Financial Manager some time also known as Financial Analyst or Business Analyst is considered as the most important professional in an organisations management because the finances of an organisation are supposed to be its lifeline. As business administration has acquired the reputation of one of the most glorious and highly paid professions of twenty-first century after the onset of globalisation and opening up of the world markets during the last couple of decades with a wide range of specialized fields like, Finance, Production, Human Resources and Marketing to name a few of them.
Business administration provides a lot of opportunities for today’s younger generation and finance is considered as the backbone of the industry which makes the role of financial managers as the most challenging and rewarding as well.
It is a career that needs highly professional skills. Earlier a career in financial management was considered as a male-dominated field but with the passage of time, it has become woman friendly and now more and more females are getting into this profession. Nowadays well-trained, skilled and highly talented Financial Managers are required for the growth of an organization/company to compete in world markets. For this to achieve Financial Managers are bound to understand well the appropriate budgetary needs for all the aspects of the business administration whether it is the cost of production, placements or marketing requirements etc.
To discharge his duties in the most result oriented manner a financial manager requires a special kind of knowledge and practical training that he can gain by doing some specific courses of 2 to 3 years duration.
So to be an ability to become an efficient Financial Manager one has to follow the below-given path.
Financial Manager Eligibility
To be a Financial Manager one should have Masters Degree in Financial Management i.e. MBA (Finance).
The courses specifically meant for Financial Management are:
1. Master of Business Administration (Finance)
2. Master of Financial Controls (MFC)
3. Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Management (PGDFM)
Eligibility condition for joining Master Degree/Diploma
The eligibility criteria for applying to these courses is graduation in any discipline. he master’s programme will be of 2 years duration and PG Diploma programmes will be of 1-year duration.
Basically, admission to these programmes will be based on the aptitude test, GD and interview.
The selection procedure may vary depending on the institutes. Most institutes admit students on the basis of marks scored in exams like CAT by IIMs, MAT by All India Management Association, XAT by Xavier Institute etc.
However, some institutes conduct their own exam for these courses.
Many Management collages offer Finance as a specialization to the major course. In MBA, the specialization will be offered in the 2nd year.
Financial Manager Required Skills
- Financial Manager must have commercial and business awareness; excellent communication skills and an analytical approach to work.
- They also possess high numeracy and sound technical skills; problem-solving skills and initiative; strong attention to detail and an investigative nature.
- They should have the ability to balance the demands of work with study commitments; good time management skills and the ability to prioritise; the ability to work as part of a team and to build strong working relationships.
- They should be able to take quick but rational decisions; the potential to lead and motivate others and good IT skills.
How to become a Financial Manager?
One has to follow below-given steps for becoming a Financial Manager-
Step 1
To be a successful Financial Manager one should first attain the essential education. It can be a Master’s degree in Management or Diploma course as given above.
Step 2
After acquiring the minimum required qualification one can apply for the job of a Financial Manager whenever there is some vacancy for the post of Financial Manager.
Financial Manager Job Description
To manage this aspect of the business highly skilled professionals known as Financial Managers are required. These professionals are responsible for managing every aspect of the finance of the company they are working in. Thus financial managers are supposed to be clearly aware of the budgeting of the company.
Financial Manager Career Prospects
The role and responsibilities of a financial manager vary significantly depending largely on the size of the organization he is working in. Like in larger companies the role of a financial manager is largely concerned with strategic analysis whereas in smaller organizations a financial manager might also work as a controller with job responsibilities as preparation of financial reports, balance sheets, income reports, and analysis of present and future costs and revenues.
Financial manager job profile may also include the responsibility of collection and preparation of accounts. Besides this a financial manager is also supposed to arrange new sources of finance for a company's debt facilities, supervising staff and keeping abreast of changes in financial regulations and legislation.
Financial Manager Salary
Salary of a financial manager varies depending on the type of organization, economic activity and geographic location of the organisation. It also depends upon the personal skills of the individual concerned as it is a hundred per cent performance oriented field of business administration. However new Incumbents are offered anywhere near Rs.25,000 to Rs.30,000 per month as an average but for the experienced and successful Financial Manager, there is no upper limit of the pay package.
