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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 | Finance Director | |
| Yearly salary | $101,374 | $118,518 |
| Hourly rate | $48.74 | $56.98 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 125,345 | 90,012 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
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.
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 managers and finance directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Finance Manager | Finance Director | |
| Average salary | $101,374 | $118,518 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $144,000 | Between $76,000 And $183,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Palo Alto, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Barclays | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a finance manager and a finance director in terms of educational background:
| Finance Manager | Finance Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Business | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between finance managers' and finance directors' demographics:
| Finance Manager | Finance Director | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0% | Male, 65.1% Female, 34.9% |
| Race ratio | Black 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 Percentage | 11% | 11% |