Back to Home

Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Finance Operations Manager

💰 $120,000 - $175,000

FinanceOperationsManagementAccounting

🎯 Role Definition

As our Finance Operations Manager, you will be the backbone of our finance department, ensuring the seamless and efficient execution of all financial transactions and processes. You will lead a talented team and partner closely with cross-functional leaders to build scalable systems, implement best-in-class controls, and provide the financial infrastructure needed to support our rapid growth. This is a highly visible role for a strategic, hands-on leader who is passionate about process improvement, team development, and leveraging technology to solve complex business challenges. You will be instrumental in safeguarding the company's assets and ensuring the integrity of our financial data.


📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Senior Financial Analyst / Lead Financial Analyst
  • Accounting Manager
  • Senior Accountant with management experience
  • Operations Manager with a strong finance background

Advancement To:

  • Director of Finance Operations
  • Corporate Controller
  • Director of Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)
  • VP of Finance

Lateral Moves:

  • FP&A Manager
  • Treasury Manager
  • Business Intelligence Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Oversee and manage the full spectrum of day-to-day financial operations, including Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, payroll processing, and general ledger integrity.
  • Lead the month-end, quarter-end, and year-end closing processes, ensuring timely, accurate financial statements in compliance with US GAAP.
  • Drive the continuous improvement and automation of financial processes to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and scalability as the company grows.
  • Develop, implement, and maintain robust internal controls and financial policies to mitigate risk and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements (e.g., SOX).
  • Manage and optimize the company's treasury functions, including cash flow forecasting, liquidity management, banking relationships, and investment strategies.
  • Act as the key business owner for financial systems (ERP, billing, expense management), leading evaluation, implementation, and optimization projects.
  • Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing finance operations team, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and professional growth.
  • Partner strategically with cross-functional departments—including Sales, Legal, and Operations—to streamline the end-to-end quote-to-cash and procure-to-pay cycles.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for external auditors, managing the annual audit process and ensuring all schedules and documentation are prepared accurately.
  • Prepare and present insightful financial and operational performance reports, metrics, and dashboards for senior leadership and key stakeholders.
  • Manage corporate credit card programs and employee expense reimbursement processes, ensuring policy adherence and efficient workflows.
  • Ensure timely and accurate compliance with all local, state, and federal tax filings and other statutory reporting requirements.
  • Analyze and negotiate key terms in customer and vendor contracts to ensure favorable financial positioning and mitigate risk.
  • Own the company's equity administration process, including managing the cap table, stock option grants, and related compliance reporting.
  • Lead critical ad-hoc financial projects, such as due diligence for M&A activities, system migrations, and international expansion readiness.
  • Proactively identify and analyze financial trends and variances, providing actionable insights and strategic recommendations to the executive team.
  • Manage international financial operations, including intercompany transactions, transfer pricing, and foreign currency exchange management.
  • Optimize working capital by actively managing key metrics like Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) and Days Payable Outstanding (DPO).
  • Establish and maintain strong relationships with vendors, customers, and banking partners to facilitate smooth business operations.
  • Review and approve complex journal entries, account reconciliations, and financial transactions to guarantee accuracy and compliance.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis to provide deeper financial insights to the business.
  • Contribute to the organization's data governance strategy and roadmap, particularly for financial data.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate complex data and reporting needs into clear engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies with the data and engineering teams for finance-related projects.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • ERP Systems Expertise: Deep, hands-on experience with major ERP systems such as NetSuite (highly preferred), SAP, Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics.
  • Advanced Financial Modeling: Proficiency in building complex financial models in Excel or Google Sheets for forecasting, analysis, and decision support.
  • US GAAP & Internal Controls: Strong, in-depth knowledge of U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and experience designing and implementing SOX-compliant internal controls.
  • Process Automation & Improvement: Proven ability to identify inefficiencies and leverage technology (e.g., RPA, workflow tools) to automate and scale financial processes.
  • Treasury & Cash Management: Solid understanding of cash flow forecasting, working capital optimization, and managing banking relationships.
  • System Implementation: Demonstrable experience leading or playing a key role in the selection and implementation of financial software (e.g., ERP, billing, procurement systems).
  • Data Analysis & SQL: Ability to query and analyze large datasets; proficiency with SQL is a significant advantage.

Soft Skills

  • Leadership & Team Development: Exceptional ability to lead, mentor, and motivate a team, fostering a positive and high-performance work environment.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: A natural ability to build strong relationships and communicate effectively with stakeholders across all levels and departments of the organization.
  • Strategic & Analytical Thinking: The capacity to see the big picture, analyze complex situations, and provide data-driven, strategic recommendations.
  • Problem-Solving & Adaptability: A proactive, results-oriented mindset with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, ambiguous, and evolving business environment.
  • Exceptional Communication: Superior written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex financial concepts to non-financial audiences.
  • Project Management: Strong organizational skills with a proven track record of managing multiple projects simultaneously from conception to completion.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s Degree

Preferred Education:

  • Master of Business Administration (MBA) or a relevant professional certification such as Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Finance
  • Accounting
  • Business Administration
  • Economics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 7-10+ years of progressive experience in accounting, finance, or finance operations roles, with at least 3-4 years in a management or leadership capacity.

Preferred:

  • Experience in a high-growth technology, SaaS, or startup environment is highly desirable.
  • A proven track record of successfully leading a financial system implementation (e.g., ERP migration).
  • Public accounting experience (Big 4 preferred) combined with subsequent industry experience.
  • Experience building and scaling a finance operations function from the ground up.