There are many careers involving the transfer and use of money, and not all of them are in banking or investing. There are a great many government careers involving money, specifically with agencies that plan and manage budgets, and agencies that bring white collar crime perpetrators to justice. Here are some of the government entities that have careers dealing with finance.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the top federal law enforcement agency in the United States. Mainly focused on domestic security and intelligence, the FBI functions under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice. Part of what the FBI does is investigate white collar crime.
Money laundering is a major source of white collar crime. To launder money means to conceal funds made from criminal activity or to take the profits of criminal activity and put it into legitimate businesses that sell goods or services. The job of an FBI investigator is essential to follow the money and see whom it leads to. Arrests of money laundering perpetrators are followed by prosecution. Click here to learn more about white collar crime throughout history.
Securities Exchange Commission
The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) was founded by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1934 as a government commission that ensures the orderly functioning of securities markets, protects investors, and facilitates the formation of capital. One of the missions of the SEC is to thwart investment crimes such as Ponzi schemes.
Ponzi schemes are another type of white collar crime involving money. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment opportunity that ends up defrauding investors of their money placed in a false investment fund. The most famous recent Ponzi scheme mastermind is Bernie Madoff, who was sentenced to life in prison for his financial crimes. The threat of Ponzi schemes prompted the SEC in 2009 to start surprise inspections of investment advising firms.
City and State Government
All fifty states, as well as numerous counties and cities around the United States, have a local government that plans and sets budgets. These budgets cover public services, municipal and state infrastructure, improvements and repairs, and education to name just a few categories. Budgets at the city, county, and state level will have areas of the budget for both expenditures and expected revenue.
Before a budget is ready to be voted on, it must go through budget requests from agencies, planning, forecasting outlay and revenue, and several revisions. Government entities rely on budget and planning analysts to get budget proposals on the table. A budget analyst finds and organizes financial resources by analyzing government monetary outlay and developing expenditure reports. A senior analyst takes the financial reports and research and uses them to make recommendations on budget proposals. A city budget manager works to make sure a municipality maximizes its spending power and stays within its budget. These careers in budget planning and administration are well prepared for by a Master in Public Administration such as USC Online.
Whether involving investigating or analyzing, there is a wide range of governmental careers that deal with financial matters. These positions all ensure that essential sectors of our society function properly.