finance manager job description.

Do you love numbers? Can you lose yourself in the beauty of a spreadsheet and do you enjoy complicated calculations or balancing the books?

If so, a role as a finance manager could be right up your street. You’ll play a vital role in any organisation doing something you love.

What does a finance manager do?

You’ll get stuck into lots of financial calculations during your daily work but being a finance manager is more than just crunching numbers. On any given day you could be planning and forecasting, interpreting data, analysing market trends, managing budgets, producing financial reports and managing an organisation’s financial accounting systems.

Your work will vary enormously depending on whether you’re employed by a large organisation or a small team – in larger businesses you might be more involved in strategic planning whilst in a smaller company you could have a more hands-on role in accounts. Ultimately though, your day to day role is to maximise return on investment whilst minimising the cost.

qualifications and experience needed for a finance manager.

The good news is financial managers can have a number of different degrees. However, you can give yourself a roaring head start if it’s in a related area such as accountancy, economics or maths, for example. You can get into the profession with A-Levels or equivalent and then work your way up to a management position with professional training – remember to factor study in alongside your job though.

core skills of a good finance manager.

You’ll need razor sharp problem-solving and analytical skills for the job but you’ll also need top-notch communication skills. Some of the other skills you will need to show are:

numerical skills
critical thinking
the ability to turn complex data into understandable form
the ability to multi-task
strong IT skills
good time management

classic personality traits of an effective finance manager.

Logical, analytical, methodical – does that sound like you? Finance managers have the ability to look at complex data and turn it into an understandable and profitable business strategy. But you also need to be personable enough that you can work with other colleagues and translate all that information into something everyone can understand.

career opportunities for finance managers.

The opportunities are vast and varied because all organisations need financial management. Think charities, businesses, NHS trusts, retailers and financial institutions to name just a few.

Many finance managers are qualified or part-qualified accountants and you can follow further professional exams to eventually become chartered. You can stay in a finance role or move into a more general managerial role such as HR. Why not, specialise in one particular industry or move up the ladder to become and finance director or even managing director.

You can check the typical salary for a finance manager on this link.

summary.

So numbers excite you and spreadsheets pique your interest but you like the thought of being at the coal face of business too? Then a finance manager role would be perfect, offering you: