Corporate finance encompasses the means in which organisations back their creation and growth, as well as acquisition of other companies. This includes investment loans, financial backing and restructuring.

Chartered Accountants working in corporate finance should be allocating financial funds so that the organisation can be ready for investment opportunities as they arise.

"The complex nature of Corporate Finance which ranges from providing dividend recommendations to valuing a business acquisition requires critical thinking which is a challenge I enjoy solving. Also, the need to remain agile with work flow and opportunity to interact with high level internal stakeholders and external parties such as credit rating agencies keeps the role interesting too!"

Why corporate finance could be the right fit for you

By working in this area, you will work on expanding your business knowledge to assist clients with mergers, acquisitions and business improvement.

Along with your own team, you could be working with financial providers, investment law firms and researchers, and you'll need a variety of skills, including strong numerical reasoning and legal understanding. You'll be a team player and be able to quickly interpret and understand the client's unique business needs.

If you want the opportunity to be involved in major "make or break" transactions and being constantly kept on your toes, then corporate finance might be you.

Who can you work for?

Working in corporate finance could provide you with opportunities to move between working in practice at accountancy firms of all sizes and working for a large corporate firm.

Key skills:

• Strong business and commercial awareness
• Team-player
• Problem solving
• Interpersonal skills
• Empathy
• Communication
• Ability to work with a range of stakeholders

"Having a good mix of financial, commercial, and entrepreneurial skills has really helped me to get where I am today. I think it's not just about technical and results, I think it comes down to people skills as well which is quite important, because while you're dealing with management and different issues, who you are, how you deal with people, how you manage situations, how you manage different cultures, that's all very important."