WHAT DOES A BUSINESS FINANCE MANAGER DO?

Published: Mar 12, 2023 - The Business Finance Manager collaborates closely with product leaders to ensure alignment with financial and business objectives. Manages daily program activities and systematic enhancements in forecasting and reporting processes. Delivers thorough monthly and quarterly financial analyses, highlighting key variances, risks, and insights to support strategic decision-making.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Business Finance Manager

1. Business Finance Manager Duties

  • Client Engagement: Work alongside the Sales and SPO operations teams, meet potential clients and banks and present ICS Sustainable Finance services
  • Project Management: Responsible for management of RFP process for all potential mandated projects in SPO/Green loan area, mobilizing internal resources to ensure ICS presents the strongest possible proposal
  • Sales Achievement: Achieve sales targets assigned for the assigned territories
  • Relationship Building: Cultivate relationships with thought leaders and relevant stakeholders (sector associations, public fora, banks) within the SPO/Green loan space
  • Strategic Guidance: Provide insight and guidance to the business as to how we can best deploy and position E&S assets to secure a positive market response
  • Networking: Networking, market observation, representation of ICS at external conferences
  • Financial Forecasting: Financial planning and forecasting activities that include driving the monthly and quarterly forecasting process
  • Financial Management: Manage monthly financial close activities
  • Budget Oversight: Provide oversight and approval of Marketing spending and investment requests, including Marketing Development Funds (MDF)
  • Procurement Expertise: Be the subject matter expert on the full procurement cycle on how to request new vendors, submit contracts for review/signature, request purchase orders, and approve invoices for payment to vendors
  • Forecast Analysis: Partner closely with the business partners to understand timing of spending and resource requirements to drive accurate monthly forecast of expense and headcount
  • Data Analysis: Generate critical Reporting, leveraging systems and tools, that includes variance analysis, audit reports, metrics and other ad hoc analysis and reports to identify and communicate key trends, risks and opportunities

2. Business Finance Manager Details

  • Strategic Budgeting: Work in partnership with the Regional Finance Leads and the Group Functional stakeholders to provide accurate and comprehensive annual budgets and forecasts leveraging bottom up ZBB principles
  • Team Management: Manage and develop a direct report qualified senior Finance analyst
  • Financial Reporting: Support the monthly presentation of financial performance, full-year forecasts and budget variances including understanding financial opportunities and risk
  • Stakeholder Engagement: Independently conduct monthly review meetings with senior budget holders and the Finance Director
  • HR Collaboration: Work closely with People Function (HR) business partners to ensure headcount reporting and planning is aligned between the functions
  • Insightful Analysis: Ensure timely financial management information is prepared, including incisive commentary backed by detailed analysis of spend
  • Problem Solving: Be comfortable dealing with and working through issues and operational challenges with the global teams, getting into the appropriate level of detail to ensure understanding of cost drivers and ability to input into global cost or business reviews
  • Process Optimization: Drive continuous improvement by identifying people, process and/or technology initiatives to drive efficiencies and agility within the Global Support function
  • Relationship Building: Build strong relations across the organisation and provide financial support to decision making

3. Business Finance Manager Responsibilities

  • Strategic Alignment: Ensure that the department’s activities are aligned with the Corporate IHG Finance Strategy and that hotel actions have been implemented
  • Regulatory Compliance: Ensure that government-stipulated associate and tax legislations are strictly followed and implemented
  • Financial Control: Develop and implement financial control procedures and systems, maintain records for internal and external audits, ensure compliance with government regulations and contractual agreement
  • ROI Analysis: Analyse ROI for capital projects and present to stakeholders for review & approval
  • Cash Flow Management: Maximise cash flow performance of the hotel through controls on inventory, credit and collection, disbursements, deposits and remittances
  • Accounting Maintenance: Maintain all ledgers and journals, and other accounting records of the hotel
  • Reporting: Compile and submit all Corporate, Regional, hotel, and governmental reports
  • Budget Management: Compile and maintain, in conjunction with the General manager and Department Heads, all budgets and forecasts relating to all activities of the hotel
  • Financial Review: Review and approve monthly journal entries, balance sheet, and income statement
  • Financial Reporting: Prepare and interpret the financial statements and reports for the hotel
  • Insurance Administration: Administer IHG and Hotel insurance matters in conjunction with brokers
  • Month-End Processing: Processing the month-end process including P&L reporting & balance sheet reconciliations

4. Business Finance Manager Accountabilities

  • Strategic Alignment: Understand the business landscape and partner with product leaders to align on business and financial goals
  • Operational Management: Daily management of program and headcount activity while continually improving existing processes and transitioning to systematic forecasting and reporting
  • Financial Reporting: Manage end-to-end monthly close process working with business partners to record accruals, ensuring quality of data, reports, and dashboards
  • Forecasting: Forecast headcount and expense, maintaining data visibility and accuracy, as well as providing insightful and actionable metrics and recommendations
  • Financial Analysis: Deliver monthly and quarterly quantitative and qualitative analysis of the financial results including variances to plan, ensuring key issues, risks, opportunities and business drivers are understood and highlighted
  • Cross-functional Collaboration: Collaborate cross-functionally to continually improve alignment, consistency, data integrity and automation
  • Model Development: Build, maintain, and improve models to refine near-term and long-term decisions
  • Executive Support: Fulfill ad-hoc requests to support executive decision-making, as well as deliverables from cross-functional teams

5. Business Finance Manager Functions

  • Leadership: Managing a team of project controllers and financial analysts
  • Analytical Reporting: Manage the preparation of accurate and timely management information and analytical reports to assist in key business decision making
  • Client Relations: Be the main contact for all new DOU accounts/frameworks and oversee all new pricing requirements
  • Financial Monitoring: Maintain full awareness of and monitor DOU invoicing and cash positions, unbilled balances, backlog and de-booking requirements, working with the teams to ensure the status of each is at acceptable levels
  • Reporting Compliance: Fulfil internal and customer reporting requirements, including the forecast, AOP (Annual Operation Plan), PMR (Programme Management Review) and contractual customer reporting
  • Regulatory Compliance: Ensure GAAP compliance across all contracts within the company portfolio
  • Audit Management: Manage the audit process, liaising with both internal and external auditors
  • Strategic Partnership: Business partner with project managers