I haven’t done this but I was thinking about this earlier. Would working in internal audit for an oil and gas firm for a few years help increase the chances of a person getting a job as an oil and gas equity analyst?
This would certainly expose someone to how these firms produce their figures and what to look out for in the performance of these companies.
I ask because I was told by a couple of fund managers that one way to break into an investment analyst role is to go and work “in industry” for a few years while working towards the CFA charter.
When they mean work “in industry” they don’t mean work in internal audit. I used to work for a Big 4 firm and IA is just…ugh…IA. They spend the majority of their time performing controls testing and supporting the external auditors. Working in IA would get you even further from working in finance. IA is frequently an exit path for burnt out Big 4 CPAs who want decent (but not really lucrative) compensation and work only 40 hrs a week.
A better option would be to work in an FP&A role, business analyst, etc., somebody who actually deals with the revenue and analysis side. The biggest (and maybe only reason) IA exists is because of Sarbanes Oxley. They are of minimal, if any, value add portion of the business.
Completely agree with krazykanuck, I currently work in Big4 and everyone that leaves to go to IA does so just to get out and have an easier life, whilst applying skills they’ve acquired (hence decent compensation) and not looking beyond their role in IA.
I’ve heard of external auditors of oil and gas companies managed to find their way into o&g equity analyst but I don’t think it is the direct route you would want to take.