Director of Finance Job Description Templates
Free director of finance job description templates: standard, small business, nonprofit, finance and accounting, and healthcare. With FLSA guidance. DOCX.
Director of Finance Job Description Templates
5 free templates: standard, small business, nonprofit, finance and accounting, and healthcare, with the finance ladder and FLSA fields built in. Download as DOCX.
The director of finance job description is one most owners copy from a job board, and every one of those templates leaves out what actually matters for a senior finance hire: the FLSA exempt classification, where this role sits versus a controller or CFO, the fiduciary and board duties, the credit-check rules for someone with signatory authority, and, for nonprofits, the Form 990 disclosure that makes their pay public. The role is also frequently the first strategic finance hire a growing company makes, the moment finance moves beyond bookkeeping, and no job-board template frames it that way.
At FirstHR, we build templates for the growing businesses making this hire, including the small business bringing on its first dedicated finance leader. The five templates below cover the real situations: standard for-profit, small business first hire, nonprofit finance and administration, finance and accounting, and healthcare practice, each with the classification and compliance fields built in. This page targets both director of finance and finance director, and the guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
What a Director of Finance Does
A director of finance leads an organization's finance function and owns the forward-looking financial planning that guides the business. The work spans budgeting and forecasting, financial reporting and FP&A, managing the accounting team and the close, advising leadership and the board, and owning cash flow, controls, and compliance.
What changes is the setting. At a small business the role is hands-on, often the first strategic finance hire; at a larger company it is a senior FP&A leader under a CFO. A nonprofit version adds grants and Form 990; a healthcare version adds the revenue cycle. That is why the templates below split by setting. For scoping the role before posting, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Controller vs Director vs VP vs CFO
Finance leadership follows a ladder, and naming the right rung prevents an expensive mis-hire. Here is how the levels compare.
| Role | Focus | Orientation |
|---|---|---|
| Controller | The books, close, GAAP, compliance | Backward-looking |
| Director of Finance | Budgeting, forecasting, FP&A, strategy | Forward-looking |
| VP of Finance | The whole finance function | Top role absent a CFO |
| CFO | Capital, investors, board, strategy | C-suite, external |
The cleanest distinction is that a controller tells you what happened while a director of finance tells you what to do next. At a small company these blur, and one person may cover several rungs, but the practical question is which you actually need: often a controller for clean books first, then a director of finance once you need a strategic planning layer above accounting. Pick the level that matches your stage rather than the most senior title.
Director of Finance Duties and Responsibilities
Director of finance duties center on four areas: planning and analysis, accounting and close, controls and compliance, and leadership and board. Every version shares these, with the setting setting the weights. These are the duties grouped the way the templates use them.
A strong posting grounds these in your business: your stage, your systems, the team the role manages, and whether it faces the board. It also states whether this is a hands-on builder or a strategic overseer, since that distinction shapes who applies and who succeeds at your scale. Candidates read a finance-leader posting for the scope, the reporting line, the team, and the compensation before applying.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by your setting. The finance-leadership core, own the planning, lead the reporting, manage the team, runs through all five, but the duties, the compliance, and the seniority differ enough that the matched version reads more credibly. Use this guide to choose.
5 Free Director of Finance Job Description Templates
Download all five as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: organization overview, position summary, key responsibilities, qualifications, classification, compensation, and how to apply. Fill in the brackets, confirm the classification and compliance notes, and post.
Template 1: Standard Director of Finance (W-2)
The universal version for a for-profit business: own FP&A, budgeting, reporting, and financial strategy while managing the accounting team. The right base to adapt.
Template 2: Small Business Director of Finance (First Strategic Hire)
The version no competitor offers: a hands-on leader who takes finance beyond bookkeeping, builds the processes and controls, and gives the founder real visibility into the numbers.
Template 3: Nonprofit Director of Finance & Administration
For a nonprofit: a broad role covering budgeting, grant compliance, audit and Form 990 prep, and often HR, IT, and facilities, with the disclosure and policy notes built in.
Template 4: Director of Finance & Accounting
For companies wanting one leader across both: the forward-looking finance function plus the accounting operation, the close, and GAAP compliance in a single role.
Template 5: Healthcare Practice Director of Finance
For a medical or dental practice: financial strategy plus the revenue cycle, payer contracts, and reimbursement complexity specific to a healthcare business.
When an SMB Needs a Director of Finance
A director of finance is a real hire at the upper end of small business, but it is usually not the first finance hire, and getting the timing right saves money. The role typically appears once a company needs a strategic layer above its accounting.
The small businesses that most often hire a director of finance at smaller scale are venture or private-equity-backed startups, nonprofits with significant budgets and grant compliance, healthcare practices with payer complexity, and companies preparing for an audit or acquisition. If you have a bookkeeper or accountant keeping the books but no one owning strategic planning and forecasting, that gap is the signal it may be time for a director of finance. If your books themselves need work, a controller comes first.
Exempt Classification
A director of finance is almost always exempt, meaning a salaried role not owed overtime, but exemption depends on the actual salary and duties, never the title. Get this right before you post.
The role typically qualifies under the executive or administrative exemption, since the Department of Labor explicitly lists finance, accounting, budgeting, and auditing as qualifying administrative work, and a director managing the department and directing two or more staff meets the executive test. The salary requirement applies: the operative federal threshold is the 2019 rule's $684 per week, after a court vacated the 2024 increase, and the highly compensated employee provision often applies at $107,432 a year. Five states set a higher floor, so check yours. The exempt vs non-exempt guide covers the broader test. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm with a professional, since the title alone never decides.
Compliance the Job Boards Skip
Because a director of finance handles money, signatory authority, and board reporting, a few compliance items that generic templates skip deserve attention before you hire. These are the ones that matter most.
On background and credit checks: if you run a credit check through a third party, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires specific disclosure and adverse-action steps, and eleven states restrict employer credit checks, though most carry an exception for financial or fiduciary roles, which a director of finance typically meets, so check your state and follow the written-notice procedure. On fiduciary duty: the role often advises the board and holds signatory authority, so document board-reporting duties, signatory limits, and ownership of internal controls in the posting. For nonprofits, two extra items apply: if the director is an officer or key employee with reportable compensation over the IRS threshold, their pay is itemized publicly on Form 990 Schedule J, and adopting a whistleblower and document-retention policy is widely advised as governance best practice. None of this appears in a typical job-board template.
How to Write a Director of Finance Job Description
A strong finance-leader posting takes about 20 minutes once you settle the level, the setting, and the scope. Here is the process the templates are built around. If this is among your first senior hires, the guide to hiring your first employee covers the steps around the posting.
Director of Finance Pay
Director of finance pay is high and varies by company size, region, and industry, so a range set to your specifics beats a single national number.
That figure covers a broad financial-manager population, so title-specific pay for a director of finance often runs somewhat below the broad median, with smaller companies paying less than large enterprises and finance-intensive industries paying more. National compensation surveys provide title-level benchmarks narrower than the broad occupation median. For your posting, benchmark to your company size, industry, and region rather than the national figure, structure the offer as base plus any bonus and equity since this is a senior role, and include a good-faith pay range where your state requires it.
Hiring a Finance Leader
For a growing company, hiring a director of finance comes down to a few things generic templates skip: classifying correctly, knowing the finance ladder, handling the finance-specific compliance, and onboarding a board-facing executive well. Here is what actually matters.
After You Hire: Onboarding
The job description is step one, and a director of finance hire usually coincides with a company moving past founder-led finance, so the onboarding has to transfer ownership of the financial function. Send the offer letter with the pay, the exempt classification stated correctly, and the terms, collect the signed offer, complete Form I-9 within the first days along with the rest of the new hire paperwork, and gather tax forms.
Because this is a senior, board-facing hire, two things matter more: the offer should clearly state the exempt classification and the full compensation, and the onboarding should formally hand over the financial policies, internal controls, board-reporting cadence, and any whistleblower policy the new director will own, alongside the usual onboarding documents. A structured first ninety days works well here, which is why a 30-60-90 day plan fits a finance leader, the kind of structured start the employee onboarding guide describes. Once terms are agreed, the offer letter template handles the core terms, and the employee handbook template covers your financial and conduct policies. FirstHR handles this for an owner-led company: send the executive offer for e-signature with the classification stated, store the signed offer and the policies the new director will own, and run an onboarding checklist. FirstHR does not run payroll or administer benefits, so pair it with your payroll provider. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a director of finance do?
A director of finance leads an organization's finance function, owning the forward-looking financial planning and strategy that guides the business. The core work is consistent: owning budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning and analysis; leading financial reporting; managing the accounting team and the monthly close; advising leadership and often the board on financial strategy; overseeing cash flow, working capital, and internal controls; and ensuring compliance with tax, audit, and reporting requirements. The emphasis shifts by setting. At a small business, the director of finance is hands-on, often the first strategic finance hire taking the company beyond bookkeeping. At a larger company, the role is a senior FP&A and accounting leader reporting to a CFO. A nonprofit version, often titled Director of Finance and Administration, adds grant compliance, Form 990 preparation, and frequently HR and operations. A healthcare version adds revenue-cycle and payer-contract management. What unites them is ownership of financial strategy and reporting. This page offers a template for each version, with the classification and compliance fields built in.
What is the difference between a director of finance and a CFO?
A CFO is the C-suite, externally facing finance leader, while a director of finance is a more hands-on, internally focused role, though at small companies the titles often blur or are used interchangeably. A CFO owns the strategic and external side of finance: capital raising, investor and board relations, M&A, and company-wide financial strategy at the executive level, and typically leads a full finance team. A director of finance owns the internal finance function: budgeting, forecasting, FP&A, financial reporting, and managing the accounting operation, usually reporting to a CFO at larger companies or directly to the CEO at smaller ones. The practical difference is scope and seniority: the CFO is the top finance executive setting direction and facing outward, while the director of finance runs the day-to-day financial planning and analysis. The typical ladder runs Bookkeeper, Staff Accountant, Controller, Director of Finance, VP of Finance, then CFO. At a small company without a CFO, a director or VP of finance is often the top finance role, which is why the titles overlap. For your hire, match the title to whether you need a hands-on function leader or an external-facing executive.
What is the difference between a director of finance and a controller?
A controller is backward-looking and a director of finance is forward-looking, which is the cleanest way to tell them apart. A controller owns the books: accounting accuracy, the monthly close, GAAP compliance, internal controls, and historical financial reporting. Their job is making sure the numbers are correct, complete, and compliant. A director of finance owns the future: budgeting, forecasting, financial planning and analysis, and the financial strategy that guides decisions, and they usually sit a level above the controller in the org chart. Put simply, the controller tells you what happened, and the director of finance tells you what to do next. At a company of around thirty people, you often have one or the other, not both: a controller if the priority is clean books and compliance, a director of finance if the priority is strategic planning and forecasting above the accounting layer. As companies grow, the controller typically reports up to the director or VP of finance. For your hire, decide whether you primarily need accuracy and compliance, which points to a controller, or planning and strategy, which points to a director of finance.
Is a director of finance exempt or non-exempt from overtime?
A director of finance is almost always exempt, meaning a salaried role not owed overtime, but the classification depends on the actual salary and duties, never the title. The role typically qualifies under the executive exemption, by managing the finance department and directing two or more employees with genuine authority over hiring and firing, or under the administrative exemption, since the Department of Labor explicitly lists finance, accounting, budgeting, and auditing as qualifying work involving discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance. The salary requirement still applies: the operative federal threshold is the 2019 rule's $684 per week, after a court vacated the 2024 increase, and at director-level compensation the highly compensated employee provision often applies for those earning at least $107,432 annually who perform at least one exempt duty. Five states, California, Colorado, Maine, New York, and Washington, set higher thresholds than the federal floor, so check your state. For nearly all genuine director of finance roles, exempt is the correct classification, but confirm the salary meets the threshold and the duties genuinely involve leading the function. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm with an employment professional, since rules vary by state.
Does a small business need a director of finance?
It depends on your size, revenue, and complexity, and for many small businesses a director of finance comes later than a bookkeeper or controller. A director of finance is a real and valuable hire at the upper end of small business, roughly 25 to 50 employees, or for finance-intensive smaller organizations, but it is generally not the first finance hire. The natural sequence is a bookkeeper from early on, a staff accountant as transaction volume grows, a controller once the company is managing meaningful revenue and needs clean books and compliance, and a director or VP of finance once a strategic planning layer is genuinely needed, typically with a multi-million-dollar budget, board reporting, or post-funding traction. Below those thresholds, a fractional CFO or controller often bridges the gap. The businesses that most commonly hire a director of finance at smaller scale are venture or private-equity-backed startups, nonprofits with significant budgets and grant compliance, healthcare practices with payer complexity, and companies preparing for an audit or acquisition. For your situation, ask whether you need strategic financial planning above your accounting, or whether a controller or fractional CFO fits your stage better.
How much does a director of finance make?
Director of finance pay is high and varies by company size, region, and industry, so a range set to your specifics beats a single number. The Bureau of Labor Statistics maps directors of finance into financial managers, whose median annual wage was about $161,700 in May 2024, with the lowest ten percent under about $86,490 and the highest ten percent above $239,200; employment is projected to grow 15 percent through 2034, much faster than average. That figure covers a broad financial-manager population, so title-specific pay for a director of finance often runs somewhat below the broad median depending on company size, with smaller companies paying less than large enterprises and finance-intensive industries paying more. National compensation surveys provide title-level benchmarks that are typically narrower than the broad occupation median. For your posting, benchmark to your company size, industry, and region rather than the national figure, structure the offer as base plus any bonus and equity since this is a senior role, and include a good-faith pay range where your state requires it. The compensation should reflect that this is a board-facing leadership hire, not a mid-level finance role.
What qualifications does a director of finance need?
A director of finance needs substantial finance and accounting experience, demonstrated leadership, and strong financial-planning skills, with the specific bar set by your company size and sector. The core qualifications are consistent: several years of progressive finance or accounting experience, typically seven or more, with time in a leadership role; strong financial planning and analysis, budgeting, and forecasting skills; experience managing a finance or accounting team; and the judgment to advise leadership and present to a board. A bachelor's degree in finance or accounting is standard, and a CPA or MBA is commonly preferred, particularly for roles heavy on accounting and compliance. Beyond the basics, calibrate to the version: a small-business director of finance needs hands-on ability and ideally has built financial processes before; a nonprofit director needs fund accounting, grant compliance, and Form 990 experience; a healthcare director needs revenue-cycle and payer-contract knowledge; a director of finance and accounting needs deep GAAP and close expertise, making the CPA more important. For your posting, lead with the experience, leadership, and FP&A skills every version needs, then add the sector-specific requirements, and treat the CPA as preferred or required based on how accounting-heavy the role is.
What happens after I hire a director of finance?
Hiring a director of finance usually coincides with a company moving past founder-led finance, so the onboarding has to transfer ownership of the financial function, not just complete paperwork. The base sequence matches any W-2 hire: send the offer letter with the pay, the exempt classification stated correctly, and the terms; collect the signed offer; complete Form I-9 within the first days; and gather tax forms like the W-4. Because this is a senior, board-facing hire, two things matter more: the offer should clearly state the exempt classification and the full compensation, including base, bonus, and any equity, and the onboarding should formally hand over the financial policies, internal controls, board-reporting cadence, and any whistleblower or document-retention policy the new director will own. A structured first ninety days, learning the numbers and the team, then taking ownership of the function, gets a finance leader productive faster. FirstHR handles this for an owner-led company: send the executive offer letter for e-signature with the classification stated, store the signed offer along with the financial and internal-control policies the new director will own, and run an onboarding checklist. FirstHR does not run payroll or administer benefits, so pair it with your payroll provider. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.