Role of Financial Manager

In these competitive times, survival depends largely on an organization's capabilities to anticipate and prepare for change rather than just react to it. The role of the financial officer, thus, becomes crucial to meet these technological, economic and political, changes.

In today's business world what is the role of a financial manager? We have all heard at one time or another that "a financial managers wears many hats." The role of the financial manager has expanded beyond traditional responsibilities related to company's finances. A financial manager though his/her understanding of the company's financial health, the current market, and the goals of the company helps set directions and guides decision making.

The role of the financial manager is undergoing enormous change. He/she is transforming from a steward of financial assets into an internal venture capitalist because tomorrow's finance managers will be much more involved in deciding the future of their companies.

Finance

Finance

Finances

He/she will have to assess the risks in funding these opportunities and be prepared to justify investments based on the value they will create as options in the future. Managing physical and even working capital will become less and less important as the focus of finance shifts increasingly to intangible assets. How these assets are valued and nurtured will have little to do with accounting goals. Because of these challenges, a finance manager is a partner to the CEO who is actively involved in anticipating industry trends, launching new ventures, valuing intangible assets, and managing business options far more dynamic.

A financial manager has numerous critical responsibilities, which include designing and fine-tuning a more responsive and effective "rolling forecast/budgeting process." The financial manager will also need to increasingly be able to dynamically balance investments between old and new economy ventures, which are essential to fueling growth and shareholder...