Commercial Finance Analyst

BriefYour role

L3 salary: Not published yetSalary figures open with the salaries section.
Upcoming dated changes: None datedNo change with a date ahead affects this role directly.
Top critical skills: Profitability analysis (margins, contribution)
Variance analysis (price, volume, mix)
Pricing and elasticity analysis

What the role does

Commercial Finance Analyst is a role in Finance, Accounting & Control. The family covers accounting, controlling, planning, treasury and finance roles inside companies. The core skill is profitability analysis (margins, contribution), and the main work is planning, budgeting and controlling.

This is a brief profile written from the catalogue. A full profile with a day in the life, level descriptions and the effect of AI is being written.

Levels

L1 Starting out 0-2 years
L2 Independent 2-5 years
L3 Senior or specialist 5-9 years
L4 Leads a team or an area 8-14 years
L5 Leads the function 12+ years

Full level descriptions and job titles

The EFO level names are the common scale; job titles differ between employers.

Levels of Commercial Finance Analyst
Level	What the work looks like	Typical years	Typical job titles
L1 Starting out	Learns the job; executes defined tasks with supervision	0-2	Banks: Analyst, Junior Analyst, Associate (asset servicing), Trainee, GraduateAsset servicers: Junior, Specialist (entry), Officer
L2 Independent	Owns a process end to end; trains L1; first contact for the team's clients	2-5	Banks: Analyst / Senior Analyst, AssociateAsset servicers: Specialist, Senior Specialist, Senior Officer
L3 Senior or specialist	Deep expertise; handles exceptions and change; represents the function 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	Manages people or a large process; owns budgets or controls; escalation point	8-14	Banks: VP, Manager, Senior ManagerAsset servicers: Team Lead, Manager, Head of Section
L5 Leads the function	Accountable for the function in a legal entity or region; sets priorities and standards	12+	Banks: Director, Executive Director, Managing Director, Head of functionAsset servicers: Head of Department, Director

Skills

The percentage is the skill's share of the role; the bars are drawn relative to the anchor skill, which is shown full.

Critical 5

The job cannot be done without these.

Profitability analysis (margins, contribution)Weight 13.3%Anchor skillExpected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Variance analysis (price, volume, mix)Weight 8.9%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Pricing and elasticity analysisWeight 8.9%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Advanced Microsoft ExcelWeight 8.9%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Financial planning and forecastingWeight 8.9%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you

Important and supporting skills 17

Important 8

Needed in most positions.

Building and managing a budgetWeight 4.4%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Business case and cost-benefit analysisWeight 4.4%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Defining and using KPIsWeight 4.4%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Building a commercial proposalWeight 4.4%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Communicating data to non-technical audiencesWeight 4.4%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Commercial acumen and business senseWeight 4.4%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Professional written communicationWeight 4.4%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Management reporting and commentaryWeight 4.4%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you

Supporting 6

Help in many positions.

Scenario and sensitivity analysisWeight 2.2%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you
Visualisation tools (Power BI, Tableau)Weight 2.2%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you
Querying data with SQLWeight 2.2%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you
Stakeholder managementWeight 2.2%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you
Working to tight deadlinesWeight 2.2%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you
Market data analysis (share, penetration)Weight 2.2%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you

Useful 3

Occasionally useful.

SAP enterprise systemsWeight 0.7%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you
Planning systems (Anaplan)Weight 0.7%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you
Prioritising with incomplete informationWeight 0.7%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you

Processes

The work the role takes part in.

Planning, budgeting and controlling

What each process covers

Planning, budgeting and controllingMainBudgets, forecasts, cost control and management reporting.

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.

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 ACCA
CIMA CGMA AICPA and CIMA
CFA Program Level I CFA Institute
ACA Chartered Accountant ICAEW

Concepts to know

Neighbouring roles

Roles that need many of the same skills, by weighted skill overlap, with the skills you would need to add.

FP&A Analyst

69% skill overlap

To add: Three-statement financial modelling, Financial statement analysis and ratios

Your role

Business Controller

63% skill overlap

To add: Cost accounting and product costing, Financial statement analysis and ratios, Period-end close and reconciliations

Your role

Finance Graduate

34% skill overlap

To add: Accounting fundamentals (double entry), Financial statement analysis and ratios, Period-end close and reconciliations

Your role

Management Consultant

32% skill overlap

To add: Competitive analysis and benchmarking, Microsoft PowerPoint, Market sizing

Your role

Finance Transformation Consultant

31% skill overlap

To add: Competitive analysis and benchmarking, Microsoft PowerPoint, Market sizing

Your role

PMO Analyst

30% skill overlap

To add: Project governance and reporting, Project planning and dependencies, Project budget management

Your role

Do this job? Suggest a correction

Sources

The EFO role catalogue, with skills, levels and processes. How it is built
ESCO classification of the European Commission (external site) for job titles