Business Financial Analyst
Job Summary
The Business Financial Analyst provides financial analysis, commercial insights, and decision support to enhance profitability and operational efficiency. The role involves working closely with cross-functional teams including Finance, Sales, and Production to drive data-based decision-making. Responsibilities include financial planning, manufacturing cost analysis, pricing support, and KPI reporting.
Responsibilities
- Manage FP&A, budgeting, and monthly financial reporting.
- Perform manufacturing cost and operational efficiency analysis.
- Provide commercial analysis for pricing and profitability.
- Develop BI dashboards and automate reporting processes.
- Support strategic projects, capital evaluations, and cost-saving initiatives.
Required Skills
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or Economics.
- 3-5 years of experience in FP&A or commercial finance.
- Advanced Microsoft Excel and financial modelling skills.
- Proficiency in ERP systems and Power BI.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
Job Details
Key Responsibilities
Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)
- Prepare monthly management reports, dashboards and KPI analysis.
- Develop annual budgets and rolling forecasts.
- Analyse revenue, gross profit, EBITDA and operating costs.
- Monitor departmental spending against budgets.
- Prepare monthly variance analysis with recommendations.
- Develop financial models to support strategic decision-making.
- Present financial findings to senior management.
Manufacturing & Cost Analysis
- Analyse manufacturing costs by product, customer and production line.
- Monitor material usage, yield losses and production efficiencies.
- Analyse labour productivity and overtime costs.
- Review machine utilisation and manufacturing overhead allocation.
- Identify cost-saving opportunities across operations.
- Support inventory valuation and cost accounting.
- Analyse wastage and recommend corrective actions.
Commercial & Business Analysis
- Support pricing decisions and customer quotations.
- Analyse customer profitability.
- Evaluate OEM manufacturing opportunities.
- Review product margins and recommend pricing adjustments.
- Analyse sales trends by customer, channel and geography.
- Support contract profitability reviews.
- Develop profitability models for new business opportunities.
Supply Chain & Procurement Analysis
- Monitor raw material price trends.
- Analyse supplier performance.
- Evaluate inventory turnover and stock holding costs.
- Support purchasing decisions through financial analysis.
- Recommend inventory optimisation strategies.
Business Intelligence & Reporting
- Develop and maintain dashboards covering: Sales performance, Gross margin, Manufacturing KPIs, Customer profitability, Product profitability, Inventory, Forecast accuracy, Capacity utilisation, Working capital, Cash flow.
- Automate reporting wherever possible using ERP and Business Intelligence tools.
Strategic Projects
- Support management with: Capital expenditure evaluations, Investment analysis, New product business cases, Export market evaluations, Business acquisitions, Cost reduction initiatives, Continuous improvement projects.
Pricing & Margin Management
- Review pricing models.
- Analyse contribution margins.
- Recommend price revisions.
- Monitor promotional profitability.
- Support annual customer price reviews.
Operational Support
- Work closely with Production, Procurement, Warehouse, Logistics, QA, Product Development, and Sales to ensure financial decisions align with operational objectives.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business or related discipline.
- Professional qualification (CPA, ACCA or CFA) is advantageous.
- 3–5 years' experience in FP&A, commercial finance or business analysis, preferably within food manufacturing, FMCG or OEM manufacturing.
Technical Skills
- Advanced Microsoft Excel
- Financial modelling
- Power BI (preferred)
- ERP systems (SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, NetSuite or similar)
- Power Query
- Strong data analysis capability
- Excellent presentation skills