What Financial Managers Do

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.

Work Environment

Financial managers work in many industries, including banks and insurance companies. Most financial managers work full time, and about 1 in 3 worked more than 40 hours per week in 2014.

How to Become a Financial Manager

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.

Job Outlook

Employment of financial managers is projected to grow 7 percent from 2014 to 2024, about as fast as the average for all occupations. As with other managerial occupations, jobseekers are likely to face competition because there are more applicants than job openings. Candidates with a master’s degree or certification should enjoy the best job prospects.

Growth & Trends

This occupation supported 532,100 jobs in 2012 and 555,900 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 4.5%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 8.9% in 2022 to 579,200 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 541,500, compared with an observed value of 555,900, 2.7% higher than expected. This indicates current employment trends are better than the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 7.1% in 2024 to 593,500 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 588,600 jobs for 2024, 0.8% lower than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are about on track with the 2012 trend within this occupation.

Financial Managers Employment and Labor Information 2023

Financial Managers Employment Brief:

Plan, direct, or coordinate accounting, investing, banking, insurance, securities, and other financial activities of a branch, office, or department of an establishment.

Financial Managers Job Description

Here is a Job Description an employer might post for potential Financial Managers.

Financial Managers Responsibilities and Duties:

• Establish and maintain relationships with individual or business customers or provide assistance with problems these customers may encounter.
• Examine, evaluate, or process loan applications.
• Develop or analyze information to assess the current or future financial status of firms.
• Evaluate financial reporting systems, accounting or collection procedures, or investment activities and make recommendations for changes to procedures, operating systems, budgets, or other financial control functions.
• Prepare operational or risk reports for management analysis.
• Submit delinquent accounts to attorneys or outside agencies for collection.
• Establish procedures for custody or control of assets, records, loan collateral, or securities to ensure safekeeping.
• Review reports of securities transactions or price lists to analyze market conditions.
• Approve, reject, or coordinate the approval or rejection of lines of credit or commercial, real estate, or personal loans.
• Evaluate data pertaining to costs to plan budgets.

Typical Daily Tasks of Financial Managers:

• Working with Computers.
• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: Establish interpersonal business relationships to facilitate work activities.
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Coordinate operational activities with external stakeholders.
• Processing Information.
• Getting Information.
• Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards.
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Approve expenditures.
• Coaching and Developing Others.
• Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates: Direct financial operations. Direct organizational operations, projects, or services. Supervise employees.
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work.

Financial Managers Skills and Requirements:

• DatabasesUsing a computer application to manage large amounts of information, including creating and editing simple databases, inputting data, retrieving specific records, and creating reports to communicate the information.
• Coordination Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• Word ProcessingUsing a computer application to type text, insert pictures, format, edit, print, save, and retrieve word processing documents.
• Active Listening Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Negotiation Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
• Speaking Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Operations Monitoring Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Management of Material Resources Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
• Installation Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
• Mathematics Using mathematics to solve problems.

Financial Managers Education and Training:

Typical education for include: Bachelor's degree.

Financial Managers Salary, Wages, and Salary and Job Outlook

Financial Managers average pay is: $139790 per year according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employees who work in Management of Companies and Enterprises are the highest paid making $87.43, while Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities make the least at $117.30 per hour.Here are the top city/metro areas with the highest paying salaries for a Financial Managers: