To ensure legal and regulatory compliance, finance professionals perform a variety of tasks for their companies. These roles require employees with verified skills, ranging from financial strategy planning to payment collection.
When seeking candidates to fill financial positions, it's essential to create job descriptions that accurately convey the necessary qualifications, skills, and experience. We suggest using a job description template to achieve this. By creating an effective job description, you can attract the brightest talent and generate interest in the position.
What Do Finance Professionals Do?
To ensure your company's financial health and legal compliance, it's crucial to create detailed job descriptions for your finance team positions. When hiring for your finance department, it's essential to carefully select candidates with a diverse mix of experience and skills.
Finance teams have various responsibilities, depending on the company's industry and role. Some of the key functions of finance teams include:
- Financial planning - Finance Leaders
- Recording and analyzing financial data - Finance Executives or Financial Analysts
- Developing financial models
- Completing financial transactions
- Monitoring financial trends and the stock market
- Performing business administration
- Maintaining financial records
- Creating balance sheets
- Preparing cash flow statements
- Enforcing internal controls - Financial Controllers
- Business accounting - Accounting Managers
- Identifying opportunities and recommending business investments
- Auditing a company's finances - External Auditors
- Managing departmental expenditures
Finance Positions and Titles
The tasks of finance teams are completed by workers in roles titled as:
- Financial Executive/Finance Officer
- Financial Analyst
- Finance Director
- Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
- Accounts Payable
- Accounts Receivable
- Personal Financial Advisor
- Investment Banker/Investment Bankers
- Fund Managers
- Mortgage Advisors
- Financial Project Managers
- Budget Analysts
Finance Responsibilities and Duties
The duties and responsibilities of a finance professional are essential and highly prioritized aspects of the role. These tasks significantly vary depending on the position's seniority and focus, and can govern an individual's performance.
Examples of finance responsibilities and duties include:
- Inputting financial data into accounting software
- Creating, printing, or emailing financial statements
- Following market trends and conducting economic research
- Drafting or approving financial documents
- Maintaining balance sheets and accounts receivable
- Furthering professional qualifications and development
- Answering incoming calls, emails, or chat sessions
- Attending team meetings and liaising with accounting professionals
- Streamlining processes and procedures
- Reviewing paperwork for compliance with financial regulations
- Arranging business insurance and tracking KPI metrics
- Investigating financial discrepancies and processing transactions
- Making bank deposits and conducting financial analysis
- Performing financial audits and generating reports
- Conducting business planning and financial modeling
- Managing portfolios and assessing risks
- Implementing and monitoring internal controls
- Setting and managing budgets
While these duties may seem generic, you can make them more engaging by specifying how they should be accomplished. For example, "You will perform financial audits using data analysis to assess the company's financial position."
Essential Finance Skills
In order to ensure your company's financial operations are effectively managed, adhere to legal requirements, control costs, and pay taxes correctly, it is crucial to hire financial executives with the relevant skills.
The necessary skills for financial executives to complete their job requirements include:
- Familiarity with financial systems
- Excellent numerical skills
- A strong understanding of financial laws and regulations
- The ability to work long hours during peak times (e.g., end of month or end of financial year)
- Proficiency in accounting software, financial software, MS Office, and C Suite
- Reporting and presentation skills (required for executive-level and senior roles)
- Organizational skills
- People management skills (necessary for managers and senior roles)
- Analytical skills
- Critical thinking ability
- Strategic thinking ability
- Active listening skills
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Interpersonal skills
- Financial decision-making ability
- Time management ability
- Teamwork and collaboration skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Objectivity
- A committed and target-driven attitude
- Adaptability
- Multitasking ability
- Data entry skills
- Detail-oriented with an eye for attention to detail
- Proactive questioning ability
- Motivational leadership (needed for managers and senior executives)
Finance Education and Qualifications
The education and qualifications depend on the position and level of seniority, but could include:
- A Bachelor’s degree in Finance
- A Bachelor’s degree in Accounting
- A Master’s Accounting Degree
- Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning (APFS)
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) professional qualification
- Financial Risk Manager (FRM) professional qualification
- Advanced Diploma in Banking & Finance (bank managers)
Finance Training and Experience
To ensure your finance officer has the necessary experience, technical skills, and training, it is recommended to consider candidates who hold the following accreditations:
- Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA)
- Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
- Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) (for senior accountant roles)
Frequently Asked Questions about Finance Job Descriptions
Here we answer your finance job description frequently asked questions.