The banking industry, which employs the most financial managers, is expected to continue to consolidate and reduce the number of financial managers. Employment of bank branch managers, in particular, will grow very little or not at all as banks open fewer branches and promote electronic and Internet banking to cut costs. In contrast, the securities and commodities industry will hire more financial managers to handle increasingly complex financial transactions and manage investments. Financial managers are being hired throughout industry to manage assets and investments, handle mergers and acquisitions, raise capital, and assess global financial transactions. Risk managers, who assess risks for insurance and investment purposes, are in especially great demand.Some financial managers may be hired on a temporary basis to see a company through a short-term crisis or to offer suggestions for boosting profits. Other companies may contract out all accounting and financial operations. Even in these cases, however, financial managers may be needed to oversee the contracts.Computer technology has reduced the time and staff required to produce financial reports. As a result, forecasting earnings, profits, and costs, and generating ideas and creative ways to increase profitability will become the major role of corporate financial managers over the next decade. Financial managers who are familiar with computer software and applications that can assist them in this role will be needed. Earnings [About this section] Top Median annual earnings of financial managers were $55,070 in 1998. The middle 50 percent earned between $38,240 and $83,800. The lowest 10 percent had earnings of less than $27,680, while the top 10 percent earned over $118,950. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest number of financial managers in 1997 are shown below.Security brokers and dealers $95,100 Computer and data processing 63,200 Management and ...
