MEMO: DATE: February 20, 2014 TO: Lisa Grimble FROM: Maria Gabriela Meridith SUBJECT: Information on Future

Career

Introduction: College students often go into college without knowing exactly what they want to do and often change their mind on their career after taking classes more specific to their major. I have always loved math and this lead me to take business classes. Although I am currently taking classes in general business, the field of finance draws my attention. I am writing this memo to give you some background information about finance and discuss the positions, education requirements, salaries, specific job outlook, daily life, and how writing ties into this field. Possibilities with a Career in Finance: The field of finance has many career paths and a variety of positions in each category. According to Forbes.com, some of these positions include the following: Financial analysts Loan officers Operations, marketing and branch managers Personal financial advisors Insurance agents.

Educational and Certification Requirements: Forbes also states each of these positions requires a Bachelors degree as an entry level of education. However, financial analysts and personal financial advisors strongly recommend a Masters Degree for chances of promotion in the occupations. Management analysts also require certification in Management Consultation (CMC). Salary and Job Outlook for Management and Financial Analysts: Out of all the positions in the finance field, management analysts capture my attention. According to the Bureau Labor and Statistics, the median annual salary for a management analyst is $78,600. Not only is that an excellent median salary, but also the job outlook for the next 8 years is a 19% growth rate. According to the journal article Management Analysts, management consultants, find innovative ways to improve a companys efficiency. They give managers advise on how to make businesses more profitable, and increase its revenues, while reducing its costs. Management analysts are also very similar to financial analysts. Bureau Labor and Statistics mentions that their annual median salary is $76,950 ,with the expected growth rate for the next 8 years of 16%.

Just like management analysts, they provide an organization with guidance in making investment decisions. Life as a Financial Analyst: Richard Meridith, former financial analyst at Ford, worked in the profit analyst department, where he took on many projects. Graduating Notre Dame with his MBA, he was highly qualified for this occupation. Each day, Richard was required to attend numerous meetings with many different company departments engineering, marketing, accounting, product planning to understand and collect information. At the meetings, he was able to understand the project pricing, the expected volume, and the expected sales in order to develop projections on profitability. After gathering information from internal resources, he would develop a cost and revenue analysis, which determined if the product would provide a good return on investments. After developing the analysis using an Excel spreadsheet and cost controls, he would later follow up with more meetings to review and discuss his presentation. Once his bosses approved his analysis, they would present it to a team of managers, and give them recommendations on whether or not they should invest. Writing in the World of Finance: Based on my conversation with Richard and what Im learning from my business classes, business writing is extremely useful in this field for several reasons. The most important reason is communication writing allows effective communication externally as well as internally. When presenting a project, you must convey the message efficiently and professionally. In addition, financial analysts are entitled to present executive summaries, report bodies, conclusions, and limitations, include appropriate tables, figures, and appendixes. Communication is important when sending out emails to clients, coworkers or higher up management. It is important to know how to write in business formats and address each recipient respectfully. When turning in written reports that will most likely be evaluated or at least seen by others, it is important to be use proper tone, appropriate grammar, and maintain professionalism. These are standards in the business world that one is expected to know and efficiently execute. Closing Remarks: I hope this has well informed you about a career in finance, and has provided you with sufficient background information. In addition, if you want to learn more about finance, I attached a document that includes the resources I used in my research. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via phone, (248) 496-8852 or email (mggonzal@umich.edu). Thank you for your time and interest.

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Works Cited

Kochanek, David. "Financial Career Options." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 10 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. Meridith, Richard. Personal interview. 18 Feb. 2014. "Occupational Outlook Handbook." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. Wilson, Mark D. "Careers in Finance." Encyclopedia of Business and Finance. Ed. Burton S. Kaliski. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 87-90. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.