What does a finance administrator do?
A finance administrator is responsible for supporting the financial operations of an organization, handling the accuracy of financial transactions, and resolving discrepancies in the company's financial statements. Finance administrators analyze the company's financial performance, including its losses and revenues, writing financial reports, and providing recommendations for cost-reduction processes to minimize financial risks. They also handle the allocation of departmental budgets, assist in tax audits, and process invoices and payroll release. A finance administrator must have excellent analytical skills and an extensive knowledge of the financial industry.
Finance administrator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real finance administrator resumes:
- Manage the design and implementation of appropriate controls as per Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and internal corporate procedures.
- Manage key logistics and secure necessary resources within budget constraints.
- Monitor all transactions in assign inventory finance portfolio to manage invoice funding approval decision.
- Do A/P, A/R and G/L.
- Prepare daily, weekly and monthly reports including fund loans, commissions, titles, A/P & A/R.
- Assist families with Medicaid applications.
- Ensure the optimization of administrative and logistics.
- Update QuickBooks software for improve efficiency and accuracy.
- Proofread newsletters and bulletins.prepare sermon outlines and PowerPoint presentations.
- Provide advisory services in investment banking and portfolio management.
- Provide administrative oversight and accounting functions for assign government projects.
- Research patient insurance, Medicaid, Medicare eligibility via RelayHealth RevRunner.
- Support company events by creating PowerPoint presentations, organizational charts, and financial spreadsheets.
- Perform inventory reconciliations, prepare and enter all physical and cycle count inventory adjustments.
- Reduce operational and administrative costs by implementing an ERP solution nationwide for the department.
Finance administrator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 17% of Finance Administrators are proficient in Customer Service, Financial Aid, and PowerPoint. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Finance Administrators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 17%
Supervised staff of 22 including administrative, technical, customer service, professional sales and telemarketing personnel.
- Financial Aid, 12%
Conducted financial aid interviews, which included counseling students on available funding and assisting in completion of applications with required documentation.
- PowerPoint, 7%
Developed innovative PowerPoint presentation used by the Financial Aid Department to market executive support programs to potential students.
- Rehabilitation, 7%
Served as the Certifying Officer for Veteran Students including Vocational Rehabilitation.
- Balance Sheet, 4%
Reconciled and maintained balance sheet accounts, prepared journal entries, oversaw monthly closings and preparation of monthly financial statements
- Human Resources, 4%
Handled human resources, payroll and accounts receivable pending completion of department configurations.
Most finance administrators use their skills in "customer service," "financial aid," and "powerpoint" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential finance administrator responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a finance administrator to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "to assist executives in making decisions, financial managers need to evaluate data and information that affects their organization." Finance administrators often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provide administrative and data entry support to our finance systems manager and operations manager. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling finance administrator duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "financial managers must be able to explain and justify complex financial transactions." According to a finance administrator resume, here's how finance administrators can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "maintain communication with clients, customer service and other support staff. "
Organizational skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of finance administrators is organizational skills. This skill is critical to many everyday finance administrator duties, as "because financial managers deal with a range of information and documents, they must have structures in place to be effective in their work." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "prepared timely and accurate recording of all financial transactions in line with organizational and donor requirements and deadlines. "
Detail oriented. finance administrator responsibilities often require "detail oriented." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "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." This resume example shows what finance administrators do with detail oriented on a typical day: "reconcile multiple inter-related non-profit accounts; perform detailed analysis of financial data. "
Math skills. A commonly-found skill in finance administrator job descriptions, "math skills" is essential to what finance administrators do. Finance administrator responsibilities rely on this skill because "financial managers need strong skills in certain branches of mathematics, including algebra." You can also see how finance administrator duties rely on math skills in this resume example: "conducted quantitative analysis of financial data to forecast revenue, identified future trends to assess risk associated with capital expenditures. "
The three companies that hire the most finance administrators are:
- Advantage Solutions28 finance administrators jobs
- Reyes Holdings7 finance administrators jobs
- Children's National Medical Center7 finance administrators jobs
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Compare different finance administrators
Finance administrator vs. Accountant
An accountant is an individual whose primary task is to prepare, keep, examine, and interpret financial records. Most accountants are in charge of a wide scope of finance-related tasks, either for private individuals or for large-scale businesses and organizations they are employed with. They make sure that financial statements and records are accurate and comply with laws and regulations. They also compute for taxes, prepare tax returns, and ensure being paid properly and on time. As they keep track and record the flow of money, they can offer guidance on how to reduce costs, enhance revenue, and help in profit maximization.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a finance administrator are more likely to require skills like "financial aid," "powerpoint," "rehabilitation," and "strong computer." On the other hand, a job as an accountant requires skills like "account reconciliations," "payroll tax returns," "balance sheet accounts," and "accruals." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Accountants really shine in the technology industry with an average salary of $60,365. Comparatively, finance administrators tend to make the most money in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $59,847.The education levels that accountants earn slightly differ from finance administrators. In particular, accountants are 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a finance administrator. Additionally, they're 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Finance administrator vs. Assistant director of finance
An assistant director of finance is responsible for overseeing the financial activities of a company, ensuring accuracy and smooth workflow. They are also in charge of implementing company policies and regulations, creating new ones as needed while coordinating with the director. Moreover, an assistant director of finance may perform audits and risk assessments, allocate budgets and schedules, coordinate with different departments to gather necessary data, and create new strategies to optimize the workflow and the performance of the workforce.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, finance administrator responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "powerpoint," "rehabilitation," "strong computer," and "balance sheet." Meanwhile, an assistant director of finance has duties that require skills in areas such as "payroll," "cash control," "cash management," and "financial results." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, assistant directors of finance earn a higher salary than finance administrators. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, assistant directors of finance earn the most pay in the utilities industry with an average salary of $103,042. Whereas finance administrators have higher pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $59,847.In general, assistant directors of finance achieve higher levels of education than finance administrators. They're 6.9% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Finance administrator vs. Administrative & finance manager
An administrative and finance manager handles a company's expenditures, requests, invoices, and other financial documentation. Their primary duty is to oversee a finance team's daily work. Additionally, they must coordinate financial staff, ensure that orders from management are carried out, complete the company's financial statements, and provide tax data for the legal department.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, finance administrators are more likely to have skills like "customer service," "financial aid," "powerpoint," and "rehabilitation." But a administrative & finance manager is more likely to have skills like "payroll processing," "oversight," "administrative procedures," and "general ledger."
Administrative & finance managers earn the highest salary when working in the insurance industry, where they receive an average salary of $92,645. Comparatively, finance administrators have the highest earning potential in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $59,847.Most administrative & finance managers achieve a higher degree level compared to finance administrators. For example, they're 8.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Finance administrator vs. Finance internship
A finance intern generally provides basic assistance on the financial institution while learning of its operations and complexities. Finance interns should be highly attentive on observing processes, assessing financial reports, familiarizing on records management, and supporting data entry procedures. Financial internships provide the best training grounds for interns who wanted to pursue a career in the financial industry. Financial interns, depending on the organization, will be given regular work assignments to practice their analytical and statistical skills which are very crucial in the financial system industry.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between finance administrators and finance interns, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a finance administrator might have more use for skills like "customer service," "financial aid," "powerpoint," and "rehabilitation." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of finance interns require skills like "risk management," "internal audit," "power bi," and "math. "
In general, finance interns earn the most working in the telecommunication industry, with an average salary of $40,365. The highest-paying industry for a finance administrator is the manufacturing industry.In general, finance interns hold similar degree levels compared to finance administrators. Finance interns are 0.4% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of finance administrator
Updated January 8, 2025
