Corporate Finance
Learn what corporate finance is as an in-house career, how it differs from M&A advisory, what the teams and roles do, and how students can prepare.
Introduction
What is corporate finance?
Corporate finance, as a career, is the finance function inside a company. Instead of advising other companies or investing a fund, a corporate finance team manages its own company’s money: how the business is funded, which investments it makes, how it plans and budgets, and how it manages cash and risk. It sits on the company side, close to the business, and reports up to the chief financial officer.
The team is a cost centre, not a profit centre: its job is to help the rest of the company make better financial decisions, not to generate revenue itself. That shapes the nature of the work. Where an investment bank or advisory boutique is paid for closing a specific transaction, an in-house corporate finance team is judged on ongoing outcomes: whether the annual budget was realistic, whether capital went to the right projects, and whether the company can always meet its obligations. The audience for the work is internal: leaders of business units, the executive committee and, at listed companies, the supervisory board.
Avoid the confusion
Corporate finance has three meanings
The term is used in three ways. This page is about the second one, the in-house career.
This confusion is not just semantic. It affects how a job listing should be read: a vacancy for "corporate finance analyst" at a bank or a Big Four firm usually means deal advisory, while the same title at an industrial company, a retailer or a tech firm means FP&A, treasury or a similar in-house function. This page is about the in-house version. For the advisory and dealmaking side, see our separate pages on M&A, investment banking and corporate development.
What they do
What corporate finance teams do
Not every company divides these responsibilities the same way and titles vary by organisation, but most in-house finance functions cover the same ground: planning ahead, deciding how the business is funded, choosing where capital goes, keeping enough cash on hand, and reporting what actually happened.
The functions
The main areas within corporate finance
A corporate finance department is usually made up of a few specialised teams.
These teams work together throughout the year but have clearly different jobs. FP&A and treasury are about forward-looking decisions: where money should go and how much is needed. Controlling is about the past: making sure what has been recorded is accurate and follows accounting rules, which makes it a related discipline that sits close to corporate finance without being the same thing. Corporate development runs in-house acquisitions and investments, which is the closest this function gets to dealmaking, but it remains a team that acts on the company's own behalf, not an external advisory team paid per deal.
Step by step
The corporate finance cycle
Much of corporate finance follows a repeating cycle, from planning the year to reporting on it, with junior analysts doing much of the modelling and analysis along the way.
At companies with a dedicated treasury or controlling function, a parallel cycle runs alongside this one: treasury tracks cash positions and funding needs often weekly or even daily, while controlling follows a fixed monthly and quarterly close that ties into the external annual accounts. FP&A connects both of these to the rest of the business.
Roles
The corporate finance ladder
Financial Analyst
Builds the models, budgets and analysis for the team.
Senior Financial Analyst
Owns forecasts and partners with the business.
Finance Manager
Leads a finance team and its planning cycle.
Finance Director
Runs finance for a business unit or region.
Chief Financial Officer
Owns the company’s finances and financial strategy.
Career timeline
How a career progresses
Corporate finance has a clear ladder. Many people start as a financial analyst, often through a graduate or traineeship programme, or after a few years in audit or accounting. Analysts build the budgets, forecasts and analysis that managers use to steer the business.
With experience you move into finance management, then to finance director for a business unit or region, and at the top to chief financial officer, who owns the company’s finances and financial strategy. Progress is steadier than in advisory, and the hours are usually more predictable.
The ladder does not look the same for everyone. Someone who stays in FP&A or treasury often moves toward a broad finance director or CFO role with responsibility for planning and funding. Someone who stays in controlling tends to progress toward a head of financial reporting or group controller role, with the RC qualification a common step along the way. Both paths can eventually converge on the CFO seat, but the roles in between, and the skills they demand, differ.
| Level | Typical experience |
|---|---|
| Financial Analyst | 0 to 3 years |
| Senior Financial Analyst | 3 to 6 years |
| Finance Manager | 6 to 10 years |
| Finance Director | 10+ years |
| Chief Financial Officer | most senior |
Compensation
How pay works in corporate finance
Pay in corporate finance is solid and usually made up of a base salary and a smaller bonus than you would see in advisory or investing roles. In return, the hours are more predictable and the work-life balance is generally better. Pay rises with seniority and with the size of the company and the team you are responsible for.
Concrete figures vary widely by company, sector, role and location, so we do not quote fixed numbers here. The chief financial officer is among the best-paid roles in any company, and the path there rewards a strong track record, broad experience across finance and the ability to partner with the business.
The structure of the pay also differs from advisory and investing roles: in corporate finance, a larger share of the package is fixed salary, and the bonus is usually tied to the performance of the whole company or team rather than to individual deal outcomes. At senior levels this is often complemented by a long-term component linked to the company's results over several years.
A day in the life
A typical day in corporate finance
A lot of the day goes into numbers and the business. An analyst updates forecasts, prepares the monthly reporting, digs into why a result differs from budget, and answers questions from the teams they support. Around month-end and quarter-end the pace picks up, with the close, reporting and management reviews all landing at once.
Much of the value is in business partnering: sitting with operations, sales or a product team to turn plans into numbers and to flag what a decision means financially. Weeks are usually around forty to fifty hours and busier during budget season, which makes corporate finance more predictable than advisory while still keeping you close to real decisions.
What that day looks like depends on the team. An FP&A analyst spends most of it in spreadsheets and conversations with the business. Someone in treasury tracks bank balances, loans and market movements and reacts quickly when something changes. A controller focuses on the accuracy of the entries and the reconciliation with the ledger, on a fixed rhythm around the monthly close.
Analysts
What financial analysts do
Junior analysts are the modelling and reporting engine the finance team relies on.
This role is usually the entry point into corporate finance and forms the basis for almost any path onward, whether that is deeper into FP&A, toward treasury, or toward controlling. Being good with numbers while also being able to explain what they mean for the business builds the skills needed later as a finance manager or director.
- Building budgets and forecasts
- Variance analysis against plan
- Monthly and quarterly reporting
- Financial models for decisions
- Business cases for investments
- Cash and working capital tracking
- Partnering with the business
- Preparing management reports
Skills
Skills you need
The hard skills overlap with other finance roles, but the emphasis differs: less weight on deal valuation techniques, more on forecasting, budgeting and translating numbers into a message an operating manager can act on.
Education
Education and certifications
Most roles start from a bachelor’s degree, with certifications that add weight later in a career.
Which qualification matters most differs by sub-field. For FP&A and treasury, financial modelling and business judgement carry the most weight, while controlling roles place more value on a thorough accounting foundation and, later in a career, the RC qualification.
Getting in
How to break into corporate finance
The most common routes run through structured programmes at larger employers or a move in from audit, but there are also less obvious entry points.
Preparation
How to prepare as a student
These steps overlap partly with preparing for investment banking or consulting, but the emphasis leans more heavily on forecasting, budgeting and understanding how a company actually makes money than on deal technique.
Compare
Corporate finance versus other paths
Corporate finance is most often confused with the fields it overlaps with in name or in day-to-day numbers work. The key differences, laid out below.
Corporate finance vs investment banking and M&A
Corporate finance works in-house for one company. Banking and M&A advise many companies on deals from the outside for a fee. Bankers and M&A advisers typically change client with each deal, while a corporate finance team stays with the same company and lives with the consequences of earlier decisions.
Corporate finance vs corporate development
At many companies corporate development sits within the broader finance function, but it is a separate team focused specifically on sourcing, assessing and integrating acquisitions. FP&A and treasury, the core of this page, are about the ongoing planning and funding of the existing business. See our separate corporate development page for that path.
Corporate finance vs controlling
Controlling, also called financial control, is focused on the past: making sure the accounts are correct, follow the rules and are reported on time. Corporate finance in the narrower sense, such as FP&A and treasury, looks forward and supports decisions on funding and investment. The two work closely together and where the line falls between roles varies by company, but they are different disciplines with a different purpose.
Corporate finance vs accounting and audit
Accounting and audit record and check what already happened. Corporate finance looks forward and supports decisions.
Corporate finance vs consulting
Consulting advises many clients on projects. Corporate finance owns the finances of one company over time.
Corporate finance vs asset management
Asset management invests in securities for clients. Corporate finance manages a company’s own funding and investments.
Corporate finance vs private equity
Private equity buys and owns companies with a fund. Corporate finance runs the finances from inside one company.
Employers
Where you do corporate finance in the Netherlands
In-house corporate finance happens at companies with a substantial finance function. Below is a selection of large employers active in the Netherlands. At the Big Four and boutiques, corporate finance instead means M&A advisory, which we cover on the M&A page.
Large Dutch companies
Tech, payments and online
Banks and insurers
ING
ABN AMRO
RabobankVacancies
Corporate finance vacancies
We only show real, current openings with a link to the employer. Internships, traineeships and analyst roles will appear here. In the meantime, browse all current vacancies.
View all vacanciesResources
Recommended resources
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is corporate finance?
As a career, corporate finance is the finance function inside a company. The team manages the company’s own funding, investments, planning, cash and risk from the inside, and reports up to the chief financial officer.
Is corporate finance the same as investment banking?
Not as a career. Corporate finance works in-house for one company, while investment banking and M&A advise many companies on deals from the outside for a fee. Confusingly, at the Big Four and boutiques the M&A advisory team is often called corporate finance.
What does a corporate finance department do?
It plans and budgets, decides how the company is funded, assesses investments, manages cash and risk through treasury, runs in-house acquisitions through corporate development, and reports results to management.
What is FP&A?
FP&A stands for financial planning and analysis. It is the team that builds budgets and forecasts, analyses why results differ from plan, and provides the numbers behind management decisions.
Do you need a certification like RC or CFA?
Not to start. A bachelor’s degree is enough for most entry-level roles. Later, a Dutch Register Controller (RC) qualification is well regarded for controlling, and CMA, ACCA or CFA can help depending on the role.
How many hours do you work in corporate finance?
Usually around forty to fifty hours a week, busier around month-end, quarter-end and budget season. It is generally more predictable than advisory or banking roles.
What skills do I need?
A solid grasp of accounting, financial modelling and forecasting, strong Excel, business sense, comfort with data and reporting systems, attention to detail and clear communication.
How do I get into corporate finance?
Apply for finance graduate programmes and internships at large companies, or move in after a few years in audit. Recruit at target universities, build modelling and accounting skills, and network with people in finance teams.
Related
Related finance paths
Start your corporate finance journey
Browse open vacancies or explore the other finance career paths.