Financial manager to accounting analyst
A financial manager already meets 74% of what the accounting analyst role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
29.4/ 100
1 How much of what an accounting analyst is expected to do is already part of a financial manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the accounting analyst role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An accounting analyst role treats 15 of its required skills as things a financial manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accounting department processes
- accounting entries
- accounting techniques
- analyse financial performance of a company
- analyse financial risk
- check accounting records
What stands in the way is 3 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 26 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An accounting analyst role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a financial manager background worth leading with.
- already held draft accounting procedures communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held supervise accounting operations management skills
- already held accounting entries business, administration and law
- already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions information skills
- already held liquidity management business, administration and law
- already held national generally accepted accounting principles business, administration and law
All 26 carried skills, including the 15 the accounting analyst role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 13 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn identify process improvements required
- still to learn explain accounting records required
- still to learn analyse business processes required
- optional, not held identify if a company is a going concern optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with disclosure criteria of accounting information optional
- optional, not held forecast account metrics optional
- optional, not held perform forensic accounting optional
- optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
- optional, not held global standards for sustainability reporting optional
- optional, not held treasury management system optional
- optional, not held public offering optional
- optional, not held follow the statutory obligations optional
- optional, not held review investment portfolios optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an accounting analyst role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 identify process improvements practise this
- 02 analyse business processes practise this
- 03 explain accounting records practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 26 skills that carry over
- already held accounting department processes knowledge
- already held accounting entries knowledge
- already held accounting techniques knowledge
- already held analyse financial performance of a company skill
- already held analyse financial risk skill
- already held check accounting records skill
- already held create a financial report skill
- already held draft accounting procedures skill
- already held financial department processes knowledge
- already held financial statements knowledge
- already held international financial reporting standards knowledge
- already held interpret financial statements skill
- already held monitor financial accounts skill
- already held national generally accepted accounting principles knowledge
- already held supervise accounting operations skill
- already held advise on financial matters skill
- already held ensure compliance with accounting conventions skill
- already held evaluate budgets skill
- already held investment analysis knowledge
- already held liaise with shareholders skill
- already held liquidity management knowledge
- already held make strategic business decisions skill
- already held manage accounts skill
- already held perform stock valuation skill
- already held prepare financial statements skill
- already held stock market knowledge
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held global standards for sustainability reporting optional
- optional, not held identify if a company is a going concern optional
- optional, not held treasury management system optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with disclosure criteria of accounting information optional
- optional, not held follow the statutory obligations optional
- optional, not held forecast account metrics optional
- optional, not held perform forensic accounting optional
- optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
- optional, not held public offering optional
- optional, not held review investment portfolios optional
80 held skills the accounting analyst role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on investment skill
- not needed by the target role advise on public finance skill
- not needed by the target role advise on risk management skill
- not needed by the target role advise on tax planning skill
- not needed by the target role align efforts towards business development skill
- not needed by the target role analyse business plans skill
- not needed by the target role analyse insurance risk skill
- not needed by the target role analyse market financial trends skill
- not needed by the target role assess financial viability skill
- not needed by the target role banking activities knowledge
- not needed by the target role bookkeeping regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role budget for financial needs skill
- not needed by the target role budgetary principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role business loans knowledge
- not needed by the target role collect financial data skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with banking professionals skill
- not needed by the target role conduct financial audits skill
- not needed by the target role control financial resources skill
- not needed by the target role corporate law knowledge
- not needed by the target role cost management knowledge
- not needed by the target role create a financial plan skill
- not needed by the target role debt collection techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role debt systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop company strategies skill
- not needed by the target role develop financial products skill
- not needed by the target role economics knowledge
- not needed by the target role enforce financial policies skill
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with company regulations skill
- not needed by the target role ensure cross-department cooperation skill
- not needed by the target role ensure information transparency skill
- not needed by the target role estimate profitability skill
- not needed by the target role ethics knowledge
- not needed by the target role execute feasibility study skill
- not needed by the target role financial analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial forecasting knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial jurisdiction knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial management knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial markets knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial products knowledge
40 further entries not listed here
3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held global standards for sustainability reporting optional
- optional, not held treasury management system optional
- optional, not held public offering optional
Other moves recorded from financial manager
- budget manager 77% covered · adjacent
- accounting manager 75% covered · moderate
- financial controller 75% covered · adjacent
- investment fund management assistant 70% covered · moderate
- public finance accountant 69% covered · moderate
- investment manager 67% covered · moderate
- corporate treasurer 66% covered · moderate
- investor relations manager 66% covered · moderate
Common questions about this move
Can a financial manager become an accounting analyst?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. A financial manager already covers 74% of what an accounting analyst is expected to do: 26 skills carry over, 15 of which the accounting analyst role treats as required.
What skills does a financial manager need to become an accounting analyst?
3 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is identify process improvements.
How hard is the move from financial manager to accounting analyst?
Its learning distance is 29.4 out of 100, which is the adjacent band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.