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Finance professionals capability set

The Finance Professionals Capability Set consists of seven capabilities that define knowledge, skills and abilities required for finance roles.

The seven finance capabilities are:

  1. Financial Strategy, Governance and Risk Management
  2. Financial Accounting and Statutory Reporting
  3. Management Accounting
  4. Audit and Assurance
  5. Taxation
  6. Finance Operations and Systems
  7. Finance Business Partnering 

The capability set works in conjunction with the NSW Public Sector Capability Framework that applies to all public sector roles. Most finance roles require all the capabilities in the Capability Framework (at an appropriate level) including the People Management capabilities for roles responsible for managing others. 

The number of capabilities from the Finance Professionals Capability Set that apply to a finance role will depend on the breadth and nature of its accountabilities. Generally, not all seven capabilities are expected to apply.

Together, the capabilities from the Capability Framework and the Finance Professionals Capability Set are used to support:

  • role design and description
  • recruitment
  • performance development
  • learning and development, and
  • workforce planning.

Roles that belong to the finance profession usually do not require specialised capabilities from any other occupation specific capability set.

Finance capability set

Download the capability set

Deciding whether the Finance Professionals Capability Set is required

Some indicators to help determine whether a role requires occupation specific capabilities from the Finance Professionals Capability Set are: 

  • specialised finance knowledge, skill and/or ability is required 
  • specialised finance work occupies a large part of the role, as reflected in the ‘Primary Purpose’, ‘Key Accountabilities’ and ‘Key Challenges’ in the Role Description 
  • the job title is strongly associated with the profession e.g. Manager Finance, Management Accountant, Accounts Receivable Officer 

Deciding which capability levels apply

Roles require a range of capabilities at varying levels, depending on their responsibilities. Read through the behavioural indicators for each of the capabilities that applies to the role and select the level that is the best fit.  Note that the levels in the Finance Professionals Capability Set do not correspond directly to the levels in the Capability Framework.  

Qualifications and other role requirements

If a qualification or professional membership is an essential requirement for the role, it remains a pre-requisite for employment, and should be incorporated into the role description and recruitment process. 

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The owner of this copyright work is the State of New South Wales acting through the Public Service Commission. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Australia Attribution 3.0 licence. 

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