MightyRecruiterA director of finance is responsible for maintaining the finances of a company or organization by regularly preparing financial statements, creating business activity reports and providing financial forecasts for the near future. He or she may review financial reports and suggest places to cut costs, monitor finances to ensure compliance with legal requirements and analyze market trends to capitalize on expansion opportunities and maximize profits. A director of finance is a supervisory position that requires helping employees with financial reporting and budgeting.
When creating your director of finance job description, include the importance of being detail-oriented and having excellent math skills. A director of finance should also be highly organized.
Applicants must also have excellent communication skills. Find out more about what to include in your director of finance job description by reading the one below and applying the information to your own company.
Director of Finance Job Summary
Did you do math for fun as a kid? Do you understand what PEMDAS means? Can you recite pi to a crazy number of digits? If you love dealing with numbers, we’d love to have you on our team. As director of finance at our company, you will spend your days crunching numbers and using your findings to help us minimize costs and maximize profits. Put your talents as a dynamic individual to good use by communicating with a team of financial managers and providing guidance when necessary. This job is the perfect mashup of social skills and analytical skills, allowing you to evenly split your time between working alone and communicating with your peers to complete team projects.
Job Responsibilities
- Establish and enforce policies and procedures for company finances by creating department budgets, determining where to cut costs and deciding when the company will best benefit from expansion
- Make investments for the company to minimize cash balances, limit risk and maximize return on investments
- Collect key financial data, interpret the information and create reports for presentation to company directors to ensure they have a thorough understanding of the company’s financial condition
- Use knowledge of local, state and federal regulations by researching current legislation, remaining updated on the progress of pending legislation and consulting with outside advisors to ensure compliance
- Audit financials of specific departments when required
- Hire, train and supervise financial management staff, including improving employee morale and consulting with human resources to take corrective action when necessary
- Oversee bookkeeping and accounting by using appropriate software to maintain the company’s general ledger as well as payroll, accounts receivable and accounts payable
- Manage capital asset acquisition to ensure each asset is property recorded and amortized as well as disposed of when necessary
Job Skills & Qualifications
Reqiured:
- Bachelor of Science in Finance
- Proficient in Microsoft Office and financial management software
Preferred:
- At least three years’ experience in the position or in a similar position
- CPA qualification is a plus
Director of Finance Job Responsibilities
Just as a jobseeker must ensure that his or her resume is engaging and easy to understand, it is crucial that your director of finance job description is also properly crafted. The job responsibilities section should portray the day-to-day tasks associated with the director of finance position to convey an accurate idea of a typical day on the job.
This section should not be overwhelming, but it is one of the essential components of your director of finance job description. Use 5-10 bullet points beginning with present-tense action verbs to help a potential director of finance envision himself or herself in the role you are hiring for. Include items such as decisions the director of finance will be responsible for, key deliverables and critical projects he or she will be a part of. If possible, incorporate tasks or duties that reflect company culture so that the potential employee understands what makes working for your company different than working for another. Bullet points should be arranged hierarchically by level of importance.
Some examples of director of finance job responsibilities are below:
- Assist in the creation of annual budgets
- Analyze company financial data to advise senior managers
- Manage and coordinate financial team in regard to organizational budget and financial goals
- Review company-wide financial reporting for accuracy and coordinate with departments as needed to correct discrepancies
Director of Finance Job Specifications
Writing an effective job qualification and skills section requires careful consideration to ensure that you are clear about your requirements and to receive applications from qualified candidates. It is one of the shorter sections of the director of finance job description, but this means that each skill, certification or experience that you select must be chosen wisely. Consult with the hiring manager or direct supervisor for this role to determine exactly what specifications are necessary in a successful applicant.
One of the most important aspects of this portion of the director of finance job description is categorizing skills by either required or preferred. This drastically affects what kind of applications you will receive, since it communicates to jobseekers what is essential versus what is nice to have. Required qualifications are likely to include a certain education level, years of experience and technical skills. Preferred may consist of foreign language fluency, certifications or specialized product expertise.
Here are some examples of director of finance job specifications:
- Master’s degree in accounting or finance and CPA license required
- Ability to communicate effectively in writing as well as in person, and with all levels of staff
- Experience working with Google Docs and Payroll Network payroll preferred
- Attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines
