the budget and performance expert

If you’re interested in financial planning and analysis (FP&A), aim for a large company. Organized by department, their financial divisions leave more room for specialization. This highly strategic role requires an analytical mind and sharp interpersonal skills. If interacting with management makes you sweat, you might want to pass on this job! Financial analysts serve as a link between accounting and operations: 15 to 25% of their time is spent in meetings with managers.

On a day-to-day basis, this type of specialist will inspect budgets, detect weak points that reduce the company’s profitability, suggest solutions to curb expenses, and conduct financial modelling using Excel. They are also in charge of completing a profitability analysis. Backed by a rigorous budget forecasting process, they decide whether or not a project is viable, therefore contributing to important business decisions. Knowledge transfer is also an important part of their work: they simplify concepts to make them more accessible, write reports, host follow-up meetings… in this role, communication skills are just as important as math skills!

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