Example Career: Financial Managers, Branch or Department

Career Description

Direct and coordinate financial activities of workers in a branch, office, or department of an establishment, such as branch bank, brokerage firm, risk and insurance department, or credit department.

What Job Titles Financial Managers, Branch or Department Might Have

• Banking Center Manager (BCM)
• Branch Manager
• Credit Administration Manager
• Vice President

What Financial Managers, Branch or Department Do

• Plan, direct, or coordinate the activities of workers in branches, offices, or departments of establishments, such as branch banks, brokerage firms, risk and insurance departments, or credit departments.
• Establish and maintain relationships with individual or business customers or provide assistance with problems these customers may encounter.
• Recruit staff members.
• Prepare operational or risk reports for management analysis.
• Evaluate data pertaining to costs to plan budgets.
• Oversee training programs.
• Examine, evaluate, or process loan applications.
• Approve, reject, or coordinate the approval or rejection of lines of credit or commercial, real estate, or personal loans.
• Oversee the flow of cash or financial instruments.
• Prepare financial or regulatory reports required by laws, regulations, or boards of directors.
• Develop or analyze information to assess the current or future financial status of firms.
• Communicate with stockholders or other investors to provide information or to raise capital.
• Evaluate financial reporting systems, accounting or collection procedures, or investment activities and make recommendations for changes to procedures, operating systems, budgets, or other financial control functions.
• Analyze and classify risks and investments to determine their potential impacts on companies.
• Network within communities to find and attract new business.
• Review collection reports to determine the status of collections and the amounts of outstanding balances.
• Establish procedures for custody or control of assets, records, loan collateral, or securities to ensure safekeeping.
• Plan, direct, and coordinate risk and insurance programs of establishments to control risks and losses.
• Review reports of securities transactions or price lists to analyze market conditions.
• Direct insurance negotiations, select insurance brokers or carriers, and place insurance.
• Submit delinquent accounts to attorneys or outside agencies for collection.

What Financial Managers, Branch or Department Should Be Good At

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.

What Financial Managers, Branch or Department Should Be Interested In

• Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
• Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

What Financial Managers, Branch or Department Need to Learn

• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.