Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

financial analysttomergers and acquisitions analyst

A financial analyst already meets 33% of what the mergers and acquisitions analyst role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.

From financial analyst
33%
Overlap1
To mergers and acquisitions analyst
10 Skills carried over
10 Required, not held
64.5 Difficulty2
Career overlap Distant match

33%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

64.5/ 100

1 Share of the mergers and acquisitions analyst role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the financial analyst profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A mergers and acquisitions analyst role treats 6 of its required skills as things a financial analyst already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • analyse financial performance of a company
  • analyse financial risk
  • assess financial viability
  • develop investment portfolio
  • investment banking
  • mergers and acquisitions

What stands in the way is 10 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A mergers and acquisitions analyst role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a financial analyst background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held handle mergers and acquisitions communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held mergers and acquisitions business, administration and law
  • already held investment banking business, administration and law
  • already held develop investment portfolio management skills
  • already held accounting business, administration and law
  • already held interpret financial statements information skills

All 10 carried skills, including the 6 the mergers and acquisitions analyst role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 25 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 information skills 3 required, 6 supplementary
  • required, not held analyse business plans required
  • required, not held analyse market financial trends required
  • required, not held provide support in financial calculation required
  • optional, not held analyse economic trends optional
  • optional, not held assess risks of clients' assets optional
  • optional, not held conduct financial audits optional
  • optional, not held examine credit ratings optional
  • optional, not held maintain financial records optional
  • optional, not held manage financial risk optional
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 required, 2 supplementary
  • required, not held apply technical communication skills required
  • required, not held manage contracts required
  • required, not held review investment portfolios required
  • optional, not held handle financial disputes optional
  • optional, not held provide legal advice on investments optional
03 management skills 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held budget for financial needs required
  • required, not held make strategic business decisions required
  • optional, not held control financial resources optional
04 business, administration and law 1 required, 5 supplementary
  • required, not held modern portfolio theory required
  • optional, not held holding company activities optional
  • optional, not held business loans optional
  • optional, not held business valuation techniques optional
  • optional, not held financial statements optional
  • optional, not held securities optional
05 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 required
  • required, not held actuarial science required
06 assisting and caring 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held apply credit risk policy optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a mergers and acquisitions analyst role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 10 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
  • already held analyse financial risk skill
  • already held assess financial viability skill
  • already held develop investment portfolio skill
  • already held investment banking knowledge
  • already held mergers and acquisitions knowledge
  • already held accounting knowledge
  • already held create a financial plan skill
  • already held handle mergers and acquisitions skill
  • already held interpret financial statements skill
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held holding company activities optional
  • optional, not held analyse economic trends optional
  • optional, not held apply credit risk policy optional
  • optional, not held assess risks of clients' assets optional
  • optional, not held business loans optional
  • optional, not held business valuation techniques optional
  • optional, not held conduct financial audits optional
  • optional, not held control financial resources optional
  • optional, not held examine credit ratings optional
  • optional, not held financial statements optional
  • optional, not held handle financial disputes optional
  • optional, not held maintain financial records optional
  • optional, not held manage financial risk optional
  • optional, not held provide legal advice on investments optional
  • optional, not held securities optional
37 held skills the mergers and acquisitions analyst role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role advise on financial matters skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on tax planning skill
  • not needed by the target role asset management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role business analytics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role business processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role consider economic criteria in decision making skill
  • not needed by the target role cost management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role create a financial report skill
  • not needed by the target role develop transportation cost metrics skill
  • not needed by the target role digital data processing skill
  • not needed by the target role economics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role empirical analysis knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ensure compliance with disclosure criteria of accounting information skill
  • not needed by the target role explain financial jargon skill
  • not needed by the target role financial forecasting knowledge
  • not needed by the target role financial management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role financial products knowledge
  • not needed by the target role fundamental analysis knowledge
  • not needed by the target role game theory knowledge
  • not needed by the target role green bonds knowledge
  • not needed by the target role macroeconomics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role management consulting knowledge
  • not needed by the target role microeconomics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role monitor loan portfolio skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor stock market skill
  • not needed by the target role offer financial services skill
  • not needed by the target role perform business analysis skill
  • not needed by the target role perform business research skill
  • not needed by the target role prepare financial projections skill
  • not needed by the target role provide cost benefit analysis reports skill
  • not needed by the target role public offering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role quantitative analysis knowledge
  • not needed by the target role statistics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role stock market knowledge
  • not needed by the target role sustainable finance knowledge
  • not needed by the target role treasury management system knowledge
  • not needed by the target role use business simulation tools skill
7 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier
  • required, not held actuarial science required
  • required, not held modern portfolio theory required
  • optional, not held holding company activities optional
  • optional, not held business loans optional
  • optional, not held business valuation techniques optional
  • optional, not held financial statements optional
  • optional, not held securities optional
Index

Other moves recorded from financial analyst

Full index of moves from financial analyst

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.