Financial Reporting & Forecasting Analyst

Financial Reporting & Forecasting Analyst

Career Level: CL10
Experience: 5–8 Years
Core Skill: Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)
Qualification: B.Com. or a bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related discipline. MBA, CA, or CMA is an advantage.

Job Summary

We are looking for a skilled Senior Financial Planning & Analysis Analyst to support budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and business performance analysis. The candidate will be responsible for analysing financial results, identifying variances, preparing management reports, and providing meaningful insights to support business decisions.

The role requires strong analytical capabilities, advanced Excel proficiency, and experience working with financial data and cross-functional stakeholders. The successful candidate will take ownership of recurring financial deliverables, improve reporting processes, and ensure the accuracy and timeliness of financial information.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Planning and Budgeting

• Support annual budgeting, rolling forecasts, and long-range financial planning activities.

• Prepare and consolidate financial inputs from business stakeholders.

• Develop revenue and gross margin forecasts for assigned business categories.

• Validate financial assumptions and investigate inconsistencies in submitted data.

• Monitor financial performance against budgets and forecasts.

Financial Analysis and Reporting

• Conduct detailed variance analysis covering revenue, operating expenses, gross margin, and working capital.

• Prepare monthly management reports and ad hoc financial analyses.

• Identify trends, performance gaps, risks, and opportunities.

• Develop financial models to support business planning and decision-making.

• Prepare clear financial commentary explaining the key drivers of business performance.

• Maintain KPI trackers and support periodic performance reviews.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Work closely with business teams to understand financial performance and operational drivers.

• Respond to financial reporting queries and validate information with relevant stakeholders.

• Present financial findings in a clear and structured manner.

• Communicate reporting progress, issues, and deadlines proactively.

Systems and Process Improvement

• Use advanced Excel to analyse large datasets and prepare financial reports.

• Extract financial data from SAP ECC or equivalent ERP systems.

• Support cost centre mapping, general ledger coding, and data validation.

• Identify opportunities to simplify reporting and improve data quality.

• Maintain process documentation and follow financial reporting controls.

Team Support

• Coordinate assigned deliverables and ensure completion within agreed timelines.

• Assist with quality checks and reporting standardisation.

• Share knowledge and provide guidance to junior team members.

• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives within the FP&A function.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• 5–8 years of experience in FP&A, commercial finance, financial analysis, or a related function.

• Strong understanding of budgeting, forecasting, financial modelling, and variance analysis.

• Experience analysing revenue, costs, gross margin, and working capital.

• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including pivot tables, complex lookups, and large dataset analysis.

• Experience preparing management reports and financial performance summaries.

• Strong analytical, numerical, and problem-solving skills.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to manage multiple deliverables and meet strict deadlines.

• Strong attention to detail and stakeholder management capabilities.

• Bachelor's degree in Commerce, Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field.

Preferred Skills

• Experience in retail, manufacturing, wholesale, merchandising, or consumer packaged goods (CPG).

• Exposure to SAP ECC or other ERP platforms.

• Familiarity with planning tools such as IBM Planning Analytics (TM1), Anaplan, SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC), or OneStream.

• Knowledge of Power BI, Tableau, Palantir, or Snowflake.

• MBA, CA, or CMA qualification is an advantage.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is an analytical finance professional who can independently manage financial reporting cycles, explain business performance through data, and collaborate effectively with stakeholders. The candidate should demonstrate accuracy, accountability, and a continuous improvement mindset.