Post job

Senior finance consultant vs finance manager

The differences between senior finance consultants and finance managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a senior finance consultant, becoming a finance manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a finance manager has an average salary of $101,374, which is higher than the $97,689 average annual salary of a senior finance consultant.

The top three skills for a senior finance consultant include financial analysis, project management and financial services. The most important skills for a finance manager are financial analysis, CPA, and customer service.

Senior finance consultant vs finance manager overview

Senior Finance ConsultantFinance Manager
Yearly salary$97,689$101,374
Hourly rate$46.97$48.74
Growth rate9%17%
Number of jobs112,032125,345
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age4046
Years of experience48

What does a senior finance consultant do?

A senior finance consultant is responsible for helping clients manage their account portfolios, recommending investment options, and monitoring their finances. Senior finance consultants should have extensive knowledge of the financial industry, especially on working with clients and inform them of current financial services and strategize financial plans according to the clients' needs and best interests. They also respond to clients' inquiries and concerns regarding their account performance and financial discrepancies, resolving issues to achieve the clients' long-term financial goals and objectives.

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 finance consultant vs finance manager salary

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

Senior Finance ConsultantFinance Manager
Average salary$97,689$101,374
Salary rangeBetween $68,000 And $138,000Between $71,000 And $144,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CANew York, NY
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew York
Best paying companyDellBarclays
Best paying industryTechnologyFinance

Differences between senior finance consultant and finance manager education

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

Senior Finance ConsultantFinance Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Senior finance consultant vs finance manager demographics

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

Senior Finance ConsultantFinance Manager
Average age4046
Gender ratioMale, 68.2% Female, 31.8%Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 14.1% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%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 Percentage7%11%

Differences between senior finance consultant and finance manager duties and responsibilities

Senior finance consultant example 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.
  • Perform account adjustments, heavy reconciliation, as well as monthly closing of A/P, A/R and GL
  • Participate in cash management decisions and treasury functions.
  • 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 finance consultant vs finance manager skills

Common senior finance consultant skills
  • Financial Analysis, 7%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • Financial Services, 5%
  • Strong Analytical, 4%
  • Shared Services, 4%
  • Risk Management, 3%
Common finance manager skills
  • Financial Analysis, 7%
  • CPA, 7%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Hyperion, 4%
  • Financial Models, 4%
  • Strong Analytical, 4%

Browse business and financial jobs