How to Become a Finance Project Manager

Key takeaways

To become a finance project manager, you need to earn a degree, complete an MBA, gain experience, and get certified.

• According to Glassdoor, the median total pay for finance project managers in the US ranges from $93,000 to $154,000 per year [1].

• Several entry-level roles for this career include project coordinator, project scheduler, and assistant project manager.

• You can begin your career as a finance project manager by earning a bachelor’s degree in business or finance.

Explore what a finance project manager does, how to enter this growing field, and the education and training you’ll need to succeed. If you’re ready to develop your skill set for this career, enroll in the Google Project Management Professional Certificate. In as little as six months, you can learn about change management, project planning, project scoping, team leadership, and more.

What is a finance project manager?

Finance project managers handle all finances and assets for a project. In addition to ensuring all projects meet deadlines and stay on budget, project management in finance plays a vital role in securing the company's long-term financial success. With solid earning potential and above-average job growth, this field could be an excellent option if you have the interest and skills to perform the necessary duties.

What does a finance project manager do?

A finance project manager is responsible for managing all financial aspects of a project. Job duties focus on how to pay off a project’s debts and help the company grow. Strong interpersonal skills help project finance managers communicate with management on all aspects of the project, including its costs and budget. To ensure everything runs smoothly, finance project managers communicate the project's goals with other departments, ensure team members are clear on their goals, and have the knowledge needed to meet them. 

Read more: What Are Interpersonal Skills? And How to Strengthen Them

How to manage project finances: Common tasks of a finance project manager

A finance project manager’s primary goal is to maximize a company’s performance by planning and supervising the financial aspects of projects. Other responsibilities include the following:

• Manage a budget to make sure projects stay on track financially and use resources according to contracts

• Ensure that the project is financially beneficial for the company by leveraging cost-reduction techniques and optimization strategies to ensure efficiency and productivity while minimizing losses

• Monitor the quality of the project and make necessary corrections to ensure all financial needs, accounting, and auditing for the project remain on track

What is a PM job in finance?

Project managers working in the finance industry may find a project management job in investment firms, banks, or other financial institutions. You may find full-time jobs in this area, or you might work on a project-by-project basis as a consultant. Like any PM, you’ll likely work on the projects your employer or client assigns to you, communicating with team members and stakeholders, monitoring progress, and ensuring the timely delivery of project milestones. Like a finance project manager, you’ll probably pay close attention to remaining on budget, identify revenue-producing opportunities, and look for ways to minimize losses while maximizing efficiencies during the course of each project.

Finance project manager salary and job outlook

According to Glassdoor’s April 2026 data, the median total salary for finance project managers in the US ranges from $93,000 to $154,000 per year [1]. These figures include base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation.

This job has a solid earning potential and a promising outlook. As companies become more successful, the need for finance experts grows. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), financial management will grow 15 percent from 2024 through 2034, a rate significantly faster than the average for other jobs [2]. The BLS also anticipates 6 percent growth for project managers during that same period, a figure that’s faster than average [3].

How to become a finance project manager

You need a formal education to build a career as a finance project manager. You will also need to start working in project management or finance to gain practical professional experience that you can later apply to this leadership role. You might also consider pursuing certifications to help showcase your skills. The following offers several steps you can follow to prepare for the role of finance project manager.

Step 1: Complete a business or finance degree.

Becoming a finance project manager begins with your education. It is beneficial to have a bachelor’s degree in a field such as business or finance that offers relevant knowledge. Other majors helpful to finance project managers include accounting, economics, and management. These areas of study provide you with the skill set and expertise you need for a career in financial project management.

Step 2: Complete an MBA.

Having a Master of Business Administration (MBA) can be beneficial in a finance project management position. It allows you to develop your skill set beyond your undergraduate degree, teaches specific learning principles, and sharpens your leadership skills. Some business schools provide specializations in project management, so this may be an option to build your educational and interpersonal skills for the role.

Step 3: Get experience.

If you have a current role as a manager or team leader, you can seek the responsibilities of a finance project manager, such as forecasting budgets and predicting risks. Project managers plan and execute projects in all stages. Many are also in charge of the budget, performing tasks like estimating and planning all financial aspects of the project. Doing so will give you the experience needed to advance your career. Some companies offer training for project managers in other departments or for employees working in finance to advance their careers into financial project management positions.

Step 4: Get certified.

Acquire additional knowledge by enrolling in a certification course, which will help you develop your skills. Along with formal education, finance project managers must possess strong workplace and managerial skills, which you can gain over a few years of real-life experience. The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers project managers the tools they need to advance in a managerial role in many industries, including in-demand certifications like Project Management Professional (PMP) or PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP) credentials. You might also consider pursuing finance-specific certifications like the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) credential from the CFA Institute.

Certification helps you gain further education about methodologies you need to apply as a finance project manager, along with real-life knowledge from industry experts.

Required skills of a finance project manager 

Because the responsibilities of a finance project manager include working closely with budgets and other financial resources for a project, it is vital for you to remain current with all tax laws and regulations pertaining to your industry. Other valuable skills that can help you excel in financial project management include:

• Analysis: Analytical thinking can help you make significant budgeting, staffing, and scheduling decisions.

• Organization: Because you need to be able to track many aspects on a daily basis, you need the skills to handle multiple projects while staying on schedule and budget.

• Communication: A finance project manager interacts with employees and team members, ensuring they know each member’s role in the project, confirming they are meeting their goals, and verifying that they are staying on budget.

• Detail-oriented: This position requires careful attention to detail to ensure error-free reports, balance sheets, and financial statements. A finance project manager uses this skill every day because the role involves paperwork to stay on top of the project.

Entry-level finance project manager jobs

Many finance project managers start in a similar career capacity and eventually take on critical duties as a finance project manager without the actual title. If this is your situation, you may have more experience than you think for this position, which gives you an advantage. The following jobs will provide the tools and knowledge to help take the next step to becoming a finance project manager:

• Project coordinator: Assists the project manager with paperwork, scheduling, and other entry-level aspects of a project

• Project scheduler: Plans, updates, and coordinates a project’s schedule

• Assistant project manager: Works with project managers on a combination of client needs, budgets, and resources to formulate a workable plan

• Project manager: Takes charge of projects from concept to creation, overseeing all goals while maintaining budget and schedule

• Senior project manager: Uses the knowledge gained after several years of experience to handle more extensive or complex projects

Discover more about project management

Subscribe to our Career Chat newsletter on LinkedIn for industry insights, skill-building tips, and networking opportunities. Then, explore our free resources for learning more about project management:

• Watch on YouTube: How to Pivot Industries as a Project Manager

• Explore AI’s impact: How AI is changing product management careers

• Learn the terminology: Project Management Terms and Definitions

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