Today, we will be talking about the fourth career field among the marketable career fields in Uganda, Finance, Budgeting and Taxation.

FINANCE, BUDGETING AND TAXATION

The Finance, Budgeting and Taxation career field prepares learners for careers and continuing education opportunities in financial and investment planning, banking, insurance, taxation and business financial management. Job opportunities are available in every sector of the economy and require specific skills in organization, time management, customer service and communication.

According to the survey conducted by the New Vision newspaper to analyze job opportunities, this career cluster advertised 889 jobs (10%) of the total jobs advertised but this sector also has a great employment potential because it is the backbone of any business, corporation or organization.

FINANCE

A career in finance isn't all about money, though it's close. For a graduate, obtaining a degree is just the beginning and what's left is to take a closer look at available career options. A graduate ought to research, locate and land the financial job that has the greatest compatibility with their skills and interests. Finance career has multiple sub-industries which include;

  1. Corporate Finance:Corporate finance jobs involve working for a company in the capacity of finding and managing the capital necessary to run the enterprise to maximize corporate value and reduce financial risk. Corporate finance positions include financial analysts, treasurers and internal auditors.
  2. Commercial Banking:Commercial banks offer a range of financial services, from current to savings accounts and loans. The positions available here include bank tellers, loan officers, operations, and marketing and branch managers.
  3. Investment Banking:Investment-banking jobs deal with facilitating the issuance of corporate securities and making these securities available for investors to purchase, all while trading securities and providing financial advice to both corporations and wealthy individual investors.
  4. Hedge-funds:Hedge-funds are largely unregulated private investment funds whose managers can buy or sell a wide array of assets and financial products. Hedge-fund jobs include the following: Financial analyst, Trader, Regulatory compliance officer, Quantitative analyst, Marketing manager, Portfolio manager
  5. Public Accounting:Public accountants help businesses and individuals keep track of their finances according to generally accepted accounting principles. Public accountants record business transactions, help prepare financial statements, audit financial records, prepare income tax returns and provide related consulting services.
  6. Insurance:Finance jobs in the insurance industry involve helping businesses and individuals anticipate potential risks and protect themselves from losses. You could begin a career in this sector working as a sales representative, a customer service representative or as an actuary.
  7. Pensions: Pensions are all about planning financially for the future. People who work in pensions provide essential services that benefit people financially once their careers have finished. Pensions have an impact on everyone’s lives and most companies provide their employees with pension schemes.
  8. Financial Planning:Financial planners help individuals develop plans that will ensure their present and future financial stability. Typically, they review a client's financial goals and generate an appropriate plan for saving and investing that fits the client's individual needs. The plan may focus on wealth preservation or investment growth and may even include estate and tax planning.
  9. Private Equity and Venture Capital:Private-equity professionals help businesses find capital for both expansion and current operations. They also provide financing for a number of corporate business transactions, such as managed buyouts and restructurings. Venture-capital professionals (VCs) spend most of their time with startups or small, fast-growth companies. Venture-capital firms evaluate pitches by founders and small-company leaders to determine if the firm will make an investment.

BUDGETING

Budget analysts advise various institutions including governments, universities and businesses on how to organize their finances. They prepare annual and special reports and evaluate budget proposals. They analyze data to determine the costs and benefits of various programs and recommend funding based on their findings. Although top management usually make the final decision on an organization's budget, they rely on the work of budget analysts to prepare the information for that decision. The skills of a budget analyst include:

  1. Analytical skills. Budget analysts must be able to process a variety of information, evaluate costs and benefits, and solve complex problems.
  2. Communication skills. Budget analysts need strong communication skills because they often have to explain and defend their analyses and recommendations in meetings and legislative committee hearings.
  3. Detail oriented. Creating an efficient budget requires careful analysis of each budget item.
  4. Math skills. Most budget analysts need math skills and should be able to use certain software, including spreadsheets, database functions, and financial analysis programs.
  5. Writing skills. Budget analysts must present technical information in writing that is understandable for the intended audience

TAXATION

People often joke about death and taxes being the only things you can be sure of in life, after all, regardless of the economic climate, Local Government, URA and KCCA still collect taxes. Everyone is subject to taxes (directly or indirectly) – individuals, small businesses, large corporations, even non-profit organizations, name it and we all require supportive resources and strategic services to comply with tax laws in Uganda and around the world.

Taxes are not all about URA or KCCA or any other tax collecting body. Tax consultants/advisors are specialists who are well prepared with information about taxation for individuals, small and large businesses or corporations. Tax simply means imposing a financial fee upon a person or a company that is well known for its dealings. Tax consultants come in when taxpayers are hesitate to pay the revenue authority. Their work is to ensure that all taxes are paid in time and appropriately and they can certainly assist you in the payment of your tax even if you don’t have enough resources. Tax consultants/advisors must be able to educate people on the importance of taxes to the country and still advise people on how to have their taxes paid on time.

It’s a duty of every citizen to pay tax and conform to the requirements needed  therefore all individuals and businesses are advised to keep good records of their payment to help them know when they are supposed to pay so as to avoid any penalties from the revenue authority. Organizing tax reports may be difficult if they are not filed and stored in their applicable places.

FUNCTIONS

The functions of this career field include manage and implement policy and strategy for an organization's capital structure, budgeting, acquisition and investment, financial modeling and planning, funding, dividends, and taxation

FUTURE JOBS

The Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Sports, Career Guidance Handbook shows the following jobs are in this sector:

  • Accounting
  • Cost analysts
  • Auditors
  • Financial controllers
  • Tax accountants
  • Credit analysts
  • Loan officers
  • Tax consultants
  • Project analysts
  • Mortgage brokers
  • Personal financial advisors
  • Treasurers among others.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS

The job qualifications include the undergraduate degree which was key requirement at 78%, followed by work or job-oriented skills at 57% and professional course at 48%.

COURSES

The academic programmes that will lead you here include:

PROFESSIONAL COURSES

There are also professional course like

COURSE ENTRY QUALIFICATIONS

  • Direct Entry; the candidates should have a minimum of two (2) principle passes in all A ‘level subjects obtained at the same sitting or its equivalent in relevant subjects.
  • Diploma entry scheme; the candidate should hold a relevant diploma in Health Science course.
  • Mature age entry scheme; the candidate should have a pass in the mature age entry examinations with at least 50% and must be 25 years and above with a certificate or diploma in any Health Science course.

NOTE: Candidates who have obtained at least one (1) principle pass or its equivalent in relevant subjects can apply for diploma and certificate programmes. For certificate courses, candidates must have attained a minimum of 5 credits at O ‘level.

(SOURCES: The New Vision newspaper university guide, the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Sports, Career Guidance Handbook, and the Uganda Bureau of Statistics)