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Financial Examiners
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.
Other titles employers use
Bank Examiner · Bank Secrecy Act Anti-Money Laundering Officer (BSA/AML Officer) · Community Reinvestment Act Officer (CRA Officer) · Compliance Analyst · Compliance Specialist · Credit Union Examiner · Credit Union Field Examiner · Examining Officer
Inside the work
What you would actually do.
6 responsibilities that define the role, before job titles and workplaces change the details.
- 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.
Who it suits
Would this work hold your attention?
This career often appeals to people drawn to organizing, persuading and analytical work.
- Organizing
- Creating order, checking details, and keeping work accurate
- Persuading
- Leading, selling, starting projects, or making a case
- Analytical
- Investigating questions, testing ideas, and solving problems
Skills and strengths
What you would get good at.
Compare the skills the work relies on, the subjects behind it, and the abilities that make it easier to learn.
Core skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Speaking
- Monitoring
Subjects to know
- English Language
- Economics and Accounting
- Law and Government
- Mathematics
- Administration and Management
Useful strengths
- Written Comprehension
- Oral Expression
- Deductive Reasoning
- Inductive Reasoning
- Oral Comprehension
Working day
Picture yourself doing it.
These measures show how much of the day involves people, movement, conversation, and hands-on work.
| Measure | Out of 5 | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Close to other people | 3.4 | Shared rooms, but not shoulder to shoulder |
| On your feet | 1.8 | Mostly seated |
| Talking face to face | 4.8 | Continuous — the job is conversations |
| Working with your hands | 1.2 | Little of the day |
Preparation
How people prepare for this work.
Employers usually ask for a bachelor's degree. Other routes may also lead into the field.
- A four-year degree 87%
- A master's degree 13%
Tools of the work
Technology you may use.
- Data base user interface and query software
- Project management software
- Spreadsheet software
- Office suite software
- Electronic mail software
- Presentation software
- Document management software
- Process mapping and design software
Opportunity near you
See where this work is growing.
Choose a state to compare the size of the field, annual openings, and expected hiring change.
- People doing this work
- 15,570
- Job openings each year
- 80
- Expected hiring change, 2022–2032
- 5.6%
Compare every available state
| State | People doing it | Job openings each year | Expected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 15,570 | 80 | 5.6% |
| Texas | 5,900 | 510 | 34.4% |
| Ohio | 5,020 | 400 | 17.6% |
| Illinois | 4,740 | 380 | 19.4% |
| Florida | 4,530 | 380 | 28.0% |
| California | 3,700 | 290 | 15.6% |
| New Jersey | 3,060 | 250 | 20.5% |
| Missouri | 2,760 | 230 | 23.8% |
| Virginia | 2,600 | 210 | 20.9% |
| North Carolina | 2,570 | 210 | 24.8% |
| Minnesota | 2,530 | 210 | 21.1% |
| Pennsylvania | 2,040 | 160 | 18.6% |
| Arizona | 1,890 | 170 | 36.0% |
| Colorado | 1,820 | 150 | 23.0% |
| Georgia | 1,770 | 150 | 24.6% |
| Iowa | 1,630 | 130 | 21.6% |
| Puerto Rico | 1,170 | 100 | 36.0% |
| Wisconsin | 1,050 | 80 | 19.3% |
| Delaware | 1,010 | 90 | 34.7% |
| Tennessee | 890 | 70 | 14.1% |
| Nebraska | 870 | 70 | 24.3% |
| Oregon | 850 | 70 | 21.4% |
| Washington | 720 | 60 | 9.1% |
| Maryland | 670 | 50 | 17.5% |
| Kentucky | 660 | 50 | 17.9% |
| Rhode Island | 650 | 50 | 18.2% |
| District of Columbia | 610 | 40 | — |
| Utah | 600 | 50 | 27.7% |
| Arkansas | 530 | 40 | 23.3% |
| Massachusetts | 530 | 40 | 12.8% |
| Michigan | 530 | 40 | 15.2% |
| Kansas | 510 | 40 | 15.9% |
| Oklahoma | 380 | 30 | 18.8% |
| South Carolina | 380 | 30 | 35.7% |
| Indiana | 360 | 30 | 16.1% |
| Maine | 300 | 20 | 20.0% |
| Mississippi | 300 | 20 | 20.0% |
| Connecticut | 220 | 20 | 10.0% |
| North Dakota | 210 | 20 | 16.7% |
| Louisiana | 160 | 10 | 6.7% |
| New Hampshire | 160 | 10 | 6.7% |
| West Virginia | 140 | 10 | 7.7% |
| Montana | 130 | 10 | 18.2% |
| Vermont | 130 | 10 | 8.3% |
| New Mexico | 120 | 10 | 20.0% |
| South Dakota | 120 | 10 | — |
| Idaho | 80 | 10 | 14.3% |
| Alaska | 40 | 0 | 33.3% |
| Wyoming | 30 | 0 | 50.0% |
Career to college
Build a path toward this work.
Start with a related major, then compare colleges where students complete that field.
Where to study
Colleges with strong activity in these fields.
Start with program size, admission, and likely cost. Open a college for the full picture.
Western Governors University
- Degrees each year
- 1,301
- Admit rate
- Not reported
- Annual cost after aid
- $13,000
Southern New Hampshire University
- Degrees each year
- 1,692
- Admit rate
- 96%
- Annual cost after aid
- $37,000
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
- Degrees each year
- 1,572
- Admit rate
- 57%
- Annual cost after aid
- $7,000
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
- Degrees each year
- 525
- Admit rate
- 50%
- Annual cost after aid
- $6,000
Sam Houston State University
- Degrees each year
- 962
- Admit rate
- 85%
- Annual cost after aid
- $16,000
Liberty University
- Degrees each year
- 791
- Admit rate
- 99%
- Annual cost after aid
- $27,000
University of Central Florida
- Degrees each year
- 727
- Admit rate
- 40%
- Annual cost after aid
- $10,000
California State University-Northridge
- Degrees each year
- 696
- Admit rate
- 93%
- Annual cost after aid
- $8,000
Compare every college offering accounting and related services