How to Become a Financial Examiner
Financial examiners will continue to see their ranks swell in the coming years with a projected job growth of 27% from now until 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Overview & Salaries
The educational, examination and licensing requirements for financial examiners vary from state to state, as well as on the federal level. However, all examiner positions require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a related field – accounting, finance, business administration, etc.
For example, examiners hoping to work for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the federal agency tasked with monitoring the all banks) are required to have a minimum of six semester hours in accounting in addition to financial analyst coursework.
Certificate
Most programs focus on building a foundation that provides students with core competencies in financial accounting and analysis. These programs can be anywhere from six months to a year.
Bachelor’s Degree
The road to a career as a financial analyst usually involves a bachelor’s degree in one of the core finance disciplines such as accounting, economics, statistics, business administration and finance. These are basic starting points for a career as a financial analyst.
Master’s Degree
As with just about every career in finance, the master’s of business administration degree holds plenty of water. Many early and mid-career professionals opt to return to school to undertake MBA level coursework to help advance their careers.
Places to Work
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the following industries employ the most financial examiners:
- Finance and insurance 47%
- Federal government, excluding postal service 24%
- State government, excluding education and hospitals 15%
- Management of companies and enterprises 5%
Employment and Information Data for Financial Examiners
Why Financial Examiners
The role of the financial examiner is often looked upon as the police of the financial world. They work to ensure banks and other financial institutions comply with state and federal laws and regulations. In addition, the financial examiner is tasked with making sure banks and other financial institutions offer safe loans (remember the sub-prime loan fiasco that sent this country into a financial tailspin?) and that they have enough cash on hand to handle unexpected losses.
Obviously, these jobs are an important aspect to the overall health of the country’s financial system.
Recommended Financial Examiners Courses
- Economics
- Finance
- Fundamentals of Corporate Finance
- Introduction to Accounting
- Auditing
- Financial Statement Analysis
- Financial Modeling
- U.S. Taxation Introduction
- Securities Analysis
- Mergers and Acquisitions
Degrees for a Financial Examiners Career
The educational, examination and licensing requirements for financial examiners vary from state to state, as well as on the federal level. However, all examiner positions require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a related field – accounting, finance, business administration, etc.
For example, examiners hoping to work for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the federal agency tasked with monitoring the all banks) are required to have a minimum of six semester hours in accounting in addition to financial analyst coursework.
Certificate
Most programs focus on building a foundation that provides students with core competencies in financial accounting and analysis. These programs can be anywhere from six months to a year.
Bachelor’s Degree
The road to a career as a financial analyst usually involves a bachelor’s degree in one of the core finance disciplines such as accounting, economics, statistics, business administration and finance. These are basic starting points for a career as a financial analyst.
Master’s Degree
As with just about every career in finance, the master’s of business administration degree holds plenty of water. Many early and mid-career professionals opt to return to school to undertake MBA level coursework to help advance their careers.