Financial manager - what are his tasks in the enterprise?
At some stage of the company's development, it may turn out that its owner begins to lose control over the financial situation. Even the best accountant, who may not be able to answer all the complicated questions related to finances, will not help then. In this case, the financial manager will come to the rescue.
Who is a financial manager?
A financial manager is a person who - as the name suggests - is responsible for financial matters in the company. Until recently, this profession was mainly based on consulting and providing information, but nowadays it involves co-deciding on the strategic goals of a given company.
A candidate for a financial manager usually has at least several years of experience in a position related to financial management. He should have extensive knowledge in this field, as well as in financial and management accounting or tax regulations. People management skills are also valuable as this is usually a managerial position.
Financial manager tasks
A financial manager has a number of responsible tasks to perform. Among them, one should distinguish planning and financial analysis of the enterprise, i.e. determining the increase in sales, assets, and employment in relation to the activities of competitive companies. Moreover, the person in this position should anticipate when additional funding will be needed in the future. In order to achieve these goals, the financial manager is required to continuously perform financial analyzes based on the past situation of the company as well as using data from similar companies.
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The second area that the financial manager deals with is managing the so-called assets, i.e. the property of the enterprise. It includes, among others: investing in fixed assets, inventory management, cash.The third area is the management of the company's financial structure (i.e. the so-called liabilities). In this respect, the financial manager is responsible for obtaining the appropriate funds with which he will be able to finance the property. It is about own funds, profit as well as funds from borrowers.
Summarizing the above considerations, the tasks of a financial manager include:
- shaping and implementing the company's financial strategy,
- supervision over the preparation of the annual budget and multi-annual plans,
- controlling the implementation of these plans,
- supervision over the preparation of financial statements and reports,
- optimization of tax policy,
- evaluation of investment projects,
- contacts with banks, insurance companies, investors and tax authorities,
- supervision over the work of related departments.
Financial manager and accountant
At this point, it should be emphasized that the financial manager is not the person who should replace the accountant in the company. The latter is an indispensable element of the functioning of the entire enterprise - it prepares data on the basis of which the financial manager works. He is also responsible for his main task, i.e. the company's accounting - he creates reports, reports, supervises keeping accounting records, payment processing, and issues related to payroll.
A competent person in the position of a financial manager knows the company he works for well, knows how to protect it from problems related to the risk of insolvency, knows what the risk and profit rate are, etc. Importantly, the help of such a specialist should be used primarily by companies that are in a difficult financial situation - looking for savings in human resources will not help to avoid major problems with solvency in the future. That is why it is worth investing in a financial manager who will help you get out of the hole and lead the company on a straight path to profit.
