Author: Hike Education

Embarking on an MBA in finance requires specific skills to enhance your financial knowledge. These skills include Financial Accounting, Analytical Thinking, Effective Communication, Risk Management, and more. Mastering these skills is not only essential for your studies but also your future career in finance. 

Here are the skills that are not only necessary for your studies but also for your future career in finance.

Financial Accounting: One of the essential skills involves a comprehensive understanding of financial statements such as balance sheets, cash flow statements and income statements. You will also learn to analyse financial statements to improve the company’s financial health by performance and profit.

Analytical Thinking: In this, you will develop solid analytical skills to recognise complex problems and solve them simultaneously. This includes problem breakdown, evaluating data and using financial models to make insightful business decisions.

Effective Communication: Enrolling in the best MBA finance colleges in India enhances your communication skills and helps you deliver concise information regarding financial concepts to stakeholders, both in written and oral form. This ensures that all non-financial audiences profit from the information they access.

Risk Management: As a finance graduate, it’s crucial to identify and remove financial risks to ensure the profitability and stability of the company by using different strategies and tools.

Financial Reporting: These skills enhance your ability to prepare detailed reports that impact your financial performance and the organisation’s position, ensuring transparency and regulatory compliance.

Business Intelligence: Analysing data and business intelligence tools to gather insights and interpret financial data to drive business decisions.

An MBA program is a sought-after career and is highly demanding in the business world. Earning an MBA degree is like a jackpot for many aspirants who want to enhance their careers and develop much-needed leadership and managerial skills to build professional growth. 

This degree is highly valued in the job market and can significantly boost your career. Let’s look at some of its key advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages of the MBA Programs for Working Professionals

1. Skill Development: The MBA program helps working professionals understand their core subjects and gain in-depth skills to expand their marketing, accounting, and finance knowledge. Additionally, it equips them with leadership, strategic thinking, and management skills, which are highly valued in today’s competitive job market.
2. Flexible Mode: One of the key advantages of MBA programs for working professionals is their flexibility. You can choose the learning mode that suits your schedule, whether regular online classes, evening or weekend classes, or even entirely online. This flexibility empowers you to learn at your own pace without the stress or difficulty of balancing work and study.
3. Career Advancement: The MBA program is not just a degree, it’s a stepping stone to a brighter future. It equips you with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in various fields like healthcare, finance, operations, sales, management, and analysis. This diverse skill set opens up a world of potential career opportunities, allowing you to align yourself with the current job market and potentially earn a higher salary. 
4. Personal Growth: Enrolling in MBA programs for working professionals is not just about gaining a degree; it’s a transformative journey of personal growth. It’s about building your confidence, honing your leadership skills, and gaining a deeper understanding of the business market. With an MBA degree, you open doors to exciting career opportunities that motivate you to reach new heights.

Disadvantages of MBA Programs for Working Professionals

1. Time Commitment: As a full-time employee, your biggest concern is time management, which can become challenging if you cannot handle it. Before applying for an MBA program, prepare yourself for its side effects, which come with its advantages. It might look feasible, but juggling your job and studies is the task. 
2. High Cost: Obtaining an MBA program can be costly, and it might require additional tuition fees that are not affordable for many working professionals. Financial issues can hinder their study and work, making it complicated to advance their careers. However, an online MBA costs much less than a traditional MBA, so plan your budget and choose wisely.
3. Lack of Classroom Training: MBA Programs for working professionals can cease peer-to-peer interaction and limit interaction with faculty members. Pursuing an MBA degree while working becomes difficult to manage, which is the biggest challenge. It also limits your knowledge of the chosen specialisation. 
4. Ever-changing Job Market: Digitalisation is evolving in the business market, and the demand for MBAs can vary depending on market and economic conditions. Market trends can fluctuate hugely, impacting an MBA holder’s ability to progress with his degree. To overcome this, aspirants should research and opt for a college that offers an MBA curriculum that aligns with market trends.

An MBA in Marketing Management is ideal for individuals who:

1. Marketing-minded and possess an artistic bent as well.
2. Wish to have further promotion in their career in marketing.
3. Eager to have a better insight into the subject that focuses on consumers’ behaviour and market fluctuations.
4. Aspire to take on leadership roles in marketing and sales.
5. Seek to enhance their strategic thinking and decision-making skills.

• Regardless of a person’s position, whether directly out of college or already in the workforce, seeking to gain more knowledge and recognition, this MBA can offer the instruments and accreditation.

For those wondering what is MBA in marketing management and if it’s the right path, the program is ideal for individuals with a passion for marketing and a desire to advance their careers.

1. The Industrial Revolution

It was propagated during the Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century as an educational program for business. The 1970s and 1980s were crucial decades in the history of MBA degree as the program began to gain international recognition.’

Companies were expanding, and society’s demands required management professionals to deal with massive organisations and new ventures. Management education also started at this period and developed into a modern institution.

2. The First MBA Program

The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College introduced the first MBA program in the United States in 1900. This program was a response to the growing need for advanced business education. It marked a significant milestone in the history of  MBA degree, setting a precedent for future business schools.

3. Harvard Business School’s Contribution

The first MBA program was developed at Harvard in 1908, setting the standard for business education worldwide. The current convenient vehicle for teaching at HBS is the case method. This innovative pedagogy was hailed as revolutionary at the onset of the MBA movement and remains central to the MBA experience. 

Harvard’s influence on the history of MBA degree is immense. It popularised it and made it a prestigious qualification.

Given below are the top key principles:

1. Unity of Command: This principle emphasises that each individual should have only one direct supervisor. This ensures clear lines of authority, prevents confusion, and avoids conflicting instructions. 

For example, a sales representative should only report directly to their sales manager, not the marketing manager or the CEO.For instance, a sales representative should be required to report to their sales manager only and not the marketing manager or the CEO, among others.

2. The Span of Control: This principle refers to the number of subordinates a manager can effectively supervise. Having too many subordinates can overwhelm a manager, leading to decreased efficiency and communication breakdowns.

The ideal span of control depends on various factors like the complexity of the tasks, the manager’s experience, and the available resources.

3. Scalar Principle: This principle outlines a definite line of authorship, clearly showing how a certain level of management supervises the lower level of management or personnel and is responsible to the next higher level.

This establishes the flow of authority and promotes responsibilities and accountability among personnel. For instance, we can have Chief Executive Officers, Vice Presidents, Directors, Managers, or even employees performing at an organisational level lower than the managerial level.

4. Specialisation: This principle advocates for dividing work into specialised tasks based on individual skills and expertise. They can allocate their time and energy to their strengths, making the work more effective and productive.

For instance, a company’s marketing division may have subspecialties such as content creation, social media marketing, and data analysis.

5. Parity of Authority and Responsibility: This principle states that authority should be commensurate with responsibility. Individuals should have the necessary power and resources to fulfil their assigned tasks effectively. For example, a project manager should have the authority to make decisions about resource allocation and budget within their project scope.

6. Delegation: This principle involves entrusting subordinates with authority and responsibility for specific tasks. This empowers individuals, promotes ownership, and frees up managers to focus on strategic planning and oversight.

For example, a manager might delegate the task of writing a report to a team member while still providing guidance and support.

7. Coordination: This principle emphasises the importance of aligning the efforts of different departments and individuals towards achieving common goals. Effective communication and collaboration are crucial for successful coordination. Regular meetings, cross-functional teams, and clear communication channels can facilitate coordination.

8. Efficiency: This principle aims to work hard to produce as much as needed, which will entail using as little input as possible. Organisation is crucial in introducing concepts that help remove forms of waste in an undertaking. 

For instance, applying technology in a particular working environment to eliminate routine duties and instituting standardised procedures that do not entail a lot of paperwork could enhance efficiency.

9. Effectiveness: This principle’s aim is the intended outcome. In essence, the organisational principles support effectiveness by ensuring that organisational successes and resources fit the broader organisational goals and objectives.

Direction in function, feedback, and correction translate to superior efficiency as far as goals are concerned.

10. Flexibility: This principle recognises that circumstances in the environment also change, and organisations need to fit in with the new environment. 

The principles must be implemented in a manner that allows them to be modified or altered with relative ease.

11. Continuity: This principle underlines the necessity of constant work and organisational dynamics to run an enterprise or business effectively. 

This includes preparing for the continuity of the management team, passing on managerial expertise and leadership, and being prepared for worst-case scenarios.

The business world is facing unseen challenges, and to overcome them, we need a defined strategy with clear instructions. Strategy implementation is vital because it involves action, not just ideas, which helps the team understand that the discussed methods are practical. It is also helpful for team members to communicate thoroughly and implement the right tools and strategies to facilitate productive results. These benefits instil confidence and optimism in the team, knowing that their efforts lead to success.

Lets now delve into its benefits that are in the tabular form:

In recent times, no one wants to be restricted to one domain, so they choose an MBA program to inherit new skills, upscale their higher education to match industry-based challenges and learn new business fundamentals. 

Here are the reasons why an MBA can be your turning point after earning a CA degree:

1. Growth in Career– An MBA program introduces you to several business domains, such as Marketing, Human Resources, Operations, Supply Chain Management, and others. The chances of getting hired become easy if you are an MBA graduate with fundamental skills like leadership, management, problem-solving, critical thinking, and many more to present in the industrial sector. 
2. Overall Business Knowledge– An MBA degree enhances your business knowledge and widens your strategic, managerial, and leadership skills beyond CA, mainly specified in the finance sector. Business knowledge helps you make insightful decisions and manage all business functions. 
3. Boosts Confidence– MBA graduates upscale themselves with much-needed confidence to excel in the job market and face the interview without hesitation. The hiring team checks your educational qualifications and emphasises soft skills that reflect how fit you are in diverse roles. The environment where you study hugely impacts your surroundings, which helps you boost your confidence and shapes your career.
4. Better Understanding of Management—There’s no doubt that CA can secure you financially, but what if you want to explore different leadership roles in the current business market? Here comes an MBA program that can help you with diverse specialisations and equip you with various learning and knowledge relating to business areas that will significantly lead you to higher management positions. 
5. Entrepreneurial– The crucial advantage of doing an MBA after CA is that it prepares you with solid leadership and management skills to help you become your own boss. Gone are the days when people prioritised a 9-to-5 job; now, in the evolving digitalised world, everyone wants to build their start-up and witness its success over the years.

Here is a table summarising the career options, their average salaries in India, and the top companies that hire for these roles: 

Note – Average salaries are subject to change based on market conditions and individual qualifications.

1. Data Scientist

In today’s world, data is everywhere. It seems impossible to avoid it, yet it is impossible not to embrace it. The insights derived from such analyses help firms formulate business strategies that enhance the appeal of their offers and satisfy consumers’ needs.

This is where data scientists come into play. Data science is a professional field in which a data scientist collects data and analyses it to make policies, decisions, or strategies.

After getting your BBA degree, you can choose to be a data scientist by learning more about data analysis, with data programming and improving your IT skills in statistics. As the business landscape evolves, BBA career options expand, offering graduates more opportunities to excel.

2. Digital Marketer

The digital marketing industry is evolving very fast. It is a marketing technique that includes selling products and services through technological themes like social media, search engines, and emails.

Marketing is one of the basic areas of a Business Management degree and also a field that offers knowledge regarding marketing strategies, customer psychology, and marketing analysis. This is one of the BBA career options for the future generation.

3. Business Analyst

Business analysts are crucial in helping organisations improve their processes, products, and services. They analyse business needs, identify areas for improvement, and recommend solutions to enhance efficiency and profitability.

When you complete your BBA, you’re ready to understand the business environments you intend to serve, mechanical and organic analysis, and business strategy.

To transition into the business analyst position, some extra education in data analysis, project management, and business intelligence may be necessary. This career opportunity is an excellent opportunity to be involved in different processes and contribute to the organisation’s performance. Business Analyst is the best-known BBA career option nowadays. 

4. Product Manager

Product managers create products and are held accountable for their success/independence. This team collaborates and engages with other functional teams, such as engineering, marketing, and sales departments, to guarantee that products comply with customers’ needs and business objectives. Product managers can also be the best BBA career options for the future generation. 

5. HR Manager

Human resource managers manage human capital, commonly referred to as HR, in carrying out organisational affairs. These include issues of staffing, training employees, maintaining good employee relations, and compensation and benefits.

The larger roles of HR managers comprise making sure that the work environment is congenial and that employees do not experience dissatisfaction.

To obtain this position, one requires knowledge and skills that may be obtained by pursuing a BBA degree with a major in human resources. Further, it is possible to acquire experience by working as an intern or as a holder of an initial position in the field of HR to achieve great performance as a human resources manager.

Human Resources (HR) offers compelling BBA career options, with job profiles such as HR manager and recruitment specialist, focusing on talent management and employee relations

Read More: One-Year Online MBA Program: Eligibility, Fees, and more

6. Advertising Manager

They supervise advertising campaigns for products or services, ensuring customer awareness and demand. They collaborate with creative groups, media planners, and the client to ensure that advertisement campaigns and indexes reach the targeted people.

With a focus on creative and analytical skills, BBA career options like advertising manager and data analyst offer graduates diverse opportunities to thrive in various industries.

Therefore, having a BBA degree emphasising marketing or advertising will enable one to be fit for this position. It’s about consumers’ consumption and utilisation patterns, along with marketing and communication tools.

7. Financial Expert

Financial experts or Advisors are people with expertise in finance who assist people and firms in making sound financial decisions. They interpret business data, evaluate the prospects of an investment, and advise on how to acquire funding to fulfil certain objectives.

With this BBA degree focused on finance, you will develop a solid understanding of financial concepts, financial accounting, and investment analysis. You can pursue further academic credentials, such as CFA or CFP programs.

8. International Business Specialist

In a world experiencing higher degrees of globalisation, it is imperative to have international business specialists to help operating companies expand into other countries.

International business roles are prominent among BBA career options, providing job profiles like international trade specialist and global supply chain manager for those interested in global commerce.

They grasp elements of international business, the import/export of goods and services, and cultural variations, which assist organisation in managing business operations in international markets.

To perform this role, an individual must possess specific fundamental skills and knowledge, which can be obtained from a BBA degree and a focus on international business.

You may also add other skills, such as learning new languages to communicate well with independent or developing countries, experience in international business or trade, or knowledge of global economic trends, that may help as well.

While you have an idea of what business financing is, let’s get to know more about its importance: