Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Assistant Finance Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Assistant Finance Manager supports the Finance Manager/Controller by managing day-to-day accounting operations, driving timely and accurate financial reporting, coordinating budgeting and forecasting cycles, enforcing internal controls and compliance, and providing actionable financial analysis to stakeholders. This role serves as a bridge between finance operations and business partners, ensuring data-driven decision making, efficient month-end close, and continuous process improvements across accounting and finance functions.

Key SEO terms: Assistant Finance Manager, financial reporting, budgeting & forecasting, cash flow management, internal controls, GAAP/IFRS compliance, ERP systems (SAP / Oracle), month-end close, variance analysis, audit coordination.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Financial Analyst with 2–4 years’ experience
Accountant or Cost Accountant progressing into a supervisory role
Finance Supervisor or Assistant Accountant with demonstrated process ownership

Advancement To:

Finance Manager / Reporting Manager
Finance Controller / Assistant Controller
Senior Manager, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)
Director of Finance or Head of Finance in mid-market companies

Lateral Moves:

Commercial Finance Manager (business partnering)
FP&A Manager
Treasury or Cash Management Lead
Cost Accounting or Project Finance Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead and execute the month-end and year-end close processes, including preparing and reviewing journal entries, reconciliations, accruals and prepayments, ensuring deadlines are met and variances are explained to stakeholders.
Prepare accurate, timely monthly management accounts and financial reports for senior leadership, summarizing P&L, balance sheet movements, KPIs, and cash flow implications with clear commentary and trend analysis.
Drive the annual budgeting and rolling forecast processes: consolidate inputs from business units, perform scenario analysis, challenge assumptions, and present consolidated forecasts to leadership with actionable recommendations.
Perform detailed variance analysis on actual vs. budget/forecast, identify root causes, recommend corrective actions, and work with business partners to implement cost control measures.
Maintain and strengthen internal control environment: design, document and test SOX (or equivalent) controls, coordinate remediation activities and ensure adherence to company policies and accounting standards.
Coordinate external and internal audits: prepare schedules and audit support, liaise with auditors, respond to queries, and implement audit recommendations in partnership with the Controller.
Reconcile and analyze balance sheet accounts (intercompany, fixed assets, accruals, tax, receivables, payables) and investigate discrepancies until resolution.
Manage accounts payable and accounts receivable workflows for accuracy and timeliness, enforce credit controls, and escalate delinquent items while optimizing working capital.
Oversee payroll liaising with HR or payroll vendors to ensure accurate payroll accounting, benefits accruals, and statutory tax withholdings; prepare related reconciliations.
Support tax compliance activities: prepare tax schedules, coordinate with tax advisors, ensure timely submission of VAT/sales tax/GST filings and corporate tax returns as required.
Build and maintain financial models and scenario analyses to support business cases, investment appraisals, pricing decisions, and strategic initiatives using best-practice modeling techniques.
Implement and optimize ERP and financial systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite), lead system month-end automation, chart of accounts maintenance, and drive continuous improvement in accounting processes.
Produce cash flow forecasts and manage daily/weekly treasury activities: monitor bank balances, coordinate payments, manage intercompany funding and banking relationships.
Supervise, mentor and develop a small team of accountants or financial analysts: allocate work, set goals, conduct performance reviews, and build capabilities.
Ensure compliance with GAAP, IFRS or local accounting standards: apply appropriate accounting treatments for revenue recognition, leases, FX, impairment and other complex transactions.
Support M&A, integration or carve-out activities: prepare target accounting reconciliations, assist due diligence with financial schedules and post-close integration accounting.
Prepare and deliver ad-hoc financial analysis and decision-support materials for cross-functional stakeholders, including pricing, contracts, capital expenditure and operating model proposals.
Manage and improve financial policies, SOPs and process documentation to standardize reporting, reduce risk, and improve auditability and efficiency.
Coordinate intercompany accounting and transfer pricing reconciliations, ensuring accurate elimination and consistent application of accounting policies across entities.
Drive monthly KPI reporting and dashboards for operational leaders, linking financial outcomes to operational metrics (revenue per FTE, gross margin, CAC/LTV where relevant).
Lead cost accounting and product/service profitability analyses to identify margin improvement opportunities and support pricing strategies.
Act as the first escalation for complex accounting queries, providing technical accounting guidance and liaising with the Controller and external advisors as required.

Secondary Functions

Provide hands-on support for ad-hoc financial modelling, exploratory analysis, and management information requests that enable rapid business decisions.
Contribute to the finance function’s strategic roadmap by identifying automation opportunities, standardizing templates, and proposing process redesigns that reduce close cycle time.
Collaborate with IT and operations to translate business requirements into ERP configuration, reporting specifications, and automated data workflows.
Participate in cross-functional projects (e.g., systems implementation, cost reduction programs, pricing initiatives), representing the finance perspective and ensuring financial controls are embedded.
Train non-finance stakeholders on financial policies, budget owners on their responsibilities, and provide clear, business-focused financial explanations to improve financial literacy across the organization.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Financial reporting and consolidation experience (GAAP and/or IFRS) with proven ability to prepare management accounts and statutory schedules.
Budgeting, forecasting and rolling forecast expertise, including driver-based and zero-based budgeting approaches.
Strong month-end close capabilities: journal entries, accruals, reconciliations, and close checklists.
Advanced financial analysis and variance analysis skills, producing actionable insights and scenario modelling.
Proficiency with ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics) and experience leading system-driven improvements.
Advanced Excel skills (PivotTables, INDEX/MATCH, VLOOKUP, advanced formulas), and familiarity with Power BI, Tableau, or similar BI/reporting tools.
Hands-on experience with accounting automation, month-end close tools, and reconciliation software (e.g., BlackLine).
Understanding of internal control frameworks and SOX compliance or equivalent control frameworks.
Experience with external audit coordination and preparation of audit-ready schedules.
Cash flow forecasting, treasury basics, working capital management and bank reconciliation skills.
Financial modelling for business cases, capital expenditure appraisal, and sensitivity analysis.
Knowledge of tax compliance, VAT/GST rules, and payroll accounting fundamentals.
Cost accounting and product/service profitability analysis experience.

Soft Skills

Strong leadership and team development capability: coach, mentor and delegate effectively to build high-performing finance teams.
Excellent communication and presentation skills: able to explain complex financial concepts to non-finance stakeholders and senior leadership.
Analytical mindset with a high degree of attention to detail and accuracy under tight deadlines.
Proactive problem-solver who identifies issues, proposes solutions and drives implementation end-to-end.
Stakeholder management and business partnering skills, influencing decision-making across commercial, operations and executive teams.
Time management and prioritization skills to manage competing month-end, audit and project demands.
Ethical judgment and integrity when handling confidential financial information.
Adaptability to changing business priorities and the ability to operate in fast-paced scaling environments.
Continuous improvement mindset: process-oriented with a focus on automation and efficiency gains.
Customer-service orientation when responding to requests from internal and external stakeholders.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration or related field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree (MSc in Finance, Master of Accounting) or MBA.
Professional certification such as CPA, ACCA, CA, CMA or equivalent highly desirable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Accounting
Finance
Economics
Business Administration
Financial Engineering (or related quantitative fields)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–7 years of progressive accounting/finance experience.

Preferred:

5+ years in a finance function with experience in month-end close, financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting.
1–3 years supervising or managing a small team.
Prior experience with ERP implementations or optimizations (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite).
Experience in audit coordination, internal control frameworks (SOX), and multi-entity consolidation.
Industry experience relevant to the employer (e.g., manufacturing, SaaS, retail, services, healthcare) is a plus.