Hi,



thanks for the opportunity to discuss and have an exchange on my personal situation, much appreciated any kind of feedback or suggestion. I am 31 years old, born in Milan, got MSc in Management Engineering @ Politecnico di Milano in 2013 with major in Finance. After an internship in the country unit of an important German group as Junior Controller in Milan, I moved in Switzerland working for global HQ of fashion companies as Sales analyst (8 months) and Business Controller for 6 years. I recently moved in Malta for personal reasons and I have been working as Management Accountant for an international online gaming company. My aim is to further increase my technical and professional skills in the "Management & Control" area and progressively acquire a management/leadership responsibility role. I would like to continue with this career path as I enjoy quantitative and business analysis and the possibility to have a global overview of the entire business performance and different aspects of the company, contact with different departments and involvement in decision making processes. I have experienced different international and cross-cultural contexts and my goal in the long-term is to acquire a managerial role in the FP&A / Controlling dept. and, progressively, a general management responsibility (Finance Director, CFO etc.). The positive aspect of Finance/Controlling role is that it provides a kind of flexibility and "freedom" to not stick with a particular industry, although in the long-term this could be a key differentiating factor in terms of experience. For the future, I don't have any pre-defined plans where to work, as I am willing to move for working experiences in other countries, depending on the opportunity that might potentially arise during/after the participation to an MBA program. At the moment I am evaluating online or "blended" programs as I cannot afford to leave my current job for a full-time commitment.

Bradford and Aston have accepted my application, pending for WBS, Alliance Manchester, Durham and CASS (always online formats). I have read plenty of comments and of course in the choice there are many factors to consider and that's why I would much appreciate a feedback and your view/advice on this. I am studying also for CIMA certification (Operational level) and ASTON is interesting for the master gateway route you may benefit from at the end of the program to jump directly to the Strategic level (after completing the managerial case).

Finally, as additional information, here in Malta there is the possibility to join the Flexible Henley EMBA program, for which I have been told to have high chances to be accepted. Here my concern was that the offer included the same syllabus and product as in the Flexible EMBA in UK but delivered by local approved tutors within Malta, therefore I was not sure of the international breadth and relevance it might have outside Malta, even though the award would be from UK.



Based on this background information and aware that this is cannot be an exhaustive presentation of my profile, in cases similar to mine, what would be the "pattern" with the highest chance of success? might an MBA in this context could be a supportive element/factor to boost further my career or increase my consideration in the job market?



Thank you in advance for your time and considerations

[Edited by matteo89 on Nov 15, 2020]

Considering your goals, I don't understand why you are considering a part-time MBA that won't really increase your skills in control as much as, for example, the CIMA qualification.

Different people have different experiences of online versus classroom teaching. I have done both at triple-accredited schools and, personally, I find the classroom experience better for me. I know some people find the opposite. The FT is ranking the Heney EMBA fairly steadily around two-thirds of the way down the top 100. I think that's pretty good and the tutors there will be among the best available in the country. Unless you have specific goals that make another school's alumni network better for you, I think it's a good option. 

Thank you Duncan for your prompt reply,
Actually my
personal idea is that by embarking in a program such an MBA I may increase the chances to get recognized not only from a technical point of view, that is relevant in my role and this is why I am specializing with the CIMA qualification, but also for a leadership / managerial role. Of course there are many different factors for which you may progress in your career, but, apart from the fact that the MBA experience would be surely a valuable experience whether you manage to obtain an improvement of your position or not, I see this as the only way in my hands to objectively demonstrate that I am committed in achieving this kind of career pathway and responsibility. I am aware that after completing an MBA I won’t have the same kind of practical experience of a team leader or manager, but at least this could represent a good starting point or a relevant factor to be taken into consideration for evaluating my profile under this aspect.
Alongside with this, I would like to get an MSc in Business analytics at one point as I am really passionate about business intelligence and in my current role I had
the opportunity to utilize BI tools such as Tableau and Power BI for data analysis insights and one of my ambitions is to combine more and more this aspects within the Controlling scope in my profession, but in terms of priority at this stage of my career I feel more the need to find the right pathway to bring myself to the next step in the Corporate Control

Did you see the University of Edinburgh's Micromasters in Predictive Analytics? That can fast track you into their hybrid MSc in business analytics.

A friend did the Henley MBA and I was really impressed with the materials. 

Did you see the University of Edinburgh's Micromasters in Predictive Analytics? That can fast track you into their hybrid MSc in business analytics.

I understand that the Flexible EMBA is the same in every location, but I don't think they have a global track (in the way, for example, that ESCP has local EMBAs/GMPs and then a more glamourous one visiting all their campus locations one after the other). 

PS Is Henley cheaper in Malta? It's [normally] easy to get to from other countries.

[Edited by StuartHE on Nov 16, 2020]

I understand that the Flexible EMBA is the same in every location, but I don't think they have a global track (in the way, for example, that ESCP has local EMBAs/GMPs and then a more glamourous one visiting all their campus locations one after the other). 

PS Is Henley cheaper in Malta? It's [normally] easy to get to from other countries.

Focus on your goals. You want to develop in controlling and accounting? Controllers and accounters don't have MBAs and MiFs; they have rigorous account and control qualifications. Look at people in the sorts of roles you want: what qualifications do they have and advertise for?

Yes, indeed you are right and I have searched on linkedin different profiles and their pattern has been heterogeneous. I have seen some profiles that had a similar position and then have achieved a managerial / leadership role without having MBA, some of them instead included in their profile, but of course there are thousands of reasons for which you can obtain that role and thinking on what I can do from my side I see this as one of the possibility. I am focusing also on CIMA qualification but maybe MBA is further more recognized in terms of these particular skills rather than this qualification: I see it more for technical aspects rather than managerial, even though at a higher level CIMA is focused also on strategic topics.

Hi, this is a rather difficult question, I think that the solutions that were written to you earlier are suitable for you. It is ideal to choose something more average

It's worth noting that LinkedIn is a good resource, but only one that you can use. Like you have noticed, it can be hard to cut through the noise. 

Another idea would be to reach out through your network and see what kind of qualifications the people in roles you want to do have (if any). I'm also leaning away towards an MBA as a good solution for you, based on the goals and expectations you have laid out. 

Just for your information, I have received an offer also from WBS DL MBA. After some more reflection I am still struggling with my decision, if it's worth in my case to accept WBS or heading to Bradford/Aston or do nothing and just continue with CIMA qualification.

The CIMA qualification seems like a much better fit for your goals.