What is a finance manager?
A finance manager plays a critical role in providing financial guidance and support to a company. They are responsible for the budget planning, and support the executive management team by offering insights and financial advice. They produce financial reports, direct investment activities, and develop strategies and plans for the long-term financial goals of their organization.
How to become a finance manager?
You could take a degree before applying for a management trainee scheme. Although a specific subject is not needed, particularly relevant degree subjects include management, accounting, economics, finance, law, marketing and maths.
You could join a bank as an apprentice and work your way up to management positions. Apprenticeships relevant to this role include:
- Level 3 Financial services administrator
- Level 3 Senior financial services customer adviser
- Level 6 Financial services professional
- Level 6 Chartered manager degree apprenticeship
Finance manager duties
Finance manager duties are diverse and depend on the employer and specialty, but some responsibilities are common to most:
- Collecting, interpreting, and reviewing financial information
- Predicting future financial trends
- Supervising employees who do financial reporting and budgeting
- Reviewing company financial reports and seek ways to reduce costs
- Providing back office services such as accounts payable, collection and payroll
- Monitoring cash flow
- Drive the continuous improvement of end-to-end accounting practices
- Leading the analysis of monthly and quarterly numbers and presenting findings to the board
Finance manager skills
To be an effective finance manager, you’ll need certain skills and competencies. The following are often cited in job vacancies:
- Strong technical accounting knowledge
- Excel and modelling
- Ability to delegate and manage the work of others
- Ability to delegate and manage the work of others
- An analytical mind
- Negotiation skills and the ability to develop strong working relationships
- Good communication skills – both written and verbal
- A keen eye for detail and desire to probe further into data
- Ability to stick to time constraints
How to find a finance manager job
These jobs are advertised online, in local newspapers and at your local jobcentre. To find all the finance manager jobs near you, you need to:
- Search for finance manager jobs on popular job websites such as; Indeed, Total Jobs and CV Library
- Use the DWP’s Find A Job Service
- Check local newspapers and local Facebook groups, especially groups dedicated to local jobs
What does a finance manager do?
The job of a finance manager varies depending on the job role and the company you’re working for. Check the duties and responsibilities of finance manager job advertisements to find jobs that best suit your skills and experience.
The day-to-day tasks of a finance manager include;
- Communicate and put into practice, business, marketing and sales plans
- Monitor sales targets and budgets, and produce figures and reports
- Assess lending risk
- Motivate staff to meet targets
- Learn about the needs of individual and business customers
- Make sure that staff follow rules and procedures
- Develop relationships with the local community and businesses
- Deal with customer complaints