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What is a finance officer and how to become one
The finance officer provides financial and administrative support to clients, colleagues, and stakeholders of the company. You will prepare the company's budget, process invoices, and prepare balance sheets. To do this, you must have in-depth knowledge of the organizational products and processes. You will manage the records and receipts while reconciling the daily, monthly, and yearly transactions of the company. All financial disputes raised by the customer service and sales teams of the company will be resolved by you. Most importantly, you will be a key point of contact for other departments of the company on financial and accounting matters.
The educational requirement well suited for the post of finance officer is a university degree in Finance or Economics, Accounting, or any related field. You must be punctual and have high problem-solving skills. You must be able to adapt to different work ethics and be a good team player. Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, are important. The finance officer earns an average of $78,317 a year.
What general advice would you give to a finance officer?
Stephen Moehrle Ph.D.
Professor and Chairman of Accounting, University of Missouri - St. Louis
Most of the above remains true so the only open question is job availability. It would be unrealistic to say things are great. However, it seems that job prospects for accounting majors will be better than for those of virtually every other entry-level profession during difficult times. I have been speaking with firm leaders across the spectrum of firms and most do intend to be on campus in the fall recruiting season. Of course, they have a lot of time to learn more about the economy over the next few months, but we are cautiously optimistic. Again, I am confident that whatever the state of job availability for young CPAs-to-be, prospects will be better for accounting graduates than virtually any other profession.
They will be entering the profession at a fascinating moment in time. Of course, the technological advances assure this regardless of economic conditions. However, there are business disruption-related issues that will provide rich opportunities for making a difference. For example, audit staff will be working with clients to see them through these troubling times. Lamentably, I fear that these young professionals will learn more about the going concern determination than they desire to know. Tax staff will help clients to optimally use the tax loss carrybacks and carryforwards that are arising by the day. Entry level professionals in corporate accounting will get a day-to-day front row seat in business management through crisis. While lamentable times, these are times when young professionals can make a difference that saves jobs.
Avg. Salary $68,822
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 17%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.34%
Asian 10.14%
Black or African American 7.56%
Hispanic or Latino 14.47%
Unknown 4.10%
White 63.40%
Genderfemale 47.29%
male 52.71%
Age - 46American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 46Stress level is very high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is fair
6.4 - fair
Finance officer career paths
Key steps to become a finance officer
Explore finance officer education requirements
Start to develop specific finance officer skills
Skills Percentages Real Estate 28.70% Financial Data 28.64% Origination 22.55% Financial Procedures 1.64% Financial Management 1.59% Complete relevant finance officer training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New finance officers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a finance officer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real finance officer resumes.Research finance officer duties and responsibilities
- Lead financial aspects of unit responsible for development and management of diverse company portfolio.
- Collaborate with insurance company representatives, case managers and physicians to obtain treatment authorization for potential kidney and kidney/pancreas transplant patients.
- Provide medical records to the division as needed while ensuring compliance with HIPAA guidelines.
- Review and sign CAPEX projects and perform payback calculations, ROI analysis, as well as impairment calculations.
Get finance officer experience
Generally, it takes 6-8 years to become a finance officer. The most common roles before becoming a finance officer include accountant, controller team lead and administrative assistant.Prepare your finance officer resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your finance officer resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a finance officer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable finance officer resume templates
Build a professional finance officer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your finance officer resume.
Apply for finance officer jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a finance officer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first finance officer job
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Average finance officer salary
The average finance officer salary in the United States is $68,822 per year or $33 per hour. Finance officer salaries range between $42,000 and $110,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do finance officers rate their job?
Finance officer reviews
Reporting to a CPA Controller or CFO, always learning and not micromanaged. Treated as a professional always.
Business owners that do not know or understand compliance and GAAP, or the patience to follow the rules... generally common in small companies.
It's an office job.
Everything else. Too much anxiety, debts, low sallary (€700/month).
I like when the numbers fall in to place. I enjoy helping clients reach their financial goals. I am great with client consultations. I appreciate the chance to help plan for a client's needs.
I dislike situations where no planning had been done. I am bothered when a client has an accounting problem that could have been avoided by proper planning.
Updated January 8, 2025
