This is my first article at CAclubindia and I am thankful to the creators for such an enriching platform to share ideas. I would like to write about Financial due diligence (FDD) as a career option for new and future Chartered Accountants. I believe that FDD is one of the most rewarding careers you can opt for as a CA.
Let's start by discussing the salient features of an FDD career:
1. It's related to Transactions: Who doesn't like mergers and acquisitions? It is basically the most glamorous industry you can enter as a CA. FDD is a major part of a transaction lifecycle and you as a CA can use your expertise to help large Companies decide if they should go for a transaction or not.
2. It is extremely rewarding: It is one of the highest paying careers for a Chartered Accountant. The fees charged by consultants for a Financial DD is directly proportional to the size of the transaction.
3. The deadlines are extremely tight: Since even a single Corporate event can change a Transaction's value, Companies want a transaction to be completed ASAP and since FDD is a major part of the life-cycle it needs to be completed within a very strict timeline and yes you inferred it right, this means a very poor work-life balance. These were a few features of Financial Due Diligence.
Let us now go ahead and discuss the types of FDD. Majorly, FDD can be classified into two:
1. Buy-side diligence: Here the Company that is purchasing/ acquiring is our client and the Company being acquired is the Target. This diligence generally has a defined and limited scope and a tight deadline since the Client would want to close the Transaction ASAP and the Target might not cooperate fully and provide each and every document.
2. Sell-side diligence: Here the Company that wants to be acquired is our client and wants a DD report from us to present it to perspective, this type of diligence is more complex and has a dynamic scope and a comparatively flexible timeline.
Now that we have an overview of FDD, lets finally conclude with why you should choose it as a career:
1. More money as compared to other fields
2. You get to work directly with the Executive team of large Companies
3. If you are working at a Big 4, you can grow at a tremendous pace
4. Let's face it, M&A is the most glamorous industry there is
5. You get to travel a lot, like literally a lot To conclude, I would like to state that if you are willing and able to sacrifice your personal life a little, FDD is an amazing opportunity for new and future Chartered Accountants.
The author is working with Stratvisors as Lead-Business advisory and has worked with Firms like EY and PwC.
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