Internal audits are conducted, rules for in-house accounting are established, and financial reports are prepared on behalf of publicly traded companies a financial reporting director. The financial reporting director is typically the most senior employee in a company’s finance department. This person usually has a lot of industry experience and a lot of academic credentials.
Company accountants are required to produce quarterly and annual financial reports detailing the firm’s income, expenses, and operating profits or losses in many countries. Strict rules may govern how these reports are created, as well as how items like accounts receivables and asset write-downs are recorded. The financial reporting director is in charge of making sure that finance department employees create and maintain records in accordance with regional accounting laws. As a result, the director is in charge of putting in place training programs and internal control systems aimed at preventing errors.
Typically, a company will hire a single financial reporting director to whom several area managers must report. The director is in charge of hiring, coaching, and firing managers, as well as overseeing the finance department’s budget. Directors can implement new internal procedures and protocols to boost efficiency as long as they don’t break any accounting rules.
A director must find ways to improve the financial efficiency of the company as a whole, in addition to gathering data and managing employees. This may entail identifying departments and processes that can be streamlined, as well as suggesting job cuts on occasion. Directors are required to produce reports on the company’s financial performance on a regular basis, which are typically shared with the board of directors. In some countries, these individuals are also required to file reports with securities regulators and respond to questions about the firm’s past performance and short-term prospects from regulators, shareholders, and the press.
An undergraduate degree program in finance, mathematics, or a related field is usually required for someone who wants to work as a financial reporting director. Many employers prefer to hire people who have completed postgraduate degrees in finance. In many countries, only certified accountants are allowed to produce financial reports, so anyone interested in one of these positions must first complete a certification process that may include a series of classes and a written exam. Aside from academic qualifications, many companies require applicants for these positions to have worked in accounts or in junior finance department roles for several years.