WHAT DOES A FINANCIAL MANAGER DO?
Reviewed under Editorial Standards by Lam Nguyen

Updated: Dec 23, 2025 - The Financial Manager assists with robust monthly forecasting and strategic business planning over three to five years, ensuring precise and forward-looking financial guidance. Provides oversight for all finance operations, enhancing efficiency within the department, and managing stakeholder relations through effective joint-venture reporting. Actively engages in financial management, ensures compliance with regulatory standards, and delivers insightful financial reports to facilitate strategic decision-making.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Financial Manager

1. Financial Manager Duties

  • Forecasting: Assist with accurate and robust monthly forecasting and preparation of the three/five-year business plans.
  • Oversight: Provide oversight for the finance function and ensure the efficient running of the department.
  • Reporting: Perform joint-venture reporting and manage stakeholders.
  • Surveying: Participate in surveying/valuation meetings and provide the appropriate level of challenge.
  • Financial Management: Assist as required with financial management and reporting.
  • Payroll: Support payment and payroll processing to ensure an accurate and timely service.
  • Cash Management: Ensure adherence to the Group Accounts Manual regarding cash management, operating and controlling all activities within the cash budgets.
  • Reporting: Assist with appropriate reporting to the MD and Board in line with the standard format and schedule, including assisting with the preparation of the Finance Board reports and presentations.
  • Project Management: Complete ad hoc divisional and out-of-department projects.
  • Team Management: Manage the team of finance professionals who are valued business partners and contribute meaningfully to the team and bank strategy.
  • Insights: Deliver accurate and timely financial insights from monthly management & board reporting, ad-hoc reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and stress testing to enable a clear vision of Hume Bank's position and financial outlook.
  • Relationship Management: Build and maintain strong working relationships with all internal and external stakeholders and serve as a trusted business advisor who proactively engages around financial and strategic activities.
  • Compliance: Protect Hume Bank and its customers by ensuring that regulatory, taxation compliance, and statutory reporting obligations are met within required timeframes and with accuracy.
  • Risk Management: Ensure Hume Bank's financial risk management policies, controls, limits, and strategies comply with applicable regulations, standards, rating agency standards (S&P), and strategic imperatives.
  • Efficiency Management: Oversee and drive efficiency and effectiveness in reporting and processes to meet the needs of the business.

2. Financial Manager Details

  • Control Framework: Strengthen the Internal Control Framework.
  • Accounting Modifications: Review, make recommendations, and implement modifications to the accounting structure, procedures, and policies.
  • Budget Preparation: Prepare the annual budgets and forecasts.
  • Financial Analysis: Analyze and interpret financial information to support various departments in decision-making.
  • Process Improvement: Develop and implement business process improvements.
  • Audit Leadership: Lead the audit process with an external auditor.
  • Team Leadership: Lead, develop, and coach the Finance team.
  • Relationship Management: Manage strong working relationships with external parties like insurance companies, auditors, banks, tax consultants, customers, and suppliers.
  • Strategic Partnership: Partner with the heads of departments as well as regional and functional teams to increase sales and gross margin and reduce costs.
  • Financial Transparency: Ensure that they receive transparent, compliant, and accurate financial information to help them drive respective business.
  • Financial Coaching: Coach and manage one Financial Analyst.
  • Ad-hoc Support: Provide support for ad-hoc analysis including the creation of financial models where needed to drive success.
  • Budget Support: Support and guide the process relating to the preparation of the annual budget and periodic forecast.
  • Improvement Identification: Identify and drive process improvements, including the creation of standard and ad-hoc reports, tools, and dashboards.
  • Reporting: Provide weekly reports and forecasts to the company’s private equity backers.

3. Financial Manager Responsibilities

  • Account Analysis: Analyze and review monthly management accounts.
  • Cash Management: Manage monthly cash flow forecast and annual audit.
  • Tax Management: Manage annual Income Tax submission by auditors.
  • Coordination: Coordinate secretarial requirements with auditors.
  • Reporting Oversight: Oversee quarterly reporting to Jobs Fund.
  • Credit Oversight: Oversee credit control function.
  • Process Oversight: Oversee and continuously assess all finance processes.
  • Controls Oversight: Oversee internal controls at all locations.
  • Costing Oversight: Oversee ABC principles and project costing allocations.
  • Loan Oversight: Oversee loan recoverability Jobs Fund.
  • VAT Approval: Approve VAT submissions and sign off on all H/O costs.
  • Procurement Management: Manage procurement function.
  • Budget Management: Manage budget process and reporting versus actuals.
  • Cash Optimization: Optimize cash flow and interest income.
  • Cash Reconciliation: Reconcile cash flow per business unit.
  • Relationship Management: Manage relationships with financial institutions.

4. Financial Manager Accountabilities

  • Financial Analysis: Drive financial analysis to support business partners in budgeting, forecasting, and reporting.
  • Strategy Development: Demonstrate experience in developing growth strategies, working with various departments on budgeting and forecasting.
  • Model Preparation: Prepare financial models and scenario analyses to support decision-making on customers, merchants, and pricing.
  • Market Analysis: Identify key market trends, changing customer requirements, and competitor activity, and make recommendations.
  • Business Case Development: Work with business leaders to develop robust business cases and profitability assessments and to manage expenses to annual budget and quarterly forecast commitments.
  • Report Automation: Develop, automate, and produce management reports, and support the FP&A team with insights into weekly and monthly reporting.
  • Best Practices: Partner with the broader finance team to ensure best-practice reporting and analysis processes are in place.
  • Financial Management: Manage the company's financial accounting, monitoring, and reporting systems.
  • Report Production: Produce financial reports related to budgets, accounts payable, accounts receivable, expenses, etc., and develop long-term business plans based on these reports.
  • Activity Monitoring: Monitor and track business activity against milestones, including managing dependencies across related projects.
  • Project Support: Support project analysis, validation of plans, and ad-hoc requests.
  • Data Analysis: Participate in strategic data analysis, research, and modeling for senior company leadership.
  • Operations Monitoring: Monitor the day-to-day financial operations within the company (payroll, invoicing, and other transactions).
  • Stakeholder Reporting: Report to management and stakeholders, and provide advice on how the company and future business decisions might be impacted.
  • External Interaction: Interact where applicable with the company’s external contacts – Accountant, Tax Advisors, Auditors, and Banks, etc.

5. Financial Manager Functions

  • Analytical Recruitment: Deadline-driven, detail-oriented individual with strong analytical ability required to join a leading manufacturer.
  • Management Support: Prepare and interpret management information to support management in achieving business objectives.
  • Financial Security: Perform a series of tasks to ensure the company's financial security.
  • Financial Management: Handle all financial matters, thus helping to drive the business's overall management and strategy.
  • Deadline Management: Ensure that all monthly deadlines are met.
  • Planning and Reporting: Engage in monthly planning and daily reporting.
  • Financial Reporting: Prepare monthly management packs and head office reporting, including balance sheets and cash flow statements.
  • Variance Analysis: Analyze and investigate anomalies and variances to budget and prior year figures.
  • Process Review: Review business processes, develop solutions, and make recommendations to management.
  • Capital Justification: Prepare capital expenditure justifications for projects.
  • Budget Coordination: Coordinate and prepare divisional and group budgets and forecasts.
Editorial Process

Lamwork content is developed through structured review of publicly available job postings and documented hiring trends.

Editorial operations are managed by Thanh Huyen, Managing Editor, with research direction and final oversight by Lam Nguyen, Founder & Editorial Lead. Content is periodically reviewed to reflect observable labor market changes.