One take on the changing face of Client Service into Business Analysis

Hello! As your Financial Careers Examiner, let me share just a little of what I have seen within my thirty year career within Financial Services. There are loads of aspects of Financial Services, but let me share a little bit on my role which has covered the Back Office moving into the Middle Office arenas. I started in 1981 (as noted in my first Examiner report, "How Wall Street looked to a high school student in the 1980s". I understood back in the 1980's starting in the Back Office that I would definitely be "Hands On". I actually held in my hand some instruments that are rarely found in physical form anymore such as Certificates of Deposits, Bankers Acceptances, Ginnie Mae's, Fannie Mae's and Treasury Notes with the Coupons attached! Let me emphasize here that these disciplines within your Financial Services Career are excellent to have; after you have obtained them it's important to broaden your horizon or scope of knowledge. Why you may ask??? If you are happy in just that discipline, fine. If you are sure you will always have that position, fine? This was a very valid school of thought in the 1980's! With the onslaught of the Financial Crisis we have seen, this is no longer case (more on that a little later). I had the opportunity to "branch out if you will" and while still in a Back Office setting I was able to add on Foreign Exchange (Remittance, Confirmations, Settlements, etc.), supporting the Front Office Traders. From here I moved into the Middle Office, where while I was not so much "Hands On", I was more of a Liaison between the Clients and the various other groups such as Back Office. The Benefit was having worked in the Back Office, I was able to "feel" what they were doing if that makes sense and also because of the networks developed, and I had people to reach out to in trying to meet goals. The Middle Office called upon my knowledge obtained in the Back Office, Money Market, Equity, Fixed and Foreign Exchange. Let's break this down further (in terms of the impact of change within Financial Services) as you are looking at your Financial Career. What has happened is this: Little known to us, those physical instruments have gone away as they are morphed into book entry form, so everything is on the system. Where it would take me working through my lunch hour in the back office trying to count physicals such as Municipal Bonds, it is no longer the case with them being converted into book entry from. I mean I would actually have a stack of securities the height of my desk "dropped off" for me to count as it was a delivery from one counterparty to another. With the book entry format, the counting (among many other thing we would have to do such as stamping each security with our Nominee Name (oh the pain!!!) to make it negotiable) has gone away. With the Economic Crisis events such as 9/11, it has made companies think about really spreading themselves out more geographically. Within the "Location Strategy" initiatives, more onshore jobs and less onshore people have been offshored. With huge financial losses suffered by firms, many have closed down. It behooves those pursuing a career within Financial Services to learn as much as possible to be as diversified as possible. You will then not be dependent on just on discipline and one firm for your whole career. That one discipline may change (ex. physical to book entry). That one company may outsource that discipline as well. I started noticing while in the Middle Office using my Back Office skills to assist me on the a day to day basis, that the Client Service role I was performing in the Middle Office was evolving more and more into an Analytical role or Business Analyst role geared even more towards Process Improvement. I began to take on Business Analyst Roles and found that in seeking to broaden my knowledge, Business Analysis is in no way limited to Financial Services, but is in full swing in many industries. This opens the door when not just a company but an industry may be experiencing a slowdown, another industry, may be in full swing! To compliment what I was doing as a Business Analyst, I also took Business Analysis and Project courses via a company called Global Knowledge. I have obtained the Certification of CBAP® - Certified Business Analysis Professional I hope this write which include a short video of my background is helpful to you! Mike Holman New York Financial Careers Examiner

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Dr Jamal Bryant - "Im So Hood" (The Hoodie Service - Trayvon Martin)from Empowerment Temple Get the Jamal H Bryant iTunes Application Free

This Just In... Blog From Elder Michael Holman...12/11/11 at Midnight

This Just in...God would have you to know that He is doing a new thing in you!

First, you mindset has to be right. You will need to elevate you mind. This elevation or rising will mean cutting off people, places and things that will stand in your way.

This elevation will mean more importantly not looking at your current surroundings. Realize that these people, places and things you see now, will be no more. Thay are temporary.

You can't dwell on where you are because it's temporary. You have to dwell on where you are going, a Heavenly place.

Yeah, God will take through levels, some high and some low. Realize you Final Destination. Heaven. A place or no more sorrow, no more pain, no power want.

Learn as the Apostle Paul to be abase (low) and to abound (high). As he said, "It's no longer I, but the Christ that liveth within me"

How can you go through the High Levels and the Low Levels? It's because you can do ALL things through Christ who strenthens you!

Let this mind (very important) that was in Christ be also in you. The "mind of Christ" was focused on the Mission. The Mission was to Seek and Save the Lost. The Mission was that we might have Life and that more abundantly.

The requirement is to focus every hour, minute and second on your true PRESS, which isthe for the Prize Of the High Calling in Christ Jesus.

How can you still have a smile on your face when it's seems you are in mess??? If because your also in PRESS for the Prize!

When you are on a High Level, know that you still PRESS for the prize. The physical things will pass away, you Build Your Hope On Things Eternal, Hold To God's Unchanging Hand.

Folks will look at you as you take on this new mindset. They won't understand. They can't because these things are spiritually discerned.

You will be like Moses, coming down from the Mountain Top having just been with God and dealing with people who have not clueof your experience. You have to set things in order and let people know that you are Standing Fast In The LIberty Wherein Christ has set you free and will be be entangled again with the yoke of boundage.

You are working out your soul salvation with fear and trembling. You know ath it were better to never have picked up the Gospel Plow, then to pick it up and put it back down again.

You are not in this along. Our Saviour's name is Emmanuel, meaning God Is With Us. He sent us a Comforter, even a Spirit Of Truth, that would lead and guide us into all truth.

As song sayd, ow "Run On Children, Don't you get weary, there's a Great Camp Meeting In The Promised Land!"

Elder Michael Holman
A Wealthy Place COGIC
http://www.wealthy-place.org/

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