A Finance Manager is a qualified finance professional responsible for the month-end close process, management accounts production and the day-to-day operation of the finance function. The Finance Manager role is the most common qualified finance appointment at growing businesses of £3m–£30m revenue — either as the most senior finance professional in a smaller business or as the operational finance lead sitting beneath a Financial Controller or Finance Director in a larger team.
This page provides a complete Finance Manager job description template, qualification requirements, 2026 salary benchmarks and the career progression from Finance Manager through to Financial Controller and Finance Director. If you are hiring a Finance Manager, see the Finance Manager Recruitment page and Finance Manager Salary Guide UK.
Finance Manager Job Description Template
Role: Finance Manager | Reports to: Financial Controller, Finance Director or CEO/MD | Salary: £52,000–£92,000 | Updated: June 2026
Role Overview
The Finance Manager is responsible for the production of accurate, timely management accounts and the operational management of the finance function. Depending on the size of the business, the Finance Manager may be the most senior finance professional — responsible for the full finance function including statutory accounts oversight — or may sit beneath a Financial Controller or Finance Director and own the close process and management reporting while the more senior professional manages the strategic financial and investor relationship dimensions.
Key Responsibilities
Month-end close management. Own and manage the month-end close process from period-end through to management accounts production. Set and maintain the close schedule, ensure all journals are posted accurately by the agreed deadlines, manage the finance team’s close workload and resolve any close process issues that arise.
Management accounts preparation. Prepare the monthly management accounts pack including P&L by cost centre or division, balance sheet, cash flow statement and written commentary explaining the key financial performance drivers for the period. Present management accounts to the CEO, MD or board as required.
Budget and forecast. Lead or significantly contribute to the preparation of the annual budget and rolling reforecast. Prepare variance analysis against budget and provide clear explanation of material variances. Maintain the financial forecast to reflect the most current view of the business’s financial trajectory.
Balance sheet management. Own the balance sheet reconciliation process — ensuring all material balance sheet categories are reconciled monthly to supporting documentation and that any unreconciled items are investigated and resolved promptly.
Cash flow management. Prepare and maintain the rolling cash flow forecast — typically a thirteen-week rolling forecast at weekly granularity — and manage the business’s cash position within the parameters set by the Financial Controller or Finance Director.
Team management. Manage the finance team including any Accounts Assistants, Purchase Ledger Clerks, Sales Ledger Clerks or Payroll administrators. Set objectives, provide regular feedback and develop team members’ capability.
Statutory accounts support. Where the FM is the most senior finance professional: prepare or significantly contribute to the preparation of the annual statutory accounts under FRS 102, manage the year-end audit process and maintain the relationship with the external auditor. Where the FM sits beneath an FC or FD: provide the management accounts data and working papers required by the FC for the statutory accounts preparation.
Systems and processes. Maintain and improve the finance systems — accounting system, payroll system, purchase ledger — ensuring they are operating effectively and identifying opportunities to improve the efficiency and accuracy of financial processing through system improvements or process redesign.
Qualifications and Experience
Qualification: ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualification required at £55,000 and above. At the lower end of the salary range, part-qualified candidates actively studying toward ACA, ACCA or CIMA may be considered for roles where the scope is more operational than strategic and where a qualified line manager provides technical oversight.
Experience: Two to six years of post-qualification experience in a finance function, with direct experience of owning or significantly contributing to a month-end close process. Experience of managing a junior team member. At businesses where the FM will own the year-end audit: experience of managing the year-end audit process independently, including audit file preparation and auditor relationship management.
Systems: Proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite, particularly Excel. Experience with an ERP or accounting system (Xero, Sage, NetSuite, QuickBooks, SAP or similar). Proficiency in the specific system used by the business is desirable but not essential where the candidate is system-adaptable.
Finance Manager Salary Benchmarks — 2026
| Role Context | London | South East | Midlands & North |
|---|---|---|---|
| FM — most senior role, £3m–£8m | £55k–£72k | £47k–£61k | £42k–£56k |
| FM — most senior role, £8m–£20m | £62k–£82k | £53k–£70k | £47k–£64k |
| FM — below FC, £15m–£50m | £65k–£92k | £55k–£78k | £49k–£70k |
| FM — PE-backed | £68k–£98k | £58k–£83k | £52k–£74k |
| Interim FM — day rate | £300–£480/day | £260–£410/day | £230–£370/day |
These benchmarks reflect live 2026 placement data from Accountancy Capital. Employer NI at 15% (April 2026 rate) adds approximately 13% to the base salary cost for employers. See Finance Manager Salary Guide UK for the full breakdown by sector and business size.
Brief a Finance Manager Search
Accountancy Capital places Finance Managers across the UK at £55,000 and above. Same-day response on all briefs.
Tell Us About Your Hire → 0204 553 8893
Finance Manager vs Financial Controller: Scope Distinction
| Scope Element | Finance Manager | Financial Controller |
|---|---|---|
| Month-end close | Owns process | Owns process (at more complex businesses) |
| Management accounts | Prepares and presents | Reviews and presents at board / investor level |
| Statutory accounts | Owns (smaller businesses) / supports (larger) | Owns independently |
| Year-end audit | Manages (smaller) / supports (larger) | Manages independently |
| Team management | 1–3 direct reports typical | 2–6 direct reports typical |
| Bank relationship | Manages day-to-day (smaller businesses) | Primary bank relationship owner |
| Investor reporting | Rarely | Common at PE-backed businesses |
| Salary London 2026 | £55k–£92k | £65k–£135k |
See FC vs Finance Manager and When a Finance Manager Is No Longer Enough for the decision framework.
A Note from Our Founder — Adrian Lawrence FCA
The Finance Manager job description is the most commonly written — and most commonly mispriced — finance job description in the UK mid-market. The mismatch that I see most often: a business that needs a Financial Controller writes a Finance Manager job description because they want to save money on the title and the salary, includes FC-scope responsibilities (independent audit management, statutory accounts preparation, investor reporting) in the job description, and then wonders why they cannot attract qualified candidates at the Finance Manager salary they have budgeted.
The job description and the salary need to match the scope. If the role requires independent audit management and statutory accounts preparation, it is an FC role and should be priced at the FC market rate. If the role does not require those things — if the external accountant continues to manage the audit and prepare the statutory accounts — then it is a Finance Manager role and can be priced accordingly. Getting this right before writing the job description saves weeks of wasted search time. See the Finance Manager Recruitment page for Accountancy Capital’s FM hiring service.
Adrian Lawrence FCA
Founder, Accountancy Capital — Qualified finance recruitment specialists, £50,000 and above. Adrian is a Fellow of the ICAEW — verify via ICAEW.
Finance Manager Job Description Variations
Senior Finance Manager
The Senior Finance Manager typically has responsibility for a larger or more complex close process, or manages one or more Finance Managers or Management Accountants beneath them in a larger group finance function. Salary: £68,000–£98,000 in London, £57,000–£82,000 South East, £51,000–£74,000 regionally. See Finance Manager Salary Guide UK for the full breakdown.
Finance Manager in a PE-Backed Business
The PE-backed FM operates in a more demanding environment — closer timetables, investor-grade KPI reporting and the pace of commercial change that PE ownership creates. Commands 10–20% above the owner-managed benchmark for equivalent scope. See Finance Career in a PE-Backed Business for the PE finance career guide.
FM Interview: What to Ask Candidates
Close process ownership: Ask the candidate to describe the month-end close process step by step. Specific, sequential description indicates close ownership; vague description suggests a supporting role.
Team management: Ask for a specific example of managing a team member who was underperforming. Best answers describe a direct conversation, a specific support action and an outcome.
Variance explanation: Ask the candidate to explain a significant budget variance they have managed. Best answers identify the commercial cause, not just the financial effect. See Competency-Based Finance Interview Questions for the full interview framework.
Finance Manager Career Progression: FM to FC
The Finance Manager typically progresses to Financial Controller when: they have been performing FC-scope work — managing the year-end audit independently, owning the statutory accounts — and receive the FC title and compensation that reflects it; or when they move employer to a business where the FC appointment is appropriate for their experience level. The timeline from qualified FM to first FC appointment is typically two to five years depending on the pace of scope development and the complexity of the businesses they work at. See From Finance Manager to Financial Controller for the complete career transition guide.
How to Attract Strong Finance Manager Candidates to Your Brief
The Finance Manager brief that consistently attracts the strongest candidates has four properties: it specifies the scope accurately (is the FM the most senior finance role, or does an FC or FD sit above them?); it prices the role at the market rate for the specific scope, qualification and business type; it describes the close timetable and management accounts format so candidates can assess whether the role is the right step for their career; and it includes the business context — revenue, ownership structure, sector — so candidates can assess whether the business is at the right scale for their experience.
The Finance Manager brief that consistently fails to attract qualified candidates has the inverse properties: it describes FC-scope responsibilities at FM-level salary; it gives no business context beyond the job title; and it uses generic language — ‘excellent analytical skills’, ‘attention to detail’, ‘strong Excel’ — that describes every qualified finance professional without differentiating the role. Accountancy Capital provides direct feedback on brief quality before every FM search goes to market. Call 0204 553 8893 to discuss your FM brief before writing the job description or see Finance Manager Recruitment for the full service.
The Finance Manager as the Business Grows: When to Promote vs When to Recruit
Many businesses face the question of whether to promote the existing Finance Manager to Financial Controller, or to recruit a new FC externally, as the business grows beyond the scope that the FM role was originally designed for. The case for internal promotion is continuity, institutional knowledge and the motivation effect on the FM who has been developing toward the FC scope. The case for external recruitment is that the FC scope — particularly at businesses approaching PE investment or a bank refinancing — may require capabilities that the existing FM has not had the opportunity to develop.
Accountancy Capital advises on this decision regularly. The practical assessment is: has the existing FM been independently managing the year-end audit and the statutory accounts in the most recent cycle? Have they been presenting to the board or the investors directly? Are they managing a team of at least two people effectively? If the answers to all three are yes, the case for internal promotion to FC — with the appropriate title change, authority increase and salary adjustment to FC market rate — is strong. If any of the answers is no, the internal promotion to FC title without the underlying FC capability creates a structural gap that typically emerges within twelve months as a problem requiring an external hire anyway. See From Finance Manager to Financial Controller.
Related Pages and Resources
| FM Recruitment Finance Manager recruitment across the UK. | FC vs FM When FM scope becomes FC scope. | Career Guides From FM to FC to FD. | Related JDs Job descriptions for related roles. |
Finance Manager Recruitment — 0204 553 8893
Accountancy Capital places Finance Managers across the UK at £55,000 and above. Same-day response. 2026 salary benchmarks provided before every search.