What does a finance vice president do?
The vice president of finance is one of the highest-ranking executives in a company. He/She or she works under the chief financial officer, and both have similar duties that are often interchangeable. This executive's primary function is to oversee the company's financial records and project future financial plans and investments. The finance vice president ensures that the company's finances are managed suitably and effectively. This role's responsibilities include leading the team towards achieving the company's financial mission, monitoring the financial performance, preparing and presenting financial reports, and conducting audits on financial expenditures, assets, and liabilities.
Finance vice president responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real finance vice president resumes:
- Manage day-to-day operation of cash function, as part of earlier treasury department responsibilities, originally heading general accounting responsibilities.
- Key functions manage included cash management, treasury operations, corporate finance, financial/commodity hedging, credit and international trade finance.
- Lead implementation of new worldwide consolidation system, Hyperion, significantly reducing closing time and improving controls over the consolidation process.
- Implement new policy and procedures for PFS department.
- Spearhead department-wide conversion of the PFS office to a completely paperless system.
- Lead in assessment and provide recommendations on government healthcare regulations and reimbursement implications.
- Design communication of departmental policies, payment plans and collection criteria for patients.
- Maintain an update knowledge of healthcare industry medical coding, AMA and federal guidelines and medical terminology.
- Develop necessary reports to identify eligible patients and define the process to appropriately bill for these services.
- Prepare monthly financial statements with commentary, coordinate tax filings with CPA and prepare annual government contracting compliance reports.
- Implement electronic timekeeping system, as well as, execute electronic reporting of semi-monthly payroll processing and labor reporting.
- Implement GAAP reporting including software revenue recognition, capitalize software, defer revenue and compensation, management reporting and forecasting.
- Develop comprehensive business model to evaluate strategic investments; plan and provide financial oversight of delivery expansion into Poland and India.
- Full finance responsibility for the business unit including financial statement management, planning and analysis, credit oversight and investment evaluations.
- Prepare consolidated/consolidating financial statements in accordance with GAAP; overseeing regulatory interpretation, reporting, tax planning, and tax compliance.
Finance vice president skills and personality traits
We calculated that 6% of Finance Vice Presidents are proficient in CPA, Financial Analysis, and Oversight. They’re also known for soft skills such as Math skills, Organizational skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Finance Vice Presidents that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- CPA, 6%
Prepared monthly financial statements with commentary, coordinated tax filings with CPA and prepared annual government contracting compliance reports.
- Financial Analysis, 5%
Performed statistical/financial analysis of Consolidated Financial Statements.
- Oversight, 5%
Developed comprehensive business model to evaluate strategic investments; planned and provided financial oversight of delivery expansion into Poland and India.
- Risk Management, 5%
Re-organized and upgraded finance team to more effectively perform internal controls and financial reporting compliance, risk management and financial planning.
- Due Diligence, 3%
Coordinated financial and operational due diligence on 20 completed acquisitions; performed analysis of potential acquisitions, successfully integrated financial functions.
- GAAP, 3%
Prepared consolidated/consolidating financial statements in accordance with GAAP; overseeing regulatory interpretation, reporting, tax planning, and tax compliance.
Common skills that a finance vice president uses to do their job include "cpa," "financial analysis," and "oversight." You can find details on the most important finance vice president responsibilities below.
Math skills. One of the key soft skills for a finance vice president to have is math skills. You can see how this relates to what finance vice presidents do because "financial managers need strong skills in certain branches of mathematics, including algebra." Additionally, a finance vice president resume shows how finance vice presidents use math skills: "integrated key financial data to it and operations, to enhance quantitative and qualitative analytics. "
Organizational skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling finance vice president duties is organizational skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "because financial managers deal with a range of information and documents, they must have structures in place to be effective in their work." According to a finance vice president resume, here's how finance vice presidents can utilize organizational skills in their job responsibilities: "ensured alignment between organizational goals and revenue planning, providing financial analysis and evaluation on performance and operations. "
Analytical skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of finance vice presidents is analytical skills. This skill is critical to many everyday finance vice president duties, as "to assist executives in making decisions, financial managers need to evaluate data and information that affects their organization." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "acted as right hand person to the ceo in several areas (product pricing/profitability/and deal analysis/investor relations and supply-chain management). "
Detail oriented. For certain finance vice president responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "detail oriented." The day-to-day duties of a finance vice president rely on this skill, as "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." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what finance vice presidents do: "prepared detailed analytics and metrics utilizing information extracted from navision erp system. "
Communication skills. Another common skill required for finance vice president responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of finance vice presidents all the time, as "financial managers must be able to explain and justify complex financial transactions." An excerpt from a real finance vice president resume shows how this skill is central to what a finance vice president does: "prepared investor relations presentations including earnings release and other communications. "
The three companies that hire the most finance vice presidents are:
- JPMorgan Chase & Co.107 finance vice presidents jobs
- Charles Schwab63 finance vice presidents jobs
- Change Healthcare52 finance vice presidents jobs
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Compare different finance vice presidents
Finance vice president vs. 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. Moreover, a director of administration & finance leads staff and supervises all operations, solving issues and concerns if any would arise.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, finance vice president responsibilities require skills like "business development," "human resources," "treasury," and "rehabilitation." Meanwhile a typical director of administration & finance has skills in areas such as "reconciliations," "grants management," "human resource functions," and "budget preparation." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Directors of administration & finance tend to make the most money working in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $117,977. In contrast, finance vice presidents make the biggest average salary, $149,254, in the manufacturing industry.On average, directors of administration & finance reach similar levels of education than finance vice presidents. Directors of administration & finance are 1.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Finance vice president vs. 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. Furthermore, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that finance vice president responsibilities requires skills like "treasury," "rehabilitation," "securities," and "strong analytical." But a director of operations and finance might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "project management," "reconciliations," "shared services," and "business processes."
Directors of operations and finance may earn a lower salary than finance vice presidents, but directors of operations and finance earn the most pay in the automotive industry with an average salary of $126,734. On the other hand, finance vice presidents receive higher pay in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $149,254.In general, directors of operations and finance achieve similar levels of education than finance vice presidents. They're 2.6% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for finance vice presidents in the next 3-5 years?
Nate Peach Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Economics, George Fox University
Finance vice president vs. Chief finance and operating officer
A Chief Finance and Operating Officer is a senior executive who is part of the management team that manages the financial actions of an organization. This executive must produce financial statements to communicate results with shareholders and stakeholders of the organization. They must revise all their financial policies and procedures to strengthen internal controls and ensure the continuance of work to accommodate rapid growth. They must also establish cross-functional alliances to assist the effectiveness of the organization's marketing and business development initiatives.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from finance vice president resumes include skills like "treasury," "rehabilitation," "securities," and "strong analytical," whereas a chief finance and operating officer is more likely to list skills in "financial statements," "regulatory compliance," "r," and "business operations. "
Chief finance and operating officers earn the highest salary when working in the internet industry, where they receive an average salary of $163,246. Comparatively, finance vice presidents have the highest earning potential in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $149,254.chief finance and operating officers typically earn similar educational levels compared to finance vice presidents. Specifically, they're 2.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Finance vice president vs. Senior finance manager
A senior finance manager is an individual who supervises financial department staff members as well as monitors the daily financial operations within a company. Senior finance managers must keep track of the financial status and performance of the company so that they can identify areas for potential improvement. They review financial data and prepare reports to be presented to the management to help them in their business decision making. Senior finance managers must also maintain policies within the company and should have a deep understanding of financial regulations and legislations.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between finance vice presidents and senior finance managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a finance vice president might have more use for skills like "cpa," "oversight," "risk management," and "human resources." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of senior finance managers require skills like "sr," "excellent interpersonal," "shared services," and "business performance. "
The professional industry tends to pay the highest salaries for senior finance managers, with average annual pay of $134,362. Comparatively, the highest finance vice president annual salary comes from the manufacturing industry.senior finance managers reach higher levels of education compared to finance vice presidents, in general. The difference is that they're 8.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of finance vice president
Updated January 8, 2025
