The role of a Financial Analyst is very dependent on the type of organization that the job is for. Generally speaking, as the name implies, they are expected to garner insight and assist decision making through undertaking a quantitative analysis of company financialdata.
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The role of a Financial Analyst is dependent on the type of organization that the job is ultimately for. Within the context of a financial services company, analysts are expected to perform extensive modeling and projections on the investment activities of the firm. Moving towards a more corporate product/services environment, analyst roles are more widespread and involved within the general accounting responsibilities of ongoing operations.
A great financial analyst is someone that combines diligence, vision, and excellent numerical skills. Depending on the career track taken, an analyst will hold (or be studying toward) either external accountancy (ACA/CIMA) or investment (CFA) accreditations as ongoing learning to augment their skill set.
An effective financial job description clearly lists the functions that the role is expected to perform. In addition, in order to ensure the relevant type of applicant is engaged, it should cogently describe the career path taken to date of someone with the skills most appropriate for the role.
Financial Analyst Job Description Template
Copy this template, and modify it as yourown:
Company Introduction
Write a short and catchy paragraph about your company. Make sure to provide information about the company’s culture, perks, and benefits. Mention office hours, remote working possibilities, and everything else that you think makes your company a compelling career choice.
Job Description
As a Financial Analyst in the Group Financial Planning Team, you will be extremely visible across all functions and have significant exposure to the finance leadership team and the other divisional managers. In this group role, you will become the primary stakeholder for preparing Board reports, weekly cash flow positions, and monitoring of the investment portfolio. The role will give you a strong understanding of the key risks and opportunities facing a business that is expanding rapidly, making it an excellent platform to make a significant contribution to the business.
You will have experience working in a financial planning team and an understanding of the opportunities and challenges of working in a group function. This is a fast-moving role. You will need a positive outlook, the ability to embrace a new challenge, a strong analytical skill set, and high attention to detail.
Responsibilities
- Taking a key role in the monthly board reporting pack process. This will be heavily weighted towards KPI tracking and performance to budgets.
- Assist FP&A function with monthly accounting processes by documenting new business activities and translating operational models into the accounting process flow.
- Track weekly cash flow position and work with revenue-generating units, treasury, and investor relations teams to project future movements and requirements.
- Appraise new investment/business opportunities from a financial perspective and augment their respective project teams.
- Define and track critical success metrics and KPIs of the business, collaborating with other divisions to address them.
- Establish market intelligence reporting on the competitive dynamics of our markets and distribute insights in a monthly and actionable manner.
- Build interactive reports and dashboards for wider distribution. Past experience with Tableau is desirable.
- Assist the investor relations team with key financial deliverables and ad hoc requests.
Skills
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and/or Finance.
- Qualified accountant (CIMA/ACCA/ACA) with demonstrable commercial experience of 3+ years.
- Advanced knowledge of MS Office applications, specifically in Excel, macros, data analysis, and pivot tables.
- Extensive financial statement modeling experience.
- Experience working with finance systems (e.g., Sage, SAP, Oracle EBS).
- Ability to problem-solve, both autonomously and within teams.
- Approachable and confident personality type, comfortable within a wide range of organizational environments.
- High integrity and natural desire to assume responsibility.
See also:Toptal’s growing, community-driven listof essential Financial Analysis interview questions
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