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Finance and Accounting Managers

Each year, the services spend billions of dollars on personnel, equipment, and supplies. Only through careful management can military funds be put to their best use. Finance and accounting managers direct and manage the financial affairs of the military. They also advise commanders on financial and accounting matters.

What They Do:

Finance and accounting managers in the military perform some or all of the following duties:

Set policies for the use of military funds
Direct the preparation of budgets and financial forecasts
Advise management personnel on accounting, budgeting, and fiscal matters
Develop ways to track financial transactions
Prepare and examine financial records and reports
Direct the activities of finance and accounting staff

Helpful Attributes:

Helpful attributes include:

Interest in planning and directing the work of others
Interest in work requiring accuracy and attention to detail
Preference for working with numbers and statistics

Civilian Counterparts:

Civilian finance and accounting managers work for businesses, accounting firms, universities, hospitals, or government agencies. They perform duties similar to those performed by military finance and accounting managers. They usually specialize in certain areas of finance and accounting, such as budgets, internal auditing, or cost accounting. In large business firms, they may be called executive controllers or company treasurers.