The Finance Department is vested with the responsibility of managing the public finances of the Government of Tamil Nadu. It has an important role in the preparation of the State Budget and presenting it to the Legislature every year. The Finance Department being the custodian of the State Exchequer has the overall responsibility of balancing receipts and payments and has to ensure that debt obligations are also met.

The Finance Department scrutinizes the proposals of the administrative departments and evaluates the proposals with reference to needs, cost effectiveness, budget provisions, financial procedure, etc., keeping in mind the importance of balancing receipts and expenditure and achieving the fiscal objectives of the Government.