Financial Analyst

Two jobs share this title

Corporate analysts sit inside a company and plan its budget. You'll often see this called FP&A, short for financial planning and analysis. Investment analysts sit at a bank, a fund or a research firm and judge other companies. People rarely swap between the two once they're a few years in. This guide follows the corporate side. The investment ladder looks similar, but exams and pedigree count for more there.

From first model to finance lead

1. 1

   Staff Accountant or Finance Associate

   Plenty of analysts start here. You close the books, reconcile accounts, and learn where every number on the income statement actually comes from.

2. 2

   Financial AnalystThis guide

   You build the budget model, explain why last month missed the forecast, and send a deck to someone senior who reads only the first page. Speed in Excel buys you trust early.

3. 3

   Senior Financial Analyst

   You own a business unit's numbers and sit in its planning meetings. The job shifts from building the model to telling a department head their plan doesn't add up.

4. 4

   FP&A Manager

   You run the budget cycle for the whole company and manage the analysts who feed it. Most of your value is judgment: which assumption to challenge, and which fight isn't worth having.

Skills postings keep asking for

Put the ones you can prove near the top of your résumé, with the business result next to each.

What Financial Analyst postings ask for