What does a fiscal officer do?
Fiscal officer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real fiscal officer resumes:
- Manage procurement functions deposits, journals and fund transfers in PeopleSoft for department.
- Manage A/R of roughly 3 million dollars each fiscal year and disburse into three funding streams.
- Establish investment objectives to efficiently manage IPO proceeds within state risk parameters.
- Supervise two employees and the reconciliation of the subsidiary ledgers: A/P, A/R, payroll and all human resource issues.
- Prepare cash management report and maintain reconciliations and journal entries.
- Set up district outstanding debt payment ACH wires.
- Reconcile and analyze accuracy of subsidiary and general ledger entries in AFRS.
- Compile and provide monthly expenditure analysis and year end expenses using GAAP techniques.
- Perform internal control, premium tax, and tax audits and verify compliance in accordance with GAAP.
- Work with the agency's CPA monthly/quarterly/yearly and other financial projects need to prepare for the yearly budget.
- Work with outside CPA's, auditors, and financial consultants to ensure smooth audit and tax processes.
- Review and analysis of audit documents, contracts, disbursements and payroll in accordance with the appropriate compliance regulations.
- Perform general accounts analysis and reconciliation, including bank statements and accruals.
- Support fiscal oversight and budget management support in compliance with program procurement policies.
- Compile periodic reports, reconciliations and other fiscal data as requested by management.
Fiscal officer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Fiscal Officers are proficient in Oversight, Payroll Taxes, and Financial Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Fiscal Officers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Oversight, 8%
Provided budgetary guidance and managerial oversight for four subordinate unit Supply Officers.
- Payroll Taxes, 7%
Prepared A/R, A/P, G/L, bank reconciliation, payroll, payroll taxes and bid proposals.
- Financial Management, 6%
Developed overall policies and procedures for cash, credit management, departmental budgeting, financial reporting, and financial management systems.
- Fiscal Management, 6%
Served in the following roles: Promoted to Patient Financial Services in 2004; promoted to Fiscal Management Officer in 2007.
- Reconciliations, 5%
Compiled periodic reports, reconciliations and other fiscal data as requested by management.
- General Ledger, 4%
Maintained detailed and accurate accounting of general ledger and annual budget.
Common skills that a fiscal officer uses to do their job include "oversight," "payroll taxes," and "financial management." You can find details on the most important fiscal officer responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a fiscal officer to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "to assist executives in making decisions, financial managers need to evaluate data and information that affects their organization." Additionally, a fiscal officer resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "develop the agency s standardized cost analysis as a tool for program budget development. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling fiscal officer duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "financial managers must be able to explain and justify complex financial transactions." According to a fiscal officer resume, here's how fiscal officers can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "assisted with front office duties, including client communication and collecting payments, and data entry of surveys. "
Organizational skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of fiscal officers is organizational skills. This skill is critical to many everyday fiscal officer duties, as "because financial managers deal with a range of information and documents, they must have structures in place to be effective in their work." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "manage organizational cash flow and forecasting. "
Detail oriented. A big part of what fiscal officers do relies on "detail oriented." You can see how essential it is to fiscal officer responsibilities because "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." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical fiscal officer tasks: "provided detailed financial reports for co-directors including revenues, expenditures and projections. "
Math skills. Another crucial skill for a fiscal officer to carry out their responsibilities is "math skills." A big part of what fiscal officers relies on this skill, since "financial managers need strong skills in certain branches of mathematics, including algebra." How this skill relates to fiscal officer duties can be seen in an example from a fiscal officer resume snippet: "forecasted and projected future earnings, balanced multiple bank reconciliations and analyzed patient care statistics for physician practice. "
The three companies that hire the most fiscal officers are:
- Michigan State University3 fiscal officers jobs
- Randstad North America, Inc.1 fiscal officers jobs
- Portland State University1 fiscal officers jobs
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Compare different fiscal officers
Fiscal officer vs. Controller/business manager
A controller/business manager is responsible for evaluating the overall business and financial transactions in an organization. Controller/business managers conduct data and statistical analysis on market performance and identify opportunities that would generate more revenue resources for the business. They also strategize efficient techniques and processes to maximize the staff's productivity and performance in delivering high-quality outputs for customer satisfaction. A controller/business manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills, especially in the smart allocation of budget and resources for project management procedures.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, fiscal officer responsibilities require skills like "fiscal management," "grants management," "fiscal policies," and "budget preparation." Meanwhile a typical controller/business manager has skills in areas such as "project management," "business controller," "enterprise risk management," and "business management." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Controller/business managers tend to make the most money working in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $107,101. In contrast, fiscal officers make the biggest average salary, $57,010, in the technology industry.controller/business managers tend to reach similar levels of education than fiscal officers. In fact, controller/business managers are 2.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Fiscal officer vs. Corporate controller
A corporate controller is an individual who is responsible for supervising the overall daily accounting operations of an organization. Integral to the financial health of the organization, corporate controllers are required to help the organization with strategic financial decisions through forecasting reports and financial statements. They oversee maintaining accounting records by keeping and storing them in an operable system. Corporate controllers are also required to manage the accounting operations of the organization's subsidiaries.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real fiscal officer resumes. While fiscal officer responsibilities can utilize skills like "payroll taxes," "fiscal management," "grants management," and "fiscal policies," corporate controllers use skills like "payroll," "cash management," "treasury," and "close process."
On average, corporate controllers earn a higher salary than fiscal officers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, corporate controllers earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $141,530. Whereas fiscal officers have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $57,010.corporate controllers earn similar levels of education than fiscal officers in general. They're 4.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Fiscal officer vs. Comptroller
A project controller is responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of project management procedures, ensuring that the team adheres to the clients' specifications and requirements, and keeping all project resources and deliverables within the budget goals and set timeframe. Project controllers determine the progress of the project and coordinate the updates to the client, adjusting the project approach as needed to achieve high-quality standards and objectives. They also maintain an organized report of expenditures, as well as generating process reports to identify potential process improvement techniques that will maximize operational efficiency.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a fiscal officer is likely to be skilled in "oversight," "fiscal management," "general ledger," and "grants management," while a typical comptroller is skilled in "general ledger accounts," "tax returns," "accounts receivables," and "sales tax."
Comptrollers earn the highest salary when working in the hospitality industry, where they receive an average salary of $81,576. Comparatively, fiscal officers have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $57,010.comptrollers typically earn similar educational levels compared to fiscal officers. Specifically, they're 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Fiscal officer vs. Projects controller
Even though a few skill sets overlap between fiscal officers and projects controllers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a fiscal officer might have more use for skills like "oversight," "payroll taxes," "fiscal management," and "general ledger." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of projects controllers require skills like "project management," "project controller," "earned value management," and "project cost. "
In general, projects controllers earn the most working in the finance industry, with an average salary of $87,904. The highest-paying industry for a fiscal officer is the technology industry.In general, projects controllers hold similar degree levels compared to fiscal officers. Projects controllers are 3.8% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of fiscal officer
Updated January 8, 2025
