Nature of work
Your responsibilities as a financial manager range between producing financial reports, directing investment activities, and developing strategies and plans for the long-term financial goals of the organization. In short, you will be the financial health keeper of your organization.Your duties will be as follows:
providing and interpreting financial information;
monitoring and interpreting cash flows and predicting future trends;
analysing change and advising accordingly;
formulating strategic and long-term business plans;
researching and reporting on factors influencing business performance;
analysing competitors and market trends;
developing financial management mechanisms that minimise financial risk;
conducting reviews and evaluations for cost-reduction opportunities;
managing a company's financial accounting, monitoring and reporting systems;
* liaising with auditors to ensure annual monitoring is carried out;
* developing external relationships with appropriate contacts, e.g. auditors, solicitors and bankers
* producing accurate financial reports to specific deadlines;
* managing budgets;
* arranging new sources of finance for a company's debt facilities;
supervising staff;
keeping abreast of changes in financial regulations and legislation.
Environment of work
It is common for employers to provide financial support for professional study, as well as study leave.As a financial manager you will dedicate seven hours of your day to work with some flexibility possible. However, be prepared to stay at work for longer hours if you have tight deadlines or workload.
You are lucky to get such a position because this job is available in most areas of the market, and self-employment is another option for you.
You will have more options as you gain more and more experience in this domain. For instance, after a long-enough experience, you can go up the career ladder and become a consultant.
If you think of having a career break at some point, go for it but make sure you keep up to date with developments to have a strong and confident re-entry.
Hopefully you like traveling because you might have to spend some nights away from home, especially if the company operates from a number of different sites. However, opportunities to travel and work abroad will be determined by the size and nature of the organisation, its clients or customers, and whether it has overseas sites or international links.
Professional life
If you ever get bored and decide to make a change in your career, do not worry as your expertise as a financial manager is extremely transferable. No matter where your training took place, your knowledge and skills gained can be applied in any other environment across industry or commerce. You can also use your knowledge of a company to move out of finance and into a more general management role such as HR manager. Or you can specialise in one industry, such as education.Not satisfied yet? Well, you still have more options to choose from. In fact, you can also move on to the role of finance director or managing director. Knowledge about the day-to-day running of a company is invaluable in these roles. However, if you decide to move from one role to another within an organisation, either related or unrelated to finance, you may still have to undertake further professional training.
If you are a big change lover, financial management offers you good opportunities to work overseas.
Financial management offers good opportunities to work overseas. Professional qualifications from the major UK accountancy bodies are widely recognised by countries around the world
If you are wondering about the salaries, now it is time to know the answer. Salaries vary widely according to the type, sector, size and location of the employing organisation. The highest salaries tend to be paid in Damascus and the surrounding areas. The private sector, most notably the banking and telecommunication sectors, pays more than the public sector.
Range of typical starting salaries: xxxxxxxxxx
Getting the job
If you are considering applying for a Financial Manager position, then you have to get a Bachelor's Degree in one of the following: Business/Management;
Economics;
Accountancy and Finance;
Maths/Statistics.
If you wish to stand out and have a competitive advanage, it would be a good idea to gain more specialised knowledge through a relevant postgraduate programme. This will be extremely useful in certain niche areas. Graduate schemes in finance and related areas almost always require further study for professional qualifications.
Skills
Along with the academic qualifications, your job as a financial manager requires certain skills. To help you out, we have provided you with a list of the most important skills you will need in order to be successful in this job.As a financial manager you should have :
commercial and business awareness;
excellent communication skills;
an analytical approach to work;
high numeracy and sound technical skills;
problem-solving skills and initiative;
strong attention to detail and an investigative nature;
the ability to balance the demands of work with study commitments;
good time management skills and the ability to prioritise;
the ability to work as part of a team and to build strong working relationships;
the ability to make quick but rational decisions;
the potential to lead and motivate others;
good IT skills.
Sources and references
www.alolabor.org www.prospects.ac.uk
www.bls.gov
Arab Standard Classification of Occupations, 2008, Ed. Arab Labor Organization
Summary
As a financial manager you should have a positive energy and spread it around the workplace. Think of yourself as the professional person who is responsible for providing financial advice and support to clients and colleagues to enable them to make sound business decisions.Your job is in the heart of any organization. Major business decisions mainly depend on financial considerations as companies need to know the financial implications of any decision before proceeding. Therefore, you are a main factor in making the business successful by providing a clear budgetary planning for both the short and long term. You will also ensure that financial practices are in line with all statutory legislation and regulations.
Specific work environments vary considerably and include both public and private sector organisations, such as multinational corporations, retailers, financial institutions, charities, manufacturing companies, universities and general businesses.