Starting a career in financial planning & analysis

What does an FP&A Analyst do?

FP&A Analysts are responsible for performing budgeting, forecasting and analyses to provide senior management with business cases and information to make major operational, financial and strategic decisions.

Typically working within a regional headquarter of a large national or international corporation, FP&A Analysts work on a regional level with various business units and upper management members both nationally and internationally depending on the size of the organisation.

An FP&A Analyst picks up where accounting leaves off to study, analyse and explain historical performance and forecast future results. Gathering information from different business units and operations, they build business cases, have a large business understanding and have an end-to-end overview of a corporation’s performance.

Which skills are necessary?

FP&A Analysts are excellent problem solvers, capable of handling a mountain of different data at a time. Previous experience with reporting tools (Hyperion, Cognos) and BI tools (Qlickview, SAP BI) would be considered a strong asset.

As this function is typical to large corporations, a good knowledge of English is usually required. To effectively communicate the impact of specific business issues and formulate growth scenarios, a high emotional intelligence is essential, as well as the ability to explain figures to non-financial people.

FP&A Analysts are excellent problem solvers, capable of handling a mountain of different data at a time.

What are the progression opportunities as an FP&A Analyst?

An FP&A Analyst can typically evolve into a role such as Business Unit Controller with A-Z financial responsibility over an entire division, or local CFO. Taking on a role as CFO for a larger structure is usually the ultimate goal. Newly-qualified professionals can expect a salary of €50 - 65k, whereas FP&A Managers can expect a base salary between €75 - 85k a year. 

Are you interested in a job in FP&A?

Get in touch with our accounting & financial services recruitment team. Or see our latest accounting & finance jobs in Ireland here.