What is a finance officer?
A finance officer provides financial and administrative support to colleagues, clients and stakeholders of a business. They are in charge of overseeing the financial transactions of a company. These professionals are tasked with developing budgets, monitoring transactions, and preparing financial reports.
How to become a finance officer?
Some employers may ask for a relevant degree in a subject like finance, accounting, and business studies. You may find it useful to do a college course, which could help you get a trainee job with a financial firm. Courses include:
- Level 2 Certificate in Bookkeeping
- Level 2 Certificate in Accounting
- Level 3 Certificate in Financial Studies
If you want to apply directly for jobs you’ll usually need GCSEs, including maths and English. A level in maths, business studies or economics may also be useful.
Finance officer duties
Finance officer duties are diverse and depend on the employer and specialty, but some responsibilities are common to most:
- Oversee the preparation and planning of budgets
- Maintain records and receipts for all daily transactions
- Ensure financial records are kept up-to-date with the latest transactions and changes
- Contribute to financial audits
- Monitor all bank deposits and payments
- Perform periodic financial analysis to detect and resolve problems
- Prepare balance sheets
- Process invoices
- Develop an in-depth knowledge of organisational products and process
- Provide customer service to clients
Finance officer skills
To be an effective finance officer, you’ll need certain skills and competencies. The following are often cited in job vacancies:
- Strong technical accounting knowledge
- Excel and modelling
- Creating statutory accounts
- 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
Finance officer Job Titles
When you search for finance officer jobs online, be aware that the jobs might be advertised using a different job title. Popular job titles for finance officer jobs include;
- Financial officer
- Finance clerk
- Treasurer
How to find a finance officer job
These jobs are advertised online, in local newspapers and at your local jobcentre. To find all the finance officer jobs near you, you need to:
- Search for finance officer 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 officer do?
The job of a finance officer varies depending on the job role and the company you’re working for. Check the duties and responsibilities of finance officer job advertisements to find jobs that best suit your skills and experience.
The day-to-day tasks of a finance officer include;
- record financial transactions on computer systems
- produce financial forecasts
- deal with payroll, invoices, expenses and VAT
- resolve payment queries for external contractors
- carry out financial audits
- create monthly, quarterly and annual budget reports
- present report findings to finance managers