Post job

Finance manager vs finance director

The differences between finance managers and finance directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a finance manager and a finance director. Additionally, a finance director has an average salary of $118,518, which is higher than the $101,374 average annual salary of a finance manager.

The top three skills for a finance manager include financial analysis, CPA and customer service. The most important skills for a finance director are CPA, financial analysis, and payroll.

Finance manager vs finance director overview

Finance ManagerFinance Director
Yearly salary$101,374$118,518
Hourly rate$48.74$56.98
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs125,34590,012
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age4646
Years of experience88

What does a finance manager do?

A finance manager is responsible for monitoring the financial system of a company. Their tasks include handling their organization's financial status, generating cost estimates and budget goals, identifying business opportunities to increase revenues and profitability, improving financial strategies, reducing costs, analyzing account statements, processing invoice as needed, analyzing market trends, searching potential partnerships, and presenting reports. A finance manager must have excellent analytical skills and knowledge of the accounting and financial industry. They are responsible for providing the best recommendations for the organization's growth.

What does a finance director do?

A finance director's role is to oversee all financial activities and aspects of a company or organization. One of their duties is to gather necessary financial data and cultivate reports on essential matters such as revenue and budget, provide risk assessments and estimates, implement vital policies, and allocate funds within the company. Furthermore, a finance director must also devise strategies and recommend innovative methods for financial gains, while in adherence to the organization's policies and regulations.

Finance manager vs finance director salary

Finance managers and finance directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Finance ManagerFinance Director
Average salary$101,374$118,518
Salary rangeBetween $71,000 And $144,000Between $76,000 And $183,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYPalo Alto, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkCalifornia
Best paying companyBarclaysMeta
Best paying industryFinanceManufacturing

Differences between finance manager and finance director education

There are a few differences between a finance manager and a finance director in terms of educational background:

Finance ManagerFinance Director
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common majorBusinessAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Finance manager vs finance director demographics

Here are the differences between finance managers' and finance directors' demographics:

Finance ManagerFinance Director
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 60.0% Female, 40.0%Male, 65.1% Female, 34.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 10.2% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 9.4% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between finance manager and finance director duties and responsibilities

Finance manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage the preparation of monthly reporting packs and board presentations with robust variance analysis, commentaries and forward looking KPIs.
  • Manage a team of sales persons, business managers, sales manager, A/R, A/P, and general managers.
  • Lead successful sales team and provide direct oversight on overall dealership business profitability.
  • Manage accounts payable/receivable, deposits, payroll preparation, purchasing and inventory management, liaison to accountant.
  • Oversee financial analysis, financial audits, G/L, A/R, A/P and fixed-asset accounting in accordance with GAAP standards.
  • Execute simple SQL queries to validate data in tables.
  • Show more

Finance director example responsibilities.

  • Manage treasury functions considering the inflationary situation and changes in economic patterns to minimize any negative impact they may involve.
  • Improve internal controls and operating efficiency by training accountants and converting general ledger reconciliations to GAAP formats.
  • Prepare financial data and footnotes for independent CPA annual audit financial statements.
  • Develop financial models in Hyperion to aggregate sales data and allocate expenses for profitability analysis.
  • Complete Sarbanes-Oxley procedural requirements for entire incentive development, administration and reporting process.
  • Develop an electronic billing capacity and are the first Montana health care provider to bill Medicaid electronically.
  • Show more

Finance manager vs finance director skills

Common finance manager skills
  • Financial Analysis, 7%
  • CPA, 7%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Hyperion, 4%
  • Financial Models, 4%
  • Strong Analytical, 4%
Common finance director skills
  • CPA, 7%
  • Financial Analysis, 6%
  • Payroll, 4%
  • Work Ethic, 4%
  • Oversight, 4%
  • Financial Management, 4%

Browse executive management jobs