How to hire a finance manager

How to hire a finance manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step finance manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a finance manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new finance manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a finance manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a finance manager, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a finance manager to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a finance manager that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of finance managers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Finance Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Finance Manager	Financial managers are responsible for the financial health of an organization. They produce financial reports, direct investment activities, and develop strategies and plans for the long-term financial goals of their organization.	$34-69
   Director Of Administration & Finance	A director of administration finance oversees and directs an organization's administration and finance department, ensuring operations run smoothly and efficiently according to company standards and regulations. It is their duty to set goals and guidelines, lead the research and development efforts, establish procedures, manage the budgets and costs, review and evaluate financial reports, and implement the organizations' policies and standards... Show more	$35-77
   Director Of Operations And Finance	A director of operations and finance is in charge of overseeing and spearheading business and financial operations, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to identify the best practices to optimize operations, coordinating with different departments to gather data, conducting research and analysis to identify new business and investment opportunities, and monitoring the progress of various projects and programs... Show more	$37-87

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Financial Analysis
   • CPA
   • Customer Service
   • Hyperion
   • Financial Models
   • Strong Analytical
   • Work Ethic
   • GAAP
   • Financial Data
   • Payroll
   • Balance Sheet
   • Variance Analysis
   • Financial Management
   • Financial Performance

   Check all skills

   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.

   More finance manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your finance manager job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A finance manager can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, finance managers' average salary in alaska is 41% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level finance managers 51% less than senior-level finance managers.
   • Certifications. A finance manager with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a finance manager's salary.

   Average finance manager salary

   $101,374yearly

   $48.74 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level finance manager salary

   $71,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 24, 2025

   Average finance manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$119,136	$57
   2	California	$114,595	$55
   3	New Jersey	$108,667	$52
   4	Massachusetts	$107,865	$52
   5	Connecticut	$107,723	$52
   6	Washington	$106,214	$51
   7	Virginia	$99,919	$48
   8	District of Columbia	$99,240	$48
   9	Pennsylvania	$99,229	$48
   10	Maryland	$98,267	$47
   11	Wisconsin	$95,130	$46
   12	Oregon	$94,445	$45
   13	Michigan	$93,501	$45
   14	Illinois	$93,102	$45
   15	Minnesota	$92,356	$44
   16	Ohio	$92,095	$44
   17	North Carolina	$90,986	$44
   18	Arizona	$90,112	$43
   19	Nevada	$89,387	$43
   20	Indiana	$88,744	$43

   Average finance manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Barclays	$199,817	$96.07	3
   2	BNP Paribas	$189,712	$91.21
   3	Pacific Investment Management Company LLC	$187,238	$90.02	15
   4	The Carlyle Group	$186,456	$89.64	2
   5	Shenzhen Capital Group	$185,973	$89.41
   6	Evercore	$185,477	$89.17
   7	Deutsche Bank	$182,711	$87.84	39
   8	Credit Suisse	$182,176	$87.58
   9	Nomura Securities	$181,801	$87.40	10
   10	Aspiration	$179,885	$86.48
   11	Francisco Partners	$177,514	$85.34
   12	Commerzbank Ag	$177,330	$85.25
   13	NVIDIA	$175,907	$84.57	11
   14	Orrick	$175,171	$84.22
   15	Meta	$174,293	$83.79	38
   16	Bridgewater Associates	$173,660	$83.49	2
   17	MUFG EMEA	$173,298	$83.32
   18	Citi	$172,725	$83.04	36
   19	Goldman Sachs	$171,816	$82.60	23
   20	Leumi	$171,040	$82.23

4. Writing a finance manager job description

   A job description for a finance manager role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a finance manager job description:

   Finance manager job description example

   Comcast brings together the best in media and technology. We drive innovation to create the world's best entertainment and online experiences. As a Fortune 50 leader, we set the pace in a variety of innovative and fascinating businesses and create career opportunities across a wide range of locations and disciplines. We are at the forefront of change and move at an amazing pace, thanks to our remarkable people, who bring cutting-edge products and services to life for millions of customers every day. If you share in our passion for teamwork, our vision to revolutionize industries and our goal to lead the future in media and technology, we want you to fast-forward your career at Comcast.
   
   This opportunity is at FreeWheel, a Comcast Company. Responsible for providing financial planning, analysis and reporting in support of the FreeWheel organization. Prepares consolidated financial statements and analysis. Provides financial reporting to senior leadership analyzing performance and key metrics to support strategic decisions, objectives, and resource allocations.
   Job Description
   Core Responsibilities
   Manage key FP&A processes for FreeWheel, including annual budgeting, monthly forecasting, long-range planning, monthly close coordination with Accounting, and variance analysis.Provide FreeWheel consolidated financial analysis, forecasting, and reporting to executive management.Leads the preparation and review of budget materials for the FreeWheel executive team and manages on-going reporting against budget and plan objectives.Participates in budgeting and long-range financial planning, including setting base case, communicating assumptions, coordinating planning process and timeline, and consolidating inputs.Analyze and review monthly P&L results and variance explanations, preparing commentary against budget and prior periods for FreeWheel.Maintain and enhance the P&L reporting tool as well as build out dashboards in Tableau for additional analysis & presentation of financial results.Drive process improvements and proactively develop ways to improve the speed and accuracy in the forecasting and budget process for both revenue and expenses.Performs financial modeling for key projects and business decisions. Assists in the development of strategic plans for existing, new, or proposed business operations.Compares financial results to planned or forecasted results and recommends future actions. Analyzes the ongoing profitability of all new businesses and/or programs entered into by FreeWheel.Consistent exercise of independent judgment and discretion in matters of significance.Regular, consistent and punctual attendance. Must be able to work nights and weekends, variable schedule(s) and overtime as necessary.Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.
   
   Employees at all levels are expected to:
   Understand our Operating Principles; make them the guidelines for how you do your job.Own the customer experience - think and act in ways that put our customers first, give them seamless digital options at every touchpoint, and make them promoters of our products and services.Know your stuff - be enthusiastic learners, users and advocates of our game-changing technology, products and services, especially our digital tools and experiences.Win as a team - make big things happen by working together and being open to new ideas.Be an active part of the Net Promoter System - a way of working that brings more employee and customer feedback into the company - by joining huddles, making call backs and helping us elevate opportunities to do better for our customers.Drive results and growth.Respect and promote inclusion & diversity.Do what's right for each other, our customers, investors and our communities.
   
   We believe that benefits should connect you to the support you need when it matters most, and should help you care for those who matter most. That's why we provide an array of options, expert guidance and always-on tools that are personalized to meet the needs of your reality-to help support you physically, financially and emotionally through the big milestones and in your everyday life.
   Please visit the benefits summary on our careers site for more details.
   
   Education
   Bachelor's Degree
   
   While possessing the stated degree is preferred, Comcast also may consider applicants who hold some combination of coursework and experience, or who have extensive related professional experience.
   
   Certifications (if applicable)
   
   Relative Work Experience
   5-7 Years
   
   Comcast is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We will consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right finance manager for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your finance manager job on Zippia to find and recruit finance manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with finance manager candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new finance manager

   Once you've selected the best finance manager candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new finance manager. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a finance manager?