Finance officer job description templates for small businesses and nonprofits: 6 variants with scope, FLSA classification, and pay benchmarks. Free DOCX.
Finance Officer Job Description Templates for Small Organizations
6 free templates for businesses and nonprofits where one person handles the money: general, nonprofit, finance and administration, grants, senior, and part-time. Download as DOCX.
Finance officer is the least standardized title in the finance function. I have seen it used for a person coding receipts twenty hours a week and for the person who negotiates the credit facility, sometimes at organizations of the same size in the same city. The title tells a candidate almost nothing on its own.
That ambiguity is why so many of these postings fail. An owner writes manage all financial operations, and the applicant pool arrives split between career bookkeepers and people expecting to build a forecast. Both read the same posting and drew opposite conclusions, and neither one was wrong.
At FirstHR we write hiring templates for organizations without an HR department, where the person writing the posting is the same person who will supervise the hire. The six templates below force the scope decision up front, then carry the classification and control language that generic job boards leave out. All of them live in our hiring template library.
TL;DR
Finance officer has no standard definition in the US, so the posting has to state the scope: where the role starts and stops in the accounting cycle, who approves payments, and whether it owns the budget. The title carries no overtime exemption. BLS publishes no finance officer occupation, so benchmark against nearest classifications from $50,670 to $166,570. Six templates below.
Finance Officer Is a Scope Decision, Not a Rank
The single most useful thing you can do is stop treating finance officer as a level and start treating it as a boundary you draw. The title spans a wider seniority band than almost any other finance role, from transaction processing to budget ownership, and only your posting can say which end you mean.
Four settings account for most of the usage, and they pull the job in different directions. Read them before choosing a template, because the compliance footing changes with the setting, not just the duties.
Small business
Usually the whole finance function
One person doing the books, the payables, the invoicing, the reconciliations, and the monthly pack for the owner. The title is chosen because Bookkeeper undersells it and Controller oversells it.
Nonprofit
The most common home for the title
Fund accounting, restricted revenue, functional expense allocation, board reporting, and audit support. The finance officer usually sits between the executive director and a volunteer board treasurer.
Municipal or public entity
Often a statutory position
In many towns and districts the finance officer is defined by state code or local charter, with duties and sometimes bonding requirements written into law. Those postings follow the statute, not a template.
Grant-funded program
Compliance is the job
Award budgets, allowability, drawdowns, funder reporting, and audit documentation. The finance skills matter less than the discipline of never missing a deadline or a documentation requirement.
Answer Four Questions Before You Write Anything
Where does the role start and stop in the accounting cycle: data entry, through reconciliation, through statements, through budget? Does it own the budget or only report against it? Who approves payments, and above what dollar amount does a second approval kick in? Does payroll run in house or go to an outside provider? Those four answers determine the pay band, the classification, and roughly two thirds of the responsibilities list. Everything else is detail.
What Belongs in the Posting
A finance officer job description does four jobs at once: it defines a scope you have not written down anywhere else, it filters a candidate pool that spans two pay bands, it protects you legally, and it closes the hire. Most postings attempt only the last one.
The scope decisions you have to make first
Where the role starts and stops in the accounting cycle
Whether it owns the budget or only reports against it
Who approves payments, and above what amount
Whether payroll is run here or sent to a provider
The parts that filter applicants
The accounting system by name, not just software experience
Whether a full month-end close is expected
Industry specifics: fund accounting, grants, inventory, job costing
Degree and certification marked required or preferred
The parts that protect you
FLSA classification stated on the posting
Background and credit check notice where state law permits it
Essential functions written plainly
Equal opportunity statement
The parts that win the hire
Pay or a good-faith range
Reporting line and who the role works with weekly
What the last person left behind: clean books or a mess
A named person and a real deadline to apply
Naming the accounting system is the highest-leverage line in the whole posting. Software experience filters nobody, while the actual system name filters honestly in both directions and tells candidates whether their first month will be productive or spent learning. Our guide to writing a job description covers the general structure in more depth.
6 Finance Officer Job Description Templates to Download
Download all six as one file or copy them individually. Each follows the same structure: organization overview, position summary, key responsibilities, required qualifications, a classification and controls note, an equal opportunity statement, and how to apply. The bracketed fields are the only parts you need to change.
Download All 6 Finance Officer Job Description Templates
Small business, nonprofit, finance and administration, grants, senior, and part-time. All in one download.
Finance Officer (Small Business)
The whole money function
The general version: transactions, payables, receivables, reconciliations, payroll input, and the monthly reporting pack for an owner.
Nonprofit Finance Officer
Fund accounting and the board
Restricted funds, functional expense allocation, board packages, audit support, and the working line to a volunteer treasurer.
Finance and Administration
Money plus the office
For the very small organization where the same person owns the books, the vendor contracts, the insurance calendar, and the personnel files.
Grants Finance Officer
Award compliance
Grant budgets, allowability, drawdowns, funder reporting, time and effort records, and the schedule that feeds a single audit.
Senior Finance Officer
Owns budget and controls
Close, budget, forecast, banking, controls, and the audit relationship, with the reporting line straight to the owner or the board.
Part-Time / Fractional
Fixed hours, real employee
For a set weekly schedule, with the contractor warning and the hourly classification stated plainly instead of assumed.
Template 1: Finance Officer (Small Business)
The general version: transactions, payables, receivables, reconciliations, payroll input, and a monthly reporting pack for the owner. If the scope turns out to be narrower than this, the bookkeeper templates describe it more accurately and set clearer expectations on pay.
Finance Officer Job Description (Small Business)
FINANCE OFFICER JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Owner / General Manager / Controller]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: [Exempt / Non-exempt: decide on duties, see the note below]
Compensation: $_ per [year / hour]
ABOUT [COMPANY NAME]
[Company Name] is a [industry] business in [City, State] with [number] employees
and roughly $[revenue] in annual revenue. Our finances are currently handled by
[the owner / an outside accountant / a part-time bookkeeper]. We are hiring a
Finance Officer to take ownership of the day-to-day money and to give us numbers
we can make decisions on.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Finance Officer runs the daily financial operations of the business:
recording transactions, managing payables and receivables, reconciling accounts,
supporting payroll, and producing the monthly reporting pack for [the owner /
the management team].
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Record and code all transactions in [accounting system]
•Process accounts payable on a [weekly] cycle and prepare payment runs for
approval by [approver title]
•Invoice customers, apply receipts, and chase overdue accounts
•Prepare the monthly close and a reporting pack: P&L, balance sheet, cash
position, and [AR aging / budget variance]
•Prepare and submit [sales tax / business license / annual filings] on schedule
•Provide payroll input to [payroll provider] and reconcile the payroll accounts
•Maintain the budget file and flag variances above [threshold]
•Prepare schedules and documentation for the outside [CPA / auditor]
•Keep financial records, contracts, and approvals filed and retrievable
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Associate / bachelor's] degree in accounting, finance, or business, or
equivalent experience
•[Number] years running the books for a business of comparable size
•Working knowledge of [QuickBooks / Xero / NetSuite / your system] and
intermediate spreadsheet skills
•Understanding of accrual accounting and month-end close
•Must clear a criminal background check and a credit check where permitted by
state law, given access to company funds
•Discretion with confidential financial and payroll information
CLASSIFICATION AND CONTROLS NOTE (read before posting)
Do not assume the word Officer makes this role exempt. The federal
administrative exemption requires all three of: payment on a salary basis of at
least $684 per week, a primary duty of office work directly related to
management or general business operations, and a primary duty that includes the
exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of
significance. A finance officer who mainly processes transactions inside
established procedures is non-exempt: pay hourly and track hours.
Controls: whoever records transactions should not also be the sole approver of
payments or the only person who touches the bank login. Set an approval
threshold, keep a second reviewer on bank reconciliations, and consider a
fidelity bond or employee dishonesty coverage. This is general information, not
legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per [year / hour], [benefits summary]
To apply, email __ with your resume and the accounting
systems you have used.
Template 2: Nonprofit Finance Officer
Fund accounting, restricted revenue, functional expense allocation, board packages, and audit support, with the dual reporting line to an executive director and a board treasurer written in rather than assumed.
Nonprofit Finance Officer Job Description
NONPROFIT FINANCE OFFICER JOB DESCRIPTION
Organization: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Executive Director], with a working line to the [Finance
Committee / Treasurer of the Board]
Employment type: Full-time / Part-time
FLSA status: [Exempt / Non-exempt: decide on duties, see the note below]
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT [ORGANIZATION NAME]
[Organization Name] is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in [City, State] with an annual
budget of $[amount], [number] staff, and funding from [grants, contracts,
individual giving, program fees]. We are hiring a Finance Officer to run the
finance function and to keep our reporting clean for the board, our funders, and
our auditor.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Finance Officer maintains the accounting records, tracks restricted and
unrestricted funds separately, prepares monthly financial statements for the
Executive Director and the board, supports the annual audit and the Form 990,
and keeps grant reporting on schedule.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Maintain the general ledger in [accounting system] with a chart of accounts
that supports functional expense reporting
•Track restricted, temporarily restricted, and unrestricted funds separately
and release restrictions correctly
•Allocate shared costs across programs, management, and fundraising on a
documented, consistent basis
•Produce monthly statements: statement of activities, statement of financial
position, cash flow, and budget versus actual by program
•Prepare the board and finance committee package [monthly / quarterly]
•Process payables, deposits, and payroll input, with [approver] approving
disbursements
•Prepare schedules for the annual [audit / review] and support the Form 990
preparer
•Support grant budgets, drawdowns, and financial reporting to funders
•Maintain the fiscal policies and procedures manual and the retention schedule
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or nonprofit management, or
equivalent experience
•[Number] years of nonprofit accounting, including fund accounting
•Familiarity with functional expense allocation and restricted fund reporting
•Experience supporting an annual audit
•Comfortable presenting numbers to non-financial board members
•Must clear a criminal background check and a credit check where permitted by
state law, given access to organizational funds
CLASSIFICATION AND CONTROLS NOTE
Nonprofit status does not change wage and hour law. Classify this role on duties
under the federal administrative exemption, and pay overtime if the primary duty
is transaction processing rather than the exercise of discretion and independent
judgment on matters of significance. Small organizations carry real segregation
of duties risk: the person who records revenue should not be the person who
opens the mail, makes the deposit, and reconciles the bank account. Assign at
least one of those steps to a board treasurer or a second staff member and
document it in your fiscal policies. This is general information, not legal
advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Organization Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per year, [benefits summary], [remote or hybrid policy]
To apply, email __ with your resume and a short note on the
size and funding mix of the organizations you have supported.
Still Using Spreadsheets for Onboarding?
Automate documents, training assignments, task management, and track onboarding progress in real time.
For the very small organization where one person owns the books, the vendor contracts, the insurance calendar, and the personnel files. This is the variant where classification most often goes wrong, so the note in the template is worth reading twice.
Finance and Administration Officer Job Description
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION OFFICER JOB DESCRIPTION
Organization: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Owner / Executive Director]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: [Exempt / Non-exempt: decide on duties, see the note below]
Compensation: $_ per [year / hour]
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Organization Name] is a [size] [business / nonprofit] where one person handles
both the money and the office. We are hiring a Finance and Administration
Officer to own the books, the vendor relationships, the HR paperwork, and the
operational admin that keeps the place running.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Finance and Administration Officer runs the accounting cycle and the
administrative backbone of the organization: bookkeeping, payables, payroll
input, insurance and vendor renewals, personnel files, and office operations.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Finance
•Record transactions, run payables and receivables, reconcile accounts monthly
•Prepare monthly reporting and support the annual [audit / tax return]
•Provide payroll input to [payroll provider] and reconcile payroll accounts
•Maintain the budget file and track spending against it
Administration
•Own vendor contracts, renewals, and the insurance calendar
•Maintain personnel files, I-9s, and benefits enrollment paperwork
•Coordinate onboarding paperwork and equipment for new hires
•Manage the office: supplies, facilities requests, and [systems access]
•Keep the compliance calendar: registrations, filings, and renewal dates
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Associate / bachelor's] degree or equivalent experience in a combined
finance and operations role
•[Number] years of bookkeeping through month-end close
•Comfortable holding confidential payroll, personnel, and financial data
•Organized enough to run two calendars at once: the close and the compliance
deadlines
•Must clear a criminal background check and a credit check where permitted by
state law
CLASSIFICATION AND CONTROLS NOTE
Combined roles are where classification goes wrong most often. Add up the actual
week: if the majority of it is processing transactions, filing, and scheduling
inside established procedures, the role is non-exempt regardless of the breadth
of the title. If the majority is genuinely deciding budgets, policies, vendor
terms, and controls, the administrative exemption may apply. Also note that a
single person holding both the finance records and the HR records concentrates
risk: separate bank access from ledger access, and keep personnel files locked
independently of the accounting system. This is general information, not legal
advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Organization Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per [year / hour], [benefits summary]
To apply, email __ with your resume and a note on the
split between finance and administration in your last role.
Template 4: Grants Finance Officer
Award budgets, allowability, drawdowns, funder reporting, time and effort documentation, and the schedule that feeds a single audit. Compliance discipline matters more here than accounting breadth, because the Uniform Guidance requires recipients to establish and maintain effective internal control over the federal award.
Grants Finance Officer Job Description
GRANTS FINANCE OFFICER JOB DESCRIPTION
Organization: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Director of Finance / Executive Director]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: [Exempt / Non-exempt: decide on duties, see the note below]
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Organization Name] manages [number] active grants totaling $[amount], including
[federal awards / state contracts / private foundation grants]. We are hiring a
Grants Finance Officer to own the financial side of those awards from budget
through closeout.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Grants Finance Officer builds grant budgets, tracks spending against award
terms, prepares financial reports to funders, maintains the documentation
required for audit, and keeps the organization compliant with the rules attached
to each award.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Build grant budgets with program staff and confirm allowability of each cost
line before submission
•Set up each award in [accounting system] with its own tracking codes and
period of performance
•Monitor spending against budget and against the award period, and flag
underspend or overspend early
•Prepare and submit financial reports and drawdown or reimbursement requests on
each funder's schedule
•Maintain time and effort documentation for staff charged to awards
•Apply the organization's indirect cost rate or the de minimis rate correctly
•Assemble the schedule of expenditures of federal awards and support the single
audit where one is required
•Run grant closeout: final reports, final drawdown, and record retention
•Keep a calendar of every reporting deadline across the portfolio
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, public administration, or equivalent
experience
•[Number] years administering [federal / state / foundation] grant finances
•Working familiarity with the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR Part 200) for federal
awards
•Experience with a single audit, or with the schedule that feeds one
•Precision with deadlines and documentation
•Must clear a criminal background check and a credit check where permitted by
state law
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE NOTE
Federal awards carry their own obligations. Recipients must establish and
maintain effective internal control over the award and comply with the terms and
conditions attached to it, and an entity that expends $1,000,000 or more in
federal awards in a fiscal year must have a single or program-specific audit for
that year. Do not treat this as a bookkeeping seat with a grants label: the
allowability judgment, the indirect cost decisions, and the internal control
work are the job. Classify on duties as always, and confirm current thresholds
and rules in the Uniform Guidance before you post. This is general information,
not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Organization Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per year, [benefits summary]
To apply, email __ with your resume and the funder types
you have reported to.
Template 5: Senior Finance Officer
Close, budget, forecast, cash management, controls, and the banking and audit relationships. If the role also supervises a team and sits on the leadership group, compare it against the finance manager templates and the controller templates before you settle on a title.
Senior Finance Officer Job Description
SENIOR FINANCE OFFICER JOB DESCRIPTION
Organization: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Owner / Executive Director / CEO]
Direct reports: [number, or none]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: Exempt (administrative or executive; confirm on duties)
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Organization Name] has outgrown a bookkeeping-only finance function. We are
hiring a Senior Finance Officer to own the numbers end to end: the close, the
budget, the forecast, the banking relationship, and the reporting that goes to
[the owner / the board / our lender].
POSITION SUMMARY
The Senior Finance Officer owns the financial function: monthly close and
reporting, annual budget and forecast, cash management, internal controls,
external relationships with the bank, the CPA, and the insurers, and the
financial input into operating decisions.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Own the monthly close and issue statements within [number] business days
•Build the annual budget with department leads and maintain a rolling
[13-week] cash forecast
•Set and enforce internal controls, approval thresholds, and the delegation of
authority
•Manage banking, lines of credit, and covenant reporting
•Lead the annual [audit / review / tax return] with the outside firm
•Present results and risks to [the owner / the board] and answer for them
•Review pricing, margins, and [contract / grant] profitability
•Supervise and develop [bookkeeper / finance officer / accounting staff]
•Recommend and implement improvements to systems and the chart of accounts
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance; [CPA / CMA / MBA] a plus
•[Number]+ years of progressive finance experience, including ownership of a
full close
•Track record building budgets and forecasts a leadership team actually used
•Experience designing controls in a small organization where perfect
segregation is impossible
•Must clear a criminal background check and a credit check where permitted by
state law
•Direct, plain-language communication with non-financial colleagues
CLASSIFICATION AND CONTROLS NOTE
At this scope the administrative exemption is usually a comfortable fit, because
the primary duty involves discretion and independent judgment on matters of
significance: budgets, controls, banking terms, and financial policy. Confirm it
against the actual duties anyway, and confirm the salary basis requirement is
met. If the role supervises two or more full-time employees and has genuine
authority over hiring decisions, the executive exemption may apply instead. When
one person holds this much financial authority, the compensating control is
oversight from above: an owner or board treasurer who reviews bank statements
independently, approves payments above a threshold, and signs off on new vendors
and new bank accounts. This is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Organization Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per year, [bonus structure], [benefits summary]
To apply, email __ with your resume and one example of a
For a fixed weekly schedule, with the contractor warning and the hourly classification stated plainly. Organizations at the true entry end of this band often want the finance assistant templates instead.
FLSA status: Non-exempt (hourly) unless the duties and salary basis clearly
support an exemption
Compensation: $_ per hour
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Organization Name] does not need a full-time finance function yet, but the
books, the filings, and the reporting have outgrown [the owner / the executive
director]. We are hiring a Part-Time Finance Officer for [number] hours a week
on a predictable schedule.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Part-Time Finance Officer keeps the books current, runs the payment and
invoicing cycles, reconciles the accounts, and delivers a monthly reporting pack
inside a fixed number of hours each week.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Work a set schedule of [days and hours] each week
•Record transactions and keep the ledger current to within [number] days
•Run the [weekly / biweekly] payables cycle and prepare payments for approval
•Invoice customers or clients and follow up on overdue accounts
•Reconcile [bank and credit card] accounts monthly
•Deliver a monthly reporting pack by the [Nth] business day
•Prepare year-end schedules for the outside [CPA / auditor]
•Flag anything that needs a decision rather than sitting on it until the next
scheduled day
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years of bookkeeping or finance experience through month-end close
•Fluency in [accounting system]
•Availability on a fixed weekly schedule, not ad hoc
•Self-directed: you will work without daily supervision
•Must clear a criminal background check and a credit check where permitted by
state law
CLASSIFICATION NOTE (read this one carefully)
Part-time does not mean contractor. If you set the schedule, the location, the
tools, and the method, you are almost certainly directing an employee, and
misclassifying that person as a 1099 contractor is one of the most expensive
mistakes a small organization makes. Part-time also does not create an
exemption: exempt status requires a salary basis of at least $684 per week
regardless of how few hours are worked, so a genuinely part-time finance officer
paid hourly is non-exempt, gets every hour tracked, and gets overtime past forty
hours in a week if the hours ever spike at close or year end. If you truly want
an outside vendor, engage a firm on a scope-of-work basis rather than putting an
individual on a fixed weekly schedule. This is general information, not legal
advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Organization Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per hour, [paid time off policy for part-time staff]
To apply, email __ with your resume and your available
days.
The Officer Title Does Not Make the Role Exempt
Nothing about the word officer creates an overtime exemption. Classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act turns on duties and pay structure, and a finance officer whose primary duty is executing a documented monthly cycle is non-exempt no matter how the offer letter is worded.
The federal regulation on the administrative exemption sets three requirements that all have to be met: a salary basis of at least $684 per week, a primary duty of office or non-manual work directly related to management or general business operations, and a primary duty that includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance. The Department of Labor explains each element in its fact sheet on the administrative exemption.
The title carries no exemption
Officer sounds senior, and that is exactly the trap. The federal administrative exemption has three parts and a role has to satisfy all of them: payment on a salary basis of at least $684 per week, a primary duty of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer, and a primary duty that includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance. The second element is easy for a finance role. The third is where most finance officer jobs fail, because processing invoices, coding transactions, and running reconciliations inside established procedures is skilled work but not independent judgment on matters of significance. Salary alone settles nothing either: the median bookkeeping and accounting clerk already earns more than the annual salary floor. Write the classification down before you post, and write down the reasoning behind it. This is general information, not legal advice.
Segregation of duties in a one-person function
The textbook rule is that no single person should record transactions, authorize payments, hold custody of assets, and reconcile the accounts. In a small organization that rule is unachievable, so the honest goal is not perfect separation but removing the worst single points of failure. Three moves get most of the value and cost almost nothing. Route the bank and credit card statements to someone other than the person doing the bookkeeping, ideally the owner or the board treasurer, and have that person open them first. Require a second approval on payments above a threshold you set and on any new vendor or new bank account. Review the vendor list and the payroll register yourselves once a quarter. Then add employee dishonesty or fidelity coverage, because controls reduce exposure rather than eliminate it.
Screening for a role that touches money
A finance officer sees the bank logins, the payroll file, and the customer list, so the screening bar is higher than for most small business roles. Verify the last two employers directly rather than accepting a reference letter, and ask each one a specific question: what did this person have access to, and what controls were around them. Confirm any claimed credential with the issuing body. Where state and local law permits a credit check for a position with financial responsibility, several states restrict or ban the practice, so confirm your own rules before you run one, and disclose it in the posting either way. Background checks for employment are governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which requires standalone written disclosure and authorization before the report and a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report before you act on it.
Federal awards add a second rulebook
If any part of the role touches federal grant money, the Uniform Guidance applies on top of everything else. Recipients must establish and maintain effective internal control over the federal award and evaluate and monitor their own compliance with its terms and conditions. Costs have to be allowable, allocable, and reasonable, staff time charged to an award has to be documented, and an entity that expends $1,000,000 or more in federal awards in a fiscal year has to have a single or program-specific audit for that year. That changes the job description: allowability judgments, indirect cost decisions, drawdown timing, and audit documentation belong in the responsibilities list explicitly, not folded into general accounting. Confirm current thresholds and rules before you post, because these figures are revised periodically. This is general information, not legal advice.
Pay level is the misleading part. The median bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerk earned $50,670 a year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), comfortably above the $35,568 annual equivalent of the salary threshold, and that role is squarely non-exempt on duties. If you are unsure which side your role falls on, our breakdown of exempt versus non-exempt classification works through the tests one at a time.
Controls in a One-Person Finance Function
Perfect segregation of duties is impossible when one person handles the money, so aim at removing single points of failure rather than at the textbook standard. Three cheap controls capture most of the protection available to a small organization.
First, route bank and credit card statements to someone other than the person keeping the books, and have that person open them first. Second, set a dollar threshold above which payments need a second approval, and require approval for every new vendor and every new bank account. Third, review the vendor list and payroll register yourself quarterly.
Control
How a small organization actually does it
Statement review
Owner or board treasurer receives and opens bank statements before the bookkeeper sees them
Payment approval
Second signature required above a set threshold, plus every new vendor and new bank account
Vendor and payroll review
Owner scans the vendor list and payroll register once a quarter for unfamiliar names
Bank access
Ledger access and banking credentials held separately; no shared logins, no shared passwords
Reconciliations
A second person signs off on the monthly bank reconciliation, even briefly
Insurance
Employee dishonesty or fidelity coverage sized to the funds the role can reach
Documentation
Approval thresholds and delegation of authority written down, not held in the owner’s head
Write these controls into the job description rather than introducing them after the hire. Candidates who take money seriously read an approval threshold as a sign of a well-run organization, and a candidate who objects to independent statement review has given you useful information at no cost.
What to Pay a Finance Officer
There is no BLS occupation called finance officer, so no official national median exists for the title and any single number offered as one is an estimate rather than survey data. Benchmark against the nearest classifications and pick the one that matches the scope you defined.
No Matching Occupation: Benchmark Against the Nearest Ones
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025) publishes no occupation titled finance officer. The nearest named catch-all, financial specialists (all other), reported a median annual wage of $81,100. Around it, bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks earned a median of $50,670 (10th percentile $36,000, 90th $74,550) and accountants and auditors $83,680 (10th percentile $56,020, 90th $144,090) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS national estimates).
The catch-all for finance roles with no named occupation of their own
Accountants and auditors
$83,680 per year
Closes the books, prepares statements, supports the audit
Budget analysts
$91,640 per year
Owns budget development and variance monitoring across programs
Administrative services managers
$114,130 per year
Combined finance and administration officer at a small organization
Financial managers
$166,570 per year
Owns budget, forecast, banking, and controls; usually retitled at this level
Nonprofit budgets sit lower than these medians at comparable scope, and part-time roles are usually quoted hourly against the clerk or accountant band. Publish a good-faith range wherever pay transparency laws require it, and remember that a vague posting attracting the wrong band wastes more money than the range ever will.
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Screen this role harder than any other seat of comparable pay, because the access is what makes it different. A finance officer holds bank credentials, the payroll file, the customer list, and the vendor master, and every one of those is a route to loss if the hire goes wrong.
Verify the last two employers directly and ask each one a specific question: what did this person have access to, and what controls surrounded them. That question produces far more signal than a general reference request, and our guides to running a reference check and running a background check cover the mechanics and the notice requirements.
Credit Checks Are Regulated, and Several States Restrict Them
Running a credit report on a candidate for a position with financial responsibility is common, but it is not universally permitted. Several states limit or prohibit employment credit checks, sometimes with a carve-out for roles with fiduciary or financial duties, so confirm your own state and city rules before you order one. Whether or not you run credit, employment background checks fall under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which requires a standalone written disclosure and authorization before the report and a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report before you act on it. Disclose the requirement in the posting either way. This is general information, not legal advice.
Hiring a Finance Officer Without an HR Department
Small organization finance hires fail in three predictable places: the scope was never decided, the controls were never built, and the onboarding paperwork was heavier than anyone expected. Each has a concrete fix, and none of them requires an HR department.
The posting describes a job you have not actually decided on yet
Most finance officer postings at small organizations are written in the week the owner finally admits the bookkeeping is out of control, which means the scope gets described by symptom rather than by decision. The posting says manage all financial operations, and candidates cannot tell whether that means coding receipts in an accounting system or building a budget the bank will lend against. Those are two different people at two very different pay levels, and a vague posting attracts both. Decide four things before you write a word: where the role starts and stops in the accounting cycle, whether it owns the budget or only reports against it, who approves payments and above what amount, and whether payroll runs here or goes to a provider. Those four answers write most of the job description for you.
You are hiring the person who will hold every financial key you own
This is the hire where a small employer has the least margin for error and usually the least process. There is no HR department to run the background check, no internal audit to catch a problem early, and often no second person who understands the accounting system well enough to notice something wrong. The answer is not suspicion, it is structure you set up before day one: statements routed to someone other than the bookkeeper, an approval threshold above which a second signature is required, quarterly review of the vendor list and payroll register, and fidelity coverage sized to your exposure. Write those controls into the job description. Good candidates read them as a sign of a serious organization, and the ones who bristle at oversight have told you something useful for free.
The paperwork for a finance hire is heavier than for any other role
A finance officer hire generates more onboarding artifacts than almost any other small business role: the signed offer with the classification stated, background and credit check authorizations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a confidentiality agreement, banking and system access requests, approval authority documented in writing, a fidelity bond application, and an acknowledgment of the fiscal policies. FirstHR was built for exactly that pile. The onboarding wizard runs the same sequence every time, built-in e-signature handles the offer and the acknowledgments, document management stores the authorizations and the bond against the employee profile with renewal dates attached, and training modules can carry your fiscal policy walkthrough before the first close. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR. Note that FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a payroll provider.
Once the offer is signed, the work turns into a repeatable sequence. Our onboarding checklist covers the general shape, and for a finance hire specifically the two additions worth building in are documented approval authority and a scheduled handover of system access, both dated and both signed. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Key Takeaways
Finance officer has no standard US definition, so the posting has to state the scope explicitly: where the role starts and stops in the accounting cycle, whether it owns the budget, and who approves payments above what threshold.
The word officer creates no overtime exemption: the administrative exemption needs a salary basis of at least $684 per week plus a primary duty involving discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance.
BLS publishes no finance officer occupation, so benchmark against the nearest classifications, which ran from $50,670 for bookkeeping clerks to $166,570 for financial managers (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
In a one-person finance function, aim at removing single points of failure: independent statement review, a second-approval threshold, quarterly vendor and payroll review, and fidelity coverage.
Nonprofit versions need fund accounting, functional expense allocation, board reporting, and audit support named explicitly, because general templates omit all four.
Part-time does not mean contractor and does not create an exemption: a fixed weekly schedule you set describes an employee, and an hourly finance officer is non-exempt.
A finance hire generates more paperwork than almost any other small business role. FirstHR runs the same onboarding sequence every time, with e-signature for the offer and the confidentiality agreement, document storage for the background check authorizations and the fidelity bond, and renewal dates tracked so nothing lapses quietly. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a finance officer do?
A finance officer runs the day-to-day financial operations of an organization: recording transactions, managing accounts payable and receivable, reconciling bank and credit card accounts, supporting payroll, preparing monthly financial statements, and keeping filings and records on schedule. Beyond that baseline the job varies enormously, because the title has no standard definition in the United States. At a small business it usually means the entire finance function held by one person. At a nonprofit it adds fund accounting, restricted revenue tracking, functional expense allocation, board reporting, and audit support. In a municipality it is often a statutory position with duties written into state code or a local charter. On a grant-funded program it is mostly award compliance. That is why the scope has to be decided before the posting is written rather than described in general terms.
Is a finance officer the same as a finance manager?
No, though the two overlap heavily and some employers use them interchangeably. In practice a finance officer is defined by the scope you assign, not by a rank, and the title travels across an unusually wide seniority band: from a role that is effectively bookkeeping to one that owns the budget and the banking relationship. Finance manager reads as a supervisory or mid-management role with reporting lines beneath it, which narrows the applicant pool toward people who have managed staff. Finance officer is also far more common in nonprofits, municipalities, and organizations influenced by British usage, while finance manager dominates in for-profit corporate settings. If your role supervises people and owns a departmental function, the manager title will attract better matched candidates. If it is a single seat covering the whole money function, finance officer describes it more honestly.
Is a finance officer exempt from overtime?
It depends entirely on duties, not on the title. The federal administrative exemption requires three things at once: payment on a salary basis of at least $684 per week, a primary duty of office or non-manual work directly related to management or general business operations, and a primary duty that includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance. Finance work clears the second element easily. The third is where most finance officer roles fall short, because processing transactions, coding invoices, and running reconciliations inside established procedures is skilled work but not independent judgment on matters of significance. Pay level settles nothing on its own. A senior finance officer who sets budgets, controls, and banking terms is a much stronger exemption case than one who executes a documented monthly cycle. Decide before you post, and document the reasoning. This is general information, not legal advice.
How much does a finance officer make?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish an occupation called finance officer, so there is no single national median for the title and any figure presented as one is an estimate rather than survey data. Benchmark against the nearest classifications instead. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), the national median annual wage was $50,670 for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks, $81,100 for financial specialists (all other), $83,680 for accountants and auditors, $91,640 for budget analysts, $114,130 for administrative services managers, and $166,570 for financial managers. Pick the classification that matches your actual scope. A transaction-focused finance officer benchmarks near the clerk figure, a role that closes the books and prepares statements near the accountant figure, and a role that owns the budget and the banking relationship well above both.
What qualifications should a finance officer have?
Set the bar from the scope rather than from convention. A transaction-focused role needs demonstrated bookkeeping through month-end close, fluency in your specific accounting system, and solid spreadsheet skills, with an associate degree or equivalent experience as a reasonable floor. A role that prepares statements and supports an audit needs accrual accounting depth and usually a bachelor's degree in accounting or finance. A nonprofit role needs fund accounting and functional expense allocation specifically, which general corporate bookkeeping experience does not supply. A grants role needs familiarity with the Uniform Guidance and the discipline to never miss a reporting deadline. Certification such as a CPA is worth marking preferred rather than required at most small organizations, because requiring it shrinks a candidate pool that is already thin and rules out experienced people who never sat the exam.
What should a nonprofit finance officer job description include?
Everything a business version includes, plus five nonprofit specifics that general templates omit. State that the role tracks restricted and unrestricted funds separately and releases restrictions correctly. State that it allocates shared costs across program, management, and fundraising on a documented, consistent basis. Describe the board relationship explicitly, including whether the role reports to a finance committee or a volunteer treasurer alongside the executive director, because that dual line is a real feature of the job. Name the annual audit or review and the Form 990 support as responsibilities rather than assuming candidates will infer them. If federal awards are in the mix, say so and name the Uniform Guidance. Also state the classification: nonprofit status does not change wage and hour law, and tax-exempt employers get the same overtime rules as everyone else.
How do I protect the money when one person handles all of it?
You cannot achieve textbook segregation of duties with one finance person, so aim at the worst single points of failure instead. Route bank and credit card statements to someone other than the bookkeeper, usually the owner or a board treasurer, and have that person open them first. Set an approval threshold above which a second signature is required, and require approval for any new vendor or new bank account. Review the vendor list and the payroll register yourself once a quarter, which takes twenty minutes and catches the two most common schemes. Keep the person who records transactions away from sole custody of incoming payments. Then buy employee dishonesty or fidelity coverage, because controls reduce exposure rather than remove it. Write these controls into the job description: strong candidates read them as professionalism, not distrust.
