investments. Also, globalization has affect on banking sector that professional need
to consider for their banking functions.
 Regulatory Impact : The finance professionals such as Chartered Accountants or other
finance officials are required to study and need to be adaptive with income lax law,
companies law, accounting and auditing standards that keep on changing and getting
amending from time to time as a result of policies of government or professional bodies
such as Institute of chartered accountants of India, Ministry of corporate affairs and
central board of direct taxes etc.
Requirement of Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
If the individuals need to gain experience regarding their field of profession to make their
profession strong after graduation, they can apply for job that will increase the knowledge of
their specialised profession. For example, in this case the chosen job is of Process developer who
engages in the work of accounting and finance. But for this job, individuals need to have their
skills, knowledge and expertise regarding finance and for better performance of the tasks at hand.
After analysing the trend of financial management, the required skills, knowledge and expertise
for this job is described as under :
Skills
 Data Analytical Skills : Process Developer is required to analyse the financial
information to record and process it to be used further for making financial reports. So,
the individuals applying for this job need to have data analytical skills to understand the
financial aspects and be able to journalise the financial transactions (Khlif and Achek,

2017). The task of process developer includes recording of accounting transactions, their
posting, preparation of Trial balance etc. so, there needs to be accuracy in this work.
 Reasoning Skills : The task of process developer is practical and calculation based. So,
he needs to be proficient at calculation of the accounting balances that includes
fundamental arithmetic operations. These individuals should be proficient at problem
solving and reasoning skills to execute the operations in well manner.
 Communication Skills : Process Developers must be able to communicate with other
colleagues in the organization. They should be able to interact with other professionals
working in the organization to take their suggestion and consultancy in the tasks if
required. Effective communication skills will assist them in gaining knowledge from
other professionals in the organization. So, they should be good at written as well as
verbal communication.
 Time Management : In any field, whether related to job or study, time management has
major importance. Every job whether related to finance or any other profession require
completion of work according to the deadline of the organization. Process developers
also need to complete their accounting process and recordings on time (Tan and Laswad,
2018).
 Organizational Skills : It is imperative for process developers to develop organizational
skills to organize their work in a proper and effective manner. They are responsible for
the fundamental records of accounting based on which the financial statements are
prepared and published to be interpreted by different stakeholders. So, they should
execute organised work to develop reliance of the organization on their work.
Knowledge and Expertise
 Expertise in Accounting and Financial management : To become process developer,
individuals must possess strong knowledge of finance and accounting. They should
develop expertise in the field of finance. As their work is purely related with the
execution of financial transactions, they must have thorough knowledge of tax laws,
company laws, accounting standards and financial management. As, they are doing the
job to enhance their experience in finance , they are required to develop understanding of
financial transactions and how to process them on the system (Provan and Pryor, 2019).

They should know the fundamentals of accounting such as terms and concepts like
journals, ledgers, Trial balance, trading and P & L account, balance sheet etc.
 Expertise in Information Technology : Process developers need to develop knowledge
and expertise of information technology as they are required to work on the systems.
Their task is to record, manage and process the financial transactions of the company. So,
they need to develop data analytics knowledge and data visualization to process the
financial information in appropriate manner (Fastigi and Cavanaugh, 2017). They are
required to develop expertise in MS Excel and other accounting softwares to develop
more understanding of technology in finance. They should possess IT knowledge such as
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) softwares. So, they need to develop IT skills for this
job and to develop expertise in the profession of finance as well.
Evaluation
Evaluation of skills, knowledge and expertise of the individual make him/her realise what
he /she is worth/ capable of. After analysing and improving the skills, individuals , according to
their field of profession wants to gain job experience in that field to excel their professional
knowledge (Abbott and Wallace, 2020). I am from the field of finance and want to develop my
career in finance profession to develop my career . So, I was attracted towards the advertisement
of Process Developer in the well known companies of UK and wanted to apply for the same.
Knowing about the vacancy of process developer, I reflected on the required skills and
knowledge for the eligibility of the job and observed that I possess all the skills and knowledge
to be eligible for this job. I possess thorough knowledge of accounting standards and financial
management and tax laws as well. I am proficient at IT skills as well such as I have recently
learnt MS Excel and pursued the course of financial analyst. I have also attended personality
development programmes where I developed my communication and organizational skills. It is a
great opportunity for me to work as a process developer in the well established companies of a
developed country like UK as I would be able to gain experience and expertise in finance
profession to grow my career.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it has been concluded that career development is the most
crucial element in the life of every individual. They should be able to develop required skills and

knowledge to become a perfect professional. They should gain practical experience of their
specialised field. For example, the finance professionals need to remain adaptive to the policies
and trends such as taxation policies, economic policies, accounting standards and digital
technology respectively. Also, they should constantly improve and develop their skills to be
eligible for a particular job related to their specialised field such as process developer in case of
finance. The development of expertise and skills help in the progress of personal as well as
professional growth of the individuals.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Abbott, P. and Wallace, C., 2020. Health visiting, social work, nursing and midwifery: a history.
In The sociology of the caring professions (pp. 20-53). Routledge.
Bae, S.M., 2017. An analysis of career maturity among Korean youths using latent growth
modeling. School Psychology International, 38(4). pp.434-449.
Derrington, M.L. and Brandon, J. eds., 2019. Differentiated teacher evaluation and professional
learning: Policies and practices for promoting career growth. Springer.
Fastigi, M. and Cavanaugh, J.R., 2017. Turning passion into profession: A history of craft beer in
Italy. Gastronomica, 17(2). pp.39-50.
Khlif, H. and Achek, I., 2017. Gender in accounting research: a review. Managerial Auditing
Journal.
Provan, D.J. and Pryor, P., 2019. The emergence of the occupational health and safety profession
in Australia. Safety science, 117, pp.428-436.
Sher, J.P., 2019. Education in rural America: A reassessment of conventional wisdom.
Routledge.
Tan, L.M. and Laswad, F., 2018. Professional skills required of accountants: what do job
advertisements tell us?. Accounting Education, 27(4). pp.403-432.

Appendix
Job Advertisement