Everyone is a Finance Expert on LinkedIn

Which profession is more democratic than finance?
- LAW? Lawyers will be quick to point it out that you are a “non-learned fellow”, even if you have multiple PhDs in space science!
- Medicine? Don’t even go there. Say or write something in this field in public that may potentially harm people, and you may be facing jail time.
- Engineering? Well, good luck with that. QED.
- Aviation (pilots)? Just don’t go near there unless you are a trained and licensed professional.
- Architecture? People often try, but they fall of the cliff very quickly.
- Law enforcement: Okay. I know what you are thinking. But if you love life, then MIND THE GAP.
- Geology: Try making sense of a basic 3D seismic data output. If you can make one sense out of it, then, you stand a chance, my friend.
- Actuarial Science: Before you say ‘oh, but it’s part of finance’, please note the -‘science’ after ‘actuarial’.
- Pharmacy: Isn’t that the cousin of medicine? See what I wrote about medicine above. Just copy and paste here.
- Nursing: Another cousin of medicine. Like pharmacy, ditto.
- Optometry. I am tired of typing. See medicine again. Or pharmacy. Or nursing. Sighs.
- …
- …
- …
 
I think I should stop here. A close mentor of mine often jokes about her time supporting an offshore engineering team in her time in the energy orbit in the late 90s. The engineering team had all sorts of support functions working collaboratively with it to deliver hydrocarbons to the tanks/pipelines. This was how things used to go (according to her):
 
-         For anything awaiting legal support, nobody would dare move until the legal team had given its go-ahead in writing (plain English, with even further clarifications so non-learned folks could make sense of their recommendations).
-         Nobody could fly until the aviation team had cleared that the weather was good for the chopper/helicopter to leave the helipad/helideck.
-         Nobody could go to site to work until the doctors and occupational health folks had certified them fit to work.
-         No technical scope could be started or executed until the relevant technical authorities had all signed off in writing.
-         Nothing could happen until the safety experts had given a green light.
-         …
-         …
-         …

-By the time the finance team was approached for support for a financial commitment/spend/outlay, it was highly likely the team had already committed externally & actually spent 20% of the headline commitment size (or budget). Worse still, while the discussions were going on with finance before approval, another 30% must have gone! What’s more, the engineering team obstinately had this vibe that they understood all the financial aspects and could run the show on their own!

 
That’s why I love finance. Unlike those other professions, it doesn’t discriminate. It’s utopian-style democracy. It’s an all-comers affair. No matter what you studied or what you have gathered experience in, you can be a finance expert in 24 hours. And on LinkedIn, you can be an expert after reading a few finance articles. Just join the train! Even the “real” finance experts are so accommodating that, unlike lawyers, even when they see you running energetically and speedily on a slippery slope along a dangerous cliff, they don’t bother to remind you that “you are a NON-LEARNED FELLOW”…