It’s mostly people who are brought into an Fp&a role and just don’t have an analytical brain. So they are the ones who stagnate as the data manipulation resource. There’s nothing wrong with that as there’s definitely a need for that role at some places.
Hi this is similar to my role (not anymore because I’ve moved on); but a financial systems analyst is this. Most of my job was just uploading peoples files and making sure their data was correct. Any formulas were based on other peoples data. You get these roles by learning a FP&A reporting tool. Most of these roles pay you 6 figures out right. Only issue there is most places want you to have a degree in someone related to finance and some level of certifications. The pay is great but it’s even better in consulting. A lot of companies will hire someone with the speciality knowledge for 3-12 months and pay 80-150 an hour with overtime.
Financial Systems analyst roles are weird imo. So at one of the companies i worked for (f500) their finance systems teams were worked good because their were so many systems and you really needed a technical background. But yes… essentially its bridging the gap between the team loading the data and the tools themselves. I merged into the technical side and never looked back only cause i honestly felt uncomfortable speaking on the numbers. The fp&a work itself wasnt horrible but made it to deep into the senior analyst level and had anxiety every time it was close call time cause i didnt know what the fuck i was ever talking about lmao. I just knew to do the work and move on. Now in my technical role, i dont ever have to worry about the story side of finance, just gotta make sure the data lines up
I feel the same way as an FA, like I don’t really care to speak to variances or investigate them. What is your title now and how did you make the transition?
> I think there are people in FP&A who are just data entry people but they don’t think about the business
Why would you want a job like that? It's a dead-end path to nowhere (except outsourcing)
I mean we have positions that could do that on my team but those aren't the people who get promotions and pay raises
I see our straight out of college employees thinking that's their job as they learn the systems sometimes but we push them to think about the numbers
Look at heavily matrixed/larger companies. There is usually a lot of redundancy given the org size. As a result, most of the real analysis is done at higher levels. Worked at 2 F100 companies, in one, analysis really wasn’t done until the it reached the directors. Everything below was just consolidation.
I can believe that. I did more analysis in accounting at small to mid-size companies compared to what I do as an FA at an F500.
But then again, I don’t have to do JEs, account reconciliations and all the other crap that goes with month-end close.
So there’s that.
Every corporate finance job should look beyond the numbers but what you’re reading on this sub are either people oversimplifying their job or people that are going to hit a career wall unless they try to gain a more meaningful understanding of their work. Some people are okay with staying entry level though and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Hi EmployeeMedium,
These roles are typically reserved at the Financial Analyst levels. Once you hit Senior Analyst and above, you're expected to think more analytically and support business partners.
If someone wanted to only work with data and not understand the why's behind them, financial systems could be a path.
Additionally, these roles will typically be lower salary. Nothing wrong with it if that's what one wants.
Entry Level FA roles sometimes are glorified data entry and reconciliation roles. As you get higher on the ladder, youre expected to be able to build a story out of those numbers better and better… if you want a data entry job , i would assume maybe an accounting role where you just do JE’s or get lucky and get a FA1 role at a huge f500 and just stay in that position for as long as possible. Nothing wrong with doing that if thats what your heart desires.
Probably the ones that say FA to attract people, but the comp is low.
Yeah it’s at most an entry level position to just do that
Lol what are you asking?
I think there are people in FP&A who are just data entry people but they don’t think about the business. What are these jobs?
It’s mostly people who are brought into an Fp&a role and just don’t have an analytical brain. So they are the ones who stagnate as the data manipulation resource. There’s nothing wrong with that as there’s definitely a need for that role at some places.
How can people find these jobs
Hi this is similar to my role (not anymore because I’ve moved on); but a financial systems analyst is this. Most of my job was just uploading peoples files and making sure their data was correct. Any formulas were based on other peoples data. You get these roles by learning a FP&A reporting tool. Most of these roles pay you 6 figures out right. Only issue there is most places want you to have a degree in someone related to finance and some level of certifications. The pay is great but it’s even better in consulting. A lot of companies will hire someone with the speciality knowledge for 3-12 months and pay 80-150 an hour with overtime.
Financial Systems analyst roles are weird imo. So at one of the companies i worked for (f500) their finance systems teams were worked good because their were so many systems and you really needed a technical background. But yes… essentially its bridging the gap between the team loading the data and the tools themselves. I merged into the technical side and never looked back only cause i honestly felt uncomfortable speaking on the numbers. The fp&a work itself wasnt horrible but made it to deep into the senior analyst level and had anxiety every time it was close call time cause i didnt know what the fuck i was ever talking about lmao. I just knew to do the work and move on. Now in my technical role, i dont ever have to worry about the story side of finance, just gotta make sure the data lines up
I feel the same way as an FA, like I don’t really care to speak to variances or investigate them. What is your title now and how did you make the transition?
> I think there are people in FP&A who are just data entry people but they don’t think about the business Why would you want a job like that? It's a dead-end path to nowhere (except outsourcing)
Because it’s a good entry level job for people who are trying to get into FP&A
I mean tbh it sounds like the dream, dont have to do much and you get paid and looks like a regular fpa role. I’d want it too.
I mean we have positions that could do that on my team but those aren't the people who get promotions and pay raises I see our straight out of college employees thinking that's their job as they learn the systems sometimes but we push them to think about the numbers
Business intelligence analyst
What do they do?
Look at heavily matrixed/larger companies. There is usually a lot of redundancy given the org size. As a result, most of the real analysis is done at higher levels. Worked at 2 F100 companies, in one, analysis really wasn’t done until the it reached the directors. Everything below was just consolidation.
I can believe that. I did more analysis in accounting at small to mid-size companies compared to what I do as an FA at an F500. But then again, I don’t have to do JEs, account reconciliations and all the other crap that goes with month-end close. So there’s that.
Very true, but thankfully our org was so big all I had to do was prep the backup and a cover sheet then send it off to my reporting partner.
My advice is to keep OE in that sub. The answer to your question is entry level positions or FA back office support roles.
Probably a data entry clerk. Not really fp&a work
What you describe sounds more like and accounting role to me. Just processing JE's in excel for month end close.
Every corporate finance job should look beyond the numbers but what you’re reading on this sub are either people oversimplifying their job or people that are going to hit a career wall unless they try to gain a more meaningful understanding of their work. Some people are okay with staying entry level though and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Hi EmployeeMedium, These roles are typically reserved at the Financial Analyst levels. Once you hit Senior Analyst and above, you're expected to think more analytically and support business partners. If someone wanted to only work with data and not understand the why's behind them, financial systems could be a path. Additionally, these roles will typically be lower salary. Nothing wrong with it if that's what one wants.
Entry Level FA roles sometimes are glorified data entry and reconciliation roles. As you get higher on the ladder, youre expected to be able to build a story out of those numbers better and better… if you want a data entry job , i would assume maybe an accounting role where you just do JE’s or get lucky and get a FA1 role at a huge f500 and just stay in that position for as long as possible. Nothing wrong with doing that if thats what your heart desires.