WHAT DOES A COMMERCIAL FINANCE ANALYST DO?
Published: August 1, 2024 - The Commercial Finance Analyst is responsible for managing the company's financial model, this role includes monthly updates of key performance indicators and leading the forecasting process with regional and functional leaders to project future performance. Duties also involve providing commercial and financial advice on various projects, analyzing software and payment unit economics, and maintaining robust financial information systems for accurate decision-making. Additionally, This position supports the CFO in board communications and oversees monthly closing activities, ensuring adherence to accounting standards and legal requirements.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Commercial Finance Analyst
1. Commercial Finance Analyst Duties
- Commercial Viability Assessment: Assess the commercial viability of retention programs.
- Budget Coordination: Work with the Customer Care Department on budget and actuals, agreeing on remedy plans where necessary.
- Cost Calculation: Calculate the cost of retentions for month-end accounts.
- Accounts Preparation: Prepare the month-end accounts for the Customer Care department, including any month-end accruals and prepayments.
- Deadline Management: Work to tight month-end deadlines for delivery of KPIs and accruals calculations.
- Variance Reporting: Involve in monthly flash reports with commentary detailing variance to forecast and previous flashes.
- Query Assistance: Assist in relation to any ad hoc queries.
- Sales Performance Review: Review and report channel sales performance against budget and forecast.
- IT Solution Implementation: Support business objectives by analyzing site information, and management requirements, and implementing IT solutions and enhancements.
- Report Production: Produce report packs for presentation to internal and external stakeholders.
- Process Improvement: Proactively collaborate with the operational team to streamline current processes and/or data management.
- Analytical Tool Management: Manage and improve analytical and financial modeling tools and systems.
2. Commercial Finance Analyst Details
- Financial Modeling: Own the company’s financial model, including monthly updates of key performance indicators.
- Forecasting Leadership: Lead the monthly forecasting process, working closely with regional and functional heads to create a future view.
- Commercial Advice: Provide commercial and financial advice across projects.
- Economic Analysis: Analyze the company’s Software and Payments Unit Economics.
- SaaS Metrics Analysis: Analyze drivers of Core SaaS metrics, including customer acquisition, activation, churn, and product engagement.
- Board Communication: Support the CFO in communicating with the board of directors and providing business-wide updates.
- Finance Support: Support the Finance Team in delivering the month-end close, planning, and budget controlling across all markets, in line with company objectives.
- Actuals Coordination: Coordinate monthly actuals analysis with markets and collect information on key deviations vs. forecast/plan.
- Performance Reporting: Prepare monthly performance reporting for senior management.
- Financial Analysis: Analyze complex financial information and reports to provide accurate and timely financial recommendations to finance and business teams for decision-making purposes.
- Stakeholder Relationships: Develop and maintain good working relationships with both finance and non-finance stakeholders in various departments across the company.
- Process Improvement: Identify and drive process improvements across the finance function.
- Compliance Assurance: Ensure all activities comply with accounting standards, company policy, and all relevant legislation.
3. Commercial Finance Analyst Responsibilities
- Financial Analysis: Provide insights and appropriate analysis on reported results against financial budgets/forecasts each month to support understanding and decision-making.
- Strategic Planning: Understand the drivers in the business to develop long-term financial plans and short-term financial budgets/forecasts, including scenario analysis.
- Business Case Development: Drive and support business cases for new revenue opportunities and capital investments
- Performance Monitoring: Monitor and challenge the business to drive financial performance.
- Logistics Accounting: Provide reporting and analysis for all accounting aspects of the logistics operation.
- Cost Management: Work closely with the Logistics Managers and teams to ensure costs are current.
- KPI Reporting: Weekly reporting and key KPIs - Prepare and complete the finance month-end process in an accurate and timely manner.
- Cost Analysis: Provide monthly commentary on how costs are impacting the operating profit.
- Stakeholder Support: Support the business and key stakeholders in understanding the costs associated with key commercial streams.
- Reconciliation: Prepare balance sheet reconciliations.
- Finance Review: Conduct monthly finance review with the warehouse managers.
- Forecasting: Monthly forecasting updates with commentary on movements to the previous forecast.
- Budgeting Assistance: Assist with the annual budgeting process.
- Investment Appraisal: Involvement in capex planning and investment appraisal.
4. Commercial Finance Analyst Job Summary
- Performance Insight: Provide insight into customer and channel results, expected future performance, partnering with Sales Strategy and Sales Finance to understand potential risks/opportunities and recommended actions.
- Financial Reporting and Analysis: Reporting and analysis, including period-end close reporting and forecast analysis.
- Trade Investment Evaluation: Evaluate potential trade investments, including customer-specific incremental funding requests.
- Forecast Management: Ownership of the Commercial Finance Foods Planning forecast uploads and reporting process.
- Budget Management: Manage the Quaker Commercial Finance slotting budget.
- Forecast Support: Support the BU forecast process through the development of detailed volume forecasts, leveraging inputs from Field Sales Finance and macro trends.
- Pricing Strategy Support: Support pricing analysis to support pricing strategies to deliver profitable growth to the BU.
- Retail Performance Analysis: Support reporting and analysis of retail performance and execution and potential impact on topline results.
- Process Improvement Collaboration: Collaborate within the wider AusNet Services Finance function to identify and implement process improvements.
- Stakeholder Compliance Assurance: Work with relevant business stakeholders to ensure that all financial and accounting policies and processes are adhered to, e.g., delegations of authority, project governance and procurement policies/processes.
- Ad-hoc Commercial Finance Support: Other ad-hoc work to support the Commercial Finance Manager in meeting deliverables.
5. Commercial Finance Analyst Accountabilities
- Client Business Understanding: Understanding the clients’ business in the context of the Group’s role and scope of services provided.
- Commercial Responsibility Understanding: Understanding the Group’s commercial and contractual responsibilities to support the internal teams in terms of role to clients’ business and process.
- Revenue Forecast Support: Support client & departmental leads in the production of revenue forecasts in accordance with the Group requirements.
- Revenue Booking Assurance: Ensure revenue is correctly booked and accounted for in accordance with internal policies and relevant accounting standards.
- Profitability Analysis: Analyse profitability reporting and prepare key information to be shared with the Group.
- KPI Agreement Support: Support Account Management/Sales teams with the agreement of client KPI’s and margins.
- Process Improvement Analysis: Working with the Head of Commercial Finance to review current processes and systems and identify areas of improvement.
- Commercial Acumen Development: Support the development of commercial acumen throughout the Group to enable the achievement of unit/group financial targets.
- Reporting and Support Coordination: Working with an Analyst and Billing Executive, to ensure timely reporting and adequate support of the Group’s day-to-day requirements.
- Performance Trend Communication: Understand and articulately communicate key trends driving performance within the area of focus.
- Trading Analysis: Daily/weekly trading analysis to highlight any issues and understand trends.
- Performance Deep Dive Analysis: Conduct deep dive analysis on any unusual performance and communicate findings within the team.
- Financial MI Delivery Support: Support in the delivery of quality financial MI on business performance.
- Month-End Process Support: Support in elements of the commercial team month-end processes.
- Budgeting and Forecasting Support: Support in the budgeting and forecasting process.