How To Become A Senior Finance Consultant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a senior finance consultant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Nate Peach Ph.D.

A senior manager of research and development is in charge of the research and development team of an organization. You will recognize operational areas that need improvements and come up with solutions that will aid the achievement of strategic goals. Your responsibility also includes providing support to the leadership team in the creation and redefinition of research and development procedures for optimal efficiency.

As a senior manager of research and development, your work with top executives and stakeholders in the decision-making will influence timely desirable results. You will also make sure that financial plans are accurate and as well monitor resource planning and allocation.

An advanced degree in a related field is required for this role. Proven work experience is also needed to be considered for research and development. You need to possess excellent leadership and communication skills. The average salary of a senior manager of research and development is $143,764 per year.

What general advice would you give to a senior finance consultant?

Nate Peach Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Economics, George Fox University

Try to stay optimistic. You've invested your time, energy, and money on a precious degree. The pandemic has not changed the value of the skills you've acquired. What it has done is to make it challenging to find a job for the moment. Things are weird right now. Many companies are redesigning their hiring practices, which is bound to cause challenges for job seekers. The skills that you developed as an economist are precious to employers, be diligent in your job search, and you will be rewarded with a great career.

ScoreSenior Finance ConsultantUS Average

Salary

7.5

Avg. Salary $97,689

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.8

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.10%

Asian 14.09%

Black or African American 5.64%

Hispanic or Latino 7.67%

Unknown 4.50%

White 68.00%

Gender

female 31.82%

male 68.18%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

5.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.5

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.3

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior finance consultant

Explore senior finance consultant education requirements

Most common senior finance consultant degrees

Bachelor's

70.6 %

Master's

21.8 %

Associate

4.3 %

Start to develop specific senior finance consultant skills

Skills	Percentages
Financial Analysis	7.43%
Project Management	5.54%
Financial Services	5.25%
Strong Analytical	4.49%
Shared Services	4.40%

Complete relevant senior finance consultant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior finance consultants 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 senior finance consultant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior finance consultant resumes.

Research senior finance consultant duties and responsibilities

Manage contractor responsible for building a customize Hyperion Essbase cube.
Develop, maintain financial models/applications (VBA Excel/Access) to automate and streamline business processes and perform financial analysis.
Review A/P & A/R aging with CFO weekly
Train employees on using the state PeopleSoft system for travel expense reimbursement.

Get senior finance consultant experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a senior finance consultant. The most common roles before becoming a senior finance consultant include senior finance analyst, finance analyst team lead and finance consultant.

Prepare your senior finance consultant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior finance consultant 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 senior finance consultant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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