The realistic range
Standard full-time hours in Australia are 38 a week under the National Employment Standards. Very few finance managers work only those, and the more useful point is that the hours are not evenly distributed across the month. An average tells you almost nothing here, because the load is concentrated into the close.
Above that level it climbs. CFOs and senior finance leaders commonly spend more than 50 hours a week just on business-as-usual work and managing their teams,[1] which is before anything exceptional such as a raise, an audit issue or a systems migration. Worth factoring in if you are looking at the step up rather than the current seat.
| Period | What the week actually looks like | |
|---|---|---|
| Normal week | Closest to contracted hours | Reporting, business partnering, managing the team. The week people have in mind when they say the role is manageable. |
| Month-end close | The monthly peak | Concentrated into the first working days of the month. The single biggest driver of the monthly average, and the reason an average is misleading. |
| Year end and audit | The heaviest stretch of the year | Statutory accounts plus audit queries on top of business as usual, and it runs for weeks rather than days. |
| Budget season | 50 to 55 hours | Several weeks of iteration with department heads, generally on top of the normal reporting cycle rather than instead of it. |
| Raise, audit issue or ERP migration | 60 plus, unpredictable | Not annual, but common enough in a growth business to plan for. The period where a thin team shows. |
Why it has crept up since 2025
The average has moved, and there is a specific reason. Headcount cuts have left finance leaders carrying more of the workload themselves, managing stakeholder expectations, firefighting, and absorbing responsibilities that should sit across several roles.[2]The downstream effect is that teams run leaner with higher workloads, which makes every remaining hiring decision more deliberate.[3]
That is not sustainable indefinitely and it is worth naming as a risk rather than a personal failing. Strong finance leaders can carry the load for a while, but if they are stretched too far, the risk is not only losing them to burnout, it is losing the stability of the whole function.[4] If you are consistently at 60 hours, the problem is the structure rather than your efficiency.
If the hours are a structural problem, here is what an effective finance team structure looks like at each stage here.
What actually drives the number
Four things, in rough order of impact. Team size relative to transaction volume, because a finance manager who is also the only person who can do the reconciliations has no lever. Systems maturity, since a manual close eats the same week every month. Reporting obligations, particularly external audit, a private equity or venture investor, or a group consolidation. And the business stage.
On that last one, be clear-eyed about growth businesses. In a startup or scale-up cash flow is always tight,[5] which means fewer people and more scrutiny than an equivalent role in a mature company. The trade is genuine equity exposure, broader scope and faster progression. It is a real trade and worth making deliberately rather than discovering afterwards.
What to check before you accept a role
Ask specific questions rather than about work-life balance, which will get you a rehearsed answer. How many working days does the month-end close take. When was the last time the team worked a weekend and why. How many people report into this role and what would have to change for that to grow. Who covers this seat during annual leave.
Be sceptical of reduced-hours arrangements at this level too. Part-time roles rarely are actually part time, and people often end up doing far more hours than they need to.[6] If a four-day finance manager role is on the table, ask exactly which responsibilities have been removed. If the answer is none, it is a full-time job at eighty percent pay.
If you are weighing the hours against the pay, the Australian finance manager salary bands are set out here here.
Common questions
How many hours a week does a financial manager work?
Contracted hours in Australia are around 38 a week under the National Employment Standards, and very few finance managers work only those. The more useful answer is that the hours are not evenly spread: the month-end close concentrates the load into the first working days of the month, and year end with audit is heavier again and runs for weeks. Senior finance leaders commonly spend more than 50 hours a week on business-as-usual work and managing their teams, before anything exceptional. Ask about the shape of the month rather than the average.
Do finance manager hours get worse at senior levels?
Generally yes. CFOs and senior finance leaders commonly spend more than 50 hours a week on business-as-usual tasks and managing their teams, before anything exceptional such as a capital raise, an audit issue or a systems migration. The nature of the work changes too: the hours become less predictable and harder to contain within the close cycle, because they follow the business rather than the calendar.
Why have finance hours increased in Australia recently?
Headcount cuts have left finance leaders carrying more of the workload personally, managing stakeholder expectations, firefighting and absorbing responsibilities that should sit across several roles. Teams are running leaner with higher workloads as a result, and hiring decisions have become more deliberate. If you are consistently working 60-hour weeks, that is a structural problem with the function rather than a personal efficiency one, and it is worth raising as a continuity risk.
Is a part-time finance manager role genuinely part time?
Often not. Part-time roles at this level rarely are actually part time, and people frequently end up doing far more hours than they should. If a four-day arrangement is offered, ask precisely which responsibilities have been removed to make it possible. If the answer is that none have, it is a full-time job at reduced pay. Ask the same question about who covers the seat during annual leave.
References
- Tom Hunter on senior finance workloads: CFOs and senior finance leaders commonly spend over 50 hours a week on business-as-usual tasks and managing their teams.
- Tom Hunter on the effect of headcount cuts: finance leaders are carrying more of the workload, managing stakeholder expectations, firefighting and absorbing extra responsibilities that should sit across multiple roles.
- Tom Hunter on the Australian finance market: as a downstream effect of 2025's headcount cuts, finance teams are running leaner with higher workloads, requiring more deliberate hiring decisions.
- Tom Hunter on stretched finance leaders: strong leaders can carry the load for a while, but if they are stretched too far the risk is not only losing them to burnout, it is losing the stability of the whole function.
- Tom Hunter on growth businesses: in a start-up or scale-up, cash flow is always tight.
- Tom Hunter, on The CFO Track: part-time roles rarely are actually part time, with individuals often ending up doing far more hours than they need to.