How to become a financial examiner
Enforce or ensure compliance with laws and regulations governing financial and securities institutions and financial and real estate transactions. May examine, verify, or authenticate records.
Steps to get there
Most employers expect most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not..A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
What financial examiners do
- Direct and participate in formal and informal meetings with bank directors, trustees, senior management, counsels, outside accountants, and consultants to gather information and discuss findings.
- Recommend actions to ensure compliance with laws and regulations, or to protect solvency of institutions.
- Prepare reports, exhibits, and other supporting schedules that detail an institution's safety and soundness, compliance with laws and regulations, and recommended solutions to questionable financial conditions.
- Resolve problems concerning the overall financial integrity of banking institutions including loan investment portfolios, capital, earnings, and specific or large troubled accounts.
- Investigate activities of institutions to enforce laws and regulations and to ensure legality of transactions and operations or financial solvency.
- Review balance sheets, operating income and expense accounts, and loan documentation to confirm institution assets and liabilities.
Skills that matter most
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Mathematics
- Active Learning
Is financial examiner a good career?
On the numbers, this job pays above the typical job. Median pay is 85% above the all-occupation median. Whether it fits you depends on the work itself, the schooling you are willing to do and where you want to live.
Where it pays most
- District of Columbia $198,720
- New York $128,920
- Washington $113,700
- Massachusetts $111,110
- New Jersey $106,410
Financial Examiners salary by state and city
Sources: O*NET® 31.0 (CC BY 4.0, USDOL/ETA) and BLS Employment Projections 2025–35. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025.