Finance Manager
Finance managers play a vital role in the overall health and organisation of every business of any size. They are relied upon to provide financial reports about current procedures, create long-term strategies, and even oversee the company’s own investments and assets in order to ensure everything is functioning at an optimal level.
Throughout the rest of this page, Links Recruitment will be talking you through what it means to be a finance manager, including what your day-to-day workflow will look like, job duties and responsibilities you’ll have, and what sort of education or prior experience you’ll need to get a position as a finance manager. We’ll also talk about what your salary could look like in a few different locations depending on the number of years you’ve spent in the job.
What Is Working as a Finance Manager Like?
When you work as a finance manager, you become incredibly familiar with all the ins and outs of your company’s financial situation. Your work will include coordinating efforts among other teams within the financial departments of your organization, as well as linking up with upper management and advising them based on the results of the reports you’ll create. As the industry gets more and more automated, you’ll also be spending time analyzing data and developing financial strategies and long-term plans.
As a finance manager, these are some of the duties and responsibilities that you’ll have to deal with every day.
- Creating financial reports
- Overseeing cashflow
- Refining financial processes within the company
- Ensuring compliance with the law, regulations, and company policies
- Coordinating the activities of employees in different branches and departments
- Analyzing financial data
- Advising upper management on financial matters
- Developing long-term strategies for the company
- Monitoring the performance of different financial instruments
These are the main skills and qualifications you’ll require to become a financial manager.
- You‘ll need at least a bachelor’s degree in Finance, or a related field such as Accounting, Business Administration, or Economics
- Many employers will prefer if you have an advanced degree as well, like an MBA or a Master’s in Accounting
- Many financial managers pursue the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) certification, which includes a bachelor’s degree and four years of work experience
- You’ll require excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities in order to ensure that you can create solutions to complicated problems on the go
- Good people skills are a requirement since you’ll be coordinating activities with several branches and departments
Once you’ve graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Finance or a similar field, your best shot at getting a role as a finance manager is to begin working in a junior role in order to secure the valuable work experience that hiring companies prize so highly. Common roles to start out in include being a loan officer, financial analyst, or an accountant. This can be bypassed if you decide to get a CFA qualification, as that process includes work experience, while deciding to pursue a Master’s degree in a finance-related field will also help you to stand out from the herd.
Once you’ve spent a few years working as a finance manager (and assuming you’ve been doing the job well), your career path will start to open up in front of you. With work experience and some additional education, it’s possible to advance to jobs with more responsibility such as a financial controller or an accounting manager, and you could even rise to the coveted CFO position if you continue to put your head down, work hard, and achieve excellent results.
The table below demonstrates what your salary as a finance manager might look like in a few different locations, depending on the years of experience you have in the job.
| Position | Hong Kong Monthly Salary (HKD) | Singapore Monthly Salary (SGD) | China Monthly Salary (CNY) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Experienced FM | 50k-75k | 7k-11k | 20k-45k |
| Early-Career FM | 25k-49k | 3k-6k | 12k-19k |
If you’d like to learn more about the current salary trends and market insights, check out Links International’s salary guide.
At Links International’s job search page, you’ll be able to discover vacant positions that will make your search for a job much easier. Similarly, the Links International recruitment page is where you should be going if you’re looking for the perfect candidate to fill a vacant finance manager role. We’d love to walk you through the process and help ensure that you only hire the best of the best for your company.
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