What does a person in this occupation do?

Financial managers are responsible for managing and controlling the financial matters of a company. In large organisations they oversee the functions of financial employees appointed to take care of specific aspects of the financial division, but in smaller companies financial managers are responsible for performing most of or all tasks themselves.

Study path:

Most financial managers start their careers as accountants, financial accountants or auditors and only become financial managers after years of experience. An accounting qualification may be augmented by a management qualification such as a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA).

Professional bodies:

Professional body membership or registration is not a general prerequisite to become a financial manager. However, certain employers may require their financial managers to be members of professional bodies, for example, some of the large companies appoint only Chartered Accountants (i.e. members of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants - SAICA) as financial managers.