How to Become a Financial Manager

Career Clusters: Finance

What you need to know

Overview

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.

What does a financial manager do?

Financial managers work in many industries, including banks and insurance companies. They often work on teams, acting as advisors to top executives.

Some of the things a financial manager might do:

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 maximize profits and find expansion opportunities
Help management make financial decisions

Watch this video to learn about some of the things our financial manager role models do in their careers:

What skills are needed?

Analytical skills: Financial managers increasingly are assisting executives in making decisions that affect their organization, a task that requires 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 be precise and attentive to their work in order to avoid errors.
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: Because financial managers deal with a range of information and documents, they must stay organized to do their jobs effectively.

Watch this video to learn more from our financial manager role models:

What is the pay?

The average pay for financial managers in the United States was $156,100 in May 2023 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A financial manager’s pay depends on factors such as level of experience, education and training, geographic location, and specific industry.

What is the career outlook?

About 69,600 new job openings for financial managers are projected each year, on average, over the next 10 years in the United States.

Overall employment of financial managers is projected to grow 16 percent from 2022 to 2032 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is much faster than the average growth rate for all occupations.

Several core functions of financial managers, including risk management and cash management, are expected to be in high demand over the next decade.

Candidates with expertise in accounting and finance—particularly those with a master’s degree or certification—should enjoy the best job prospects.

What education is required to become a financial manager?

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, accounting, or economics. These academic programs help students develop analytical skills and learn financial analysis methods and software.

Discover some of the courses you will take pursuing a degree in Accounting, Economics, Finance, or Management and Leadership.

Watch this video to learn more from our financial manager role models: