A look at Finance Directors

In this article in our series of finance job profiles we will be looking at the role of a Finance Director. Finance Directors are seen as being the most influential when it comes to making finance decisions within a business or organisation. This role is a very important part of the finance function and you will be in charge of how the company performs by creating and managing budgets.

Due to the importance of the role you will be expected to liaise with all departments within the business helping them manage the budgets you have set them and working closely with the CEO to improve profitability.

Like most job positions, the type and size of a business will determine your exact duties. For larger companies, a Finance Director will be involved in more strategic decisions and analysis and if the company is of considerable size they may employ Finance Directors for just one department or decision. For smaller businesses, there will probably be less people in the department, so your role will be more hands on with the running of accounts.

General activities that a Finance Director will be involved in include, creating budgets and making sure they are adhered to, managing people within their team, creating accounts, future planning, analysing competitors, monitoring performance and cash flow and general financial advice within departments.

Top level jobs like a Finance Director role will involve plenty of meetings, working between offices and putting in extra hours where needed. The skills a recruiter would be looking for in a candidate for a Finance Director include, strong experience in that sector, good business and finance knowledge, good people skills, high maths skills, an analytical nature, good at problem solving, good decision making and good management skills.

Individuals wanting to make it to Finance Director will have to work their way up as it is such a senior role and will require plenty of experience in the finance and accountancy sector.

Moving on from Finance Director roles can lead to more general management roles either within the finance world or in other sectors. Many move on to start up their own business and some even become Chief Executives of the companies they work for.
To find out more information about the role of a Finance Director and current opportunities, you should talk to a finance recruitment expert.

This article was written by Tom Sangers on behalf of Martin Ward Anderson who offer professional Recruitment services for accountancy jobs and public sector jobs