Greetings 890140,
There is no right or wrong. You need to look at what would work best for you, considering your background and the opportunities your employer can give you.
Nothing prevents you from chasing a FICO certification, while you are working as an end user, which will give you different perspectives and help you understand what is most important for the customers.
First things first, you've to understand the different components that will differentiate you from the competition, which in my opinion are:
- Specific industry experience: Understand the different components of an industry value chain and how finance can influence or is influenced by each of the areas of the value chain. From revenue recognition to budgeting, all processes within finance and controlling are somehow affected by the value chain and you will be as good as you can understand what is really really relevant in the value chain to support your decision-making process.
- Business and operations knowledge. In my experience, the very best consultants have very strong business and operations knowledge. They understand the day-to-day of the area they implement a solution and can anticipate risks and focus on what is most important that will add value in the long run.
- Business Analytics: All ERPs now are also a Datawarehouse and it gives me chills when a consultant is unable to advise about ERP native reporting capabilities and solutions, like group reporting or embedded analytics. One beautiful day, your end-user will end up knowing more than you, just because the information is out there and a simple internet search can give him/her the answer to something a consultant should know. So, learn the analytics and planning solutions as if it was part of your scope (just because they are, even if you are not convinced of that yet)
- Localization and regulation requirements: If you are implementing or supporting Russia, you need to know the specifics of Russia. Or any other country... regulations, and localization are not optional. You do not need to be a tax specialist for every country, but you need to understand the concepts and be alert on SAP updates and government decisions that can affect your customers.
Where can you start? Opensap & Learning Hub
Free SAP Training | openSAP
openSAP Microlearning
SAP Learning Hub
Youtube and online education platforms are also great good source of information.
And do not forget the SAP trials and demo systems, where you can practice what you learned.
The certification is important, but you will hired, beyond the knowledge, because your experience, which, at the end of the day is what will help you move forward and keep growing.
Finally, make sure to be connected with SAP community, on S/4 HANA topics and on the specific finance areas of knowledge.
Browse Topics | SAP Community
Good luck on your journey and count on the community support.
Thank you,
Luis
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