FP&A Analyst
67% skill overlap
To add: Three-statement financial modelling
Your role
Business Controller
Full profileYour role
Also known as Cost analyst · Financial manager · Accounting controller · Accounting supervisorand 8 more
CFO · Chief Financial Officer · Corporate controller · Corporate finance manager · Cost accountant · Cost accounting clerk · Cost accounting officer · Cost and budget analyst
- L3 salary
- Not published yet
- Upcoming dated changes
- None dated
What the role does
A business controller is the finance partner of a business unit, product line or function. The role prepares management reporting, explains results against budget and forecast through variance analysis of price, volume and mix, builds and monitors budgets and forecasts, tracks costs and key performance indicators, and challenges business decisions with financial analysis. It works with business managers, accounting and financial planning teams and is often a route toward head of finance or chief financial officer roles.
Read a day in the life
A day in the life
In the first days after month-end the controller checks the actuals for the business unit as they come out of the ledger. Revenues and costs are compared with budget, forecast and last year, and each material variance needs a cause: higher volumes, a price change, a one-off cost or a booking error. Questions go to accounting when a number looks wrong. Then the controller writes the management commentary and builds the monthly pack with key indicators. Mid-month the work turns to the business. The controller meets the unit head to go through results and risks, and helps evaluate a decision such as hiring, a new client deal or an investment. Forecast updates require input from managers on volumes, staffing and projects, which the controller challenges and consolidates. During the budget season much of the day goes to modelling scenarios, agreeing targets and preparing presentations for senior finance.
Levels
- L1 Starting out
- L2 Independent
- L3 Senior or specialist
- L4 Leads a team or an area
- L5 Leads the function
Full level descriptions and job titles
The EFO level names are the common scale; job titles differ between employers.
| Level | What the work looks like | Typical years | Typical job titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 Starting out | Prepares reports and variance analyses from defined templates, checks actuals for errors, and learns the business, the reporting tools and controlling methods under supervision. | 0-2 | Banks: Analyst, Junior Analyst, Associate (asset servicing), Trainee, GraduateAsset servicers: Junior, Specialist (entry), Officer |
| L2 Independent | Owns reporting and forecasting for a business area, writes the management commentary, is first finance contact for its managers and trains new analysts. | 2-5 | Banks: Analyst / Senior Analyst, AssociateAsset servicers: Specialist, Senior Specialist, Senior Officer |
| L3 Senior or specialist | Acts as finance partner for a larger unit, builds business cases and scenario models, handles complex cost allocation or pricing questions and represents finance in projects. | 5-9 | Banks: Senior Associate, AVP, Assistant ManagerAsset servicers: Senior Specialist, Expert, Team Lead (small team) |
| L4 Leads a team or an area | Leads a controlling team for a division, owns budget, forecast and performance reporting, and is the escalation point for financial questions and target setting. | 8-14 | Banks: VP, Manager, Senior ManagerAsset servicers: Team Lead, Manager, Head of Section |
| L5 Leads the function | Accountable for controlling and business finance in a legal entity or region, sets planning and performance standards and advises senior management on financial decisions. | 12+ | Banks: Director, Executive Director, Managing Director, Head of functionAsset servicers: Head of Department, Director |
Skills
Where the skill weights come from
Each role lists its skills with a tier and a weight. The weights of one role add up to 100 percent.
Source: the EFO role catalogue, built from the ESCO classification and reviewed by the editors.
The percentage is the skill's share of the role; the bars are drawn relative to the anchor skill, which is shown full.
Critical
- Variance analysis (price, volume, mix)Weight 13.3%Relevant to you
- Management reporting and commentaryWeight 8.9%Relevant to you
- Financial planning and forecastingWeight 8.9%Relevant to you
- Building and managing a budgetWeight 8.9%Relevant to you
- Advanced Microsoft ExcelWeight 8.9%Relevant to you
Important and supporting skills 17
Important
- Cost accounting and product costingWeight 4.4%Relevant to you
- Financial statement analysis and ratiosWeight 4.4%Relevant to you
- Profitability analysis (margins, contribution)Weight 4.4%Relevant to you
- Period-end close and reconciliationsWeight 4.4%Relevant to you
- SAP enterprise systemsWeight 4.4%Relevant to you
- Communicating data to non-technical audiencesWeight 4.4%Relevant to you
- Professional written communicationWeight 4.4%Relevant to you
- Commercial acumen and business senseWeight 4.4%Relevant to you
Supporting
- Scenario and sensitivity analysisWeight 2.2%Relevant to you
- Visualisation tools (Power BI, Tableau)Weight 2.2%Relevant to you
- Working capital managementWeight 2.2%Relevant to you
- Cost structure and efficiency leversWeight 2.2%Relevant to you
- Stakeholder managementWeight 2.2%Relevant to you
- Attention to detailWeight 2.2%Relevant to you
Useful
- Planning systems (Anaplan)Weight 0.7%Relevant to you
- Querying data with SQLWeight 0.7%Relevant to you
- Prioritising with incomplete informationWeight 0.7%Relevant to you
Processes
The work the role takes part in.
What each process covers
- Planning, budgeting and controllingMain
- Financial reporting and accountingSupporting
- ReconciliationsSupporting
Where the role concentrates
How AI is changing the role
Data preparation, standard variance analysis and first drafts of management commentary are increasingly automated in planning tools and with generative AI.
Read the full assessment
Data preparation, standard variance analysis and first drafts of management commentary are increasingly automated in planning tools and with generative AI. The World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2025 lists analytical thinking as the top core skill and expects strong growth in AI and big data skills. Value moves to business partnering: understanding why numbers move, challenging assumptions, modelling decisions and explaining trade-offs to managers. CIMA describes the management accountant as a strategic partner, which matches where the role is going. Controllers who use data tools well spend less time preparing and more time advising.
Dated changes for this role
No dated change for this role
No change with a date ahead names one of this role's main processes. The Regulatory calendar lists every change.
Worth knowing
Salary snapshot
Salary figures are not published yet
The L3 salary range for this role, with its sources, will appear here when the salaries section opens.
Certifications
- ACCA Qualification
- CIMA CGMA
- CFA Program Level I
- ACA Chartered Accountant
Concepts to know
- Month-end close (period-end close)
- Variance analysis
- ACCA
- Accrual accounting
- Budget
- Business intelligence (BI)
- Cost allocation
- Cost-income ratio
All 24 concepts
- Data warehouse
- End-user computing (EUC)
- Forecast (rolling forecast)
- FTP (funds transfer pricing)
- Gender pay gap
- IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets
- IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers
- IFRS 16 Leases
- Key control
- Key performance indicator (KPI)
- Management accounts (management reporting)
- Pay Transparency Directive
- RAROC (risk-adjusted return on capital)
- SOX controls (ICFR)
- Transfer pricing
- VAT (value added tax)
Neighbouring roles
Roles that need many of the same skills, by weighted skill overlap, with the skills you would need to add.
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To add: Performance measurement and attribution, Portfolio construction and allocation, Financial markets knowledge
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General Accountant
29% skill overlap
To add: Accounting fundamentals (double entry), International accounting standards (IFRS), Revenue recognition
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Do this job? Suggest a correction
Sources
Forecast (rolling forecast)A forecast is the latest estimate of results for the rest of the period, updated as actuals come in. A rolling forecast always looks a fixed number of months ahead, for example 12 or 18, and is often driven by volumes, prices and headcount assumptions.
Variance analysisVariance analysis explains the difference between actual results and budget, forecast or prior period, splitting it into drivers such as price, volume and mix. Each variance is labelled favourable or adverse and backed by commentary for management.
Generative AIGenerative AI is a family of AI models that produce new content (text, code, images, audio) in response to a prompt, by learning patterns from very large datasets. In finance it is used for drafting, summarising documents, coding help and customer service assistants.