A Day in the Life of an Associate Finance Manager at Lockheed Martin
A day for this Associate Finance Manager at Lockheed Martin involves handling a constant stream of ad hoc issues and requests, "managing all these different ad hoc type of issues and problems," including many emails and phone calls from various leadership teams. A significant portion of their work centers on preparing for and conducting monthly financial performance reviews, while also working on projects to improve data visualization and automation using tools like Tableau to "make things more automated and helpful."
Project Management, Data Analysis, Communication, Problem-Solving, Teamwork
Advizer Information
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Chris Seifert
Associate Finance Manager
Lockheed Martin
CU Boulder
UCLA - MBA
Business Management & Admin
Aerospace, Aviation & Defense
Finance
Scholarship Recipient
Video Highlights
1. A Finance Manager's day involves handling various ad-hoc issues and responding to numerous emails and phone calls.
2. There's a recurring rhythm of monthly financial performance reviews requiring preparation and meetings with various leadership levels.
3. The role involves close collaboration with engineering and operations teams, aiming to simplify the financial aspects of their work and using tools like Tableau for automation and data visualization.
Transcript
What does a day in the life of a finance manager look like?
My role involves managing various ad hoc issues and problems that arise daily. When I arrive in the morning, I typically find 30 to 40 emails that came in overnight or early in the morning. I'll review these, offer assistance if needed, or delegate tasks to my team.
I then set aside time to go through those emails and assess what's happening. After that, I review my calendar for any upcoming significant meetings or reviews. We have a monthly rhythm of financial performance reviews, usually four or five each month, and these recur regularly.
A lot of work goes into preparing for these meetings with our VPs and directors so they can discuss their financial performance. Throughout the day, while all of this is ongoing, I receive phone calls. Engineering managers, directors, or even the VP might call me directly with an urgent issue or question.
It's a lot of working closely with those leadership teams. I see my job as making the finance aspect of their work as easy as possible. Their focus is on engineering and operations, and I aim to remove the finance burden so they can concentrate on their core responsibilities.
If I happen to have some downtime, which is rare these days, I have a to-do list of miscellaneous items that my team and I need to address. This might include special projects, such as creating automated and helpful Tableau or Excel dashboards for the VPs and directors.