As Financial Managers Career, Salary and Education Information

[Farhana Haque]

Financial Managers Career, Salary and Education Information

What They Do: Financial managers produce financial reports, direct investment activities, and develop strategies and plans for the long-term financial goals of their organization.

Work Environment: Financial managers work in many industries, including banks and insurance companies. Most financial managers work full time and some work more than 40 hours per week.

How to Become One: Financial managers typically have a bachelor's degree and 5 years or more of experience in another business or financial occupation, such as an accountant, auditor, securities sales agent, or financial analyst.

Salary: The median annual wage for financial managers is $127,990.

Job Outlook: Employment of financial managers is projected to grow 16 percent over the next ten years, much faster than the average for all occupations. Several core functions of financial managers, including risk management and cash management, are expected to be in high demand over the next decade.

Related Careers: Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of financial managers with similar occupations.

Following is everything you need to know about a career as a financial manager with lots of details. As a first step, take a look at some of the following jobs, which are real jobs with real employers. You will be able to see the very real job career requirements for employers who are actively hiring. The link will open in a new tab so that you can come back to this page to continue reading about the career:


Top 3 Financial Manager Jobs
Finance Manager - Gava Talent Solutions - ,
Provide support with ad-hoc financial analysis, reporting and preparation of presentations to ... Senior Management

Qualifications: * Excellent written and verbal communication, interpersonal

Senior Finance Manager - YLabs - Global -

Oversee all financial , project/program and grants accounting; collate financial reporting materials ... Manage and track the performance of invested assets in keeping with policies and investment

Finance Manager - Ringside Talent Acquisition Partners - ,
Manage the company's budgeting, forecasting and cash management functions * Coordinate quarterly ... Financial Reports, Analyst, Forecast, Forecasting, Accounting, Accountant, Finance ,

See all Financial Manager jobs
What Financial Managers Do[About this section] [To Top]
Financial managers are responsible for the financial health of an organization. They produce financial reports, direct investment activities, and develop strategies and plans for the long-term financial goals of their organization.

Duties of Financial Managers

Financial managers typically do the following:

Prepare financial statements, business activity reports, and forecasts Monitor financial details to ensure that legal requirements are met Supervise employees who do financial reporting and budgeting Review company financial reports and seek ways to reduce costs Analyze market trends to maximize profits and find expansion opportunities Help management make financial decisions The role of the financial manager, particularly in business, is changing in response to technological advances that have substantially reduced the amount of time it takes to produce financial reports. Financial managers' main responsibility used to be monitoring a company's finances, but they now do more data analysis and advise senior managers on ways to maximize profits. They often work on teams, acting as business advisors to top executives.

Financial managers also do tasks that are specific to their organization or industry. For example, government financial managers must be experts on government appropriations and budgeting processes, and healthcare financial managers must know about topics in healthcare finance. Moreover, financial managers must be knowledgeable about special tax laws and regulations that affect their industry.

The following are examples of types of financial managers:

Controllers direct the preparation of financial reports that summarize and forecast the organization's financial position, such as income statements, balance sheets, and analyses of future earnings or expenses. Controllers also are in charge of preparing special reports required by governmental agencies that regulate businesses. Often, controllers oversee the accounting, audit, and budget departments of their organization. Treasurers and finance officers direct their organization's budgets to meet its financial goals. They oversee the investment of funds and carry out strategies to raise capital (such as issuing stocks or bonds) to support the firm's expansion. They also develop financial plans for mergers (two companies joining together) and acquisitions (one company buying another). Credit managers oversee their firm's credit business. They set credit-rating criteria, determine credit ceilings, and monitor the collections of past-due accounts.

Cash managers monitor and control the flow of cash in and out of the company to meet business and investment needs. For example, they must project cash flow to determine whether the company will have a shortage or surplus of cash.
Risk managers control financial risk by using strategies to limit or offset the probability of a financial loss or a company's exposure to financial uncertainty. Among the risks they try to limit are those that stem from currency or commodity price changes. Insurance managers decide how best to limit a company's losses by obtaining insurance against risks, such as the need to make disability payments for an employee who gets hurt on the job or the costs imposed by a lawsuit against the company.