Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Corporate Finance Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Corporate Finance Manager is a hands-on finance leader responsible for driving accurate financial planning & analysis (FP&A), month-end close and consolidated financial reporting, cash and working capital management, and strategic financial modeling to support executive decision-making. This role partners cross-functionally with business leaders to translate strategy into measurable financial plans, automates key processes using ERP and analytics tools, supports M&A and capital allocation activities, and manages a small finance team to deliver timely, insightful financial insights.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Financial Analyst — demonstrated ownership of the monthly close, forecasting and business partnering.
FP&A Analyst / Finance Business Partner — strong modeling experience and stakeholder management.
Accounting Manager — solid technical accounting, consolidation and reporting experience.

Advancement To:

Director of Finance — broader P&L responsibility and strategic planning ownership.
Vice President of Finance / Head of FP&A — leadership of larger finance function and strategic partner to the executive team.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) — enterprise-level finance leadership, investor relations and capital strategy.

Lateral Moves:

Corporate Development Manager — focused on M&A, valuation and integrations.
Treasury Manager — concentrated cash, liquidity, and bank relationship management.
Commercial Finance Manager / Strategy Finance Partner — close partnering with Sales/Revenue functions.

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead and own the monthly, quarterly and annual close process for assigned entities, including consolidation, journal entries, reconciliations and preparation of accurate GAAP/IFRS financial statements for management review.
Prepare, maintain and present monthly management reporting packages (actuals, forecasts, variance analysis and KPIs) to the CFO and senior leadership with clear narrative, drivers and recommended actions.
Build, maintain and continuously improve integrated financial models for annual budgeting, rolling forecasts and long-range planning (3–5 year plans), enabling scenario analysis and sensitivity testing for strategic decisions.
Drive the annual budgeting process end-to-end: coordinate inputs across departments, reconcile variances, consolidate budgets and publish final operating and capital budgets within agreed timelines.
Perform deep-dive variance and trend analysis to explain movements in revenue, gross margin, operating expenses and working capital; provide actionable recommendations to business stakeholders to improve performance.
Design and implement cash flow forecasts and working capital optimization initiatives, including DSOs, DPOs and inventory turns, to ensure adequate liquidity for business operations and capital needs.
Build financial models and perform valuation analyses to support M&A, divestitures, joint ventures and strategic investments; prepare due diligence packages and financial scenarios for deal teams.
Lead financial planning for major cross-functional strategic projects (pricing initiatives, product launches, cost transformation programs), including scenario planning, ROI analysis and post-implementation performance tracking.
Oversee preparation of investor- and board-level materials: executive summaries, financial decks, KPI dashboards and supplementary analytics for periodic board meetings and investor updates.
Partner with Revenue, Sales Ops and Commercial teams to develop revenue forecasting methodologies, commission modeling and pricing impact analysis to drive predictable topline performance.
Implement, maintain and govern financial controls, SOX processes and internal policies to ensure compliance, mitigate risk and support external audits and tax reviews.
Manage relationships with external auditors, tax advisors and banking partners to coordinate fieldwork, deliverables, and responses to audit or tax enquiries.
Drive continuous process improvement and automation of manual finance tasks through ERP enhancements, Excel optimization (macros/VBA), BI tools (Power BI / Tableau) and workflow standardization to increase efficiency and data accuracy.
Lead and mentor a small team of analysts and accountants: set priorities, develop performance goals, deliver coaching and run regular 1:1s to grow analytical capability and cross-functional knowledge.
Maintain and reconcile balance sheet control accounts, including intercompany eliminations, accruals, prepaids and fixed assets, and ensure consistent accounting treatment across entities.
Prepare ad-hoc financial analyses and business-case modeling in response to executive requests, translating complex data into clear recommendations and decision-ready materials.
Oversee capital expenditure (CapEx) planning and approvals: evaluate project returns, monitor spend to budget and report capital commitments and variances.
Collaborate with Tax and Legal teams to ensure financial impacts of contracts, leases and tax positions are properly recorded and disclosed; support tax provisioning and compliance cycles.
Lead pricing and cost-to-serve analyses to identify margin expansion opportunities, product profitability and cost reduction levers; partner with operations to implement savings.
Serve as a key business partner to functional leaders, translating strategy into measurable financial targets, KPIs and performance scorecards and driving accountability against these targets.
Coordinate and support statutory reporting and external filings for assigned entities, ensuring timely delivery and adherence to regulatory requirements.
Construct and maintain executive dashboards using BI tools to provide near real-time visibility into financial performance, customer metrics and operational KPIs.
Evaluate and recommend capital structure, financing options and banking relationships to support growth plans and optimize cost of capital.
Ensure data governance and financial master data integrity across ERP and sub-ledger systems; partner with IT on system implementations, upgrades and month-end interfaces.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc analysis requests from executives, investment committees and business units with rapid, accurate financial modeling and scenario outputs.
Assist with integration activities for acquisitions and carve-outs, including systems mapping, chart of accounts harmonization and post-close accounting.
Contribute to selection and implementation of financial systems, ERP modules and reporting platforms; partner with IT and vendors to translate requirements and test deliverables.
Provide training and documentation for finance processes, reporting templates and internal controls to increase consistency and reduce knowledge silos.
Participate in cross-functional project teams (pricing, procurement, supply chain) to quantify financial impact and ensure alignment to corporate objectives.
Support tax provision calculations, transfer pricing documentation and coordination of tax audits in collaboration with external advisors.
Help develop and roll out financial literacy and budgeting training for non-finance managers to improve planning discipline across the organization.
Maintain and improve standard operating procedures for month-end close, forecasting cadence and capital approval workflows.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Advanced financial modeling and valuation skills (DCF, NPV, IRR, sensitivity and scenario analysis) used for M&A, capital projects and strategic planning.
Strong FP&A expertise: budgeting, rolling forecasts, variance analysis, headcount modeling and performance tracking against targets.
Deep understanding of accounting principles (US GAAP and/or IFRS), consolidated financial statements, journal entries and intercompany eliminations.
Hands-on month-end close and consolidation experience with timely delivery of management and statutory reporting.
Proficiency with ERP systems such as NetSuite, Oracle Fusion/NetSuite, SAP or Microsoft Dynamics and experience with chart of accounts design and master data governance.
Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, INDEX/MATCH, complex formulas, macros/VBA) for ad-hoc modeling and automation.
Experience with Business Intelligence and reporting tools such as Power BI, Tableau or Looker to create executive dashboards and automated reports.
SQL proficiency for extracting and manipulating financial and operational data from data warehouses (preferred).
Familiarity with treasury functions: cash forecasting, bank relationships, debt covenant management and short-term investments.
Knowledge of SOX controls, audit processes and internal control documentation to support compliance and external audits.
Financial systems implementation or upgrade experience, including testing, requirement gathering and post-implementation stabilization.
Corporate tax, transfer pricing or tax provision exposure (preferred) to coordinate tax impacts of business decisions.
Experience producing investor materials, board packs and executive-level presentations with clear data visualization and narrative.

Soft Skills

Strong business partnering and stakeholder management: influence cross-functional leaders, explain complex financial concepts simply and gain alignment.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills for presenting to C-suite and Board members.
Strategic mindset: translate short-term metrics into long-term value creation and capital allocation priorities.
Leadership and people management: coach, develop and hold a small team accountable to tight deadlines.
High attention to detail and strong organizational skills to manage multiple priorities during close and reporting cycles.
Problem-solving and analytical mindset: dissect root causes, challenge assumptions and recommend pragmatic solutions.
Change agent: comfort driving process improvements, standardization and technology adoption within finance.
Time management and prioritization: deliver high-quality work under pressure and tight monthly/quarterly timelines.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

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

Preferred Education:

MBA, MSc Finance or professional certification such as CPA, CMA, CFA is highly desirable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Finance
Accounting
Economics
Business Administration / Management Science
Data Analytics (finance-focused)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5–10 years of progressive finance experience, with at least 3–5 years in FP&A, corporate finance or accounting roles.

Preferred: 8+ years of combined FP&A, accounting and corporate finance experience including proven management of month-end close, financial modeling for strategic initiatives, M&A support, and leadership of small teams. Experience in the company's industry (technology, manufacturing, healthcare, SaaS, consumer goods, etc.) and familiarity with enterprise ERP/BI systems is a strong plus.