Financial management FMIT
(modified)
Managing the effective use and control of financial resources to support business strategies, compliance, and risk mitigation.
SFIA 9 is in development
- SFIA 9 beta due in early July 2024
- SFIA 9 planned for publication October 2024
This is a prototype for SFIA 9. It is subject to change before publication.
Moving to SFIA 9
- The Financial Management skill has been revised to emphasise its generalist responsibilities, reducing overlap with the three new specialist skills:
- Cost management COMG
- Budgeting and forecasting BUDF
- Financial analysis FIAN
- SFIA 8 skill descriptions will remain available for you to use
- Previous SFIA assessments are not impacted by this change
Guidance notes
(modified)
This skill typically applies to dedicated financial management roles, not to managers of operational or project budgets.
Financial management should align with business strategies and practices in areas such as governance, risk management, portfolio, programme and project management, and asset management.
Activities may include, but are not limited to:
- managing financial control and stewardship of assets and resources
- supporting strategic financial decision-making and business unit collaboration
- aligning budgeting, forecasting, and accounting practices with organisational goals
- guiding financial management for consumption-based costs like cloud services
- promoting financial practices to support iterative/agile working across the organisation
- overseeing development of service, project, and component cost models to meet strategic objectives
- defining and overseeing charging models for service provision
- ensuring compliance with accounting standards, policies, and regulatory requirements
- providing proactive risk management and mitigation strategies
- monitoring business unit performance against financial targets and KPIs, offering insights and recommendations.
Understanding the responsibility levels of this skill
Where lower levels are not defined...
- Specific tasks and responsibilities are not defined because the skill requires a higher level of autonomy, influence, and complexity in decision-making than is typically expected at these levels. You can use the essence statements to understand the generic responsibilities associated with these levels.
Where higher levels are not defined...
- Responsibilities and accountabilities are not defined because these higher levels involve strategic leadership and broader organisational influence that goes beyond the scope of this specific skill. See the essence statements.
Developing skills and demonstrating responsibilities related to this skill
The defined levels show the incremental progression in skills and reponsibilities.
Where lower levels are not defined...
You can develop your knowledge and support others who do have responsibility in this area by:
- Learning key concepts and principles related to this skill and its impact on your role
- Performing related skills (see the related SFIA skills)
- Supporting others with tasks (generic examples are provided by the essence statements for each level)
Where higher levels are not defined...
- You can progress by developing related skills which are better suited to higher levels of organisational leadership.
Levels
Defined at these levels: | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Click to learn why SFIA skills are not defined at all 7 levels.
Show/hide extra descriptions and levels.
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Financial management: Level 4
(modified)
Monitors and maintains financial records to ensure compliance and audit requirements are met.
Provides general support in financial planning and budgeting by compiling and reporting on financial data.
Supports decision-making by collating and summarising financial information at a high level.
Collaborates with business units to gather financial data and understand operational needs.
Financial management: Level 5
(modified)
Provides general advice and guidance on financial planning, budgeting, and accounting using recognised practices and standards.
Develops high-level financial plans and forecasts to guide organisational strategies and plans.
Monitors expenditure to ensure alignment with budgetary goals.
Contributes to financial control frameworks and supports strategic decision-making by summarising expenditure trends and variances.
Financial management: Level 6
(modified)
Develops organisational policies, standards, and guidelines for financial management to support strategic business goals.
Promotes financial governance and drives adherence to financial policies and standards. Collaborates with senior leaders and business unit heads to ensure financial strategies support overall business objectives.
Oversees the setting and management of financial budgets and targets at a strategic level.
Leads high-level reviews of financial performance and implements improvements to align budget usage with organisational priorities.