Every medium or large sized company or an organisation has a separate financial department that takes care of the financial or accounting matters of the company. This department, together with its many officials handles the financial statements, financial transactions, financial decision making and financial troubleshooting.
In one line, the finance department supervises the financial affairs of the company and protects it from financial difficulties through planning. Within this department, there is a hierarchy of job positions from the topmost to the bottommost. The following will help you understand this hierarchy well.
A) Finance Director
The position of a finance director is the highest ranking position in the finance job hierarchy and the individual employed at this position normally has many years of experience and heads all the other officials of the financial department.
B) Finance Consultant
Finance consultants are those officials of a finance department who offer their advice and suggestions to the director and help in the smooth functioning of the company as far as financial decisions are concerned. These individuals are extremely experienced and learned and have more knowledge about this field than any other person. There are two types of finance consultants:
1. Internal financial consultants-These experts are employed by a company and work within it. These are permanent employees who work full time with their employer’s company.
2. External financial consultants-These experts are not part of the company and re hired externally for providing consultations to firms. These individuals work on temporary basis and may work for a number of firms at the same time.
C) Financial Manager
This is the third ranking position in the hierarchy of finance jobs. A finance manager forms an important part of a finance department or company as he/she ensures smooth daily operations and maintains accuracy and professionalism. A financial manager trains, recruits and supervises all the finance workers who work under him/her.
D) Finance Analyst
Another position in the pyramid of finance jobs is that of a finance analyst. Financial analysts are basically corporate finance associates who help in analyzing the company’s financial statements and help it in its investment related plans or strategies.
E) Finance Trainee
On the lowermost position of the pyramid of finance jobs lies the position of the finance trainee. Trainees are fresh graduates or entry level workers who are new to the finance industry and are given a variety of tasks such as helping in financial strategies, internal policies and in financial controls.