WHAT DOES A FINANCIAL SYSTEMS MANAGER DO?

Published: Apr 22, 2025 - The Financial Systems Manager oversees ledger configuration and data integrity to ensure accurate financial reporting. This role supports regulatory compliance, manages system integrations, and coordinates with IT and auditors. The manager also leads reporting improvements and internal control efforts.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Financial Systems Manager

1. Financial Systems Manager Duties

  • System Management: Manage and act as functional SME for Finance and Accounting systems including NetSuite, Adaptive Insights, and other related integrations
  • Transformation Leadership: Part of the segment's financial systems transformation leadership team as we embark on the modernization of systems
  • Solution Architecture: Participate in Accounting and Finance initiatives as the Financial Systems SME, offering solutions, guidance, and overall architecture to resolve issues and build new solutions
  • Project Delivery: Deliver solutions by guiding conversation, business requirement gathering, business process review, project management, testing, training, documentation development, communication and system development and configuration
  • System Support: Provide day-to-day support for the financial systems, create and resolve support cases
  • Technology Monitoring: Stay current with technology solutions and tools to generate strategic and operational efficiencies while maintaining sound internal controls
  • Vendor Management: Work with vendors to ensure that we are taking full advantage of the systems that the team supports, and ensure their prompt resolution to support issues
  • System Monitoring: Proactively monitor the systems' health and integrity
  • Team Leadership: Provide leadership and supervision to a team of 2 Financial Analysts
  • Financial Reporting: Sit within finance but use technological flair to ensure the finance team is provided with the best possible information from both a financial and management reporting perspective
  • SAP Management: Take the lead for the SAP system and other financial processes to support both the domestic market and several European entities, as the business utilizes SAP (FICO in particular) to a greater extent
  • IFRS Reporting: Ensure any reports align with IFRS reporting standards, working on a range of projects that interact with many stakeholders spread over several locations
  • User Training: Coach and develop the capacity of end users when it comes to the adoption of new reports, so that the delivery of management information is best in class
  • Multitasking: Handle multiple priorities and complex tasks in a hyper-growth work environment

2. Financial Systems Manager Details

  • Project Prioritization: Work with Procurement, Payables, and Supply Chain business partners to define and prioritize projects and enhancements
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work collaboratively across IT and business functions, in a Shared Services environment
  • Software Implementation: Drive or participate in all stages of software implementation including planning, requirements gathering, researching solutions, design, configuration/development, testing, rollout, and maintenance
  • Quality Assurance: Assure the quality of business systems by implementing test plans and developing/executing test specifications
  • Solution Delivery: Work closely with development teams (internal and external) to ensure timely solutions are delivered according to the specifications and implementation needs of the business
  • Project Management: Manage project teams and implementations
  • Timeline Tracking: Appropriately communicate task status and manage project timelines/action items
  • Stakeholder Communication: Manage communications amongst staff, vendors, and internal partners
  • Risk Management: Escalate project risks/issues to management
  • Compliance Oversight: Ensure that the system and related processes meet all applicable compliance requirements
  • Stakeholder Partnership: Partner with internal stakeholders across Accounting, FP&A, Billing, IT, and Payroll to develop technology solutions that help to streamline and automate processes
  • Requirement Translation: Translate business objectives and employee needs into technical requirements
  • Process Evaluation: Leverage business knowledge and expertise to identify opportunities for process improvements, advise stakeholders on options, risks, and any impacts on other processes or systems
  • Process Improvement: Implement process improvements and policy changes designed to improve efficiency and the user experience with the system

3. Financial Systems Manager Responsibilities

  • System Configuration: Support the Finance team and other teams as applicable with configuration changes in Sage Intacct, ENVI, and other applications (collectively, Finance Information Applications) used by Finance
  • Process Innovation: Recommend process changes and innovative solutions to improve user experience and customer service
  • Vendor Coordination: Partner with configuration resources at Finance Information Applications and third-party consulting firms by initiating cases, testing changes, reviewing business process changes, and approving for production, etc.
  • Issue Management: Communicate cases and project status with users, and ensure timely response and resolution of all issues
  • Report Creation: Develops/creates standard or custom reports
  • Dashboard Development: Work with stakeholders to create custom reports and various dashboards
  • System Administration: Responsible for the maintenance and ongoing administration of the Finance Information Applications to support short-term and long-term goals
  • Data Integrity: Maintains data integrity in the Finance Information Applications, regularly coordinates data audits, system implementations, upgrades, modifications, and clean-up efforts
  • User Communication: Develops and distributes communications to users regarding instructions, system outages, and other changes
  • Data Updates: Completes requests for data correction, organization moves, and position updates
  • User Training: Trains new Finance team users on Finance Information Applications functionality (including system security, user access, and system changes) by creating and utilizing job aids and various documents
  • Job Aid Development: Identify and create Finance Information Applications user job aids for employees
  • System Maintenance: Manage required Finance Information Applications updates, enhancements, testing, validation, and overall performance of the system
  • Error Troubleshooting: Review the Finance systems integration error reports and troubleshoot findings
  • Release Testing: Review the documentation of semi-annual releases and test the system accordingly
  • Solution Development: Partner with Finance leaders and other stakeholders to develop and enable solutions by providing functional and technical requirements, implementing solutions, and coordinating or leading projects
  • Access Management: Assume the role of Finance Systems Administrator for all finance applications to include but not limited to adding, changing, and deleting user IDs, passwords, role-based permissions, etc.
  • Community Engagement: Actively participate in Finance Information Applications local user groups and other Finance Information Applications-related groups

4. Financial Systems Manager Job Summary

  • Platform Administration: Oversee the administration, support, and ongoing development of Oracle EPM platform (PBCS, FCCS, and ARCS) and any other cloud solution owned by Finance
  • Best Practices: Establish best practices across platforms and oversee adoption
  • Issue Resolution: Troubleshoot production issues by using research and proven techniques to resolve
  • Security Management: Manage security across all Finance-owned platforms
  • System Changes: Develop, approve, and execute system changes across platforms
  • Change Documentation: Ensure all changes are properly documented and tested
  • Partner Communication: Liaise with internal and external partners regarding financial system matters
  • System Integration: Drive integration for any growth and/or merger and acquisition activity
  • Stakeholder Communication: Communicate effectively with business stakeholders through both oral and written communication
  • Ad-hoc Analysis: Perform ad-hoc analysis in a compressed time environment
  • Process Improvement: Drive a culture of continuous improvement
  • Workday Configuration: Assist with the configuration of the Workday system including EIBs, mass uploads, simple integrations, business processes, reports, and security
  • Report Development: Generate reports/queries, dashboards, including writing, maintaining, and supporting a variety of reports or queries utilizing appropriate reporting tools
  • Control Compliance: Ensure internal and external controls are in place (including SOX controls)
  • Team Management: Manage team performance and development
  • Data Analysis: Prepare complex data and analysis requests

5. Financial Systems Manager Accountabilities

  • System Oversight: Oversee the operation and maintenance of the firm’s existing automated financial systems
  • Server Coordination: Coordinate maintenance and updates for all financial database servers, working with the IT Department
  • Software Implementation: Coordinate all efforts related to implementing new software programs and upgrades
  • Requirements Gathering: Interact with users and vendors to provide detailed specifications for custom reports, inquiries, and IDE changes for 3E
  • Customization Testing: Coordinate testing efforts for customizations and provide feedback to developers
  • User Acceptance: Follow through on user acceptance
  • Issue Resolution: Resolve end-user financial system issues and provide software application support
  • Issue Tracking: Track and maintain the financial systems bug/issue list and follow up regularly for successful resolution or acceptable workaround
  • Data Integrity: Monitor financial databases for integrity problems and correct errors, independently or with vendors
  • System Monitoring: Implement and monitor proactive alerts for system issues
  • User Training: Develop financial system procedures, documentation, and end-user training
  • Process Analysis: Analyze current business processes, make recommendations for improvements, and manage system change control and related communication
  • Soft Cost Management: Manage the soft cost upload process, resolve related issues, and examine current manual procedures for automation
  • Project Support: Work on various projects as assigned by the CFO

6. Financial Systems Manager Functions

  • System Support: Assist the Financial Transformation Team with providing systems support for end users in Oracle Cloud ERP and other systems such as Warehouse Management, Transportation Management, Enterprise Data Warehouse, etc., as well as accompanying integrations
  • Technology Adoption: Serve as a key team member in the adoption of technology at Chewy—rolling out systems, integrations, reports, processes, and skillsets, while pushing for end-user engagement and adoption
  • Process Design: Engage with the accounting and finance organization to define the future state of business processes through quantitative/qualitative analyses and reviews of current processes
  • Bottleneck Identification: Identify bottlenecks in the process and engage with impacted parties to determine the future state
  • Training Delivery: Provide end-user training, prepare training materials, and assist with the publishing of documentation and governance
  • Complex Problem Solving: Work can be non-routine and complex, involving a steep learning curve for new or proprietary systems and processes
  • Functional Liaison: Act as a point of contact between different functions within the company and relevant third parties (e.g., technology vendors, consultants)
  • Strategy Communication: Communicate strategies and objectives with relevant functions and teams
  • Best Practice Adoption: Identify leading practices and drive adoption, optimize system utilization, and continuous process improvement outcomes
  • Performance Frameworks: Aid in the reporting and financial performance management frameworks for the business and help define key metrics and performance indicators to evaluate overall business performance
  • Change Leadership: Lead change and improvement outcomes, including financial and operational outcomes
  • Best Practice Advisory: Interact with all levels of the organization to advise on best practices in the Finance area from functional and technical perspectives
  • Process Efficiency: Create efficiencies across Finance and Accounting operations via evaluating processes, recommending improvements, and identifying new opportunities
  • Process Ownership: Own Finance processes related to ERP, Business Intelligence, invoice processing, and other Finance/Accounting systems used within the company
  • User Support: Provide analytical and functional support to users and partner with the ERP team to troubleshoot issues

7. Financial Systems Manager Job Description

  • Technical Leadership: Lead the technical system aspects of any international accounting initiatives within the framework of the Global Financial Systems department
  • Requirements Alignment: Work with the accounting team to ensure that their requirements are being met in ways that are technically sound and maintain stability in NetSuite and other financial systems such as Coupa and RevPro
  • System Translation: Understand accounting requirements in various countries and work to translate them into system changes in NetSuite
  • Implementation Supervision: Supervise the implementation of system changes in NetSuite and quickly make those changes
  • Vendor Management: Determine when a particular project may be the best fit for a consulting group in a particular country and then scope, hire, and manage a team
  • Team Coordination: Maintain alignment with Financial Systems leadership and accounting teams to ensure all parties are coordinated and informed
  • System Updates: Keep up to date on upcoming changes in NetSuite, how they affect installation, and how they can be leveraged going forward
  • Issue Resolution: Work with NetSuite account representatives and support teams to resolve issues
  • Process Governance: Establish, define, and maintain both process and documentation to ensure that changes are being made in an auditable, visible manner that maintains system integrity
  • Ticket Troubleshooting: Review help tickets from accounting teams and troubleshoot to help them resolve issues and create new reports
  • UAT Coordination: Coordinate User Acceptance Testing with international accounting teams during the development of new system customizations and processes
  • Requirements Definition: Meet with functional process owners, decision makers, and technical resources to define requirements and project expectations
  • Training Development: Develop documentation and coordinate user-centric training and education
  • System Administration: Support the administration, maintenance, and management of systems

8. Financial Systems Manager Overview

  • System Ownership: Ownership of the Zuora billing system, NetSuite accounting system, Z connector integration tool, Avalara, and other financial systems
  • Report Development: Develop accounting and finance reports, edit business data, update and maintain financial systems, and troubleshoot system issues
  • Requirements Gathering: Gather requirements from end-users and stakeholders to support all financial software solutions within the finance group and across the organization
  • System Configuration: Software support, administration, and configuration and customizations of various software systems including accounting systems, billing systems, and other related financial systems
  • Control Testing: Implement/on-going testing of key financial control environment
  • Reporting Support: Work with Finance staff to ensure all reporting and analysis needs are met with current or future software solutions
  • System Development: Support the continued design, development, implementation, and ongoing support of CallRail's financial systems structure, including the following
  • System Planning: Develop future system requirements and use
  • Cross-Functional Support: Support other functional groups in further leveraging the use of financial systems
  • IT Collaboration: Support interaction between Finance staff and IT resources
  • Project Communication: Communicate Finance-driven or related project status and resourcing to key stakeholders
  • Account Reconciliation: Perform certain general ledger account reconciliations through the reconciliation system
  • Month-End Close: Assist with month-end close procedures

9. Financial Systems Manager Details and Accountabilities

  • System Monitoring: Actively monitoring and maintaining the financial systems
  • Software Maintenance: Software maintenance and long-term security of that software (software updates and security patch installation)
  • User Training: Train employees on new or updated software
  • System Procurement: Lead procurement processes and work alongside onboarding consultants in implementing potential new systems
  • Access Management: Administer access rights to Financial data in the BI tool/reporting system
  • User Support: Troubleshoot and provide first-hand support to internal users of the Financial systems
  • Process Compliance: Deliver processes that minimize manual effort and ensure compliance and controls are in place
  • Strategic Planning: Set financial system long-term strategy and plan
  • Data Integration: Responsible for the integration and automation of data flow between various systems
  • Automation Management: Manage the automation design, building of files, and setup of processes for information to flow from one system to another
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with team members across multiple divisions to investigate automation opportunities and assist with process design and documentation, manage integration and training
  • System Administration: Perform the system administrator role for various accounting-related systems
  • Audit Support: Responsible for audit requests related to the system administrator
  • Document Preparation: Assist with document requests and preparation for audits/exams
  • Control Implementation: Assist with the implementation and maintenance of internal financial controls and procedures as they pertain to systems and automated procedures
  • Department Backup: Serve as a backup for other positions within the accounting department

10. Financial Systems Manager Tasks

  • Ledger Configuration: Oversees the configuration of the company’s general ledger, sub-ledgers, and reconciliation tool to ensure accurate and timely reporting
  • Subledger Collaboration: Works with various subledger owners throughout the organization to understand the impacts of various processing on the general ledger and reporting
  • Data Troubleshooting: Troubleshoots, researches, and documents data integrations, file transfers, and data integrity issues
  • Variance Resolution: Troubleshoots variances between reports, reconciles sources, and ensures appropriate escalation, issue identification, and documentation
  • Financial Coordination: Coordinates and conducts various daily, monthly, and quarterly financial activities
  • File Processing: Responsible for the overall processing of nightly subledger files into the general ledger and the ultimate balancing of those files
  • IT Liaison: Acts as the primary contact with the IT department for efficient processing
  • Product Implementation: Serves as the primary liaison for new products and the implementation of those products on the general ledger
  • Daily Reporting: Responsible for the configuration of daily reporting of loan and deposit balances to the company as well as executive management
  • Regulatory Reporting: Works with the Financial Reporting Managers to configure reporting for SEC, FRB, and FDIC reporting
  • Board Reporting: Assists in the preparation and delivery of periodic reports to the Board of Directors
  • Spreadsheet Compliance: Department lead on compliance with the critical spreadsheets' corporate policy
  • Reporting Consistency: Leads consistency efforts for the department for the existing and new spreadsheets
  • Internal Controls: Facilitates compliance with internal audit, Sarbanes-Oxley, and all issues associated with maintaining a strong internal controls environment
  • Audit Coordination: Coordinates with SOX testing, internal audit, external audit, FRB, and FDIC examination teams
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