FMFinancial Manager
FM
Career

Financial Manager

By the numbers
Typical pay
$166,570 / yr
Education to start
Bachelor's degree
Future demand
+14.8% by 2034
People in this job
842K
Figures shown for ·closest of 2 O*NET occupations
The work
A day, hour by hour
08:00
Cash flow check

Pull overnight bank data and confirm today's bills can be covered.

08:30
Team huddle

Brief the analysts: who owns what, what's due by end of day.

09:00
Budget deep-dive

Dig into last month's numbers and flag every line that's off-track.

11:00
Risk call

One variance looks wrong — decide whether to escalate now or dig further.

11:30
Exec presentation

Walk leadership through financial results and explain what the numbers mean.

13:30
Forecast build

Model next quarter's revenue and costs; stress-test the conservative scenario.

15:30
Report review

Comb through draft financial statements before they reach regulators or the board.

16:30
Strategy check-in

Push back on a proposed spend — or find a way to make it work within budget.

17:15
Close & handoff

Sign off on analyst work, log open items, set tomorrow's priorities.

Things you do
  • Build financial forecasts that predict where the company is headed.
  • Dig into budget numbers and flag where money is being wasted.
  • Present financial results to executives and explain what they mean.
  • Spot financial risks early and create plans to avoid them.
  • Prepare monthly and annual financial statements for the organization.
Decisions you’ll make
  • Does this number look wrong, or am I just not seeing the full picture yet?
  • Should I flag this risk to leadership now, or dig deeper before raising the alarm?
  • Is this the right moment to cut costs, or will that hurt us long-term?
  • Are we being too conservative with this forecast, or is caution exactly right here?
  • Should I push back on what the CEO wants, or find a way to make it work?
Education Pathways · how you get there
85 in 100 went the college route · 15 in 100 found another way in 5 years or more, typically
Education mapped from O*NET:
If you like this, also look at