The Results-Oriented Finance Workplace

Finance jobs, whether budgeting, investments or taxes, are involved in a lot of detail. When finance people are so engrossed in the details of their jobs, it's easy for them, for anyone actually, to lose sight of the job's major contribution.

A Results-Oriented Finance Job Description is different from a traditional job description because it focuses an employee on the several job results that answer the question: What results must this finance job accomplish for the organization?

Finance Job Standards added to job expectations tighten management controls by clarifying how well and when results must be accomplished.

Finance Job Objectives establish management and employee plans by highlighting important current and future results needed.

Job-specific Finance Employee Management Forms maintain consistent and legally sound management actions by basing manager-employee interactions on job results.

The Purpose of Finance Jobs

Stated in a results-oriented, three-line style, finance jobs--

MAINTAIN ORGANIZATION FINANCIAL STABILITY by

preparing financial policies, procedures, methods, and guidelines; establishing and monitoring internal financial controls; analyzing and interpreting financial data; developing budgets; assembling and analyzing historical financial data; identifying trends; providing forecasts; investing funds; calculating and paying taxes.

Types of Finance Jobs

Some finance jobs prepare and analyze budgets, and then track performance related to the budget. Other jobs keep track of cash on hand and invest cash when there is an excess. Still other jobs study financial situations and documents to understand the implications.

Somebody needs to prepare financial reports and the financial portion of organization plans, and to study economic conditions. Investments need to be analyzed and made, and then tracked and adjusted. For sure, somebody needs to analyze and control risks. And, of course, somebody has to manage and supervise the finance people and processes.

Finance Job Management Tools

Here are actual job examples of how finance job actions can be focused on results and kept on track using each of our job management tools:

Results-Oriented Finance Job Descriptions form the foundation of all job management tools. Our uniquely structured job descriptions focus on the result to be accomplished first and prominently, followed by the duties performed in order to accomplish the result. For example,

RECOMMENDS FINANCE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

Finance Job Standards sharpen employee attention and management control by defining and communicating how well the finance results must be accomplished and what benchmarks will be used to measure job results. For example, for the job result above, the job standards might be:

• Finance situations are correctly understood.
• All options are identified and evaluated.
• Finance recommendations are ready when needed.

Finance Job Objectives point the direction for employee actions by focusing job efforts on current and future finance issues. Job objectives are written in the three-line, results-oriented structure. For example, for the job result above, a job objective might be:

SPEED-UP DECISION MAKING by

reducing time to deliver finance recommendations by 10% by (date).

Finance Employee Management Forms tied specifically to each finance job description are more helpful (and legal) than generic forms used for all different kinds of jobs. Job-specific forms are used to state job qualifications, guide job interview questions, orient new employees, plan job training, and appraise job performance.

Finance Job Qualifications are stated in the same terms used in the job description. They are not translated into generic (typically behavioral) terms. For example:

RECOMMENDS FINANCE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

Finance Job Interview guide questions are inserted directly below each job result in the job description: For example:

• "What specific job responsibilities have you had in this area?"
• "Where did you have these job responsibilities?"
• "When did you have these job responsibilities?"
• "How did you go about accomplishing these responsibilities?"
• "What accomplishment in this area gave you the most pride?"
• "In this area, what were some of your biggest challenges?"
• "How did you overcome the challenges?"

The Finance Job Orientation guide reformats the job description sequence so that job explanations, policies, protocols, processes, and procedures are logical and complete and can easily be checked off. For example:

RECOMMENDS FINANCE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

The manager might say: "Here's the procedure and format we use to analyze and present finance recommendations."

The Finance Job Training plan guides a thorough examination of actual job knowledge, skills, and abilities as described in the job description that need improvement or that might be enhanced. For example:

RECOMMENDS FINANCE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

The manager might say: "Analytical skills would be improved by enrolling in a statistical analysis class."

The Finance Job Performance Appraisal guide is a job-specific form. It is not a universal form used for all jobs. The guide adds an appraisal scale below each job result in the job description so that attention can be drawn to each job requirement and expectation. For example:

RECOMMENDS FINANCE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

__ Great! Just want we wanted.
__ We have a problem.
__ Improvement is needed.
__ Much, much more than we asked for.

Comments: _________________

Finance Résumé Template

Potential employers want to know what a job applicant has accomplished in his/her finance work career. They don't want to be bored with minor details. Our Résumé Template provides:

• an outline to help assemble personal background information.
• a Results-Oriented Job Description to provide the finance job language-focused on results-needed to write an effective résumé.
• Finance Job Objectives to orient thinking in terms of accomplishments.
• instructions on how to use a Results-Oriented Finance Job Description and Finance Job Objectives to express job accomplishments.

Use the finance job description responsibility statement as a base:

RECOMMENDS FINANCE ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

Select the finance job objective that fits your experience:

REDUCE COSTS 10% by

improving finance processes.

Combine the two into a résumé statement:

Reduced costs 10% by analyzing, identifying, and recommending new finance system controls.

Finance Career Links

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Financial Managers

Training and education needed for financial manager jobs, earnings, expected job prospects, what financial managers do on the job, and working conditions.

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Financial Analysts

Education and training needed for financial analyst jobs, earnings, expected job prospects, what financial analysts do on the job, and working conditions.

Indiana University - Bloomington, Career Reference Collection - Finance

University library resources.

Virginia Tech, Careers in Finance

Comments about jobs in corporate finance.

Association for Financial Professionals, Certified Treasury Professional, Certified Cash Manager

Information about the professional designations.

Indeed.com, Treasury Analyst Forum

On-line discussions.

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Budget Analysts

Training and education needed for budget analyst jobs, earnings, expected job prospects, what budget analysts do on the job, and working conditions.

eThemes, Finance

Age-appropriate resources organized around specific themes for educators to use in their classrooms.