Finance Manager Jobs

What is a Finance Manager?

A finance manager is a very important corporate function that provides financial support and guidance for a company or its clients helping them make informed business decisions and navigate the insurance market. They are largely involved with assigning and planning corporate budgets with an understanding of long and short-term financial requirements, taking into account any fluctuations in the economy or market.

Finance managers make sure all financial decisions and developments of a company are in line with all the appropriate legislation and regulations. As an operational function, Finance Managers are found in every industry and form one of the core basis for growth through their insightful reporting and ability to see the big picture whilst understanding the minutiae.

What kind of skills do you need to work as a Finance Manager?

Finance managers often deal with complex financial modelling and analysis and so need to be very technically proficient in a wide range of skills and have a sound understanding of financial procedures and systems. They are usually educated to bachelor’s degree level but it’s not uncommon to see Finance Managers with master’s degrees or additional qualifications like ACCA, CFA, or CIMA. Their soft skills are also very varied as the way they work will vary from company to company, sometimes working independently, sometimes as a team and sometimes as a leadership role.

Finance Manager technical skills:

• Ability to understand and assess cash flow scenarios
• Strong analysis skills
• Deep industry knowledge
• Knowledge of legislation and regulations with the ability to apply contract provisions to enable them
• Ability to conduct accurate forecasting
• Use a wide range of financial management systems
• Ability to use modelling software and complex spreadsheets

Finance Manager soft skills:

• Ability to multitask
• Good mathematic skills
• Analytical mindset
• Attention to detail
• Excellent time management skills
• Ability to work independently and as a part of a team
• Strong organisational skills

What Other Finance Manager roles are there?

There are many roles that perform similar functions as a Finance manager, the differences between them are often dependent on an individual company’s finance function requirements, these include:

Financial Analysts

Financial analysts produce the reports and analysis that form the basis of business decision making, however, a Finance Manager will review all analytics with a view of the entire strategical need of the organisation.

Business Analysts

A Business Analyst will look at the logistical data produced by a company’s IT and technical tools which can range from finance-specific tech, to Enterprise Resource Planning software, and suggest strategic business actions based on financial and performance data produced.