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14/08/2019 General Electric Financial Management Program: Breaking In + Benefits.
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by Nicolas Doumenc Comments (58)
General Electric’s Financial Management

Program: The Most Prestigious Corporate
Finance Gig Around?
Nicolas was a Financial Analyst at General Electric where he explored the world of
Corporate Finance. He is now a CFO and Partner Wild is the Game.
https://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/general-electric-financial-management-program/ 1/27
There’s a lot of debate around the “best” place to start your career: Investment
banking? Private equity? Corporate finance? Equity research?
But if you go the corporate finance route, there’s no debate over the best, or at
least most “prestigious,” option within corporate finance: General Electric’s
Financial Management Program (FMP).
It has been around for almost 100 years (created in the 1930s), and 75% of GE’s
Chief Financial Officers went through it!
The only problem is that if you try to read about it online, you run into corporate
speak and buzzwords galore, but little real information.
I actually graduated from the program and then left GE to start my own business,
so I want to give you a realistic, non-sugar-coated version of what you do, what a
“rotational program” in corporate finance means, and just how lucrative /
prestigious it is.
Plus, we’ll take a look at how it compares to IB roles and answer the #1 question
on your mind: is there any reason to forget about IB and become an FMP
instead?
What Exactly IS a “Financial Management Program” (FMP)?
Just like investment banks hire interns to fill their talent pipeline, Fortune 500
companies such as General Electric do the same thing to fill their pipeline,
division by division.
GE was the first company to create a rotational program for recruiting promising
graduates and giving them exposure to different groups; programs at other F500
companies were inspired by GE’s example.
The FMP is a two-year program with four rotations of six months each: you join a
specific division, such as GE Capital, and then you might do rotations in
consumer lending, business-to-business-lending, real estate, and airplane
leasing.
There around 600 FMP members worldwide, including 300 in the US, and they’re
split between the two main sides of GE’s business:
The “Capital” Side: B2B and consumer banks (Over 25% of GE’s revenue
comes from nancial services!)
The “Industrial” Side: Groups that sell products in industries like Healthcare,
Oil & Gas, Aviation…
On the Job: Optimal Capital Structure, or Optimal PowerPoint Slides?
When the rotations begin, you spend your time not only on work assignments,
but also on classes – and you actually have to pay attention and complete
everything because of a mandatory test near the end.
The work assignments follow the 3 main categories we laid out in the article on
corporate finance jobs:
Financial Planning & Analysis: You analyze pro tability, make short-term and
long-term forecasts, and nd risks and opportunities.
Controllership: You improve processes and controls, and assist during quarter
closes and audits.
Treasury: You hedge interest rates, work with swaps, forecast funding needs
for the business, and analyze key working capital metrics.
You’ll do at least one rotation in FP&A and one rotation in Controllership during
the two-year program since they’re the most important groups.
All the divisions above are separate entities, so your 4 rotations might look
something like this:
Consumer Lending – FP&A
Real Estate – Controllership
B2B Lending – Pricing
Airplane Leasing – Treasury
The “sexiest” rotations are internal M&A, asset management, or pricing, but
they are hard to come by unless you work in the GE Capital Division.
Is Any of This Work Actually Interesting?
Yes, but you have to be really careful where you complete your rotations. Here are
a few examples of work assignments in each group:
Pricing: You calculate Return on Investment for di erent initiatives, review

the models to adjust the assumptions, and speak to people in sales and
operations to check your numbers.
FP&A: You may own a P&L, and you create the nancial projections for a
division and then pitch them to the FP&A manager and CFO.
Controllership: You will comment on and explain variances in Balance Sheet

accounts, and help with the technical accounting for multi-million dollar
transactions.
As long as your work is related to day-to-day operations and forecasts, it’s

interesting and will teach you something new (check out our article on a day in
the life of a corporate finance analyst for more).
Be wary of “headquarter” rotations at the European or global level.
These sound good on paper, but they tend to get boring since a lot of the work
consists of consolidating data for 10+ divisions – interesting to do once, but
repetitive the 10th time around.
On the other hand, you do get more exposure to very senior people, so there is a
trade-off.
How Do You Get Placed?
During the first two rotations you’re assigned to a group and a location, but you
can chose both of those for your two last rotations… to some extent.
A lot of candidates assume that they’ll be “taken care of,” but you need to update
your program leader regularly and then sell yourself to potential managers in
other divisions to get the rotations you want.
If you just indicate your preferences online, your chances of getting the rotation
you want are much lower.
The Classes: Time to Hit the Snooze Button?
Besides your work assignments, you also have classes:
Foundations: Accounting basics and planning sessions
Operations: Inventory, FX, and loan accounting
Controls: Audit and regulatory

Strategy: Operational strategy and competitive analysis
FMPs are based all over the world, so you dial in and go through exercises
together and then complete group exercises and business simulations.
There’s also an exam at the end of each module – 15+ FMPs typically get together
to study and work on cases during the day, and then party at night.
The classes are not too difficult, but you need to pay attention for 2 reasons:
1 If you score less than 80% on two modules, you’ll get kicked out of the
program.
2 Your grades in uence your pay raises, so you’re incentivized to study.
Overall, you’ll spend around 1-2 weekends before the exam practicing and
studying and about 2-3 hours per week on the classes the rest of the time.
The Benefits: Why Would You Want to Become an FMP?
Besides getting to write about the experience on your resume/CV, the main
benefits are the network and exposure, locations and travel possibilities, exit
opportunities, and pay – roughly in that order.
Benefit #1: The FMP Network: How to Befriend the CFO
Of course, you meet 200+ other FMPs during exams and at events and
conferences, and you keep that network with you for life.
But the biggest benefit is the exposure you get to senior executives.
Once per rotation, you get to shadow an executive – in my rotation, I spent one
day with Todd Smith, the CFO of GE Capital International, a division with $130
billion+ in assets and 25,000 employees.
It’s a great opportunity to ask questions about your career strategy, how to climb
the ladder to the CFO level, and to figure out if the job actually appeals to you.
You’ll also attend dinners and roundtables with CFOs, CEOs, controllers and
FP&A managers on a monthly basis, and you get special attention from CFOs and
managers since most of them are FMP alumni.
Finally, you’ll also probably get the chance to pitch a new project to at least one
officer of GE – which rarely happens otherwise unless you have 15+ years of
experience.
Benefit #2: Locations and Travel Possibilities
You’re not working investment banking hours (think: more like 60 hours per
week, depending on your rotation and classes), and you also get more time for
vacations (at least 2 weeks per year in the US, and up to 5-7 weeks in Europe)…
…But the biggest benefit, arguably, is that you get to work in a different city for
each rotation.
So if you ever wanted to “travel” or work in different countries for short periods
without taking painful flights back and forth every week, this is perfect.
The only problem is that the locations aren’t exactly glamorous if you’re in the
US. Think: Fairfield, Norwalk, etc.
And if you’re on the industrials side, you work in cities with plants – not quite as
bad as mining for gold out in Saskatchewan, but also not quite a 6-month
“rotation” in Hawaii!
European FMPs have it better since they do rotations in Paris, Zurich, London,
Dublin, or Prague on the Capital side.
“Industry groups” such as healthcare and oil & gas tend to be in more remote
locations.
Moving every 6 months makes it tough to have a romantic life, but if you’re
young and really want to live in new places it could be a great experience anyway.
Plus, GE pays for your apartment and your flights when you’re doing a rotation
abroad – so you could spend your salary on bottles, or wine tastings if you’re
doing a rotation in Paris.
Benefit #3: Exit Opportunities: Got Upward Mobility?
Just like how investment banking lets you move into many other roles, becoming
a GE FMP also opens doors – but they’re different, and sometimes less lucrative,
doors.
Here’s a rough breakout:
Around 80%+ of FMP graduates actually stay at GE and take on various finance–
related roles.
The most popular one is audit, which attracts about 35% of graduating FMPs
worldwide.
They join the “Corporate Audit Staff,” or CAS, and then rotate every 4 months all
over the world, with all expenses paid for by GE.
Internal audit work isn’t terribly exciting, and you also work a lot: 80+ hours per
week.
But you do get a starting salary of $80K USD, with solid benefits and ~15% pay
increases per year.
CAS is also a “fast-track” to executive-level finance roles, and if you make it to

your 5th year you could potentially become CFO of a division with only 7 years of
experience.
Outside of Audit
The 65% of FMP graduates who don’t join CAS take other analyst roles within GE,
mostly in FP&A or Controllership. Some also join the internal M&A team or the
pricing department, but those are less common.
If you did great rotations and built a solid network, you can start managing a
team of 2-3 people afterward – but for most FMP grads, managing a team only
happens 2-4 years after graduation.
Starting salaries range from $70K to $75K USD in the US and in Western Europe.
Outside of GE
The FMP has a strong reputation, so you’ll be contacted for corporate finance
roles at other F500 companies.
You could also join a top audit or consulting firm. Firms like Deloitte actively
recruit FMPs, so it’s not too hard to get interviews.
If you went to a target school for undergrad and you’re willing to put in the
networking hours, you can potentially jump to investment banking or private
equity – but it’s still a tough move.
Overall, it’s in your interest to stay at GE because so many CFOs and managers are
FMP grads; nothing is guaranteed, but if you position yourself correctly it’s one
of the best ways to move up the ladder.
Benefit #4: The Pay
And now to the last, and arguably worst, benefit.
If you join as an FMP in the US or UK, the starting salary is $60K USD, with a raise
of up to 5% every 6 months (depending on your on-the-job performance and
exam scores).
So no, don’t expect this to compete with investment banking, private equity, or
hedge fund pay – although compensation does rise more rapidly after you
graduate.
GE does pay for your apartment and car if you do a rotation abroad, which helps a
lot in a place like London, but international rotations are much less common in
the US (to compensate, they provide a housing allowance there).
The Showdown: Investment Banking vs. Financial Management Program
So let’s answer that question you’ve been thinking about from the beginning: is
there any reason to become an FMP at GE rather than an IB analyst?
Pay & Prestige
Investment banking wins on both of these – people are more impressed by

“Goldman Sachs” than by “General Electric.”
And even in the post-crisis world, IB pay still trumps FMP pay by a long shot.
The Learning Curve
Rotations get more and more challenging, so the learning curve doesn’t flatten
out like in IB after your first year there.
FMPs also do at least one Financial Planning and Analysis rotation, which means
that they’re guaranteed to get exposure to very granular forecasts and 3-
statement modeling.
Investment bankers tend to stay much “higher-level” on the modeling side, and
sometimes don’t even get in-depth exposure after 2+ years.
The Challenge
The big challenge for FMPs is making projects happen. It’s easy to have tons of
cool ideas on how to improve your team, but it’s really hard to convince 25 people
to implement your ideas!
For investment bankers, the challenge at the junior level is “not screwing up,”
and at the senior level it’s more about winning clients and access to the best deals
(see: our Chief Financial Officer vs Managing Director competition).
The Exposure
FMPs have no contact with clients, which is another negative compared to

investment banking. Client exposure is a huge growth factor, and even if bankers
don’t see clients much at first, they sure feel the pressure!
One place where FMP is better is exposure within the company, since you get a
lot of opportunities to work with senior executives. An IB analyst would never get
the same direct exposure to MDs and Group Heads.
Work & Lifestyle
There tends to be less “grunt work” than in IB roles – you do use Excel a lot, but
you don’t spend hours fixing font sizes in PowerPoint.
And since you’re working at a huge company, you could potentially make a huge
impact if you figure out a more efficient business process that gets adopted
everywhere.
The hours tend to be a lot better than those in investment banking, though you
will have busy weeks in areas like Controllership when the quarter is about to
close.
“Face time” is frowned upon, and if you need to be at the office 90 hours a week
to do your job, your manager will start doubting your abilities.
Exit Opportunities
Investment banking wins here, since you have a wide range of different options
both at banks and outside banks – and you could even move into some of the
corporate finance roles discussed above.
Being an FMP lets you move around within corporate finance, but it’s much
harder to make the move to areas like private equity and hedge funds.
To FMP or Not to FMP?
If your main goals are pay, prestige, and exit opportunities, you’re better off
starting out in investment banking.
But if you want more interesting and varied work, with a learning curve that
doesn’t flatten out as much, and lots of senior exposure, the Financial
Management Program is quite attractive.
This question goes back to the points made in the CFO vs. MD article: if you like
the varied work and the team-building you do as a CFO, think about the FMP.
But if you like the faster pace and the client / sales work you do as an MD,
investment banking really is the only place to start.
And if none of this appeals to you, there’s always equities in Dallas consulting.
Stay tuned for the next article on how to break into corporate finance at the entry
level.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed the article and I’ll take all your questions in
the comments!
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About the Author

Nicolas Doumenc was a Financial Analyst at General Electric where he explored the world of
Corporate Finance. He is now a CFO and Partner Wild is the Game.
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Comments
Read below or Add a comment
Christina
July 30, 2018
Hi Nic,
Now that GE is shedding a signi cant portion of its business and Ge capital is also set to shrink more,
how do you think all this will affect the program?
Is it a red ag?
 REPLY
M&I - Brian
August 1, 2018
It’s not as good as it once was. See this article for an updated view for the U.S.:
https://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/ge-fmp-program-review/
 REPLY
Anna
June 25, 2018
Thank you for the article! I am a FMP intern thinking about continuing at GE for the FMP
rotational program. How do you think the exit opportunities for FMP graduates will change over the next
few years considering GE’s divestitures, exit from the Dow, and the general unknowns surrounding the
company?
What other nance rotational programs are held in high regard among professionals in the industry?
 REPLY
M&I - Brian
June 27, 2018
Exit opportunities will probably shift more toward jobs outside the company. The program will
probably become smaller as well. Any other company the size of GE should have at least a decently
regarded nance rotational program.
 REPLY
Jahir Hernandez
August 29, 2018
Hey, I have been looking at the FMP internship and I am quite interested. I have scoped the GE
website regarding the position and it does not seem to specify the quali cations in grave detail. Do you
have to be a college junior, senior? And what is the length of the FMP internship? Thanks in advance.
 REPLY
Nick
March 1, 2018
Hi,
Do you think companies like Deloitte will still value you education once you’ve completed the FMP
program? My university is de nitely not highly regarded in The Netherlands but I was able to get an
internship in FP&A in GE Capital as part of my bachelor degree. My manager within GE told me she gave
me an good internal review which would help me to get into FMP.
Right now I am considering to either join a better university for my master’s degree or to aplly for the FMP
program.
 REPLY
M&I - Brian
March 6, 2018
If you want to stay in corporate nance for the long term, the FMP program is ne.
Transferring to a better university or completing a Master’s degree at a better school is worth it only if
you want to move into a more competitive eld, such as investment banking or private equity.
 REPLY
Nick
March 13, 2018
Thank you for your reply. The article is really recognizable. As a former intern I would
de nitely recommend people who are interested to do an internship in GE rst and then apply for the
program. It is quite easy to get an internship in Europe.
 REPLY
Peng27
November 9, 2017
Hi, I heard that the number of CAS hires has been slashed, so has there been a cut to the
recruitment number of FMP as well?
 REPLY
M&I - Brian
November 12, 2017
Not sure about that one, but there have de nitely been changes to the FMP program… we will
update this article at some point. The divestiture of GE Capital alone will reduce the number of hires, so
you’re probably correct.
 REPLY
WWS
October 29, 2017
Hi,
The description reads “Typically, you would be a graduate looking for a rst real taste of working life”
I have 2.5 years of not so relevant work experience. Should I even bother applying? My goal is to work in
the aircraft division. So I am pretty sure of what I want.
Do you have any feedback on this?
Thank you!
 REPLY
M&I - Brian
November 1, 2017
I don’t think the FMP is really intended for candidates with several years of work experience,
but yes, I suppose you could potentially apply.
 REPLY
Dan
April 23, 2017
I have a GE internship in Japan and want to return to the US (my home country) to apply for FMP.
Unfortunately though, I don’t have a degree from a target school. How can I get my application to be
considered? I am trying to get a recommendation from my manager. What else can I do?
 REPLY
M&I - Brian
April 25, 2017
Network, network, network…

 REPLY
Isidora Bianchi
January 30, 2017
Hi,
I´m from Southamerica and I want to apply to the program next year, but I can´t nd the information about
the applications.
Thanks,
IB
 REPLY
M&I - Brian
January 31, 2017
I’m not sure if GE offers the program everywhere. They have this page for Brazil and Mexico:
https://www.ge.com/careers/culture/university-students/university-recruiting/latin-america
 REPLY
Ayoub Chaabi
December 30, 2016
Hi,
Is it more bene cial to get to your MBA prior to applying to The FMP or is the bachelor’s enough?
 REPLY
M&I - Brian
January 4, 2017
You don’t need an MBA for this program.
 REPLY
Maie
November 11, 2016
Can anyone help me to know the requirements that you need to join FMP
 REPLY
MIchael
October 11, 2016
Hello,
Is it sure that starting salary is 60k$ for GE FMP Europe in the “Industrial” side please ?
I think the starting salary could vary according to the business school and previous experiences.
If anybody have more information about the starting salary, I’m interested about further infomation.
By the way, thanks for this fruitful article ;).
Thanks
 REPLY
M&I - Brian
October 12, 2016
Yes, it might vary according to your school and previous experiences. This article was from the
end of 2014, so salaries may have changed.
 REPLY
Adriana Garcia
October 3, 2015
I am going through the second part of the hiring process and I am a little bit loat about the
nance exam they expect you to do. I think it iaainly accounting based but could you give me some
information about it or tips to prepare it? I think she said we do not even need a calculator. Thank you!
 REPLY
Student
October 3, 2016
Hello, I’m confused regarding your comment. Do you mean exam at the end of the program?
Or do you mean as part of a pre-hire requirement?
I ask because I received an offer for the internship program and I’m not aware of a prerequisite exam.
I do however know that there are course you must take and pass through the training. But then, GE
provides the materials you need. As a nance or accounting major none of this should be a major
challenge unless you did not pay attention in class.
 REPLY
M&I - Brian
October 5, 2016
It is mostly based on accounting. Review your textbooks and concepts like journal entries,
debits/credits, the nancial statements and how they link together, and how various changes affect the
statements. This is a good site for review:
http://www.accountingcoach.com/
 REPLY
Andrew
August 7, 2015
I cannot nd a date for when this article is posted, but since GE has divested GE Capital, do you
think that brings down the quality of this program?
 REPLY
M&I - Nicolas
August 8, 2015
The program will stay the same for GE Oil & Gas and GE Healthcare so no reasons to worry on
that side. GE Capital program was the biggest though so the presence of the program on the job
market will go down (and probably hit the reputation a bit).
 REPLY
PenultimateYear
August 6, 2015
Hi Nicolas,
Great article with a lot if substance! I wanted to ask is there a reason why GE’s commercial leadership
program isn’t as recognised as FMP? And if I don’t have an accounting major would it be hard for me to
get the role?
 REPLY
M&I - Nicolas
August 8, 2015
Thanks a lot for your comment. Not being an accounting major is ne, GE’s philosophy on this
is that after two years of program you’ll be at the same level as nance/accounting majors.
Regarding GE’s commercial leadership program it’s hard to say but in my opinion it comes down to “the
age” of the program. When something has been running for a 100 years, most of the CFOs and senior
nance guys come from the program and so they are very willing to put money and time in it.
 REPLY
Bradley Shermeto
December 10, 2014
Mr. Doumenc, I am a senior at Penn-Trafford Highschool in Pennsylvania in the United States and
I am writing my senior research project on Corporate Finance Analyst. I was just wondering if you would
be willing to answer a few general questions I have about the job and help me understand the everyday
things you do more in depth. If you could just send me an email at the address I provided below it would
mean a lot to me. Thank you very much for your time.
-Bradley Shermeto
 REPLY
BBQ Shape
December 10, 2014
Just to jump in here, I’d also be happy to lend a hand with your research material if you like.
I’ve been in nance for about 10 years or so started in banking in a one in a million shot (right place
right time situation), so I can’t lay out a realistic path, but I’ve got a lot of perspectives and war stories
you can use as material. I was there as the crash of ’08 was happening when mark-to-market rules took
hard effect and I’ve done the nancing on some big projects when I moved out of banking and into the
corporate world. Obviously, use as many sources as you deem feasible for your research, but I’d be
more than happy to help a student to just share things from a personal perspective.
Your email doesn’t show up here and I wouldn’t advise putting one on a public blog that is visible to all,
but if there’s some way you’re able to get a message to me via the team that authors the site (if they’re
not too busy) then feel free.
I’m glad your taking an interest in the subject. We really need good nance people out here that grasp
concepts (like the ones taught in the course this site offers) and don’t just go through motions. So hats
off to you.
 REPLY
Mason
October 21, 2014
How likely is it for people to move on to an MBA after the FMP program?
 REPLY
M&I - Nicolas
October 21, 2014
A lot of people stay with GE and inside GE MBAs are not going to help you career wise. Even if
you wanted to get an MBA only two years of FMP would not be enough and you’d need another 2 years
of interesting work experience.
If you are dead set on getting an MBA and moving on to a different eld / company then FMP is pretty
good because you can get some international exposure, good charity projects etc.
 REPLY
Rohan
September 18, 2014
GE having tonnes of divisions obviously has an internal M&A dept , how di cult is it to get into it?
 REPLY
M&I - Nicolas
September 18, 2014
Sure, the internal M&A department is called “business development” or BD at GE. It’s quite
di cult to get into it since a lot of their guys are coming from IB. If you only want to get into BD then
you should join the FMP in the Capital division, get one rotation in BD and blow they mind so they keep
you. It can happen but it’s tough!
 REPLY
Mark
September 5, 2014
Great posts!! Really enjoy reading these corporate nance series… discovered my interest in
Finance far too late for banking … hopefully i still have shot in these FP&A roles. Hopefully i still got a
chance at late 20s..
 REPLY
M&I - Nicolas
September 5, 2014
Hi Mark and thanks for your comment. FP&A is more forgiving than banking for people in their
late 20s. Depending on where you worked before wanting to move to nance you can really leverage
your background/expertise to “sell” yourself as a nance guy who gets the product!
 REPLY
Arya
September 5, 2014
Are there any other rotational programs like GE’s FMP?
 REPLY
M&I - Nicolas
September 5, 2014
There are tons. GE’s is usually considered the most prestigious but most F500 company have
some kind of nance rotational programs.
Also there are a lot of other rotational within GE (and other big companies) for HR, operations,
engineering, sales…
 REPLY
Ebenezer Annan
September 5, 2014
I live in South Africa. How do I get an internship at GE Capital in say London?

 REPLY
M&I - Nicolas
September 5, 2014
The recruiting process for interns is less structured than in banking so your best bet is to start
networking with people in the GE Capital team there, get more information about the process and how
you could position yourself coming from South Africa. Then you can start asking about the internships
opened at the moment and applying.
If you come from a decent school, and can show during an interview that you understand what you’ll be
doing in corporate nance you are ahead of the game. Bonus points if you mention the FMP, why that’s
your dream job and do a good interview.
 REPLY
BBQ Shape
September 4, 2014
Nicolas, very good article. Good writing too. GE has a solid program and it’s de nitely a good way
to make a future for yourself.
Just wanted to comment on IB prestige to the comment readers (I’m mainly talking to the young people). I
think people focus on that a lot when choosing career paths and that’s not a bad thing, but I think there is
less weight on that now days since the professional and social landscape out there is changing quite a
bit. Obviously if you’re determined to do IB or PE, then yes, inside of that community things are somewhat
old-fashioned. It’s not a bad career choice.
Corporate nance is not a bad gig. As the article states, you make about $60-$70 annually starting out,
but if you’re good at what you do, you can snag $90 – $110 pretty easily after 2-3 years with probably less
than 50 hours a week of work. You can have a dating life, make some friends, have some fun, and live
pretty comfortably. For being under 30, that’s a damn respectable living.
From a social standpoint, at least in California, IB is not admired as it once was. Take a look at some other
nance forum posts from 7-8 years ago. It’s pretty terrible. You can’t take pictures of stacks of money or
make fun of gay people anymore. People don’t wow over a picture of a guy with a Lamborghini he posted
online, they just think he’s a jerk. Hence, IB gets a bad rap now days and it’s unfortunate because it takes a
lot of dedication and is a good career.
My point is that you should choose a role that you’re interested in to ful ll yourself. I don’t like to line up IB
and corporate nance and compare stats like I’m shopping for a TV. Both are great choices and neither
are anything to sneeze at. Think about your life. Do what moves you. Because after a while we all get old
and will probably get prostate cancer anyways, so make sure you don’t get distracted by how you think
something will make you feel and sacri ce your well-being because of it.
I know I plug BIWS a lot, but I can’t stress how critical it is to be fast with Excel and understand those
concepts outlined in the modeling courses. Be it IB, or corporate nance, etc., that’s the best way to really
hone those skills to showcase so you can call your own shots when it comes to how and where you want
to work. With a cost equivalent to a few dinner dates or nights out, it’s the best investment you can make
in my opinion.
Sorry for the long post, Nicolas. And I don’t mean at all to diminish IB/PE. I just worry a lot of guys starting
out have this tunnel vision “all or nothing” approach to nance and they miss out on some great
opportunities because a certain name isn’t attached to their job title or workplace. Sort of like that
obsession with front o ce/back o ce that has already thankfully been debunked and clari ed on this
site.
 REPLY
M&I - Nicolas
September 4, 2014
Thanks a lot for the long comment. I really appreciate when people take the time to share their
view and deep dive on a topic like this. I agree 100% with you on the prestige thing. I think Paul Graham
wrote an article about how you should run away from “prestigious” jobs because if the job was
interesting there would be no need to make it prestigious to attract people.
That’s an extreme view of course. I work with tons of bankers and most of them really like the
challenge more than the prestige. But if you only want to break into the industry for the title and to
impress people when you say banker…you’re in for a tough one because you’ll trigger more hatred than
awe!
 REPLY
M&I - Brian
September 7, 2014
Thanks for reading and for your support of the site and the courses!
 REPLY
Syrym ash
September 4, 2014
Great article M&I.
However, I will never say “No” to investment banking to take corporate nance job.
 REPLY
M&I - Nicolas
September 4, 2014
Perfectly ne with us ;) We are not here to sell you corporate nance or investment banking or
PE. We’re here so you can be fully informed before making a choice! Best of luck in banking!
 REPLY
Syrym ash
September 4, 2014
:-)
Thanks Nicolas for informing people like me about different nance paths.
This article proved again that my choice is correct.
 REPLY
Syrym ash
September 4, 2014
Though corporate nance seems equally interesting.
 REPLY
M&I - Nicolas
September 4, 2014
It is very interesting yes, just suited for different personalities. I see that rst hand
because most of my clients in coaching are bankers so I can really compare the two elds.
Bobby V
September 3, 2014
Hi,
I am part of a nance rotation at a fortune 10 company. I also have an undergrad and mba in nance from
a non target school. I want to leverage this experience to try and get into investment banking. I was a bit
naive in my rst attempt to get into investment banking and never even came close to receiving an
interview. More speci cally I want focus on the industry in which my company belongs. I have done
internships in this industry also. If I network well and target speci c groups in the middle market towards
the end of my program which last 3-3.5 years do I have a chance. What are some recommendations to
make myself more marketable for IB. I already plan to study the different modeling techniques on my own
to stay up on the technical aspects.
 REPLY
M&I - Nicolas
September 3, 2014
You do have a chance yes but coming from a non target in undergrad is not helping. I
recommend you study the technicals and modeling aspect of course but also try to get assignments or
projects in areas related to valuation or transactions to have more relevant experience. If you can’t get
a full rotation in internal M&A try to at least get one in treasury.
 REPLY
Meg
September 3, 2014
How can I apply for this program if I have already graduated?
 REPLY
M&I - Nicolas
September 3, 2014
It’s ok to apply if you have less than one year of work experience. You just need to apply for
the next cycle.
 REPLY
Joe
September 3, 2014
what’s the recruiting process like for the GE FMP?
 REPLY
M&I - Brian
September 3, 2014
Nicolas will add his own rst-hand experience later, but interview-question wise it is fairly
similar to IB interviews – but there’s more of an accounting focus with more questions on topics like
journal entries, managing a company’s funding, capital budgeting/planning, etc. I would imagine you go
through multiple rounds of interviews as in other nance roles, but not sure of the speci c number of
people you meet with or how many are senior vs. more junior.
 REPLY
M&I - Nicolas
September 3, 2014
Brian is pretty right here. The technical topics are different and more focused on
accounting and planning yes. But also there’s a bigger focus on “ t” questions rather than technicals
especially for entry level roles because the courses which last for 2 years will put you up to speed on
all the technical topics.
The next article is going to be all about the recruiting process for the graduate programs so stay
tuned Joe!
 REPLY
Thomas
September 3, 2014
Ex-GE Capital FMP here. In the US, interviews for the program are generally consistent between
interviewers since they have a script provided to them. The interviewer likely won’t stick with the
script the whole time if you are conversational, but they still need to at least touch on all
questions since they are required to write down your “score” next to each of them. That being
said, the interview is usually all behavioral…only one technical question has been asked
historically and it is rather easy: “de ne one nancial concept in detail.” You might get a few
follow-up questions on this, but GE’s overall opinion on FMP recruiting is that they will teach you
all you need to know about nance on the job and via the proprietary courses. Keep in mind that
what GE is searching for during FMP recruiting is, in its own words, the “potential future leaders
of the rm.” Thus, traits recruiters look for include past leadership experience, sincere business
interest, intelligence, likability, teamwork etc. They don’t think of themselves as recruiting from
the same pool as the IBs since they want “team players” rather than those who are more on the
cutthroat end of the competitive spectrum – stereotypical opinion, I know. This is evident from
the GE (Capital) “target school” being more akin to Notre Dame, BC, Holy Cross, Syracuse,
Northeastern, etc. rather than the IB tradition of heavily recruiting from Ivy league-type
institutions.
 REPLY
M&I - Nicolas
September 3, 2014
Thanks a lot for sharing Thomas! What you said about the focus on technicals is true
but changing a bit since now more and more FMPs did an internship with GE before you can
get technical questions about the work you did during the internship.
M&I - Nicolas
September 3, 2014
Hey everyone, I’m here to answer all of your questions or comments so ask away!
 REPLY
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14/08/2019 General Electric Financial Management Program: Breaking In + Benefits.

307,012+ Monthly Readers FREE BANKER BLUEPRINT

HOME CORPORAT… CORPORAT…

by Nicolas Doumenc Comments (58)

General Electric’s Financial Management

What Exactly IS a “Financial Management Program” (FMP)?

On the Job: Optimal Capital Structure, or Optimal PowerPoint Slides?

Consumer Lending – FP&A

Real Estate – Controllership

B2B Lending – Pricing

Airplane Leasing – Treasury

Is Any of This Work Actually Interesting?

Pricing: You calculate Return on Investment for di erent initiatives, review

Controllership: You will comment on and explain variances in Balance Sheet

As long as your work is related to day-to-day operations and forecasts, it’s

Be wary of “headquarter” rotations at the European or global level.

How Do You Get Placed?

The Classes: Time to Hit the Snooze Button?

Besides your work assignments, you also have classes:

Foundations: Accounting basics and planning sessions

Operations: Inventory, FX, and loan accounting

Controls: Audit and regulatory

Strategy: Operational strategy and competitive analysis

2 Your grades in uence your pay raises, so you’re incentivized to study.

The Benefits: Why Would You Want to Become an FMP?

Benefit #1: The FMP Network: How to Befriend the CFO

Benefit #2: Locations and Travel Possibilities

Benefit #3: Exit Opportunities: Got Upward Mobility?

Here’s a rough breakout:

CAS is also a “fast-track” to executive-level finance roles, and if you make it to

Benefit #4: The Pay

And now to the last, and arguably worst, benefit.

The Showdown: Investment Banking vs. Financial Management Program

Pay & Prestige

Investment banking wins on both of these – people are more impressed by

The Learning Curve

FMPs have no contact with clients, which is another negative compared to

Work & Lifestyle

To FMP or Not to FMP?

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Network, network, network…

I live in South Africa. How do I get an internship at GE Capital in say London?

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