Financial Managers

Summary

Financial managers prepare financial statements, business activity reports, and forecasts.

Quick Facts: Financial Managers
2010 Median Pay	$103,910 per year $49.96 per hour
Entry-Level Education	Bachelor’s degree
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	More than 5 years
On-the-job Training	None
Number of Jobs, 2010	527,100
Job Outlook, 2010-20	9% (Slower than average)
Employment Change, 2010-20	46,300

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 places, including banks and insurance companies. Most financial managers work full time, and many work long hours.

How to Become a Financial Manager

Financial managers must usually have a bachelor’s degree and more than 5 years of experience in another business or financial occupation, such as loan officer, accountant, auditor, securities sales agent, or financial analyst.

Pay

The median annual wage of financial managers was $103,910 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment for financial managers is expected to grow 9 percent from 2010 to 2020, slower than the average for all occupations. As with other managerial occupations, jobseekers are likely to face competition because the number of job openings is expected to be fewer than the number of applicants. Candidates with a master's degree or certification should enjoy the best job prospects.

Similar Occupations

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

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Contacts for More Information

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What Financial Managers Do About this section

Financial managers perform data analysis and advise senior managers on profit-maximizing ideas.

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

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 find opportunities for expansion or for acquiring other companies
• Help management make financial decisions

The role of the financial manager, particularly in business, is changing in response to technological advances that have significantly 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 ideas 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 issues in healthcare finance. Moreover, financial managers must be aware of special tax laws and regulations that affect their industry. For more information on chief financial officers, see the profile on top executives.

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.

Treasurers and finance officers direct their organization's budgets to meet its financial goals. They oversee the investment of funds. They 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 the 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 that comes in and goes out of the company to meet the company's business and investment needs. For example, they must project cash flow (amounts coming in and going out) to determine whether the company will not have enough cash and will need a loan or will have more cash than needed and so can invest some of its money.

Risk managers control financial risk by using hedging and other 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 due to 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 and costs imposed by a lawsuit against the company.

Work Environment About this section

Financial managers work closely with top managers and with departments that develop the data that financial managers need.

Financial managers held about 527,100 jobs in 2010. They work in many places, including banks and insurance companies. They work closely with top executives and with departments that develop the data that financial managers need.

The following industries employed the most financial managers in 2010:

Work Schedules

Most financial managers work full time, and many work long hours.

How to Become a Financial Manager About this section

Financial managers usually have experience in another business or financial occupation such as a loan officer, accountant, auditor, securities sales agent, or financial analyst.

Financial managers must usually have a bachelor’s degree and more than 5 years of experience in another business or financial occupation, such as loan officer, accountant, auditor, securities sales agent, or financial analyst.

Education

A bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, economics, or business administration is often the minimum education needed for financial managers. However, many employers now seek candidates with a master's degree, preferably in business administration, finance, or economics. These academic programs help students develop analytical skills and learn financial analysis methods and software.

Certification

Professional certification is not required, but some financial managers still get it. The CFA Institute confers the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) certification to investment professionals who have at least a bachelor's degree, have 4 years of work experience, and pass three exams. The Association for Financial Professionals confers the Certified Treasury Professional credential to those who pass a computer-based exam and have a minimum of 2 years of relevant experience.

Work Experience

Financial managers usually have experience in another business or financial occupation, such as loan officer, accountant or auditor, securities sales agent, or financial analyst. 

In some cases, companies provide formal management training programs to help prepare highly motivated and skilled financial workers to become financial managers.

Advancement

Because financial management is so important in keeping business operations efficient, experienced financial managers who display a strong grasp of the operations of various departments within their organization may be promoted to management positions. Some financial managers transfer to closely related positions in other industries. Those with extensive experience may start their own consulting firms.

Important Qualities

Analytical skills. Financial managers increasingly assist executives in making decisions that affect the organization, a task for which they need analytical ability.

Communication skills. Excellent communication skills are essential because financial managers must explain and justify complex financial transactions.

Detail oriented. In preparing and analyzing reports such as balance sheets and income statements, financial managers must pay attention to detail.

Math skills. Financial managers must be skilled in math, including algebra. An understanding of international finance and complex financial documents also is important.

Organizational skills. Financial managers deal with a range of information and documents. They must stay organized to their jobs effectively.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage of financial managers was $103,910 in 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $56,120, and the top 10 percent earned more than $166,400.

Financial managers work in many places, including banks and insurance companies. Most financial managers work full time, and many work long hours.

Job Outlook About this section

Employment among financial managers is expected to grow 9 percent from 2010 to 2020, slower than the average for all occupations. However, growth will vary by industry.

Services provided by financial managers, such as planning, directing, and coordinating investments, will continue to be in demand as the economy grows. The United States remains an international financial center, meaning that the economic growth of countries around the world will likely contribute to employment growth in the U.S. financial industry.

Employment of financial managers in management of companies and enterprises is expected to grow by 3 percent from 2010 to 2020, slower than the average for all occupations. However, employment of self-employed financial managers is expected to grow at 20 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations.

Overall growth of employment for financial managers will be limited by expected employment declines in depository credit intermediation. This industry includes commercial banking and savings institutions, and employs the largest percent of these managers. From 2010 to 2020, employment of financial managers is expected to decline 14 percent in the depository credit intermediation industry.

Job Prospects

As with other managerial occupations, jobseekers are likely to face competition because the number of job openings is expected to be fewer than the number of applicants. Candidates with expertise in accounting and finance—particularly those with a master's degree or certification—should enjoy the best job prospects. An understanding of international finance and complex financial documents is important.

Contacts for More Information About this section

For more information about financial managers, including certification, visit

Financial Management Association International

For information about careers in financial and treasury management and the Certified Treasury Professional program, visit

Association for Financial Professionals

For information about the Chartered Financial Analyst program, visit

CFA Institute