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Senior director of finance vs finance manager

The differences between senior directors of finance and finance managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a senior director of finance and a finance manager. Additionally, a senior director of finance has an average salary of $137,505, which is higher than the $101,374 average annual salary of a finance manager.

The top three skills for a senior director of finance include SR, business development and financial management. The most important skills for a finance manager are financial analysis, CPA, and customer service.

Senior director of finance vs finance manager overview

Senior Director Of FinanceFinance Manager
Yearly salary$137,505$101,374
Hourly rate$66.11$48.74
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs98,470125,345
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age4646
Years of experience88

What does a senior director of finance do?

The senior director of finance is responsible for the company's financial wellness. Finance directors are constituents of the senior executive team that incorporate operational and strategic roles, maintain accounting and financial control functions, and set up a financial strategy for the continued profitable growth of the business. Their responsibilities include supervising financial operations, managing and providing ongoing training to accounting personnel, and conducting the weekly and monthly financial evaluation. Also, the director will initiate budgets, allocate funds for capital projects, create annual financial plans and projections, as well as conduct an evaluation of financial risks and benefits on a business enterprise.

What does a finance manager do?

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.

Senior director of finance vs finance manager salary

Senior directors of finance and finance managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Director Of FinanceFinance Manager
Average salary$137,505$101,374
Salary rangeBetween $88,000 And $212,000Between $71,000 And $144,000
Highest paying CityFoster City, CANew York, NY
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew York
Best paying companyMayo ClinicBarclays
Best paying industryPharmaceuticalFinance

Differences between senior director of finance and finance manager education

There are a few differences between a senior director of finance and a finance manager in terms of educational background:

Senior Director Of FinanceFinance Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorAccountingBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Senior director of finance vs finance manager demographics

Here are the differences between senior directors of finance' and finance managers' demographics:

Senior Director Of FinanceFinance Manager
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 74.5% Female, 25.5%Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 10.1% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%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%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between senior director of finance and finance manager duties and responsibilities

Senior director of finance example responsibilities.

  • Project manage the successful implementation of Hyperion Essbase upgrade from Hyperion FM, managing cross functional resources across multiple geographies.
  • Maximize returns and limit risks by managing treasury and investment balances daily.
  • Establish, manage and monitor accounting and finance duties including the annual operating budget, financial statements and account reconciliations.
  • Ensure internal controls, GAAP and SOX compliance, as well as interfaced with internal and external audit reviews.
  • Coordinate information for external auditors and CPA firm for quarterly/annual tax/audit.
  • Direct the companywide planning process and implement a new Hyperion planning system.
  • Show more

Finance manager example 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.
  • Show more

Senior director of finance vs finance manager skills

Common senior director of finance skills
  • SR, 10%
  • Business Development, 8%
  • Financial Management, 8%
  • Strategic Direction, 8%
  • Executive Management, 7%
  • RFP, 7%
Common finance manager skills
  • Financial Analysis, 7%
  • CPA, 7%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Hyperion, 4%
  • Financial Models, 4%
  • Strong Analytical, 4%

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