Will starting in finance operations hurt my accounting career?
Finance operations roles often fail to build the technical accounting knowledge that traditional audit jobs provide, leaving early-career professionals worrying their long-term progression is stalling even with a CPA. At the same time, fresh graduates struggle to find clear answers on what daily tasks, specific software, or Excel skills are actually required to secure and succeed in these roles.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
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- 1Preparing for government banking exams while seeking advice on accounting concepts and corporate role requirements on online forums.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I don’t plan to stay here after I get my CPA but will being here during it put me at a disadvantage when trying to progress my career?”source ↗
“I feel like the job isn’t massively improving technical accounting knowledge”source ↗
“I just feel like like I’m so cooked even with CPA as I’m not learning as much as people in audit etc.”source ↗
“I'm a B.Com graduate (2024) currently preparing for banking exams, but I also want to develop practical accounting and finance skills as a backup career option.”source ↗
“I want to understand how a fresher can prepare for an R2R role from scratch. Which accounting concepts should I learn? Which software is commonly used in MNCs – SAP, Oracle or something else? What level of Excel is required, and what does an R2R associate actually do in their daily work?”source ↗
“Do companies hire fresh B.Com graduates for these roles? What skills are required to clear interviews? Are certifications necessary?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 16Is moving from accounting to corporate finance too stressful?
- 7How to manage your money after starting your first job
- 6Tracking business and personal finances without full accounting software
- 5Where to start learning about money from scratch
- 5Should I switch from corporate finance to teaching?
- 7Feeling completely unprepared after starting a new professional job