Corporate Careers

Discover your corporate career path.

CFI Career Map

Corporate careers overview

The “corporate side” (“corporates” or “issuers”) are public or private operating companies that are typically clients of investment banks. They can also be referred to as working “in industry”. The range of companies is vast as it includes all industries and sectors of the economy. Positions also vary widely but the more common corporate finance positions include:

The reference to the corporate side is simply that these are corporations as opposed to financial institutions. They can also be referred to as issuers because they are the companies issuing public securities.

Professionals on the corporate side can vary widely in terms of background, experience, education, and professionalism. Given that there are so many more roles in operating companies in finance than there are in investment banking there is not the same level of homogeneity. In fact, professionals in the same department can have widely varying roles to support the operations specific to the business.

Career paths on the corporate side can move quickly or slowly, it really depends on the company you’re at. Transitively, there are corporate side jobs in companies ranging from smaller start-ups to multinational conglomerates.

Working in industry typically also entails amassing specialized knowledge tailored to the specific industry. For example, working at a construction firm may allow oneself to become better versed in the ins and outs of construction invoicing and billing, which has specific accounting rules all on its own. This type of accounting would naturally be different from accounting within a corporate finance firm that focuses on mergers and acquisitions, for example, or perhaps when valuing a mining company.

Explore each of our corporate issuer career profiles to discover which path is right for you.