Expert financial advice has become increasingly valuable as businesses navigate a world of stormy geopolitics, volatile interest rates, advancing technology, and growing alternatives to bank financing.
To learn what it’s like to work in this space, I spoke with Charles Lamport-Beale, a Corporate Finance Analyst at Prism Corporate Broking.
He shared how he broke into the industry, the skills that helped him land his role, and what you should know if you’re considering this career path. He also offered some thoughts on where the profession might be heading next.
Q: Can you tell me about your current role at Prism?
I work for a corporate finance boutique in Cambridge, England that specializes in buying and selling technology companies. I’m involved at the very start and the very end of the dealmaking process, and it’s been really interesting getting to grips with that, which is one of the real benefits of working for a boutique!
Q: How did you get into corporate finance?
I always knew I wanted to read Philosophy at university but I was also career conscious from the start. When I joined the University of York, I immediately began exploring careers in finance, starting with joining the student-run investment fund there — The Griff Investment Fund. At the time, I thought I would go into investment management, and I may yet, because the M&A skillset is a useful lead into that world.
After I graduated, I went on to do a CFA-affiliated master’s in investment and financial management at the University of East Anglia. While Philosophy has many useful soft skills, I knew I needed to demonstrate a level of technical ability, too. Once I completed that, I spent about six months job hunting. Honestly, it was a brutal period, just trying to catch a break and get my foot in the door.
Then I saw a job ad for a role in Cambridge, and four weeks later, I started. There are tons of talented people coming out of university these days, so landing that first job often comes down to timing, and a bit of luck.
Q: While you were applying for jobs, did you change anything about your approach that helped you land the role you eventually got?
I paid for someone to review my CV and make it ATS-friendly. That was probably the most useful thing I did because these days, if your CV doesn’t get through the tracking software, your application goes nowhere.
Q: If you could give any advice to your younger self during your time at York, what would you say?
I think the best advice I can give is to say that whatever your discipline is, STEM or humanities, you need to understand three financial statements: income (P&L), the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement. Once you’ve wrapped your head around those, you will be in a great spot going into interviews.
When I was at York, the emphasis was on the CFA and commercial awareness. But in my current role, I’m looking at financial statements all the time, so that’s probably the number one skill I would recommend to someone trying to break into finance: know those financial statements and understand accounting concepts like depreciation and amortization because they are fundamental to business valuations.
Q: Are there any sources you’ve found particularly useful in your role for gaining insights, especially earlier on as you were getting up to speed?
While I don’t use it so much now, YouTube is a brilliant resource. There’s a lot of free content from people who’ve either worked in the industry or still do.
But honestly, a lot of what I’ve learned has come from the job itself. I did have an ACCA-accredited module in international financial reporting, which gave me a foundation, but applying that knowledge practically was still a steep learning curve. When you’re looking at a trial balance and trying to make sense of debits and credits in the context of a financial model, it takes a while to feel confident.
Q: Would you say that was the steepest part of the learning curve?
Yes. There’s a reason it takes three years to complete the ACA or ACCA. Even if you do pass the exams in 18 months, it takes much longer to become chartered because the material is so complex. So, if you can start understanding those three key financial statements at university, that will give you a head start.
Q: Did your Philosophy degree help at all when transitioning into finance?
Definitely. Critical thinking and the ability to understand and break down abstract ideas into something digestible are hugely transferable skills. Especially in finance, where you’re often dealing with complex data or strategy, being able to simplify and communicate clearly is really valuable.
Because Philosophy doesn’t involve much in the way of numbers, I joined investment and finance societies and the Griff Investment Fund to gain that exposure. I wish I’d done even more, which is partly why I ended up doing a master’s. That being said, I definitely think the industry would benefit from having more people from humanities backgrounds.
Q: Has the reality of your role been different from what you expected?
Yes, but that’s mainly because I’m working remotely for a very small firm. I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s quite different from the more traditional routes into finance, like working at a bulge bracket bank or in a Big 4 corporate finance team.
We’re highly specialized and low volume, so I get to dig deep into projects, which is rewarding. But at times, it can feel a bit slow-paced, and I do sometimes miss the pressure. But I don’t believe you have to burn out to do good work.
Q: Where do you see yourself in five or ten years? Are there areas you want to specialize in?
I’m already in quite a specialized niche, corporate finance M&A with a focus on tech, which is a great place to start. But in the next five to ten years, I want to be at a larger, office-based firm that emphasizes teamwork and in-person collaboration.
I’m quite sociable, and I’d value those spontaneous office conversations where you might pick up a bit of advice or technical know-how. So yes, somewhere bigger, office-based, and more international.
Q: What trends do you see shaping the future of M&A and corporate finance?
There’s obviously a lot of talk about AI. We are seeing that when a company can integrate AI into their services in a way that genuinely improves user experience or efficiency, it’s value-accretive. But sometimes companies talk about AI without really understanding it, using it as a buzzword almost.
The hype is starting to settle, so I think we’re entering a phase where we’ll see more specialized and thoughtful implementations. That’s where we should see high-value outcomes with tech companies achieving strong multiples by using AI effectively.
Q: What about within your role? Is AI something you use much?
I still take meeting notes, but we are trialing an AI note-taker that’s very good at identifying different speakers, summarizing content, and pulling out action points. We’ve been impressed with it so far, and who knows, maybe one day we’ll help sell that company!
That said, we’re careful not to depend on it. For example, ChatGPT is one of the resources we use when composing target lists, but we know it can get things wrong. We don’t aim to replace what we do, just to improve it. My manager and I are keen to experiment; the directors exhibit more hesitance, but they have been impressed by the AI note-taker.
Q: I agree it’s too early to judge the full impact of AI on jobs. But do you think it’ll change what skills finance professionals will need in the future?
Definitely. To bring it back to the value of a Philosophy degree, you can have two people using ChatGPT to complete the same task and get very different results. Someone who knows how to ask the right questions will get better outcomes — called prompt-engineering. So, analytical and soft skills, like critical thinking, will become more important as machines take over the heavy lifting of calculations, formulas, and even Excel.
Further to that point, David Solomon, Goldman Sachs CEO, recently said that AI can now do 95% of drafting an IPO prospectus, which makes that additional 5% it can’t do even more valuable. I’m not necessarily saying more people should study Philosophy, but being curious and having strong questioning skills will be crucial going forward.
