Finance Industry Career Resource Guide

Historically, finance has mostly been about numbers, but lately it has become a much more technology-dependent field. Entry-level professionals will likely have to work within the emerging eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), an XML-based financial reporting standard, and will have to be able to create reports using Microsoft SQL Server.

Finance has also become a more regulated field. The 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which holds company officers liable for misdeeds, has effectively chased away the "greed is good" philosophy of the 1980s and 1990s and instated an industry-wide focus on business ethics. This has both raised the profile of finance professionals in general and has created a distinct need for those who specialize in risk management and compliance.

Perhaps the most socially progressive trend in finance recently has been the slow increase of women in the profession. The industry has historically been—and is largely still—predominately male, but women are beginning to fill all levels of company organizational charts. An article in the June 2011 issue of CFO Magazine reports that there are 45 female finance chiefs in the Fortune 500—a total of 9 percent. The finance industry has a long way to go to lose its old boys' club image; initiatives such as business school diversity programs are rising to the occasion and helping the industry become a more welcoming place for women.

_{Source: CFO.com}