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I left FDD at M1 to do FP&A. At the time I left there was a considerable comp increase but nowadays after the adjustments at big 4 I think anyone at M+ level will probably take a pay cut to do FP&A at lateral level. The work is less interesting imo and depending on the size of the company it may feel less impactful than FDD. But the WLB is great in comparison and much more manageable long term. I think the main question to ponder is whether working in M&A is what you want to do long term. The lifestyle is unpredictable and the space is niche, so unless you’re aiming for partner, there’s only so many industry roles available and M&A activity also ebbs and flows with the economy. For me moving to FP&A makes sense as a stable long term career even if it may not be as lucrative short term. Also while it’s true you can always go to FP&A from FDD, if you stay too long in FDD it’ll be hard to move to a good FP&A role at a reputable company without taking some kind of title or pay cut because you’re missing business partnership experience.
I left FDD (2 yrs) to go to FP&A (<2 yrs) and it wasn’t a great experience. I was able to pivot to corporate development (4 yrs) and recently I returned to FDD. I wouldn’t dismiss FDD so quickly it has its benefits.
Two factors: not all corp dev is created equal. My experience was based on rollup strategies (buying smaller niche companies in industries with no market leader to create a larger company) think HVAC. The deal size was always smaller and I wanted to work on more meaningful deals. Second I felt I was underpaid.
Subject Expert
Probably would be helpful if you include a bit of your background (like are you making this decision as a student? Or maybe you already have audit experience or something?)
I would also narrow down your question, is the concern the compensation? WLB? Exit opps? We don’t really know your priorities.
Good points, I left audit as a senior and have worked 1.5 years at a small hedge fund/family office on ops team doing diligence on public companies.
As for specifics on the q, I’m curious why someone chose or is planning on choosing one path over the other specifically in lens of career path.
And for more specific, if you’re in FP&A, how did your expectations differ from reality in terms of responsibilities and career progression? (Maybe I’ll make a second post on this later haha)
Getting the opportunity to do FP&A before doing FDD is rare so it could be a great opportunity. Pros: WLB, job security (company dependent), usually solid benefits, interesting work. Cons: probably paid less than FDD, lesser opportunity for upward mobility. You’d pretty much get the opposite of all that in FDD but you can always go to FP&A after FDD.
Subject Expert
I would not say getting FP&A opportunities before FDD is rare. I had offers from Amazon and quite a number of companies before FDD and I was in Audit at PwC. You just need to network and interview.
Subject Expert
I would pick FDD over FP&A. It’s easier to go from FDD to FP&A, but from FP&A to FDD is not as common.
I went from audit to FP&A senior and now am regretting not trying FDD before going into FP&A. Similar to what others have highlighted, it’s very hard to move up within once you exit in industry and industry raises are so meager (around 2%-4%) each year. If I came in at a higher FP&A position like a director I wouldn’t be complaining but at the lower level it’s not very ideal. The first year was fine but now I’m almost hitting 2 years and I don’t think it’s going anywhere for someone like me who wants to move up. I’ve sat for a few FP&A manager interviews but eventually got rejected because they went with someone with “more managerial” experience.
Can always go into FP&A after FDD.
Think about your long term goals and what gets you there.