WHAT DOES A FINANCE DIRECTOR DO?

Updated: Jun 6, 2025 - The Finance Director provides strategic financial guidance to executive leadership, focusing on the growth of the practice and evaluating new business opportunities such as mergers, acquisitions, and revenue stream launches. This role involves planning, directing, and evaluating the organization’s fiscal function, ensuring standardization, and leading efforts to optimize reimbursement while assessing financial performance and capital structure. The director also mentors a high-performing finance team, drives continuous improvement in financial reporting, and ensures compliance with regulations and accounting principles.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Finance Director

1. Finance Director Duties

  • Finance Strategy: Develop the finance strategy in line with the Emerging Brands channel and NHSc US Finance strategies.
  • Business Process Leadership: Lead the Emerging Brands business MBS process.
  • Investment Analysis: Drive NPV, ROI, and gross margin analysis for key business initiatives, such as new product launches and customer contract bids.
  • Financial Planning: Coordinate, consolidate, and manage the Emerging Brands planning and forecasting processes, including preparation of Dynamic Forecast, Operating Plan, and MOR presentations.
  • CFO Partnership: Partner with portfolio company CFOs to unlock synergies and improve processes with Nestlé Health Science functions where applicable.
  • Internal Controls: Build and maintain strong internal control and compliance frameworks, continually evaluating and improving financial processes and reporting practices.
  • Financial Reporting: Prepare, analyze, review, and communicate monthly financial reports for both local management and Global Finance.
  • Brand Co-piloting: Co-pilot key brands under Emerging Brands such as Persona Nutrition, Nuun, and Klean Athlete.
  • Business Development: Serve as the finance co-pilot for future business development opportunities within Emerging Brands.
  • Due Diligence: Support the Deal Team with acquisition due diligence, equity raises, and integration of new acquisitions.
  • Process Documentation: Develop and document key company processes.
  • Risk Management: Develop and manage property, casualty, and executive risk insurance programs.
  • Contract Management: Standardize key contracts, support contract reviews, and implement robust contract management processes.
  • Team Development: Collaborate with the VP to develop the business team structure to support growth, including intercompany transactions and cost-sharing arrangements (e.g., equipment pooling entity IC-DISC).

2. Finance Director Details

  • Strategic Planning: Oversee the financial strategic planning of the company by evaluating its performance and potential risks.
  • Financial Reporting: Responsible for preparing and analyzing financial statements and managing all fiscal reporting.
  • Month-End Close: Accountability for the month-end close process, ensuring completeness and accuracy of reported financial results.
  • Team Management: Establish targets and manage all accounting and finance employees.
  • Process Improvement: Use analytics to identify process improvements and cost efficiencies.
  • Audit Supervision: Supervise all audit and internal control processes.
  • Performance Reporting: Prepare detailed reports on the company’s financial performance.
  • Tax Compliance: Ensure tax compliance within Brazil standards.
  • Financial Analysis: Analyze financial results, understand key trends, assess current and future business risks and opportunities, and effectively communicate insights and actions to the company's leadership team.
  • Policy Implementation: Implement policies, procedures, and processes as deemed appropriate by the senior leadership team.
  • Budget Development: Develop budgets that meet the requirements of company departments.
  • Department Oversight: Oversight of the Accounting department including general ledger, financial reporting, AP, AR, payroll, GL, cash management, and treasury.
  • Close Leadership: Lead the month-end and annual accounting close process.
  • External Reporting: Handle internal and external financial reporting including financial statement preparation and external audit coordination.
  • Compliance Management: Ensure internal controls and compliance such as insurance and risk management.
  • Financial Analysis: Manage financial reporting and analysis.

3. Finance Director Responsibilities

  • Budget Management: Directs the preparation of the annual budget and the required forecasts for the Rooms and Food and Beverage departments.
  • Financial Reporting: Prepares and/or oversees the preparation of reports summarizing and forecasting company business activity and financial position, ensuring timeliness and accuracy.
  • Inventory Oversight: Oversees and/or conducts the monthly Food and Beverage inventory process.
  • Staff Supervision: Hires, trains, and supervises the Accounting staff, conducts performance evaluations, and provides coaching and counseling.
  • System Maintenance: Inputs and retrieves information from the computer system for file maintenance, correspondence, and preparation of financial reports.
  • Cash Flow Management: Manages property cash flow to maximize options.
  • Internal Controls: Directs the development and implementation of internal controls to secure the hotel's assets and ensure accurate recording of transactions.
  • Policy Setting: Establishes or recommends major economic objectives and policies for the company.
  • Team Collaboration: Attends hotel staff meetings and collaborates with department heads for smooth operations.
  • Procedure Development: Establishes and maintains policies and procedures for the Accounting Department, interprets company policies, and enforces safety regulations.
  • Accounting Operations: Performs accounting duties including Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, General Ledger, and Payroll.
  • Asset Depreciation: Directs the determination of depreciation rates for capital assets.
  • Tax Advisory: Advises management on operational adjustments due to tax code revisions.
  • Regulatory Reporting: Prepares reports required by regulatory agencies.

4. Finance Director Job Summary

  • Financial Strategy: Advise executive leadership on financial strategies required to support the growth of the practice.
  • Business Evaluation: Play a lead role in evaluating new business opportunities such as mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and the launch of new revenue streams for financial and operational expansion.
  • Strategic Planning: Assist executive leadership in addressing key strategic issues related to clinical care, financial performance, and capital structure.
  • Fiscal Oversight: Plan, develop, organize, implement, direct, and evaluate the organization’s fiscal function and performance.
  • Performance Metrics: Establish dashboards, metrics, and best practices for the finance department to ensure consistency and standardization.
  • Contract Negotiation: Provide necessary expertise to negotiate contracts and lead efforts to optimize reimbursement.
  • Payer Strategy: Develop a payer strategy relevant to the future needs of the practice.
  • Budget Analysis: Provide timely and accurate analysis of budgets, financial reports, and trends to assist leadership in meeting goals and metrics.
  • Operational Assessment: Assess financial operations and develop plans to enhance overall operating performance.
  • Process Improvement: Lead continuous improvement efforts in financial reporting, financial analysis, and technology to promote efficiency and best practices.
  • Team Leadership: Guide, mentor, and develop a responsive and high-performing finance team.
  • Cash Flow Management: Develop a cash flow projection process and reporting mechanism to meet operating needs.
  • Function Oversight: Manage accounts payable, billing, payroll, and pension functions, ensuring compliance with policies, accounting principles, and regulations.
  • Regulatory Compliance: Stay abreast of emerging trends and regulations to ensure effectiveness and compliance.
  • Team Collaboration: Lead the Finance team to be viewed as responsive, collaborative, and effective.
  • Compliance Reporting: Ensure that financial reporting and related compliance requirements are met in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and accounting principles.

5. Finance Director Accountabilities

  • Close Management: Manage the monthly and quarterly close process, including consolidated financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, and cash flows), and review with the management team.
  • Ledger Oversight: Manage general ledger accounting processes, including posting journal entries (revenue, cost of goods sold, inventory, equity, and intercompany entries), reviewing journal entries, reconciliations, flux analysis, and compliance packages.
  • GAAP Compliance: Ensure consistent implementation of accounting principles and procedures in compliance with GAAP.
  • Financial Reporting: Responsible for preparing financial packages for senior management and the Board of Directors.
  • Stock Administration: Manage stock administration in accordance with 409A, payroll, and benefits, and update the capitalization table.
  • Audit Coordination: Lead the financial review process, serving as the primary contact with external auditors and preparing review working papers.
  • Tax Support: Prepare working papers and support schedules for corporate taxes prepared by external tax accountants, and oversee sales and use tax compliance.
  • Stakeholder Relations: Build and manage relationships with external partners across the company.
  • Strategic Input: Active participant in the executive team to contribute to strategic decision-making.
  • FP&A Development: Develop and enhance financial planning and analysis discipline throughout the company.
  • Cash Forecasting: Monitor and manage cash forecasts to ensure alignment with the budget.
  • Goal Setting: Develop quarterly goals to align with the company's strategic objectives.

6. Finance Director Roles and Responsibilities

  • Financial Management: Responsibility for the overall financial management and finance processes of the legal entity
  • Budget Forecasting: Responsibility for budgeting, forecasting based on the business strategy, business plans and in cooperation with the CEO and the HUB Lead
  • Budget Control: Setting budgets for volume, costs and profit, managing and controlling the implementation
  • Data Accuracy: Ensuring data accuracy by the Slovak accounting regulations and those of Yunex
  • Report Coordination: Providing and coordinating monthly, quarterly and yearly reports
  • Process Improvement: Proposing, supporting and driving the commercial process improvements, continuously following processes about the commercial guidelines and rules
  • Administrative Oversight: Direct handling and supervision of the following administrative activities: accounting, finance, audit, procurement, and taxes
  • Transaction Review: Ensuring active review of accounting transactions and adherence to internal and statutory regulatory guidelines
  • Risk Analysis: Responsibility for the commercial part and risk analysis in the contracting, commercial conditions and financing (offer, order)

7. Finance Director Duties and Roles

  • Deadline Compliance: Meet all month-end and year-end reporting deadlines, both internal and external
  • Regulatory Compliance: Ensure all contracts of insurance, licenses and company regulatory matters are maintained appropriately
  • Internal Controls: Ensure all internal controls and accounting policies and procedures are in place and accordingly adhered
  • Strategic Participation: Participate in strategic development issues of the company, including the contribution of ideas and initiatives
  • Financial Reporting: Ensure the monthly and annual financial, tax and statutory reports are prepared to an appropriate standard
  • Variance Monitoring: Monitor actual financial results and reconcile movements against both the Plan and the Prior Year
  • Report Preparation: Assist the Country Manager in the preparation of commentary and associated reporting requirements (e.g., weekly and monthly reports)
  • Forecast Planning: Prepare budgets and year-to-go forecasts
  • Debt Collection: Ensure debtors are collected within agreed terms and regularly report variances to management for appropriate follow-up action
  • Treasury Management: Ensure suitable treasury arrangements are in place and are appropriately managed
  • Contract Analysis: Review the financial performance of selected contracts with a view of enhancing the financial returns of the company
  • Business Costing: Assist with costing of new business proposals, including financial assessment using discounted cash flow analysis, etc.
  • Customer Management: Ensure customer contracts are managed in a way that meets customer expectations, agreed objectives and KPI’s
  • Contract Oversight: Monitor contract renewals and Rise and Fall clauses
  • Team Development: Ensure adequate numbers of appropriately trained and developed people are available to meet the needs of the business

8. Finance Director Responsibilities and Key Tasks

  • Financial Accuracy: Maintain accurate financial statements and reports
  • Policy Compliance: Ensure compliance with internal financial and accounting policies
  • Payroll Oversight: Oversee all payroll functions
  • Record Maintenance: Effectively maintain all financial records
  • Process Improvement: Proactively identify opportunities for improvement in processes, systems and ways of working
  • Target Leadership: Inspire others to achieve stretching targets and translate the complex into a compelling story
  • Function Leadership: Lead the Finance and Data Function on the journey to be trusted business partners
  • Strategic Challenge: Take a different perspective and challenge the status quo to deliver better outcomes
  • Community Contribution: Contribute to the growth and development of the Global Twinings Ovo finance community

9. Finance Director Roles and Details

  • Team Collaboration: Support the program with both internal and external implementation team members
  • Workstream Leadership: Lead the internal and external teams for the planning work stream, including annual planning, forecasting and outlooks
  • Enterprise Communication: Support enterprise communications through presentations, process documentation and discussions with stakeholders
  • Change Communication: Communicate to the business unit teams the changes to the finance reporting and forecasting
  • Implementation Coordination: Drive understanding of changes being made across the enterprise and support coordination of the implementation timeline
  • Stakeholder Engagement: Engage with multiple stakeholders
  • Cross-Functional Support: Work with finance and business leads
  • Process Documentation: Support process documentation creation

10. Finance Director Key Accountabilities

  • Financial Systems Management: Develop and maintain a highly functional financial recording and reporting system
  • Regulatory Compliance: Monitor and ensure compliance of financial activities with internal and external regulations and policies
  • Financial Reporting: Prepare monthly, quarterly and yearly financial reports for both management and shareholders
  • Audit Coordination: Prepare and coordinate financial information for fiscal and calendar year-end audits
  • Data Analysis: Conduct regular financial data analysis and prepare financial statements
  • Budget Forecasting: Forecast and prepare the annual budget and conduct monthly financial analysis on budget versus actual
  • Contract Oversight: Review and approve purchases and service contracts
  • Stakeholder Relationship: Build and maintain good relationships with local banks, tax bureaus, and any relevant parties
  • Risk Management: Spearhead and follow up on the risk management review
  • Internal Controls Implementation: Ensure internal control and risk mitigation adjustments are adequately implemented
  • Project Support: Handle any ad-hoc projects or tasks assigned by the CEO / CTO

11. Finance Director General Responsibilities

  • Executive Leadership: Key member of the Management Team based at the Switzerland Headquarters, reporting directly to the CEO
  • Policy Development: Develop and drive necessary financial policies, procedures, and internal controls, and play a leading role in process improvements
  • Investor Relations: Support investor and board relationship management, including presentation of financial updates at quarterly board meetings
  • Finance Operations Oversight: Oversee all Finance and Accounting operations, including Billing, A/R, A/P, GL, Cost Accounting and Revenue Recognition as well as procurement
  • Financial Planning: Support strategy, operations and financial planning with financial modeling and data analysis, which guides business model and market segment evaluation and development
  • Internal Controls Compliance: Establish and maintain documentation of internal controls, policies and procedures related to financial reporting and compliance
  • Financial Reporting Accuracy: Ensure trustworthy quality control over financial transactions and reporting

12. Finance Director Role Purpose

  • Financial Advisory: Act as a primary point of contact for the Managing Director and operational team on all financial matters, providing proactive advice and support
  • Structural Optimization: Optimising the company structure with respect to accounting and financial/business control
  • Process Implementation: Implement robust residential development financial processes
  • Cross-functional Collaboration: Interact with other Finance Directors in the organisation to improve business protocols and business efficiency throughout the organisation and to share specialist knowledge
  • Industry Awareness: Keep abreast of current and potential industry developments, which could have a financial impact, assessing the risk/opportunity effect and advising the Managing Director and teams in a timely manner
  • Financial Reporting: Manage the provision of accurate, relevant and timely financial information to the Managing Director
  • Forecast Planning: Manage, plan (schedule and templates) and perform quarterly forecasts (with support from the central accounts team)
  • Budget Preparation: Prepare forecasts and budgets including managing reviews with the management team
  • Financial Analysis: Provision of financial input and analysis including understanding tax and treasury implications
  • Governance Compliance: Ensure that appropriate financial governance is applied
  • Standards Application: Responsible for the application of the correct accounting standards, systems and processes
  • Records Reconciliation: Securing reconciliation of records, authorisation and auctioning of payments and system permissions
  • Internal Reporting: Provide reports and summary information in support of internal reporting requirements
  • Cost Control: Maintain delegations/ limits of authority and ensure all costs are properly controlled and approved
  • Team Leadership: Participate in the leadership/ management team
  • Authority Management: Reviewing/maintaining financial delegations and limits of authority
  • Team Supervision: Management of a direct report (management accountant)
  • Investment Modeling: Preparation of financial modelling for investment and divestment options
  • Regulatory Compliance: Act as Senior Accounting Officer to ensure compliance with and advise on all matters of financial regulation including compliance with the legal requirements for VAT, income tax and corporation tax
  • Capital Management: Manage capital expenditure/current properties

13. Finance Director Essential Functions

  • Performance Evaluation: Provide the Managing Director with all financial information necessary to evaluate and measure the financial performance of the region
  • Operational Review: Establish timely reviews of current operating performance and analyze operations for growth and/or cost control opportunities
  • Financial Leadership: Assume responsibility for all aspects of financial direction in the business
  • Reporting Accuracy: Ensure that all period-end and reporting processes are robust and guarantee the integrity of the information to the parent company and external parties e.g., Audit
  • Budget Management: Manage budgetary control processes, ensuring that budgets are consistent with the company's plans and maintained within agreed limits
  • Variance Monitoring: Regularly review actual results against expectations, and provide management with an early warning of any deviations or adverse trends
  • Issue Anticipation: Anticipate issues that influence the Company’s current or future results, and recommend options to the Executive and local management
  • Report Development: Develop and maintain reports and analyses at the market leader level that will assist the regional GVP and market leaders in measuring and monitoring the performance of their businesses
  • Business Integration: Ensure that Finance is at all times closely integrated with and positively supports the business
  • Managerial Support: Provide managers at all levels with the necessary information to maximise sales, profitability and efficiency
  • Strategic Analysis: Identify strategic opportunities to enhance profitability, operational controls, and efficiency by analyzing expense, staffing, and damage/loss reports for all stores in the Cluster
  • Control Improvement: Review Business controls, and in partnership with Regional and Global Leadership, develop and implement Best practices across the Cluster. (i.e. internal audit compliance, policies and procedures)
  • Merchandise Coordination: Partner with regional Merchandising to ensure relevant and appropriate assortments, report on inventory levels (including driving Physical Inventory checks), and facilitate merchandise pull-backs
  • Ad Hoc Analysis: Provide ad hoc financial and process analysis to support Regional and Local Management decision-making

14. Finance Director Additional Details

  • Scenario Planning: Conduct proactive scenario planning and sensitivity analysis on financial plans
  • Cost Analysis: Enable understanding of the historical and real-time costs associated with every project/team in the company
  • Resource Allocation: Ensure resources are allocated as effectively as possible
  • Budget Management: Build a process for budgeting and for tracking actual spend versus budget
  • Financial Reporting: Prepare monthly management accounts and bi-monthly reports for board meetings, quarterly VAT returns
  • External Coordination: Work with external accountants to enable them to prepare statutory annual accounts
  • Data Integrity: Ensure the integrity and quality of the data in QuickBooks accounting software
  • Payroll Oversight: Oversee the delivery of monthly payroll and pensions, monthly payments to suppliers, weekly invoicing of B2B customers, weekly bookkeeping and transaction processing
  • Process Optimization: Implement Finance best practices from successful high-growth companies
  • Continuous Improvement: Drive improvements across everything Finance-related at Up Learn, and find ways to automate tasks and processes
  • Departmental Effectiveness: Use Finance to improve the effectiveness of each department/team in the company
  • Analytical Communication: Communicate analyses in clear ways that translate into enabling greater performance of those departments/teams
  • Financial Education: Promote and develop financial acumen and understanding in non-finance team leaders across the company
  • Stakeholder Interaction: Interact with and respond to requests and questions from board members, existing investors, and financiers
  • Team Leadership: Manage (and hire to fill any gaps in) a small team to deliver any/all of the above

15. Finance Director Roles

  • Financial Operations: Ensuring day-to-day financial operations within the company
  • Financial Reporting: Review financial data and prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual reports within strict deadlines
  • Cross-functional Liaison: Liaising with all the relevant parties (compliance, legal, etc.) within the company to ensure all the requirements are carried out
  • Regulatory Awareness: Keeping abreast of changes in financial regulations and legislation
  • Document Control: Ensuring the control of all invoices, receipts, and similar documents that constitute the basis of accounting records
  • Legal Compliance: Carrying out the necessary work to fulfill all kinds of legal obligations
  • Audit Coordination: Coordinate and prepare internal and external audit requirements
  • Regulatory Reporting: Preparing the reports requested by regulatory institutions and representing the company
  • Cash Flow Management: Conducting financial planning, budget processes, cash flow, and bank transactions
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