What does a director of accounting & finance do?
A director of accounting and finance is in charge of overseeing all financial activities and decisions in a company and supervising its workforce. Their responsibilities revolve around spearheading the development of financial plans and strategies, coordinating with analysts and consultants, gathering and analyzing financial data, and reporting all sales progress to executives through documents and presentations. They must also set goals and objectives, allocate budgets to different departments, prepare comprehensive sales forecasts, and lead employees while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Director of accounting & finance responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real director of accounting & finance resumes:
- Implement the firm's financial policy while managing day to day accounting and oversight of accounting staff and financial vendors.
- Manage ERP implementation for both development and general construction operations.
- Lead business validation process to produce accurate and timely portfolio consolidation results while ensuring favorable audit and SOX compliance opinions.
- Manage financial accounting and reporting for all client entities, including consolidations and inter-company reconciliations, with recommendations for process improvements.
- Champion and manage the integration of account reconciliation software to improve the efficiency and accuracy of inter-department and company-wide account reconciliations.
- Assist CPA with yearly audit requirements and enter adjusting journal entries.
- Work with outside CPA firm for reviews, audits and corporate tax preparation.
- Provide oversight for all areas of fix asset accounting, including cape-ex and covenant reporting and compliance with policy.
- Prepare GAAP financial statements for consolidation.
- Streamline reporting and transaction entries through ERP automation initiatives.
- Enforce effective treasury management procedures, including timely receivable collections.
- Incorporate international results, determine IFRS versus GAAP differences and identify necessary adjustments.
- Ensure Sarbanes-Oxley compliance through deployment of compliant business controls and procedures for accounting and treasury.
- Monitor payroll allocation and volume, ensuring accuracy while proactively identifying and implementing payroll process improvements.
- Prepare and present all costing information relate to inventory control for regional payroll print and delivery operations.
Director of accounting & finance skills and personality traits
We calculated that 7% of Directors Of Accounting & Finance are proficient in CPA, GAAP, and Internal Controls. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Detail oriented, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Directors Of Accounting & Finance that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- CPA, 7%
Established Foundation as a Public Foundation 501(C)3 with assistance of CPA firm.
- GAAP, 7%
Incorporated international results, determined IFRS versus GAAP differences and identified necessary adjustments.
- Internal Controls, 5%
Developed financial tools, internal controls and systems to provide critical financial and operational information to the chief operations officer.
- Financial Data, 5%
Presented, analyzed and interpreted relevant financial data to the Executive and Senior Management.
- Balance Sheet, 4%
Review monthly balance sheet account reconciliations to ensure any unusual balances or transactions are identified, investigated, and remedied.
- Financial Reports, 4%
Prepared financial statements and other financial reports [annual budgets-sales analysis-operating, general and administrative expenses analysis-credit financing facilities analysis].
Common skills that a director of accounting & finance uses to do their job include "cpa," "gaap," and "internal controls." You can find details on the most important director of accounting & finance responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a director of accounting & finance to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what directors of accounting & finance do because "to assist executives in making decisions, financial managers need to evaluate data and information that affects their organization." Additionally, a director of accounting & finance resume shows how directors of accounting & finance use analytical skills: "maintained and controlled master accounting data in the erp system. "
Detail oriented. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling director of accounting & finance duties is detail oriented. The role rewards competence in this skill because "in preparing and analyzing reports, such as balance sheets and income statements, financial managers must be precise and attentive to their work in order to avoid errors." According to a director of accounting & finance resume, here's how directors of accounting & finance can utilize detail oriented in their job responsibilities: "provided detailed financial analysis of all domestic and foreign operations for senior management. "
Math skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of directors of accounting & finance is math skills. This skill is critical to many everyday director of accounting & finance duties, as "financial managers need strong skills in certain branches of mathematics, including algebra." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "worked directly with cfo to provide monthly financial reporting in accordance with gaap and operating statistics for over forty offices. "
Organizational skills. director of accounting & finance responsibilities often require "organizational skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "because financial managers deal with a range of information and documents, they must have structures in place to be effective in their work." This resume example shows what directors of accounting & finance do with organizational skills on a typical day: "developed cost savings model for 2 organizational restructuring events. "
Communication skills. Another common skill required for director of accounting & finance responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of directors of accounting & finance all the time, as "financial managers must be able to explain and justify complex financial transactions." An excerpt from a real director of accounting & finance resume shows how this skill is central to what a director of accounting & finance does: "implemented sarbanes-oxley program after overseeing the due diligence and subsequent purchase of the company by the l-3 communications corp."
See the full list of director of accounting & finance skills
The three companies that hire the most director of accounting & finances are:
- Marriott International19 directors of accounting & finance jobs
- Proofpoint7 directors of accounting & finance jobs
- Century Group6 directors of accounting & finance jobs
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Compare different directors of accounting & finance
Director of accounting & finance vs. Controller, vice president
A Controller, Vice President is focused on controlling and directing financial planning and budget management. They supervise the daily operations of the finance department, such as financial reporting, accounts payable, and payroll.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between directors of accounting & finance and controller, vice president. For instance, director of accounting & finance responsibilities require skills such as "payroll processing," "asset management," "hyperion," and "account reconciliations." Whereas a controller, vice president is skilled in "payroll," "nyse," "commercial banking," and "regulatory reports." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Controllers, vice president earn the highest salaries when working in the manufacturing industry, with an average yearly salary of $162,621. On the other hand, directors of accounting & finance are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $129,690.controllers, vice president tend to reach similar levels of education than directors of accounting & finance. In fact, controllers, vice president are 2.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Director of accounting & finance vs. Finance vice president
The vice president of finance is one of the highest-ranking executives in a company. He/She or she works under the chief financial officer, and both have similar duties that are often interchangeable. This executive's primary function is to oversee the company's financial records and project future financial plans and investments. The finance vice president ensures that the company's finances are managed suitably and effectively. This role's responsibilities include leading the team towards achieving the company's financial mission, monitoring the financial performance, preparing and presenting financial reports, and conducting audits on financial expenditures, assets, and liabilities.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that director of accounting & finance responsibilities requires skills like "reconciliations," "payroll processing," "asset management," and "close process." But a finance vice president might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "payroll," "rehabilitation," "securities," and "strong analytical."
On average, finance vice presidents earn a higher salary than directors of accounting & finance. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, finance vice presidents earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $149,254. Whereas directors of accounting & finance have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $129,690.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Finance vice presidents tend to reach similar levels of education than directors of accounting & finance. In fact, they're 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Directors of accounting & finance in the next 3-5 years?
Gene Kovacs Ph.D.
Visiting Professor of Accounting Department, Bryant University
Director of accounting & finance vs. Corporate controller
A corporate controller is an individual who is responsible for supervising the overall daily accounting operations of an organization. Integral to the financial health of the organization, corporate controllers are required to help the organization with strategic financial decisions through forecasting reports and financial statements. They oversee maintaining accounting records by keeping and storing them in an operable system. Corporate controllers are also required to manage the accounting operations of the organization's subsidiaries.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a director of accounting & finance is likely to be skilled in "balance sheet," "payroll processing," "asset management," and "hyperion," while a typical corporate controller is skilled in "payroll," "tax compliance," "balance sheet accounts," and "r."
Corporate controllers make a very good living in the manufacturing industry with an average annual salary of $141,530. On the other hand, directors of accounting & finance are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $129,690.Most corporate controllers achieve a similar degree level compared to directors of accounting & finance. For example, they're 2.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of accounting & finance vs. Finance controller
A financial controller is primarily in charge of the daily finance activities and accounting functions of a company. Their responsibilities typically revolve around preparing and organizing financial reports, analyzing data and looking out for any discrepancies or inconsistencies, and overseeing the company's overall revenues and expenditures. A financial controller must also maintain documentation, participate in risk assessment and budgeting activities, and develop strategies for profit growth. Furthermore, one must coordinate with other department staff to ensure accuracy, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Types of director of accounting & finance
Updated January 8, 2025
