Finance manager is an instrumental role at any large business. The role naturally attracts people who have long worked in the financial arena, and demands very strong numeracy, analytical, and communication skills. While the description for finance manager jobs varies depending on a number of factors, such as industry and business size, generally finance-managers play a key role in a company’s business decisions as well as its finances. 

Expected job role tasks

The remit of a Finance-Manager is wide-ranging. One of the major responsibilities of people in this role is to provide and interpret financial information, as well as to monitor and analyse the business’ cash flow, and forecast future trends. They will also be heavily involved in formulating any long-term business strategies, monitoring change to circumstances, and providing advice in such situations. Furthermore, finance managers will research and report on factors influencing business performance. This includes competitor and market trends, and regularly produce and present financial reports. Where necessary, they will perform reviews to seek out opportunities for cost reduction, and work to slash financial risk.

Their day-to-day operation will see them manage financial accounting, monitoring, and reporting systems, and manage budgets across the company. Most financial managers will also be responsible for supervising employees, and developing and building external relationships with relevant contacts, from auditors and solicitors to national financial organisations. They may also have to explain complicated financial situations to other senior staff, who may not have a background in numbers. Additionally, as the company’s financial leader, they are also tasked with remaining at the cutting edge of any financial regulations and legislation.

Primary function

The primary function of the role of a financial manager is to deliver expert financial guidance and support to the company’s leaders and their colleagues, as well as clients, where relevant, in order to empower them to make the best business decisions possible. Moreover, financial managers, sometimes known as financial analysts or business analysts, ensure all financial practices relating to their company are compliant with statutory regulations and legislation.

Key hard/soft skills

Finance-Managers require a robust set of hard, technical skills in order to succeed in this challenging job role. Strong technical accounting knowledge is a must, as well as an outstanding grasp of numeracy and mathematics, and they must have experience in Excel. Experience of AP and AR, and  statutory accounting is also required for finance manager jobs. Whilst, for the biggest roles, candidates must have produced budgets up to multi-millions. Annual audit experience is also high on the wish list for prospective employers. In terms of soft skills, the ability to delegate and manage the work of others is vital, given the people management aspect of many finance manager jobs, while solid communication skills will go a long way in this role. Finance managers should also boast a strong understanding of both economics and how businesses work if their role includes contributing to key business decisions from a financial perspective.

Qualifications required

While the finance industry allows graduates from all disciplines to work within it, degrees in areas including accountancy and finance, business, economics, management, mathematics, and statistics are particularly useful. Graduates of such programs often do not need to complete as many professional qualifications down the line. By the time they come to apply for a finance manager role, in addition to previous qualifications, a professional should also have become a fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA).

Successful  Career Journeys in finance - Part 1

Host: Katie Carew, Managing Consultant, Michael Page 

Speakers: Remi Adeniji, Group Internal Audit Manager, Euro Garages

Upon qualification, newly qualified ACA candidates have a wide range of potential careers paths to consider. 

In the first of the series, we was joined by Remi Adeniji, a Group Internal Audit Manager at Euro Garages and PWC & Deloitte Trained ACA Finance Professional with 12 years’ post-qualification experience.

Watch on-demand:

Successful  Career Journeys in finance - Part 2

Upon qualification, newly qualified ACA candidates have a range of directions in which they can choose to take their careers. If you are unsure of what next steps to take, it is a good idea to explore your options and gain insight into the different possibilities from those already operating in the sector.

In this virtual event, Phil Sarthou, Head of Acquisitions at Bertram Group, and Laura Sisson, Investment Manager at YFM Private Equity, join us to explore their career paths, career decisions, and what their role entails. 

Tune in now to hear Phil and Laura discuss the differences between transaction services and lead advisory, career journeys, and how to stand out and make a difference.

Watch the on-demand webinar below: 

Our speakers

Phil Sarthou, Head of Acquisitions, Bertram Group
Laura Sisson, Investment manager, YFM Private Equity

Phil trained in a Big Four firm and within a year of qualifying made the move to a leading regional corporate finance boutique. After 2 ½ years here he moved back to the Big Four in a Manager role in Lead Advisory, and last year took on his current role as Head of M&A for a private equity backed business headquartered in the North West.

Laura began her career at KPMG, before joining a Morgan Stanley as an Equity Research Analyst. Laura returned to KPMG in their Transaction Services team and progressed through to Manager. After 3 ½ years here; Laura has recently moved to YFM Equity Partners as an Investment Manager.