Top 15 Financial Operations Manager Skills to be Top of your Career

This post provides detailed information on the financial operations manager skills and qualities you need to develop to improve on your job performance and succeed in your career.

Please, read on:

Who is a Financial Operations Manager?

The financial operations manager is a finance expert with accounting/finance and managerial experience.

They work in several industries, including banking, insurance, professional services organizations, consulting firms, and healthcare industries.

It is a senior-level position with responsibility for planning, budgeting, reporting, financial management, auditing, and capacity building of the teams under their area of authority.

They are responsible for providing leadership to a team that manages fund flows and monitors irregularities in the payment pipeline of an organization’s systems.

They perform critical decision-making and build analytical models to monitor dynamic cash inflow and outflow from a business.

They also provide leadership in all operational matters, including managing HR requirements and overseeing activities to ensure safe and cost-effective management and the smooth and efficient running of the firm.

To work in the position of a financial operations manager, one must be execution-oriented and have at least a Bachelors degree, but preferably a Master’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a relevant field of study, plus extensive years of experience in financial and administrative management.

In addition to having the right educational qualification and relevant work experience, there are certain skills a financial and operations manager should possess to be a top flier in his/her career.

Top 15 Financial Operations Manager Skills to be Top of your Career

Here are important skills and qualities one needs to have to be effective working as a financial operations manager and succeed in their career:

1. Financial skills
2. Prioritization Skills
3. Planning skills
4. Project management
5. Communication skills
6. Critical thinking skills
7. Analytical skills
8. Problem-solving skills
9. Interpersonal skills
10. Team-building skills
11. Leadership skills
12. Confidentiality
13. Computer skills
14. Time- management skills
15. Decision-making skills.

1. Financial skills

As a financial and operations manager, it is critical that you have the basic financial skills necessary to impact the financial performance of the organization as well as the implications of your decisions.

It is essential for preventing waste and poor decision making.

It is essential that you are familiar with methods of accounting used to record business transactions and basic financial statements, and be skilled in the preparation of a budget.

It is also important that you can perform variance analysis to analyze variances against the budget or forecast, as well as have expertise in performing a financial evaluation of projects and initiatives intended to improve operational and financial performance.

Also, most employers require that financial operations managers are familiar with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to be considered for the job position.

2. Prioritization skills

Financial and operations managers mostly work in a fast paced environment and are saddled with multiple responsibilities.

So, it is crucial that they can effectively prioritize projects/tasks.

Prioritization skills refer to the ability to manage tasks in the order of importance putting them in a sequence to achieve results quickly and efficiently.

As a financial operations manager, you must be an expert in managing a host of time-sensitive tasks because it helps to improve the productivity of your workplace by eliminating wasted effort.

To establish priorities clearly picture the end result before you begin, so that you understand the sequence necessary to achieve your goal.

3. Planning skills

A financial operations manager is responsible for leading the planning process for the annual budget as well as developing long-range forecasts and financial plans.

Hence, it is crucial that they have strong planning skills.

To come up with effective plans, you should understand the problem, gather and analyze data to verify the assumptions underlying the problem and analyze the situations by asking questions and then establishing the goal and breaking it into small actionable steps that can lead to the attainment of the bigger picture.

You will be responsible for implementing the action plan or solution and monitoring and evaluating the outcome of the process.

4. Project management

To be a top-rated financial operations manager, it is important that you are an expert in initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing the work of teams under your authority to achieve predetermined goals and key success indicators within the projected timeframe.

To do this effectively, you should plan the project from conception to implementation, draw a time-table, execute each phase, create, allocate, and manage the budget; communicate clearly to team members, troubleshoot any issues that arise, and deliver the end product or service within the schedule.

5. Communication skills

A crucial part of the financial operations manager’s day to day job is to communicate with the senior management team, work teams, committees, and other relevant stakeholders.

Most employers look out for people who can convey information clearly and precisely in writing and spoken English.

It is important that you are a first-rate communicator who can relay a message in as few words as possible using a variety of channels, including in-person, over the phone, email, and group settings.

It is important for communicating your vision, financial analysis, budgets, as well as forecasts to the relevant stakeholders and teams.

To improve on your communication skills, you should listen actively, observe where applicable, and take your audience into consideration to determine the best way to converse with them.

6. Critical thinking skills

The financial operations manager has a lot of information to work with daily, including quantitative and qualitative information necessary for planning, forecasting, and budgeting.

Hence, they need the ability to analyze information objectively and make a reasoned judgment to excel in this position.

They must have the capacity to evaluate various sources of information, including data, facts, observable phenomena, sales records, customer feedback, financial records, and research findings.

This skill is relevant for establishing reasonable conclusions from a set of information, separating non-essential information, appropriately evaluating a situation, and providing solutions that will improve on processes.

7. Analytical skills

A financial operation manager must have strong analytical skills to collect and analyze both numerical and qualitative information and reach viable and valid decisions from the various options to choose from.

It is a vital skill for problem-solving and improving an organization’s overall productivity.

This skill is what is often exercised in detecting trends and patterns, brainstorming, observing, interpreting data, integrating new information, theorizing, and making decisions; which is a major part of a financial operations manager’s job.

8. Problem-solving skills

An aptitude for problem-solving is a vital element for every top financial operations manager.

It involves some elements of creativity to generate several alternative solutions, research skills, teamwork, and sound judgment to make the best decision balancing them against the pros and cons of each line of action.

Problem-solving skills refer to the ability of the financial operations manager to troubleshoot on issues at hand, identify the problem, and generate a number of creative solutions; evaluating the options and implementing a plan to achieve the desired result.

Also, you must find the root cause of the unwanted situation and evaluate the effectiveness of your interventions.

It is essential because problems are a usual feature on the job. Also, you will have people you are leading so you must take ownership of deliverables and show commitment to the goal.

9. Interpersonal skills

The role of the financial operations manager is a leadership position, so if you will be able to influence your subordinates, team, senior executives, and other relevant stakeholders, you must have exceptional interpersonal skills.

The skill refers to your ability to work well with people of various personalities and backgrounds.

As a financial operations manager, you should be able to relate easily with people, establish and maintain relationships, and listen to people.

Some people have this ability naturally, but it can also be developed.

To improve on your skills, show genuine interest in others, listen actively, express appreciation as necessary, and observe non-verbal cues and deportment to enable you to decipher the signals from others and interpret them accurately in order to form a response.

10. Team-building skills

The financial operations manager is in charge of small teams, so this skill is greatly sought by employers.

As a leader, it is important to demonstrate a sense of responsibility to self and the assigned team, and be committed to their personal and professional growth.

Showing commitment to the individual professional concerns of your team will help you motivate the team, build consensus, and develop positive relationships among team members.

It is necessary for fostering change in ambiguous settings and boosting productivity.

11. Leadership skills

The financial operations manager is responsible for providing strategic direction for the group, mapping out the strategies for actualizing them, and influencing them to achieve the group’s objectives.

It is crucial that you develop this skill to be a top-rated financial operations manager.

It is also important that you build trust, empower teams, and delegate tasks to them as necessary.

As a financial operations manager, you must be able to lead small teams and manage talented people.

To be an effective leader, it is important to show commitment to the course been pursued by the organization and effectively communicate it for others to follow.

12. Confidentiality

As a manager leading teams, it is vital that you can keep information given in confidence secret as necessary.

The financial operations manager will have access to sensitive business and employee information, as well as personal information from team members who may entrust him/her with their personnel matters.

Employers are interested in people with a demonstrated ability to manage confidential matters discreetly.

Also, this skill is essential in gaining the trust and confidence of colleagues and clients, and it is also an element for building strong teams.

13. Computer skills

Following the increase of technology in the workplace, most jobs require that you are familiar with operating a computer and utilizing some software applications relevant to the job position.

It is also applicable to the financial operations manager position. As a prerequisite for employment, it is crucial that you have the software skills to proficiently utilize MS Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Most employers request that you are familiar with QuickBooks, and experience working with relational databases, including SQL.

Python will be a plus if you have it, but it may be a requirement to qualify for the job, depending on the organization you are applying to.

14. Time- management skills

As a financial operations manager, you will be saddled with several responsibilities and projects to handle.

Time management skills help you to stay organized, prioritize your tasks, and manage your time well to get the most of each day.

having good time management skills implies that you have the ability to stay organized and maintain a clear picture of what you need to complete and when.

It is crucial in this job position as it allows you to work effectively under multiple deadlines, which are an essential feature of your job role.

15. Decision-making skills

Decision making is a major part of your job as a financial operations manager. It involves choosing the optimal course of action from among alternatives, even in the face of little information and uncertainty.

Decisions can be made using intuition, logical reasoning, or a combination of both approaches, depending on the complexity of the problem or project under consideration.

However, as a finance and operations manager, it is vital that you can utilize your knowledge, experiences, facts from research, and financial records, etc. to reach sound decisions that will optimize the departments and organization’s operations.

Financial Operations Manager Skills for Resume

If you are writing a resume or CV for the financial operations manager position, you can create a compelling Skills section for it by utilizing the skills and qualities discussed above.

By showing in your resume/CV that you have the skills and qualities required for success on the financial operations manager job, you are sure to increase your chances of getting an interview with the recruiter/employer.

Conclusion

The financial operations manager is a senior-level position requiring financial and managerial expertise, strong educational background, and extensive cognate experience to be considered for the job.

However, in addition to these basic qualifications, there are role-based skills and competence you should possess to be at the top of your job and career as a financial operations manager, which have been provided in this post.