Financial Manager Job Description: Which One Do You Mean?
Financial manager is a government occupation label covering four separate jobs. Work out which one your company needs, then download the matching template as DOCX.
The first time I wrote a financial manager job posting I got 140 applications and not one of them was right. Half were controllers, a quarter were financial analysts, and the rest were people who manage money for individuals. The posting was not badly written. It was aimed at a title that means four different things.
That is not a copywriting problem, it is a classification problem. The federal occupational system files four separate finance jobs under one code, and the label leaked out of the statistics and into job boards. So when you post a financial manager role, every one of those four candidate pools reads it and self-selects on guesswork.
At FirstHR we build hiring templates for owners who write their own postings. This page is the disambiguation first and the templates second: work out which financial manager you actually need, then take the matching one of the six below. If you already know you want a hands-on generalist, the finance manager templates are a closer fit.
TL;DR
Financial manager is a federal occupational label, not a single job. Code 11-3031 covers accounting and controls, treasury, credit, and financial risk. Median pay is $166,570 (BLS OEWS, May 2025) with a 10th to 90th percentile range of $94,310 to $323,270. Decide which function you are hiring first, then use the matching template below.
What a Financial Manager Is
A financial manager plans, directs, and controls the financial activity of an organization or one of its units. In federal statistics the term is an umbrella: the occupation code 11-3031 collects controllers, treasurers, credit managers, and financial risk managers into a single group.
That grouping exists for measurement, not for hiring. It lets the government count roughly 868,600 people who direct company finances without maintaining four separate surveys. It does not mean a controller and a treasurer are interchangeable hires, and treating the label as a job title is where most bad postings start.
Accounting and controls
Owns the close, the statements, and the controls. Hired when the numbers arrive late or nobody trusts them. Standalone title: controller.
Treasury and cash
Owns liquidity, banking, debt, and payment controls. Hired when cash visibility runs out past two weeks. Standalone title: treasurer.
Credit and collections
Owns credit policy, limits, and the receivables portfolio. Hired when DSO climbs and write-offs surprise you. Standalone title: credit manager.
Risk and insurance
Owns exposure, coverage, claims, and contract risk terms. Hired when the renewal is the only time anyone looks. Standalone title: risk manager.
Why the Label Shows Up Everywhere
Wage data, employment projections, and most salary benchmarking tools report at the occupation level, so the moment you look up pay for a controller you land on financial manager numbers. Job boards then borrow the label back as a title. The result is a term that is precise in a statistical table and nearly meaningless on a job posting. Use it to benchmark pay. Do not use it as the only description of the job.
Which Financial Manager Do You Mean?
Start from the problem, not the title. The function you need is whichever one explains the pain that made you open a job posting in the first place, and that pain is usually specific enough to name in one sentence.
The problem you actually have
The function you are hiring
Template
Standalone title
The close runs late and the numbers get corrected after they are shared
Accounting and controls
Template 1
Controller
Cash visibility runs out past two weeks and the credit line is guesswork
Treasury and cash management
Template 2
Treasurer
Days sales outstanding keeps climbing and write-offs arrive as surprises
Credit and collections
Template 3
Credit manager
Insurance, claims, and contract exposure belong to nobody in particular
Risk and insurance
Template 4
Risk manager
Several sites or entities each run their finances a different way
Unit or branch finance
Template 5
Regional finance manager
Restricted funds and funder reports need their own accounting discipline
Nonprofit and fund accounting
Template 6
Nonprofit finance director
If two rows describe you, that is normal at a small company and it does not mean you need two hires. It means you rank them. Lead the posting with the function you will judge performance on and list the second as a stated secondary duty with a rough time split.
Responsibility
Controls
Treasury
Credit
Risk
Monthly close and financial statements
Rolling cash forecast
Bank relationships and covenants
Customer credit limits and terms
Collections and DSO
Insurance renewals and claims
Internal controls and segregation of duties
Audit or review preparation
Bad debt reserve
6 Financial Manager Job Description Templates
Download all six as one file or copy the one you need. Each follows the same structure: company overview, position summary, key responsibilities, required qualifications, a classification and screening note, an equal opportunity statement, and how to apply. Only the bracketed fields need changing.
Download All 6 Financial Manager Job Description Templates
Accounting and controls, treasury, credit, risk, branch or department, and nonprofit. All in one download.
Template 1: Financial Manager, Accounting and Controls
The most common first finance hire: close ownership, statements, reconciliations, and the controls that protect cash. If you would rather post the standalone title, the controller templates cover the same function in more depth.
Financial Manager, Accounting and Controls Job Description
FINANCIAL MANAGER (ACCOUNTING AND CONTROLS) JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Owner / CEO / CFO]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: Exempt (see classification note)
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT [COMPANY NAME]
[Company Name] is a [industry] business in [City, State] with [number] employees
and roughly $[revenue] in annual revenue. Our accounting has been handled by
[a bookkeeper / an outside firm / the founder], and we are hiring our first
financial manager to own the close, the controls, and the numbers we run the
business on.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Financial Manager owns accounting operations end to end: the monthly close,
the financial statements, the internal controls that keep cash and records safe,
and the audit or review file. This role is about accuracy and trust in the
numbers, not fundraising or investor strategy.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Own the monthly and annual close and publish statements by day [X]
•Maintain the general ledger, chart of accounts, and reconciliation schedules
•Design and enforce internal controls, including segregation of duties over
cash, payables, and payroll
•Manage accounts payable and accounts receivable staff or vendors
•Prepare the audit, review, or compilation file and act as the main contact for
the outside accountants
•Own revenue recognition, accruals, prepaids, fixed assets, and inventory
accounting as applicable
•Coordinate sales tax, [state] filings, and 1099 reporting with our tax preparer
•Build the reporting pack that [the owner / the board] reads each month
•Document accounting policies so the close does not live in one person's head
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance
•[Number] years of accounting experience, including [number] years supervising
•Full-cycle close ownership at a company of comparable size
•Strong general ledger and reconciliation discipline
•[CPA required / preferred / not required: choose one]
•Experience with [accounting system] and advanced spreadsheet skills
CLASSIFICATION AND SCREENING NOTE (read before posting)
This role is normally exempt under the executive or administrative exemption
when the salary and duties tests are both met. Verify the duties honestly:
supervising two or more full-time employees, or exercising discretion on matters
of significance, is what carries the exemption, not the title. The role has
access to cash, banking, and payroll records, so state in the posting that the
offer is contingent on a background check. Some states and cities restrict the
use of credit history in hiring, so confirm your local rules before adding a
credit check. 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, [bonus structure], [benefits summary]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
Template 2: Financial Manager, Treasury and Cash Management
For liquidity, banking, debt, and payment controls, written around a rolling cash forecast and covenant reporting. The treasurer templates are the standalone version of this role.
Financial Manager, Treasury and Cash Management Job Description
FINANCIAL MANAGER (TREASURY AND CASH MANAGEMENT) JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [CFO / Controller / Owner]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: Exempt (see classification note)
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Company Name] runs [number] bank accounts across [number] entities, carries
[a line of credit / term debt / no debt], and needs someone who can say what the
cash position will be twelve weeks from now. Today that answer lives in a
spreadsheet nobody fully trusts.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Financial Manager for treasury owns liquidity: the cash forecast, the bank
relationships, the borrowing base, and the controls that protect outgoing funds.
The measure of the job is that the business never runs a surprise.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Build and maintain a rolling [13-week] cash forecast and report variance weekly
•Manage daily cash positioning, transfers, and sweeps across all accounts
•Own bank relationships, account structure, signers, and service fees
•Manage the line of credit, borrowing base certificates, and covenant reporting
•Approve and control outgoing payments, wires, and ACH under a documented policy
•Manage short-term investments of surplus cash within an approved policy
•Model the cash effect of hiring plans, capital spending, and seasonality
•Own fraud controls on payments: positive pay, dual approval, callback
verification on vendor bank changes
•Coordinate with accounting on collections priorities and payment timing
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, or economics
•[Number] years in treasury, cash management, banking, or corporate finance
•Demonstrated ownership of a rolling cash forecast and its accuracy
•Working knowledge of debt covenants and borrowing base mechanics
•[CTP certification preferred / not required]
•Advanced spreadsheet modeling and experience with [banking platform]
CLASSIFICATION AND SCREENING NOTE
Normally exempt under the administrative exemption when the salary and duties
tests are met. Treasury roles carry signing authority and payment release rights,
so make the screening explicit: background check contingency in the posting,
reference checks with prior finance leadership, and a fidelity bond or crime
insurance rider covering the position if your policy requires one. Never let a
single person both set up a vendor and release a payment to it. 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, [bonus structure], [benefits summary]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
Still Using Spreadsheets for Onboarding?
Automate documents, training assignments, task management, and track onboarding progress in real time.
Template 3: Financial Manager, Credit and Collections
For companies that sell on terms: credit policy, limits, aging, reserves, and the collection escalation path. See also the credit manager templates if that is the title your candidates search for.
Financial Manager, Credit and Collections Job Description
FINANCIAL MANAGER (CREDIT AND COLLECTIONS) JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [CFO / Controller / VP Finance]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: Exempt (see classification note)
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Company Name] sells on terms to [number] business customers. Our days sales
outstanding is [number] days against terms of net [number], and credit decisions
are currently made case by case by [sales / the owner]. We are hiring a financial
manager to own credit policy and the receivables portfolio.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Financial Manager for credit sets who we extend terms to, how much, and on
what conditions, then runs the collection process that converts those terms into
cash. The role balances revenue growth against write-off risk.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Own the written credit policy, approval limits, and exception process
•Evaluate new customers: financial statements, trade references, credit reports,
and public filings
•Set and review credit limits and payment terms by customer and segment
•Run the collections calendar: reminders, dunning, escalation, and hold decisions
•Own aging review, DSO reporting, and the bad debt reserve methodology
•Decide when an account goes to a collection agency or to counsel
•Negotiate payment plans, personal guarantees, and security interests
•Manage credit holds jointly with sales so decisions are consistent
•Ensure collection practices comply with applicable federal and state rules
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, or business
•[Number] years in commercial credit, collections, or receivables management
•Ability to read a customer balance sheet and judge repayment capacity
•Comfort holding a hard conversation with a customer and with your own sales team
•[NACM certification preferred / not required]
•Experience with [ERP / accounting system] receivables modules
CLASSIFICATION AND SCREENING NOTE
Normally exempt under the administrative exemption when the role genuinely sets
credit policy and exercises discretion on significant matters. A collections
coordinator who works a call list to a script is usually non-exempt, so classify
by the actual day rather than the title. If the role pulls consumer credit
reports on customers or guarantors, the Fair Credit Reporting Act notice and
permissible purpose rules apply. 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, [bonus structure tied to DSO or cash collected]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
Template 4: Financial Manager, Risk and Insurance
For the exposure nobody owns: the risk register, the annual renewal, certificates, claims reserves, and contract risk terms. This is the least commonly posted of the four functions and the most commonly neglected.
Financial Manager, Risk and Insurance Job Description
FINANCIAL MANAGER (RISK AND INSURANCE) JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [CFO / COO / Owner]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: Exempt (see classification note)
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Company Name] operates in [industry] across [number] locations. Insurance
renewals, contract terms, claims, and safety exposure are currently spread across
[the owner, operations, and an outside broker] with no single owner. We are
hiring a financial manager to consolidate financial risk in one place.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Financial Manager for risk identifies what could cost the company money,
quantifies it, and decides what to insure, what to mitigate, and what to accept.
The role owns the insurance program and the financial side of claims.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Maintain the risk register: exposure, likelihood, financial impact, and owner
•Run the annual insurance renewal: submissions, broker management, coverage
comparison, and deductible strategy
•Own certificates of insurance, additional insured requirements, and vendor
compliance
•Review contract risk terms: indemnity, limitation of liability, and insurance
requirements
•Manage the claims process and the financial reserves against open claims
•Track loss runs and experience modification, and connect them to safety work
•Own business continuity and disaster recovery planning from the financial side
•Evaluate self-insurance, captives, or higher retentions where the math supports it
•Report the total cost of risk to leadership [quarterly]
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree in finance, risk management, or business
•[Number] years in risk management, commercial insurance, or corporate finance
•Ability to read a policy and explain what is actually covered in plain language
•Experience negotiating renewals and managing brokers
•[ARM / CPCU designation preferred / not required]
•Strong analytical and contract review skills
CLASSIFICATION AND SCREENING NOTE
Normally exempt under the administrative exemption when the role exercises
independent judgment on significant matters, which a genuine risk owner does.
Be precise in the posting about whether this role covers safety and workers
compensation operations or only the financial side, because those are different
candidate pools. 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, [bonus structure], [benefits summary]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
Template 5: Financial Manager, Branch or Department
For multi-site and multi-entity companies where each unit needs its own accountable finance partner reporting into both the site leader and corporate finance. Pair it with the director of finance templates for the corporate side of the same structure.
Financial Manager, Branch or Department Job Description
FINANCIAL MANAGER (BRANCH OR DEPARTMENT) JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Location or unit: [Branch / Region / Division / Department]
Reports to: [Regional Manager, with a dotted line to Corporate Finance]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: Exempt (see classification note)
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Company Name] runs [number] locations. Corporate finance sets policy, but each
location needs someone accountable for its own numbers: the unit budget, the
local P&L, and the operating decisions that move it. This role is that person for
[location or unit].
POSITION SUMMARY
The Financial Manager for [location or unit] owns the unit's financial results
and is the finance partner to the operating leader on site. The role translates
corporate policy into local practice and explains local variance to corporate.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Own the [location or unit] budget, forecast, and monthly variance explanation
•Partner with the operating leader on pricing, staffing, and spending decisions
•Review and approve local spending within delegated authority limits
•Ensure corporate accounting policies and controls are followed on site
•Prepare the local reporting pack and present it in the monthly business review
•Manage local finance or administrative staff [number of reports]
•Support inventory counts, asset verification, and site audits
•Escalate risks and opportunities to corporate finance early, not at close
•Onboard and train new managers on the financial rules of the unit
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, or business
•[Number] years in finance with at least [number] in a multi-site or multi-entity
environment
•Comfort operating with two reporting lines and defending a number to both
•Strong variance analysis and business partnering skills
•Experience with [ERP system] and consolidated reporting
•Willingness to travel [percentage] to other locations
CLASSIFICATION AND SCREENING NOTE
Normally exempt, most often under the executive exemption where the role
supervises two or more full-time employees, or the administrative exemption where
it does not. Multi-state employers should confirm the state salary threshold for
each location, because several states set a higher minimum salary for exempt
status than the federal floor. 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, [bonus tied to unit results], [benefits summary]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
Template 6: Financial Manager, Nonprofit and Grant Funds
For fund accounting, restricted revenue, grant reporting deadlines, and audit readiness on a small team. The compliance duties change with your funding sources, so rewrite that section rather than copying it.
Financial Manager, Nonprofit and Grant Funds Job Description
FINANCIAL MANAGER (NONPROFIT AND GRANT FUNDS) JOB DESCRIPTION
Organization: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Executive Director / Finance Committee]
Employment type: Full-time [or part-time, __ hours per week]
FLSA status: Exempt (see classification note)
Compensation: $_ per year
ABOUT [ORGANIZATION NAME]
[Organization Name] is a [mission] nonprofit with an annual budget of
$[amount] and [number] staff. Our funding comes from [grants, contracts,
individual giving, and program fees], and several sources carry restrictions and
separate reporting deadlines. We are hiring a financial manager to own that
complexity.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Financial Manager owns accounting, budgeting, and grant financial compliance.
The role keeps restricted and unrestricted funds correctly separated, produces
the reports funders and the board require, and keeps the organization audit ready.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Own the monthly close, fund accounting, and the restricted versus unrestricted
split
•Build the annual budget with program leads and track it by program and by funder
•Prepare grant budgets, financial reports, and drawdown requests on funder
deadlines
•Track allowable costs, matching requirements, and indirect cost recovery
•Allocate shared costs across programs on a documented, consistent method
•Prepare the annual audit file and support the [Form 990] preparation
•Present financial statements to the [board finance committee] each [quarter]
•Maintain the internal controls a small finance team can actually run
•Manage payroll allocation across grants and programs with the [payroll provider]
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or nonprofit management
•[Number] years in nonprofit finance, including grant reporting
•Working knowledge of fund accounting and restricted revenue recognition
•Experience preparing for a nonprofit audit [and a single audit, if applicable]
•[CPA preferred / not required]
•Experience with [accounting system] and grant tracking
CLASSIFICATION AND SCREENING NOTE
Nonprofit status does not change the FLSA analysis. The role is normally exempt
when the salary and duties tests are met, and paying a below-market salary
because the organization is mission driven does not remove the salary basis
requirement. If federal funds are involved, confirm which cost principles and
audit requirements apply to your award before writing the compliance duties.
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 a cover letter.
Financial Manager vs Finance Manager vs Controller
Financial manager is the statistical label, finance manager is the posted title most small companies actually use, and controller is the specific function inside both. Choosing between them is a search-visibility decision more than a substance one.
The one trap worth naming: at car dealerships, finance manager means the person who arranges customer financing and sells protection products at the point of sale. It is a commissioned sales job that shares nothing with corporate finance beyond the word. If you are in automotive retail, spell out which one you mean in the first line of the posting.
Title
What it usually signals
Best used when
Financial manager
The federal occupation label covering four finance functions
Benchmarking pay, or posting where the function is named clearly in the summary
Finance manager
A hands-on generalist owning budgeting, forecasting, and reporting
Small and mid-size companies hiring one person to run finance
Controller
Accounting and controls specifically, close and statements owned
The pain is accuracy, timeliness, or audit readiness
Treasurer
Liquidity, banking, debt, and payment controls
The pain is cash visibility, covenants, or payment fraud risk
Director of finance
A step up in scope, usually with FP&A and staff
Finance already exists and needs a leader over it
CFO
Strategy, capital, and board exposure alongside the function
Financing, transactions, or investor reporting drive the role
If none of those fit because you need analysis rather than management, the financial analyst templates cover the individual contributor version, and the CFO templates cover the executive end.
Requirements and Skills to Include
A bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, economics, or business plus five or more years of progressive experience is the standard baseline for a management-level finance role. Everything above that baseline should follow the function you picked, not a generic list.
The screen that matters most at a small company is scope, not credentials. Ask whether the candidate has owned an entire function at a comparable size, or only a slice of one inside a large finance team. Those produce very different people, and only the first can build something from nothing.
Function
Credential that helps
The scope question to ask
Accounting and controls
CPA
Have you owned a full close cycle start to finish, including the audit file?
Treasury and cash
CTP
Have you built and defended a rolling cash forecast against actuals?
Credit and collections
NACM certification
Have you set credit limits and told a customer no while sales pushed back?
Risk and insurance
ARM or CPCU
Have you run a renewal and explained a coverage gap to an owner?
Branch or department
MBA or none
Have you defended one number to a site leader and to corporate in the same week?
Nonprofit and grants
CPA or nonprofit finance experience
Have you passed an audit with restricted funds and a small team?
Write certifications as preferred rather than required unless you have a concrete reason, because a hard credential requirement shrinks a small-market candidate pool fast. Our guide to writing a job description covers how to separate must-haves from nice-to-haves without diluting the posting.
Overtime, Bonding, and Screening
Financial managers are almost always exempt from overtime, but the exemption comes from salary plus duties, never from the title on the offer letter. Get this wrong and the exposure is unpaid overtime plus liquidated damages, calculated backward across the whole employment period.
Most of these roles qualify under the executive exemption when the person genuinely supervises two or more full-time employees, or under the administrative exemption when the primary duty is business operations work requiring independent judgment on significant matters. The Department of Labor sets out the test in its fact sheet on the executive exemption.
The Salary Threshold and the State Overlay
The federal salary threshold for the white-collar exemptions is $684 per week, which is $35,568 a year, after the 2024 Department of Labor increase was vacated in November 2024 and formally rescinded in May 2026. The highly compensated employee threshold is $107,432. Several states set a higher exempt salary floor than the federal one, and a multi-site employer has to meet the higher of the two at each location. Check the state rule before you write the salary into the offer, not after. Our breakdown of exempt versus non-exempt classification works through the duties tests in detail.
Screening deserves the same planning. Every function on this page touches cash, banking access, customer credit files, or payment authority, so the posting should state that the offer is contingent on a background check and the check should start the day the offer is signed. Our guide to running a background check covers the notice and consent steps.
Two extras apply to money-handling roles specifically. Fidelity bonding or crime insurance covering the position is worth confirming with your carrier before the start date, particularly for treasury roles with payment release authority. And several states and cities restrict the use of credit history in hiring decisions, so verify your local rule before adding a credit check to the process.
Companies Using FirstHR Onboard 3x Faster
Join hundreds of small businesses who transformed their new hire experience.
The national median for financial managers is high and the range around it is enormous, because one occupation code spans a first finance hire at a 30 person company and a treasury executive at a bank. Treat the median as a reference point and benchmark to the function, the industry, and the metro.
Financial Manager Pay and Outlook
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), financial managers (SOC 11-3031) earned a national median annual wage of $166,570, or $80.08 per hour. The 10th percentile was $94,310, the 25th $125,490, the 75th $219,980, and the 90th $323,270 (BLS OEWS, financial managers). Employment stood at 868,600 in 2024, with growth projected much faster than average and about 74,600 openings a year through 2034 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).
The percentile ladder is the useful part. A small business hiring its first controls-focused financial manager is normally shopping between the 10th and 25th percentile of that national range, which is a very different conversation from the median. Use the neighboring occupations below to sanity check where your role really sits.
Occupation (SOC code)
National median (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
How it relates
Financial managers (11-3031)
$166,570 per year
The umbrella code: controllers, treasurers, credit and risk managers
Chief executives (11-1011)
$213,990 per year
Where a small-company CFO title often lands in the data
Financial and investment analysts (13-2051)
$102,740 per year
The individual contributor version of the analysis work
Budget analysts (13-2031)
$91,640 per year
Planning and budgeting without the management scope
Accountants and auditors (13-2011)
$83,680 per year
The staff level a controls-focused manager supervises
Credit analysts (13-2041)
$83,510 per year
The analytic half of the credit function
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks (43-3031)
$50,670 per year
The transactional layer, often the alternative to a hire
Publish a good-faith range where pay transparency laws apply, and state the bonus structure alongside it. For credit roles a bonus tied to cash collected or DSO reduction is normal and worth naming in the posting, because it changes who applies.
Hiring a Financial Manager Without an HR Department
Small companies lose these hires in four predictable places, and all four are fixable in the posting rather than in the interview. Fix them there and the shortlist gets shorter and better at the same time, which matters when you are tracking candidates in a spreadsheet. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
The posting says financial manager and nothing else
Candidates read the title and then look for the four or five bullets that tell them which finance job this actually is. A controller reading a treasury posting drops out at the third bullet, and a treasury candidate reading a controls posting does the same. Name the function in the first two sentences of the summary, then let the responsibilities prove it. Our six templates each open with a summary written to do exactly that, so the filtering happens before anyone applies.
Four jobs are stuffed into one posting because the company is small
That is a legitimate situation, and hiding it is what breaks the hire. A first finance hire at a small company genuinely does controls, cash, credit, and some risk. Say so, then rank them: if the close is the pain, lead with controls and list treasury second. Candidates can stretch across functions when they know which one they will be judged on. They cannot when the posting reads as a wish list with no priority.
The salary range is missing and the applications are unqualified
Financial manager pay spans a very wide band nationally, so a posting with no number attracts everyone and converts no one. Publish a good-faith range, which several states require regardless, and state the bonus structure. If your range sits below the market for the function, say what compensates: equity, flexibility, the chance to build the function from scratch, or a genuinely short reporting line to the owner.
The offer stalls because nobody planned the screening
Every one of these roles touches cash, banking, or payment authority, so the offer is contingent on checks that take real time. Decide before you post what you will run, put the contingency in the posting, and start the check the day the offer is signed rather than the week before the start date. Then run onboarding as a fixed sequence: offer letter, policy acknowledgments, banking authority forms, system access, and the delegation of authority document. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Hire for the Function You Will Measure
The cleanest interview question for any of these roles is: what would you want to be judged on ninety days from now. A controls candidate says a clean close on a fixed date. A treasury candidate says a forecast that holds within a few percent. A credit candidate says DSO down by a set number of days. If the answer does not match the function you wrote the posting around, you have found the mismatch before you made the offer rather than after.
Once the offer is signed, the work turns into a sequence: signed offer, background check clearance, policy acknowledgments, banking and system access, delegation of authority, and the first close calendar. Running that from a shared onboarding checklist rather than a folder of emails is the difference between week one being productive and week one being paperwork. More finance and accounting postings are in the hiring templates library.
Key Takeaways
Financial manager is a federal occupation label, not a job title: code 11-3031 covers accounting and controls, treasury, credit, and financial risk as one group.
Pick the function from the problem you have, then write the posting around it and rank any secondary duties explicitly with a rough time split.
Median pay was $166,570 (BLS OEWS, May 2025) with a 10th to 90th percentile range of $94,310 to $323,270, so benchmark to the function rather than the median.
Exemption from overtime comes from the duties and the salary, not the title: the federal floor is $684 per week and several states set a higher one.
Every function here touches cash, banking, or payment authority, so state the background check contingency in the posting and confirm fidelity bonding before the start date.
At a small company one person often covers several functions, which works only when the posting says so and names which one performance will be judged on.
A finance hire arrives with more paperwork than most: banking authority, delegation limits, confidentiality terms, and system access all have to be signed and stored before day one. FirstHR runs that as one onboarding sequence with e-signature, document management, and employee profiles, so nothing sits unsigned in an inbox. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR. FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a payroll provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a financial manager?
Financial manager is an occupational category rather than a single job. The federal Standard Occupational Classification groups four distinct functions under code 11-3031: accounting and controls, treasury and cash management, credit, and financial risk. A controller, a treasurer, a credit manager, and a risk manager are all financial managers in the government data, even though they do different work, report to different people, and come from different candidate pools. That is why searching for a generic financial manager job description returns something vague. Before you post, decide which of the four functions is the reason you are hiring, then write the posting around that function and treat the rest as secondary duties. A small company usually needs one person covering several of them, which is fine as long as the posting ranks them honestly.
What is the difference between a financial manager and a finance manager?
In practice they are used interchangeably, but they carry different signals. Financial manager is the federal occupational label used in wage and employment statistics, so it is the term you meet in salary data, not the term most companies actually post. Finance manager is a real posted job title that usually means a hands-on generalist owning budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and analysis at a small or mid-size company. There is one large exception worth knowing: at car dealerships, finance manager means the person who arranges customer financing and sells protection products, which is a sales role. If you are writing a posting, use the title candidates search for in your industry and let the responsibilities do the defining work.
How much does a financial manager make?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), financial managers earned a national median annual wage of $166,570, or $80.08 per hour. The spread is unusually wide: the bottom 10 percent earned $94,310 or less and the top 10 percent earned $323,270 or more. That range reflects the fact that a single code covers a first finance hire at a 30 person company and a treasury executive at a bank. Benchmark against the specific function and your industry rather than the national median, because a controls role at a small services business and a treasury role at a capital-intensive manufacturer sit at opposite ends of the same statistic. Publish a good-faith range where pay transparency rules apply.
Is a financial manager exempt from overtime?
Almost always yes, but the exemption comes from duties and salary, not from the title. Most financial managers qualify under the executive exemption if they genuinely supervise two or more full-time employees, or under the administrative exemption if their primary duty is office work directly related to management or general business operations and they exercise independent judgment on significant matters. Both require a salary of at least $684 per week, which is $35,568 a year, under the current federal rule after the 2024 Department of Labor increase was vacated and formally rescinded in May 2026. Several states set higher salary thresholds, so multi-state employers should check each location. A finance employee who follows a fixed procedure without real discretion is not exempt whatever the title says.
Do I need a controller or a treasurer?
Ask what is actually broken. If the monthly close is late, the statements need rework, or the audit is painful, the problem is accounting and controls and you need a controller-type financial manager. If you cannot forecast cash more than a couple of weeks out, you are managing a credit line or covenants, or payment fraud controls are thin, the problem is treasury and you need a treasurer-type financial manager. Most small companies discover the controls problem first, because it is the one that shows up in every board meeting. Companies with seasonal cash cycles, debt, or heavy working capital tend to hit the treasury problem first. When both hurt, hire for controls and buy treasury help part time, because a broken close makes any cash forecast unreliable anyway.
What qualifications should a financial manager have?
A bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, economics, or business is the standard baseline, with five or more years of progressive finance experience for a management-level role. Beyond that, requirements should follow the function. Controls roles reward a CPA and full-cycle close ownership. Treasury roles reward banking and covenant experience and sometimes a CTP. Credit roles reward commercial credit analysis and the willingness to say no to a customer. Risk roles reward insurance program experience and contract literacy. For a small company, the more useful screen is scope: has this person owned the whole function at a comparable size, or only a slice of it inside a large team. List certifications as preferred rather than required unless you have a specific reason, because a hard requirement narrows a candidate pool fast.
Should a small business hire a full-time financial manager?
Not always, and the honest test is whether the work is continuous or periodic. Continuous work justifies a hire: a monthly close that takes real days, weekly cash decisions, credit approvals, payroll and compliance running every cycle. Periodic work does not: a budget once a year, a bank refinancing, a one-time system migration. Many small companies start with a bookkeeper plus a fractional finance leader for a day or two a month, then hire full time when the close and the cash forecast both need a weekly owner. Whichever route you take, write the job description first, because it forces you to list the actual recurring work and the answer usually becomes obvious once the list is on paper.
