Responsibilities: FP&A Analysts spend much of their time analyzing operational and financial data, building vast databases, and preparing reports for senior management. The key duties and responsibilities of an FP&A Analyst usually include:
• Liaising with senior management, heads of departments and other key leadership figures.
• Preparing financial and strategic plans for individual departments and the wider organization.
• Building annual budgets and forecasts for different business units and consolidating into one master budget.
• Analyzing past financial performance, preparing competitor analysis, and examining market trends along with commentary for management.
• Creating financial models to predict growth and forecast performance.
• Analyzing previous budgets and forecasts and performing variance analysis to explain discrepancies.
• Evaluating new and existing projects, investments, and assets to determine their validity and appraise their value.
• Recommending improvements and use of financing structures such as debt and equity when appropriate.
Once you have built up your education and experience and spent a few years in an FP&A Analyst role, you might start to think about progression opportunities. Fortunately, a stable and linear career pathway exists for those carving a career in financial planning and analysis.
• FP&A Analyst (1-3 years of experience or a rare graduate role)
• Senior FP&A Analyst (3-5 years of experience)
• FP&A Manager (5-10 years of experience)
• Head of Financial Planning & Analysis (10+ years of experience)