What exactly does a Financial Manager do?
How do organisations and businesses across the world navigate major risks, and stay on the good side of the profit margin? You’ll have to ask a Financial Manager! These are the role-players who are tasked with keeping a constant eye on operational costs, as well as constantly evaluating the financial strengths and weaknesses of an enterprise’s interests. Are you considering a career in financial management? Being responsible for the financial health of an organisation or person can be an exciting and lucrative career path. Your responsibilities would include ensuring any financial decisions made by a person or organization comply with business and tax regulations, and that the general operations are run as cost-effectively as possible.
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MANCOSA
What is the role?
Does producing financial reports, offshore trading, direct investment and plans for the long-term financial goals sound like your idea of an exciting career? As a qualified Financial Manager, you’ll be able to work at a wide range of institutions, including banks and insurance companies. You may even find yourself assisting executives in making decisions that directly affect Fortune 500 companies. These are some of the elements you can expect in the daily life of a Financial Manager:
- Collecting, interpreting and reviewing financial information
• Analysing market trends as well as competitors and their activities
• Predicting future financial trends and giving advice on future business decisions
• Reporting to management and stakeholders whenever necessary
• Producing financial reports that will relate to budgets, accounts, expenses etc.
• Developing long-term business plans based on these reports and future trends
• Reviewing, monitoring and managing budgets for the entire enterprise
• Developing strategies and implementing systems to minimise financial risk
What qualifications are required?
This career path will usually require a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics or Accounting. Recently, more employers are looking for candidates who also have postgraduate qualifications or, even a Masters, in Economics, Administration or Finance. Financial Managers usually have 5 or more years’ experience in another financial or business occupation.
What skills are required?
You’ll need fantastic analytical abilities and excellent communication skills to become a successful Financial Manager. This is why financial management courses often focus on developing a student’s analytical skills and teaching them financial analysis methods and software. Negotiation skills, the ability to meet tight deadlines and a personality that develops strong working relationships are also highly advantageous in this career path.
What is the growth path?
Financial management is such a critical role in terms of keeping business operations efficient. This is why successful Financial Managers who display a strong grasp of the operations across various departments are often promoted to management positions. Some professionals even transfer to closely related positions in other industries. Those with extensive experience and renowned reputations may even start their own financial consulting firms.
If you’re interested in pursuing this as a career, or even just want to boost your current skillsets, speak to one of our course advisors about financial management studies today!
