Solid • Principal-Level

Financial Manager.

Plan, direct, or coordinate accounting, investing, banking, insurance, securities, and other financial activities of a branch, office, or department of an establishment.

Salary$161,700per year
Openings74,600per year
Growth+15%10 year

Example job titles

Accounting SupervisorBanking Center Manager (BCM)Branch ManagerBusiness Banking ManagerCredit Administration ManagerCredit ManagerFinancial Center ManagerFinancial Planning ManagerFinancial Reporting ManagerFinancial Systems ManagerControllerCFOVP of Finance

Why This Rating.

[01]

This role is solid

Financial managers make high-stakes strategic decisions that depend on deep knowledge of their organization's people, history, and risk appetite-context that AI can't easily replicate. They spend significant time navigating competing priorities across departments and building consensus with leadership, which is inherently human work. AI will supercharge their analytical capabilities and free them from routine reporting, making each manager more effective rather than replaceable.

Risks & Opportunities.

[02]
[01] Risks
52%

efficiency substitution in AI usage[1]

The analytical core of financial management is under real automation pressure. Developing and analyzing financial status information -- a top task by weight -- shows a 52% automation rate in AI usage data [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sep 2024]. McKinsey estimates that AI can automate 60 to 70% of the time finance teams currently spend on data processing, analysis, and reporting, compressing the analyst and associate headcount that financial managers traditionally oversee [Deloitte Insights, Sep 2024]. This means fewer subordinates to manage and more pressure on financial managers to personally own the judgment and strategy work that AI cannot handle.

[02] Opportunities
25-35%

capacity gains for financial managers deploying AI tools, per Deloitte CFO survey[2]

The durability of this role comes from its highest-weighted work: establishing and maintaining customer and business relationships, directing branch or department activities, and making final credit and loan decisions [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sep 2024]. These require the combination of accountability, local judgment, and organizational authority that automated systems cannot hold. A5=4 (interpersonal influence) and A6=4 (leadership and coordination) are structural strengths -- the decisions a financial manager is paid to make require buy-in from stakeholders that a model cannot generate [McKinsey Global Institute, May 2024]. Deloitte's 2024 CFO survey found that CFOs and financial managers who effectively deployed AI tools reported 25 to 35% capacity gains, enabling them to take on broader strategic scope without adding headcount [Deloitte Insights, Sep 2024].

Observed AI Impact.

[03]

AI is starting to automate these

Share of AI conversations where this task is handled solo, with little human involvement.

Prepare risk reports
Prepare operational or risk reports for management analysis.
83.6% automated
Med usage
Review collection reports
Review collection reports to determine the status of collections and the amounts of outstanding balances.
64.9% automated
Med usage
Manage customer relationships
Establish and maintain relationships with individual or business customers or provide assistance with problems these customers may encounter.
59.3% automated
Med usage

AI assists but needs guidance

Share of AI conversations where this task is handled collaboratively, with a human steering.

Evaluate costs for budgets
Evaluate data pertaining to costs to plan budgets.
64.8% augmented
Med usage
Financial Systems Evaluation and Recommendations
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.
59% augmented
Med usage

AI hasn't figured these out

Low or no AI usage recorded for these tasks.

Direct branch/department operations
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.
No data
Oversee cash flow
Oversee the flow of cash or financial instruments.
No data
Analyze financial status
Develop or analyze information to assess the current or future financial status of firms.
No data
Process loan applications
Examine, evaluate, or process loan applications.
No data
Approve/reject credit decisions
Approve, reject, or coordinate the approval or rejection of lines of credit or commercial, real estate, or personal loans.
No data

Data: Anthropic Economic Index (Jun 2026) · Real-world Claude usage patterns across occupations

How to Adapt.

[04]
[01] Already in this role?

The most concrete near-term move is to get hands-on with the AI-enabled FP&A (financial planning and analysis) tools your organization uses -- Workday Adaptive Planning, Anaplan, or similar platforms -- so you can evaluate their outputs critically rather than accepting them at face value [Deloitte Insights, Sep 2024]. Over the next six months, build depth in the oversight and strategic framing skills that AI surfaces demand for: synthesizing AI-generated financial analysis into board-ready narratives, identifying where AI model assumptions break down, and making capital allocation decisions in ambiguous situations where the data is incomplete [McKinsey Global Institute, May 2024].

“The finance function is not shrinking -- it is reorienting. The time that used to go into pulling data and building reports is going into interpretation and decision support. Financial managers who make that shift are doing more valuable work. Those who don't are being replaced by tools.”

Deloitte Insights, '2024 CFO Survey: AI and the Finance Function' (2024)

“AI is giving financial managers access to analysis that used to require a team of analysts. The constraint is no longer getting the numbers -- it's knowing what questions to ask of them and communicating the answers to people who need to act on them.”

McKinsey Global Institute, 'The economic potential of generative AI'

[02] Thinking of entering?

The CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and CPA credentials remain the clearest entry signals for financial manager roles, particularly in investment management, banking, and corporate finance [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sep 2024]. Candidates entering now should demonstrate fluency with FP&A platforms and financial modeling tools -- being able to build and interrogate a financial model in Excel, Python, or a dedicated FP&A platform is increasingly an expectation at the associate level, before a manager title is in reach [Deloitte Insights, Sep 2024]. The roles that lead to financial manager positions are evolving toward analytics-heavy tracks -- building experience in business intelligence, variance analysis, and scenario modeling will matter more than traditional bookkeeping backgrounds [McKinsey Global Institute, May 2024].

“Finance professionals most exposed to AI displacement are those whose work is primarily data retrieval and report generation. Those whose value is judgment under uncertainty, interpreting ambiguous financial signals, navigating client relationships through volatile conditions, remain in strong demand.”

Thomson Reuters, Future of Professionals Report 2025

“Entry-level candidates who understand FP&A tools and can connect data to business decisions are in a different category than those who learned finance through traditional accounting tracks. The financial manager of the future is a translator between AI-generated analysis and business strategy.”

Deloitte Insights, '2024 CFO Survey: AI and the Finance Function' (2024)

The Career Map.

[05]

The full BLS career track, plus relevant emerging AI-native paths. Click any role to see how to transition to it.

Entry

Bookkeeper

43-3031.00

Risky

Tax Preparer

13-2082.00

Risky

Recreation Worker Supervisor

→ Lateral

Solid
Mid-Level

Accountant

13-2011.00

Solid
Senior

Loan Officer

13-2072.00

Solid

Credit Analyst

13-2041.00

Exposed

Financial Advisor

13-2052.00

Strong

Financial Risk Specialist

13-2054.00

Solid

Credit Counselor

13-2071.00

Strong

Insurance Underwriter

13-2053.00

Shifting

Financial Services Sales Agent

→ Lateral

Solid
Lead or Specialist

Fraud Investigator

13-2099.04

Solid

Financial Examiner

13-2061.00

Shifting
Principal

Financial Manager

★ This Role

VP of AI Financial Strategy

✦ Emerging

Director of Automated Finance Operations

✦ Emerging

Chief Predictive Analytics Officer

✦ Emerging

Sources

0.Financial Manager Occupational Data- O*NET Online

  1. 1.Occupational Outlook Handbook: Financial Managers- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sep 2024
  2. 2.2024 CFO Survey: AI and the Finance Function- Deloitte Insights, Sep 2024
  3. 3.Jobs on the Rise 2024- LinkedIn Economic Graph, Jan 2024
  4. 4.Future of Jobs 2023- World Economic Forum, May 2023