Financial manager to public finance accountant
A financial manager already meets 69% of what the public finance accountant role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
30.7/ 100
1 How much of what a public finance accountant 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 public finance accountant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A public finance accountant role treats 9 of its required skills as things a financial manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accounting techniques
- budgetary principles
- conduct financial audits
- control financial resources
- create a financial report
- financial forecasting
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 18 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A public finance accountant 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 advise on public finance communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held monitor financial accounts information skills
- already held bookkeeping regulations business, administration and law
- already held debt systems business, administration and law
- already held public finance business, administration and law
- already held conduct financial audits information skills
All 18 carried skills, including the 9 the public finance accountant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 10 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 inspect government incomes required
- still to learn inspect government expenditures required
- optional, not held calculate tax optional
- still to learn develop account strategy required
- optional, not held manage administrative systems optional
- optional, not held civil law optional
- optional, not held debt classification optional
- optional, not held public law optional
- optional, not held comply with legal regulations optional
- optional, not held public administration optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a public finance accountant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 inspect government incomes practise this
- 02 develop account strategy practise this
- 03 inspect government expenditures 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 18 skills that carry over
- already held accounting techniques knowledge
- already held budgetary principles knowledge
- already held conduct financial audits skill
- already held control financial resources skill
- already held create a financial report skill
- already held financial forecasting knowledge
- already held monitor financial accounts skill
- already held public finance knowledge
- already held tax legislation knowledge
- already held advise on public finance skill
- already held bookkeeping regulations knowledge
- already held debt systems knowledge
- already held ensure cross-department cooperation skill
- already held handle financial transactions skill
- already held manage accounts skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held manage financial risk skill
- already held manage staff skill
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held manage administrative systems optional
- optional, not held public administration optional
- optional, not held calculate tax optional
- optional, not held civil law optional
- optional, not held comply with legal regulations optional
- optional, not held debt classification optional
- optional, not held public law optional
88 held skills the public finance accountant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting knowledge
- not needed by the target role accounting department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role accounting entries knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on financial matters skill
- not needed by the target role advise on investment 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 financial performance of a company skill
- not needed by the target role analyse financial risk 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 budget for financial needs skill
- not needed by the target role business loans knowledge
- not needed by the target role check accounting records skill
- 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 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 develop company strategies skill
- not needed by the target role develop financial products skill
- not needed by the target role draft accounting procedures 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 accounting conventions skill
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with company regulations 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 evaluate budgets skill
- 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 department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial jurisdiction knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial management knowledge
48 further entries not listed here
4 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 public administration optional
- optional, not held civil law optional
- optional, not held debt classification optional
- optional, not held public law optional
Other moves recorded from financial manager
- budget manager 77% covered · adjacent
- accounting manager 75% covered · moderate
- financial controller 75% covered · adjacent
- accounting analyst 74% covered · adjacent
- investment fund management assistant 70% 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 a public finance accountant?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A financial manager already covers 69% of what a public finance accountant is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 9 of which the public finance accountant role treats as required.
What skills does a financial manager need to become a public finance accountant?
3 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is inspect government incomes.
How hard is the move from financial manager to public finance accountant?
Its learning distance is 30.7 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.