Best business analytics course

Almost every day, people, companies and governments invest billions of dollars in bonds, securities, stocks and mutual funds. They are intermediaries that help their clients – whether individuals, companies or governments – intelligently invest their money. In addition, they are responsible for buying and selling those securities on behalf of their clients. However, before investment bankers can start assisting clients, they must take up investment banking courses to achieve their goals.

The two main lines of business in this area are called the sell side and the buy side. The “sell side” involves trading securities for cash or for other securities (e.g. facilitating transactions, market-making), or the promotion of securities (e.g. underwriting, research, etc.). The “buy side” involves the provision of advice to institutions concerned with buying their services. Private equity funds, mutual funds, life insurance companies, unit trusts, and hedge funds are the most common types of buy side entities. A bank can also be split into private and public functions with an information barrier which separates the two to prevent information from crossing. The private areas of the bank deal with private insider information that may not be publicly disclosed, while the public areas such as stock analysis deal with public information. Choose a banking related major. There is no major directly connected to the field, so an individual must pick from a related major such as finance, economics, business or accounting or other investment banking courses. Any of those majors should be fine. Banks accept and look to attract students with a mathematics or engineering background. The assumption is that students comfortable with quantitative sciences will find finance relatively easy to grasp.

While you are taking your classes, brush up on your spreadsheet and presentation skills. Investment banking is about being smart with numbers. The right classes are great practice. Make sure you are creating presentations with spreadsheets attached. Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint is main stream. Don’t spend as much time with alternate programs. Also take up business analytics course for more mileage.

Get a summer internship. The best thing you can do to get a job right out of college is to get a summer internship at a firm before graduating. There are many reasons why a smaller bank may be easier to get an internship at. It may be in your town. There may also be a firm that is more specialized to what you have done. (For example, say you have interned at an airline. There are a couple boutique firms that pretty exclusively lease aircraft.) There may also be less competition. Lots of students haven’t heard of the boutique firms. Search out boutique banks. Smaller banks are often not visiting your school. Seek them out via your favourite social network site. Remember, there is a sales element to this, so they respect and admire if you have the guts to call them up. So, investment banking courses are very much profitable in the long run of career.

Tips on choosing the right investment banking course

Investment banking training varies greatly depending upon what area of finance is the focus of an individual. It could be an introductory or beginner level course or an intermediate banking course and hence students who are new to the fields of banking and finance need to pay close attention to what they choose. Some are taught in traditional classrooms while others are taught online through audio and video lessons. Investment banking courses tend to focus on specialization of specific skills used by professionals in the world of finance. It stresses on increasing the student’s depth of knowledge in an area of investment banking or building the required skill set for productive data analysis and modeling.

How to determine the right course-

The finance industry keeps on reinventing itself and so this place offers a variety of exciting opportunities and lucrative careers within the industry for people who are willing to work hard. The first step in choosing a course that is best for you is to evaluate your current understanding about the topic you are interested in to know exactly where you stand. Once you know that you will have to determine what type of training is suitable for you. To have a career in investment banking, one must develop the career plans and learning opportunities by preparing in self and the investment skills. Attending a course where the faculty includes experienced professionals is a must as you will gain insights of the functioning of the market you are about to step in. The best choice is to opt for the one that will assist you in networking and give you the exposure to deal with market trends throughout the financial market.

The next essential step is to set some objectives or goals because when you have your goals clearly defined, it is easier for you to choose the area of specialization. You should know how long are you willing to invest in the training and what job status or position are you aiming for. Questions like how much money you want to make and what is the importance of modeling techniques in your field, often give you a perfect picture of where you are heading to.  Answering these queries will help you narrow down the options where you no longer have doubts in your mind.

Knowing your own tolerance for the job stress, risks and whether you will put down long hours will especially help in understanding the type of environment you would want to work in. How long you should pursue the training will tell you if you should opt for a four-year degree, a one-year certification or a five-day seminar. Investment banking courses can open up new opportunities for productive and rewarding career paths in the industry. These courses can suit any level of experience, thus making it an apt choice for anyone who wishes to be a part of the financial industry.

Key roles of a person pursuing a career in investment banking

Banking and finance are one of the top choices preferred by students all around the globe. The all round demand for bank professional has made the public sector and multinational and foreign banks to hire more and more MBA graduates, CAs as well as CFAs. Careers in banking and finance range from customer services and sales positions to financier advisers and analysts. This field is large with many opportunities for growth. Banking and finance courses offer a wide array of specialization areas for people who want to pursue a specific profile including derivatives, real estate finance and risk management.

What is investment banking?

Investment banking includes trading securities for cash or other securities as well as the provision of advice to institutions that is concerned with buying investment services.  A person who is interested in making money out of money should consider a career in investment banking. In other words, investment banking involves matching people’s expectations that have the capital with the people who require the capital. Traditionally, it encompasses corporate finance and also the mergers and acquisitions. At times it may also include the trading of shares and bonds.

What does an investment banker do?

The investment bankers provide institutions, companies and government with specific financial services like how to achieve their money goals and implement long-term and short-term financial plans. They usually advise and lead management buyout, take charge in raising capital as well as identify and secure new deals. They work in dedicated teams to ensure specific market sectors or a particular department. They are expected to assess a deal’s desirability where financial models are designed to create possible outcomes to get a deep insight of what they can get out of this deal. The next thing is to structure and negotiate the terms of the deal in detail.

They deal with equity capital markets by advising the clients on how much capital they can raise, from when and from where. Investment banker work closely with lenders such as financial institutions, agencies, public and private corporations to support the debt incurred of the clients, including the re-structuring,   re-financing and renewing the debt. They also deal with mergers and acquisitions by assisting them with the expansion to increase their profitability, diversify and safeguard their market positions. They manage the process of the transactions, accessing the target organization and also what would be the overall impact of the deal.

The day-to-day activities of investment bankers includes searching and identifying new business opportunities, liaising with the CEOs of large organizations, carrying out financial modeling and then developing it and presenting the most appropriate solutions to the clients, thoroughly researching market conditions and developments and moreover, coordinating with the team of professionals comprising of lawyers, accountants and public relations personnel by working closely with them.

Often people who enjoy working with numbers and have strong analytical skills with excellent communication abilities to work with clients and customers opt for a career in investment banking. It is considered to be one of the most sought-after profiles in the finance world.

Investment banking courses offer a wide range of career options

Banking is one of the top most career choice made by the student. Banks are in-charge of an individual’s or organization’s money. Banks compensate interest on the deposited capital, offer loans to people for individual or commerce use. They also offer a broad array of services such as giving advice related to investment and insurance, exchange of foreign currency, and acting as trustees. One can get to enjoy banking and finance courses if they happen to meet all the eligibility criteria for the same. These criteria are carefully mentioned with respect to qualification of the students and are as follows:

Under-graduates: For admittance in a bachelor’s degree, the candidate must have passed the higher secondary school certificate (10+2) examination with commerce subjects such as accounts, mathematics and economics. The course period is of 3 years.

Post-graduates: The eligibility criterion for pursuing a master’s degree is holding a bachelor’s degree with commerce subjects such as accounts, mathematics and economics. The course duration is of 2 years.

The finance and service industry is revolutionizing itself in response to the market forces. Investment banking is a course that offers lucrative career opportunities within the financial industry for diligent and highly motivated individuals. Students who are looking forward to a career in investment banking need to understand the exact purpose of this job and the know-hows and principles of this sector.

Finance is a sector similar to accounting. It deals with allocating assets and liabilities over time under certainty and uncertainty conditions. Finance also applies and uses the theories of economics at some point of time or the other. It is the science of money management.

It may also assist companies involved in mergers and acquisitions and provide subsidiary services such as trading of derivatives, equity securities, market making, income instruments, currencies and more. Investment banking courses may take several forms, depending on where the course is being taught, the various aspects being covered, and whether or not the training is focused on a degree, diploma or certification program.

Some investment banking training programs are taught in traditional classroom setting hosted by the universities, technical school or training institutes and companies. Other courses are taught online, using websites with audio and/or video access to convey lessons, information, and tests from the teacher to the pupil. One who lacks time due to a hectic schedule can use self-study packages for self-guided training programs available at all leading book stores.

Students who are interested in pursuing a career in banking and finance industry need to understand all the specifications of the same from eligibility and training to the vast career opportunities related to this industry. Investment banking courses and other banking courses offer a huge array of career option for those who are seeking for a motivating and challenging career.

Career in finance or business analytics

For a bright and successful career, academic degrees like graduation or for that matter MBA may not be enough; one requires to gain specialized skills in finance. This can be achieved by pursuing short term certification courses in finance. In India now various such courses are available and can be Local Certifications i.e. Certifications which are offered by local Universities or Bodies and there are certifications that are offered by Global Bodies.

Learning business analytics from a prestigious institute helps:

1. They have international acceptance hence open job opportunities outside India also.
2. Their content is global and so the students pursuing these certifications are assured that they are learning the latest and best international practices on pursuing these certifications.
3. They are offered jobs by organizations that have Global Presence and hence have more reputation among Multi National Organizations.
4. Many of the certifications have both the global content as well as some local Indian content giving best of both worlds to the students.

With the increased specialization and even super specialization of the finance profession and evolution of financial markets and the field of business analytics there is a need for greater skills in your chosen area. How useful a certification is to its holder and his or her employer depends upon one’s area of focus and the rigor and scope of the certification.

The Certifications Courses in Finance can be grouped into two divisions on the basis of their focus area.

 

1. Personal Finance or Retail Finance
2. Corporate Finance or Institutional Finance

   Personal Finance or Retail Finance: As the name suggests these certifications enable the students to deal with financial matters of the Individuals. Proponents of this type argues that there are more individuals then corporates so getting jobs in personal finance is easier than corporate finance as one the number of jobs are more and secondly the entry requirements are not very strict.

If you are an average student not belonging to the top percentile in IQ then go for certification in personal finance not corporate finance. The skill that you must be good at to succeed here apart from the technical skills is excellent people skills.

 

Corporate Finance or Institutional Services: With corporate finance or institutional services, the client is an institution such as a company or endowment/ pension fund. Analysts in this sphere of professional practice focus on big-picture issues of security selection, investment policy, performance measurement and risk management. These areas have been and continue to be the traditional preserve of the CFA Charter holder globally and the Chartered Accountant in India.

To know what certification is most suitable for a Individual, the professional needs to understand what he or she does or is aspiring to do. Often, the right certification course in finance helps to close the skill gap and can lead to career and salary advancement.

Why you must undertake certification courses in finance

The ability to understand financial implications of business decisions is essential for both individual and organizational success. Various programs give individuals a comprehensive overview of the financial and accounting concepts that every manager and executive needs to know in order to make better business decisions and advance their career. There are many fast-paced and highly-interactive programs that dramatically improve your financial knowledge and skills. They teach you to apply financial concepts to enhance strategies while at the same time increasing your value to the organization. Most programs give a comprehensive overview of topics like finance and accounting concepts, dimensions of analysis, interpretation of financial statements and many more.

Students who receive a certificate in financial management can become financial managers, finance analysts, financial planners, or corporate finance consultants, as well as prepare for doctoral or professional programs in law and business. Common financial management job tasks include implementing cash management strategies, determining credit ceilings, providing guidance to businesses and individuals, making investment decisions, building financial models for cash-flow analysis, devising financing and capital structure strategies and researching and analyzing mergers and acquisitions. Certification courses in finance train you perform all these functions efficiently along with learning how to research capital budgets and other investment decisions, analyze portfolio investments and asset management choices, develop and evaluate risk-management strategies and generate cash flow forecasts and valuation estimates.

Speaking and understanding the language of finance are essential skills for leaders and managers throughout an organization. Smart business decisions rest on this fundamental knowledge. Without a clear understanding of financial analysis and management, you lack credibility with finance managers and business leaders. Certification courses in finance explain fiscal terminology and concepts, giving you the tools you need to communicate fluently with finance managers and articulate business investment and project proposals to decision-makers.

These courses are attended by not only students but also non-financial managers and executives who need to improve financial knowledge and skills, non-accounting managers and executive, managers and executives from the areas of IT, operations, sales and marketing, project management, business analytics, strategic planning, and general management. Certification courses in finance help executives who want to communicate in a good manner with accounting and finance professionals. Professionals who lead non-profit organizations also attend these courses.

These programs benefit professionals and students alike. They help you understand major financial and accounting concepts, read financial statements and understand their structure and content, analyze, apply, and interpret financial statements, value common stock and understand how common stock is used in a corporate setting.  Many certificate courses in finance teach you to value bonds, and understand how bonds are used in a corporate setting, compute the time value of money; both present and future values and use it in business and personal applications. They help you understand the budgeting process, capital structure and train you to manage working capital efficiently.

How SAS courses can be beneficial?

Business Statistics is a science which assists you to make business decisions under uncertainties based on some numerical and measurable scales. Decision making process must be based on data of the company. Statistics have many applications in business, such as in a manager’s role in performance management. A manager collects data about employee productivity, such as the number of tasks completed or the number of units produced. He must analyze data to find ways in which an employee should improve to achieve maximum productivity. If a manager finds that an employee’s number of finished outputs drops by 20 percent every Friday, he should communicate with the employee, setting the expectation that her output will remain above a minimum level every day of the work week. Statistics play a very important role in the world of business

The statistical analysis system is the innovator in organization statistics application and solutions, and the biggest separate source in the organization intellect market. It helps companies to predict and improve business. It does this through innovative statistics that turn raw details about clients’ performance, financial records and other such significant details. SAS trains students to deal with such scenarios and guide them in taking vital decisions for the benefit of the business.

Today’s youth is very ambitious. They do not prefer spending a large amount of time on ventures; they want to achieve success in the blink of an eye. All of them try to get an edge over each other. Many youngsters who opt for finance certification courses get success as these courses have trained them to understand the functioning of the market and to take informed decisions. These courses keep youngsters connected to their career objective.

Software products included in the system are helpful tools in creating graphics, writing reports, creating marketing and operational strategies, convenient data entry, and performing daily tasks in business. The components included in the system support various department functions such as human resource management, customer care protocol, information systems support and many more. There are many benefits of SAS courses. Firstly, a person who has undergone such a course gets a higher salary as compared to someone who has not. Also, you get more lucrative job options if you have undergone such a course.

People who have undergone training also have high marketability and an edge over competitors. Such individuals have global demand and increase credibility of the company. These courses also have industry validation and hence are highly demanded in the market. Many employers can access these courses as they are available online too. Online SAS courses are also affordable and have flexible time-tables.

The financial services industry needs people with sound financial knowledge to look after clients’ investments, assets, loans and credit. Many entry-level financial services jobs don’t require you to have a degree in business, finance or commerce, but it’s a good idea to start thinking of undergoing finance certification courses. These courses add to your knowledge and your CV.

How a business analytics course can assistance you

As the economy expands and employment opportunities increase, the need for workers with financial expertise goes up. Most careers in finance involve finding effective ways to manage an organization’s money in order to create wealth and increase the organization’s value. Finance majors prepare for this career by studying topics like planning, raising funds, making wise investments and controlling costs. This knowledge sets them up for a wide array of career paths in the areas of corporate finance, financial institutions and investments.

In the financial services industry, one of the most coveted careers is that of the financial analyst. Financial specialists can work in both junior and senior capacities within a firm and it is a niche that often leads to other career opportunities. The financial services industry is competitive, and it can be tough to break into the analyst field, but there are some preparations you can make to position yourself for this career.  You can be a certified financial analyst by undertaking courses in the financial field. These courses teach you to collect and analyze financial information and make recommendations to your company, customers or clients based on your analysis. They also train you for working on spreadsheets, creating reports and giving presentations.

A financial expert engages in a number of research related tasks.  He has to read financial statements while analyzing market trends including sales, costs, expenses, and tax rates. From this analysis, he has to generate reports that show projected earnings, opportunities for growth, or ways to reduce losses.  Business analytics plays a key role in determining a company’s current value and projecting its future earnings. Financial analysts research current market trends and use various models to predict the opportune moments for investing, or selling investments, in order to maximize profits and minimize risk for a company.

Many courses train their students in understanding and becoming experts at analytical methods. They train you to work at par with finance departments within corporations, investment companies and other financial services institutions. At the end of the course, you become a certified financial analyst and are ready to meet the needs of the market. The students of these courses become experts at profitability analysis, including calculation of price-earnings ratios, liquidity ratios, asset analysis and capital structure. They also learn debt ratios, discounted cash flow and other valuation techniques. These courses also teach students visual basic programming to solve finance problems, including portfolio modelling, pricing options using the Black-Scholes formula and pricing fixed.

A financial analyst researches macroeconomic and microeconomic conditions along with company fundamentals to make business, sector and industry recommendations. They also often recommend a course of action, such as to buy or sell a company’s stock based upon its overall current and predicted strength. A business analyst must be aware of current developments in the field in which he or she specializes as well as in preparing financial models to predict future economic conditions for any number of variables.

The future of courses such as Investment banking courses

Having a good career starts from having optimum form of education. Someone has rightly said that knowledge is power. In order to excel in one’s career, one needs to make sure one chooses a correct degree after their schooling based on their aptitude and liking. The efforts people put in the two-three years of graduation and post graduation, finally decides the outcome of their years to follow. Today, different kinds of degrees and courses have been developed as per individual preferences. Students today have a lot of variety in terms of choosing the type of education they want. Be it a business analytics course or be it designing, one must make careful analysis before choosing one.

One must note that not only is the name of the university or degree important, but even the subjects taught. One must not go behind the tag of a foreign university or degree, but make sure the curriculum which is being taught in a particular educational course matches their fields of interests. Usually, all good universities specify what subjects they are going to teach over the duration of the two, three or four years, which should be analyzed in depth, by students under the guidance and assistance of elder siblings or parents.

In the field of science, a variety of different kinds of engineering and medical fields have opened up. A lot of different kinds of specializations have also been created. In the field of commerce, finance and marketing are the two broad fields one can specialize in. A lot of courses such as Investment banking courses are available for people wanting to make a career in finance. A strong base of mathematics and accountancy is needed for those who want to get into the field of finance.

Some people also want to get into the field of studying commerce, or in refined terms learning the concepts of business.  Such students can opt for many different kinds of courses which are available in many foreign universities holding a lot of value, in the long run. One such course is the business analytics course.  It is usually a one year course, which has a lot of strong subjects.  Business Intelligence Marketing Analytics, Financial Analytics, Operations and Supply Chain Analytics, Mathematics for BA, Statistics for BA, Spreadsheet Modeling, Time Series Models in Business, are some of the subjects that are taught in this course.

Students looking out stabilize their career graphs or grow in their careers shall consult career counselors and elders before taking up any course. Usually, they may take assistance from their elder siblings or cousins and can even consult other friends. One way of understanding any particular course is to speak to people who have already done it. For example, people looking to do investment banking courses, can speak to an investment banker for better insights of the work that come in future. This way, they can get a fair idea of the future any course holds.

Benefits of pursuing a certified business analysis professional course

A business analyst determines the needs of an organization and then works to improve its abilities to meet them. They analyze the relevant data, research the findings and then recommend a course of action that can help solve the problem even before it comes into existence. Certification in a specific field often provides an individual with a deeper knowledge of the profession they have chosen. If one is interested in pursuing a career as a business analyst and has acquainted significant experience, then acquiring the certified business analysis professional designation is strongly recommended, especially when your job titles do not reflect your experience in the business or you are finding it hard to get your resume noticed.

How to initiate the process of the course-

This designation represents that you are a senior analyst as defined by the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge. That means preparing for this certification requires you to saturate the dense text in the BABOK. Many business analysts prefer joining a study group. This group can be formal which means complete focus on exams or informal where you only go through the book. Study groups can help you learn from other business analyst professional and also provide a forum for you to share your own experiences.

Next thing to keep in mind is that to complete the CBAP application, you must have 21 documented professional development hours in the past four years. You might also want to consider taking a few more courses to explore the BABOK in detail and interact with people who have passed the examination. Applying for the CBAP requires five years of experience in the field of analysis and also to demonstrate 900 hours of experience in any four out of the six knowledge areas. This certification of business analyst is considered to be of utmost importance as it collates experience across all kinds of analysts. So, studying for this test involves aligning your experiences as a BA with the common understanding of the role.

Advantages of this course – By studying for this, you gain a broader perspective of the profession. Also, developing the firm foundation behind your knowledge as an analyst gives you the power to take control of it and also puts you in the position to structure you work as a business analyst in a more productive way. It can get your foot in the door with certain employers and this tendency increases over time, especially if the International Institute of Business Analysis continues to grow.

Having this certification will create more interests in you as a thorough professional and it is also an indication that you are passionate and determined enough about your profession to dedicate the energy and time that you invest towards achieving the course. Moreover, it will help you gain respect within your current work position.

By pursuing a career in the field of business analysis, one can help an organization remain at the top of its game in this competitive market place. One of the best ways to do so is by applying for a certification of business analyst as this will not only help you hone the specific skills but also give you the exposure you need to survive in the finance industry.