What’s it all about then?

As a Business Analyst working in finance for a food manufacturer, you’ll understand the business operations of your company and recommend suggestions for improvement in order to assist in the achievement of financial and commercial targets.

Your role is to generate reports summarising financial data and presenting this information to the senior management of the company.

The solutions you suggest could be financial or managerial in nature.

Typically, you’ll make sure that the company is able to address any challenges that may arise and take the correct decisions to resolve problems.

What might I be doing?

You will evaluate various company financial reports and identify how the company finances might impact on operations.

You might research and recommend improvements to senior management so you’ll have to be able to present complicated financial data in a clear fashion, and make a compelling case for your recommendations.

You will work with other departments, such as sales and new product development, in order to assist them with forecasting etc.

You will also recommend improved systems which will enhance company financial reporting and analysis.

What will be expected of me?

You will be exceptionally organised and motivated in order to understand need and make improvements, often within very tight time scales.

While you have a strong financial background, you will also have to understand all of the company’s business and operational processes so that your analysis and evaluation leads to realistic solutions based on real world assumptions.

What can I expect?

You can expect a variety of work depending exactly on what your employer wants or needs.

Many top managers of food companies have a financial background and your breadth of knowledge of company processes and procedures will set your career up very nicely indeed.

You will be office-based although hours may vary depending on workload and deadlines.

What about the pay?

The pay will vary from employer to employer but typically you will start as a graduate with an accountancy qualification, so in excess of £20,000.

What qualifications do I need to get in?

Entry-level financial business analyst jobs will require a degree in accountancy, finance or business administration. 

You will need to be qualified to degree level as a very minimum - with some employers preferring analysts with postgraduate experience in their area of expertise.

What about further training?

You could undertake postgraduate qualifications and become a member of one or more professional bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Anything else I might need to know?

If you have excellent communication and documentation skills and who are detail-oriented, analytical thinkers can go far in a financial business analyst career. If you have an interest in statistics, data valuation and business, and are good with computers and software programs, you could well become a highly successful financial business analyst