jobfacts

Finance officer

Finance officers — SOC 2020 4124

Finance officers oversee book-keeping, general accounting and other financial and related clerical functions mainly within local government and a variety of public sector organisations.

Also calledFinancial officerFinance clerkTreasurerRegional finance officerDeputy finance officerSchool finance officer
Typical full-time pay£31,9002025 Provisional
People in the job45,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month283↓ 8.3%on last year · 318th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time finance officers earn between £28,100 and £37,000 a year.

What full-time finance officers earn, 2025
£31,900 typical£24,200lowest 10%£28,10025%£38,600top 20%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£28,100–£37,000)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£24,200
Lowest 20% earn less than£27,200
25%£28,100
Median£31,900
75%£37,000
Top 20% earn more than£38,600
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £31,900
London!£36,600
West Midlands!£34,300
South East!£33,200
North West!£31,200
East Midlands!£30,500
Wales!£30,500
Scotland!£30,500
East of England!£29,600
Yorkshire and The Humber!£28,500
North East!£26,900
South WestNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £31,900
London£36,600 (small sample)
West Midlands£34,300 (small sample)
South East£33,200 (small sample)
North West£31,200 (small sample)
East Midlands£30,500 (small sample)
Wales£30,500 (small sample)
Scotland£30,500 (small sample)
East of England£29,600 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£28,500 (small sample)
North East£26,900 (small sample)
South WestNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £28,200
  • 2024 £29,100
  • 2025 Provisional£31,900
↑ 13% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 283 jobs for finance officers are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026252
Jul 2026324
Jun 2026258
May 2026273
Apr 2026271
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026266
Jan 2026303
Dec 2025170
Nov 2025317
Oct 2025332
Sept 2025342
Aug 2025264
Jul 2025289
Jun 2025318
May 2025313
Apr 2025248
Mar 2025329
Feb 2025348
Jan 2025413
Dec 2024200
Nov 2024321
Oct 2024307
Sept 2024369
Aug 2024310
Jul 2024378
Jun 2024356
May 2024377
Apr 2024391
Mar 2024348
Feb 2024340
Jan 2024385
Dec 2023301
Nov 2023379
Oct 2023337
Sept 2023319
Aug 2023358
Jul 2023378
Jun 2023591
May 2023475
Apr 2023452
Mar 2023583
Feb 2023472
Jan 2023545
Dec 2022462
Nov 2022603
Oct 2022612
Sept 2022572
Aug 2022597
Jul 2022625
Jun 2022667
May 2022678
Apr 2022529
Mar 2022646
Feb 2022642
Jan 2022653
Dec 2021573
Nov 2021604
Oct 2021510
Sept 2021602
Aug 2021463
Jul 2021546
Jun 2021452
May 2021445
Apr 2021330
Mar 2021447
Feb 2021216
Jan 2021284
Dec 2020232
Nov 2020259
Oct 2020248
Sept 2020256
Aug 2020203
Jul 2020249
Jun 2020210
May 2020144
Apr 2020180
Mar 2020325
Feb 2020505
Jan 2020524
Dec 2019336
Nov 2019483
Oct 2019477
Sept 2019463
Aug 2019502
Jul 2019737
Jun 2019665
May 2019535
Apr 2019415
Mar 2019516
Feb 2019504
Jan 2019510
Dec 2018313
Nov 2018498
Oct 2018496
Sept 2018437
Aug 2018419
Jul 2018473
Jun 2018526
May 2018576
Apr 2018399
Mar 2018438
Feb 2018484
Jan 2018478
Dec 2017307
Nov 2017373
Oct 2017420
Sept 2017427
Aug 2017424
Jul 2017393
Jun 2017505
May 2017410
Apr 2017362
Mar 2017495
Feb 2017352
Jan 2017454
Is there a shortage of finance officers?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsAbove usual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertainty in change in hourly wage.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
22%against 27% for all jobs
DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London174
Manchester23
Birmingham18
Belfast16
City of Edinburgh14
Oxford12
Leeds11
Nottingham10
Newcastle upon Tyne10
Cardiff9
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where finance officers are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 21 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from United States, India, Italy, ranking it 177th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of finance officers
n/p
15%!
23%!
29%!
31%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–3415% (small sample)
35–4423% (small sample)
45–5429% (small sample)
55–6431% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent50%
Higher education below degree!7.4%
A levels or equivalent31%
GCSEs or equivalent!11%
Other qualifications!2.6%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent50%
Higher education below degree7.4% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent31%
GCSEs or equivalent11% (small sample)
Other qualifications2.6% (small sample)

Main employers: general public administration activities (22%), primary education (6.7%), tertiary education (6.1%), regulation of the activities of providing health care, education, cultural services and other social services, excluding social security (5.8%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
50%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

University

You could study for a degree in a subject like:

  • finance
  • accounting
  • business studies
  • business and management
Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

College

You could take a college course, which may help you get a trainee position with an organisation.

Courses include:

  • accounting and bookkeeping
  • business studies
  • business administration and finance
  • T Level in Accounting
Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do an apprenticeship, for example:

  • Accounts or Financial Assistant Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
  • Assistant Accountant Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
  • Business Administrator Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Other ways in

Work your way up

You may be able to start as a finance assistant or accounts assistant, then move into a finance officer role through on-the-job training and promotion.

Apply directly

You can apply directly for jobs. You'll usually need a minimum of 4 or 5 GCSEs, including maths and English.

Employers may also expect you to have relevant A levels, for instance maths or business studies, or equivalent qualifications.

Knowledge of accounting methods and experience of working in a financial department will be helpful.

Registration and professional bodies

Professional and industry bodies

You could become a member of the Walbrook Institute London.

This would give you the opportunity to make contacts and find professional development opportunities.

Further information

You can find out more about careers in finance from the Walbrook Institute London.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for finance officer. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • oversees the recording and checking of daily financial transactions, the preparation of provisional balances and reconciliation of accounts
  • prepares or arranges the preparation of financial reports for managers
  • plans work schedules and assigns tasks to financial clerks
  • coordinates the activities and resources of finance departments

Skills

  • handle financial transactions
  • trace financial transactions
  • maintain records of financial transactions
  • perform clerical duties
  • communicate with customers
  • obtain financial information
  • offer financial services
  • provide financial product information
  • use office systems
  • communicate with banking professionals
  • handle paperwork
  • perform office routine activities
  • present reports
  • write work-related reports

Knowledge

  • banking activities
  • electronic communication
  • office software
  • accounting techniques
  • customer service
  • fraud detection
  • tax legislation
  • accounting department processes

Suits people who like

  • Organising and following procedures
  • Leading and persuading

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for administrative occupations, a group of 20 jobs that includes finance officers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 12%about 381,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 20351 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.