Financial Manager

Career Overview

Financial managers are responsible for all issues related to finances within an organization. This includes preparing financial statements and forecasts, analyzing market trends, and working with top management on developing financial-related solutions.

Education

A four-year bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, economics, business, or a related field is likely the minimum degree required to obtain this position. Many organization may look for someone with a master's degree in a similar field. A master's degree typically takes about two-three years of work after earning a bachelor's degree.

Future Outlook

Employment of financial managers is projected to grow 15 percent from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations. However, growth will vary by industry. Services provided by financial managers, such as planning, directing, and coordinating investments, are likely to stay in demand as the economy grows.

Work Environment

Financial managers work in many industries, including banks and insurance companies. They generally work very closely with top managment, and are often required to work many hours each week (more than 40).

Recommended High School Courses

Computer Science
Business
Communication
Finance
Economics
Marketing
Accounting

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
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.
Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Management of Financial Resources - Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Memorization - The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Number Facility - The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Time Sharing - The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Analyze financial records to improve budgeting or planning.
Direct financial operations.
Approve expenditures.
Establish interpersonal business relationships to facilitate work activities.
Supervise employees.
Monitor flow of cash or other resources.
Maintain regulatory or compliance documentation.
Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets.
Prepare reports related to compliance matters.
Analyze forecasting data to improve business decisions.
Recruit personnel.
Communicate organizational information to customers or other stakeholders.
Prepare operational progress or status reports.
Analyze financial records to improve efficiency.
Analyze risks to minimize losses or damages.
Recommend organizational process or policy changes.
Analyze financial records or reports to determine state of operations.
Direct organizational operations, projects, or services.
Determine pricing or monetary policies.
Develop operating strategies, plans, or procedures.
Negotiate sales or lease agreements for products or services.
Coordinate operational activities with external stakeholders.

Schools

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Potential Scholarships

5 Strong Scholarship

Agnes M. Lindsay Scholars...

Approx Salary Expectation

Currency:

Low End:

$68,370.00 /yr

Avg/Med:

$129,890.00 /yr

High End:

$208,000.00 /yr

Related Careers

Bookkeeper

Accountants and Auditors

Human Resources Manager

Financial Manager

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.