Finance Manager

A Finance Manager oversees financial operations, accounting systems, and reporting for an organisation or business unit in Australia. They ensure compliance with accounting standards, manage budgets, direct accounting staff, and provide financial analysis to senior leadership to support strategic decision-making. The role typically sits within the finance or corporate services function of medium to large organisations.

Direct and supervise accounting and finance staff, including recruitment, performance management, and professional development. Prepare and present monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards (AAS) and relevant legislation. Manage the general ledger and chart of accounts using enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems such as SAP, Oracle, or Xero. Oversee the accounts payable and accounts receivable functions, including processing invoices, managing creditor terms, and reconciling customer accounts. Develop and monitor organisational budgets and forecasts, tracking variance against actuals and reporting to executives. Ensure compliance with Australian Taxation Office (ATO) requirements, including lodging Business Activity Statements (BAS) and managing PAYG withholding. Manage superannuation contributions and compliance with the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992. Direct the year-end financial close process, including account reconciliations, accrual adjustments, and audit readiness.

The standard entry pathway requires a bachelor degree or higher (ABS Skill Level 1). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.

The role is also detail-heavy and repetitive: month-end closes, reconciliations, and compliance tasks dominate your time, leaving less room for strategic work than the job description suggests.

Practically speaking, regional Australia has far fewer positions: they typically exist only in regional offices of big national firms. Remote work is possible but less common than in pure accounting roles.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 1322, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.

This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

• Attention to Detailcore
• Microsoft Excel Data Managementcore
• Policy Interpretationcore
• Process Improvement Identificationcore
• Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
• Report Writingcore
• Reporting and Analyticscore
• Research and Analysiscore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Stakeholder Communicationcore
• Written Communicationcore
• Confidentiality and Privacy Compliance
• Microsoft Office Suite Proficiency
• Negotiation
• Power BI Reporting and Dashboards
• Team Collaboration
• Time Management and Prioritisation

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

What Finance Manager workers move into, from ten years of tax records.

Last updated: 30 October 2026