WHAT DOES A FINANCE ANALYST DO?
Published: Mar 12, 2025 - The Finance Analyst provides supplemental analysis and financial support that aligns with company objectives, understanding and explaining internal and external drivers impacting performance. Assists with the development of a complete end-to-end budgeting model, including budget toolkits. Plays a key role in developing operational and financial metrics for the Company and builds the required analysis and reporting structure.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Finance Analyst
1. Finance Analyst Duties
- Financial Analysis: Provide supplemental analysis and financial support that aligns with company objectives, understand and explain internal and external drivers impacting performance.
- Budgeting: Assist with the development of a complete end-to-end budgeting model, including budget tool kits.
- Metric Development: Play a key role in developing operational and financial metrics for the Company and build the required analysis and reporting structure.
- Strategic Analysis: Collaborate with the management team on strategic deep dives to create financial models and insights.
- Reporting: Assist in developing, producing, and tracking new reporting and metrics for the company’s key revenue categories and product categories.
- Template Design: Collaborate on the development of a standard financial presentation template.
- Cost Analysis: Analyze Cost of Sales and SG&A expenses and benchmark to industry standards.
- Financial Modeling: Participate in the development of a scenario-driven financial model for the company, including income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, and financial valuation metric views for each scenario.
- Supply Chain Analysis: Prepare supply chain reporting and analysis.
- Accounting Support: Work closely with accounting on the monthly accounting close process.
- Ad-Hoc Analysis: Provide ad-hoc analysis as required by the Controller and the CEO.
- Performance Analysis: Conduct regular (weekly and monthly) analysis of company performance including the development & maintenance of dashboards.
- Accounting Guidance: Help the accounting team determine the appropriate way to book transactions.
- Blockchain Research: Research and assess blockchain transactions.
- Tool Development: Build tools and techniques to help manage the company’s portfolio of cryptocurrency operations.
- Investor Relations: Help prepare investor communications and materials.
- Special Assignments: Conduct special assignments as needed to help operate the business and provide insight to decision makers across the company.
2. Finance Analyst Details
- Forecasting Support: Support the preparation and consolidation of the Quarterly Forecasts, Annual Budget, and Strategic Plan.
- Template Design: Prepare mock-up templates to build projections (Strat Plan files, P&L Reports).
- Project Assistance: Assist in the completion of all Burbank deliverables for the Division and the Lines of Business.
- Financial Support: Assist Finance Managers or Lines of Business heads in the completion of all ad-hoc requests & presentations and in preparing contract renewals analysis.
- Reporting Support: Support the preparation of Standard Financial Reports and prepare KPI's report.
- Financial Review: Review actual accounting information during Quarter Close (Revenue & Expenses accounting).
- Data Integrity: Ensure data integrity and reliability of regional information.
- Report Management: Manage internal reports in a proper manner, assuring consistency between reports.
- System Operation: Own the Run process to perform runs in the ABC cost modelling system, which produces the data required for the preparation of the RFS.
- Data Management: Own the data relationship management workstack, controlling the flow of work and providing accuracy via peer reviews and validations.
- Process Improvement: Operate controls and improve the process, liaising with the Change Control team to ensure changes are accurately input into the correct system run.
- Relationship Building: Build relationships with colleagues across the team, as work relies on accurate inputs and expertise from across the wide Competition Finance Team.
- Dashboard Development: Develop data visualization dashboards, which will then be used and evaluated by the Competition Finance team.
- Data Transformation: Be involved in data transformation processes, utilizing Alteryx, Qlik, and ABC cost modelling system (Cost Perform).
3. Finance Analyst Responsibilities
- Reporting: Manage month/quarter and year-end reporting responsibilities including preparing and posting journal entries.
- Accounting: Prepare and post journal entries.
- Reconciliation: Reconcile GL balances and perform cash reconciliation.
- Analysis: Conduct drug tariff analysis and reconciliation.
- Financial Review: Conduct detailed reviews of accounts, cost centres, and WBS elements.
- Sponsorship Management: Manage and analyze sponsorships.
- Report Preparation: Prepare management reports and prepare VAT information.
- Sales Reporting: Prepare and send sales reports.
- Audit Support: Support the preparation of schedules for external audits.
- Statutory Reporting: Support statutory external reporting and auditor liaison.
- Financial Reporting: Prepare financial statements and support capital requirements.
- Process Improvement: Take an active role in systems and process improvement.
4. Finance Analyst Accountabilities
- Sales Analysis Support: Support the wider Commercial Finance team in the preparation of weekly sales reporting, providing key analysis to enable a thorough understanding of business performance.
- Buyer Support: Support buyers by becoming involved in category planning and a variety of analyses to support decision-making.
- Financial Appraisal: Provide sound financial appraisals, including for projects, tenders, and several value-add streams such as VCA and PQF.
- Analysis Support: Support the preparation of ad-hoc analysis and reporting to determine the commercial success of promotional strategies, trials, and seasonal events.
- Compliance Assurance: Ensure compliance with all relevant financial accounting standards and advise buyers and category managers.
- Budget Assistance: Assist the budgeting process for the area, and also provide training and tools to the Trading team.
- Business Support: Provide pivotal support for the Business Unit’s central costs (people cost).
- Data Integrity: Ensure the integrity of award data in the financial system by carrying out control checks and working closely with stakeholders to resolve identified gaps.
- Financial Support: Provide timely support and maintain close controls on the financial aspects of awards from setup through closeouts.
- Financial Validation: Validate donor financial reports.
- Income Management: Maintain the award income schedules by checking and processing claims/refunds/income transfers and following up on outstanding items, including debtors.
- Cost Processing: Ensure the award indirect cost charges are processed correctly.
- Cost Recharge: Ensure the award direct cost recharges are processed correctly and timely, and are documented in the financial system.
- Financial Analysis: Analyze award accounts and reconcile the balances in the financial system.
- Financial Closeout: Perform financial closeouts for awards, including documentation and timely follow-up on outstanding actions.
- Audit Management: Deal with financial audits of awards required by donors.
5. Finance Analyst Functions
- Sales Collaboration: Collaborate with sales management to ensure the alignment of sales processes to shape corporate initiatives and revenue results.
- Proactive Analysis: Provide proactive analysis and insights on business drivers, including trends on pricing, traffic, and other KPIs.
- Finance Partnership: Serve as the Finance Business Partner for Sales, handling month-end close, budget administration, accruals, etc.
- Financial Analysis: Analyze actuals each month, quarterly forecasts, annual budgets, long-term plans, and key business drivers.
- Ad-Hoc Reporting: Perform ad-hoc financial analysis/reports and provide analytical support.
- Performance Insights: Provide meaningful insights into the performance of renewables by analyzing customer segments, commercial categories, and regions.
- Strategic Assessment: Conduct financial assessments of key strategic initiatives based on the return of investment model.
- Budget Assistance: Assist in the preparation of budgets and forecasts to find the key drivers for profitability and growth.
- Results Delivery: Deliver weekly trading results at review meetings and to senior business stakeholders.
- Financial Support: Provide financial support to various members of the team, including Sales, Commercial, Marketing, and Technical within the Renewables area.
- Planning Support: Work with the Head of FP&A to build and maintain the 5-Year Plan, budget, and formal performance reporting.
- Reporting Analysis: Prepare and analyze month-end reporting deliverables; work with the shared service center team to ensure delivery is accurate, timely, and simple (weekly and month-end), and maintain standards.
- Data Analysis: Analyze complex datasets and scenarios with an eye for identifying actionable insights.
- Opportunity Development: Identify and develop key business opportunities and drive efficiency across finance and the wider business while balancing product delivery and customer satisfaction.
- Project Support: Support strategic projects and initiatives.