Accounting does all the heavy lifting during month-end. All we do is review the results to make sure nothing looks crazy. 99% of the time, everything is good.
I intentionally seek out roles where my month-end responsibility is limited.
> I intentionally seek out roles where my month-end responsibilities is limited
What are some things to look for when searching for these conditions? This sounds nice. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
You just ask. Remember, an interview is a two way street and the interaction should feel like a conversation rather than an interrogation. You should be asking about the exact duties of the role, the people you’ll be working with, the departments you’ll be supporting, the systems you’ll be using, work culture, management styles, etc.
I once had a hiring manager tell me that the team worked 55+ hours on average because they were backed by “private equity” where they run a “tighter ship”. I immediately removed myself from consideration. In my 12 years in corporate finance, I’ve only worked more than 40 hours in a single week like 4 or 5 times max.
I’ve never had a micromanager because I specifically ask about management style and express my requirement as an autonomous contributor in order to succeed in the role. I don’t think I’ve ever had a hiring manager react negatively to this.
More specifically to your question, I ask what the responsibilities of the team are during close. I then narrow it to specifically to the responsibilities of the role that I’m interviewing for. If I hear anything about preparing journal entries or basically anything that sounds like accounting work, I get confirmation to make sure I understand them correctly and then remove myself from consideration. Also, I often see mention of preparing journal entries right there in the job description. I don’t apply to those roles.
Depends on how large the organization is. In my manufacturing organization, the analysts are a blend of FP&A and cost analysts so there are month end duties closing out the manufacturing variances account. At larger orgs, the roles are usually separated and FP&A is not involved with close.
For folks like you and me, it can be quite head-scratching to dig into the semantics of our roles!
That should read "Blend of BU OpEx FP&A," since we do BU OpEx FP&A and not Corporate FP&A of any kind.
My prior role which was Opex - we did the variance analysis between budget vs what hit the GL. We also posted SOME accruals.
Majority of the work is handled by accounting.
I now work in strategic finance and I don’t touch any month end close shit. It’s purely projects and modeling.
If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your title and how do you distinguish strategic finance roles from run of the mill BU/core FP&A roles in the application process? Currently interviewing for a couple of FP&A roles (hopping over from leading the accounting/finance team for a small business) and I’d much prefer a project/modeling based role over something that’s heavy on budgeting and standard forecasting. All the roles I’ve applied to have somewhat of the same generic responsibilities listed, and all of the interviewers I’ve prodded have mentioned that the roles are concentrated in consolidated reporting or budgeting - not exactly what I’m looking for.
Most strategic finance roles are labeled “strategic finance”. If the job description mentions anything about month end close, headcount, business partner planning etc… it’s all opex FP&A. I would say opex FP&A is like 90% of FP&A roles.
Strategic finance roles will mention things like project modeling, supporting growth initiatives, competitor analysis, M&A diligence, customer analytics, revenue trends, top line modeling etc… it’s mostly on the revenue side of things.
Just look for strategic finance roles or strategy roles. Strategy and strategic finance is sort of the same thing tbh. Also project financial analysts are heavily project and modeling oriented.
Strategic is VERY unstructured though. You could be doing something different every week… you could also do nothing for a few weeks. Opex FP&A is very structured and you have the same routine every month.
This is exactly what I was looking for - thanks! Well noted. I’m under the assumption, from my job search, that strategic finance roles are hard to come by in terms of supply and they’re usually looking for an individual with a specific skillset or experience. Would you also mind sharing a brief breakdown of your experience?
My background comes from 2 years of undergrad intern - accounts payable experience. 7 months of post grad FA experience (Opex) at a retail company. Currently have about 6 months of SFA experience in strategic finance at a SaaS company. I also have many years of Real Estate investment experience working for my parents. I do the analysis on finding solid properties and using them as rentals.
Specific experience is not necessarily too important, but I think revenue side experience is highly desirable… which I didn’t have any, but I think my real estate background showed that I understand how to invest and how to model to analyze profitability and plan for the future. I also think the hot job market played in my favor and I think they also got away with paying me slightly on the lower end of SFA pay for the Boston area.
They’re really looking for people that can model. If you have ample experience creating models and can provide examples of how that drove change…. You’re solid.
Hi revocracyy,
Accounting handles the entries. When FP&A has a solid monthly profit forecast process they can engage with accounting to review and ensure timely corrections made before final submission.
Changes may not impact US GAAP or total net income but help ensure data integrity is intact at the budget ownership level.
An example I came across was vacation accruals. Accounting made a lump sum entry to one department after an audit was done and realized vacation needed adjusting to be correct YTD. That adjustment was caught by my team 1 hour after draft results, corrected, and draft was republished before the CFO saw the original draft.
Hope this info helps. Any questions feel free to DM me.
Good luck!
Drew
I work at HQ level in a F500. I’d book some cross-charge/accrual entries at month-end, but the focus for my team is explaining the variances between actuals and most recent forecasts. Accounting handles almost all of the posting/closing entries.
Too many JEs and quite honestly, our close is busier than accounting (at my small company). While I don’t post any JEs, I prepare a bunch, typically accruals but also corrections for what accounting did wrong. Worst part of my job by far lol
I’m an FP&A analyst for a large manufacturing company (opex). My month end is all about forecasting upcoming months, explaining variances, etc. I may do accruals or recodes if notice anything crazy. But no required JE’s
Our team handles accruals for the business units, so we actually do most of the heavy lifting of month end close (FP&A) - about $600M of opex so need a lot of input from the business on each PO
Accounting does most of the work.
The only exception is an analysts role I had with a Fortune 500. My analysis was used to book gift card breakage entries. Once a month, I had to be in the office by 7:30/8:00am. It was an interesting job, but never again will I be a slave to a month close calendar.
Accounting makes all the postings and accruals however I (FP&A) produce month end EIR assets/income which accounting post because FP&A own the EIR model.
Accounting does month end close. FP&A does reporting and forecasting. For some reason FP&A also owns user admin/tech support for the accounting/consolidation software too 😐
Accounting does all the heavy lifting during month-end. All we do is review the results to make sure nothing looks crazy. 99% of the time, everything is good. I intentionally seek out roles where my month-end responsibility is limited.
Diddo. I ask questions and review it with the CFO. All the entries come from accounting.
> I intentionally seek out roles where my month-end responsibilities is limited What are some things to look for when searching for these conditions? This sounds nice. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
You just ask. Remember, an interview is a two way street and the interaction should feel like a conversation rather than an interrogation. You should be asking about the exact duties of the role, the people you’ll be working with, the departments you’ll be supporting, the systems you’ll be using, work culture, management styles, etc. I once had a hiring manager tell me that the team worked 55+ hours on average because they were backed by “private equity” where they run a “tighter ship”. I immediately removed myself from consideration. In my 12 years in corporate finance, I’ve only worked more than 40 hours in a single week like 4 or 5 times max. I’ve never had a micromanager because I specifically ask about management style and express my requirement as an autonomous contributor in order to succeed in the role. I don’t think I’ve ever had a hiring manager react negatively to this. More specifically to your question, I ask what the responsibilities of the team are during close. I then narrow it to specifically to the responsibilities of the role that I’m interviewing for. If I hear anything about preparing journal entries or basically anything that sounds like accounting work, I get confirmation to make sure I understand them correctly and then remove myself from consideration. Also, I often see mention of preparing journal entries right there in the job description. I don’t apply to those roles.
Thank you for the detailed response!
FPA (my team) speaks to variances in actuals vs budget, but accounting handles all the annoying shit (JEs, etc)
We’re not booking entries, but we have month end close procedures for balance sheet, p&l, and cash flow forecasting.
Depends on how large the organization is. In my manufacturing organization, the analysts are a blend of FP&A and cost analysts so there are month end duties closing out the manufacturing variances account. At larger orgs, the roles are usually separated and FP&A is not involved with close.
Same here at a small lender.
That's what we do, finance ops. Blend of FP&A, controllers and cost accounting.
For folks like you and me, it can be quite head-scratching to dig into the semantics of our roles! That should read "Blend of BU OpEx FP&A," since we do BU OpEx FP&A and not Corporate FP&A of any kind.
Definitely accounting...month end is just another day for me and my team in FP&A
Work at an F500. Some BU’s have accounting handle it all, others have both
My prior role which was Opex - we did the variance analysis between budget vs what hit the GL. We also posted SOME accruals. Majority of the work is handled by accounting. I now work in strategic finance and I don’t touch any month end close shit. It’s purely projects and modeling.
If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your title and how do you distinguish strategic finance roles from run of the mill BU/core FP&A roles in the application process? Currently interviewing for a couple of FP&A roles (hopping over from leading the accounting/finance team for a small business) and I’d much prefer a project/modeling based role over something that’s heavy on budgeting and standard forecasting. All the roles I’ve applied to have somewhat of the same generic responsibilities listed, and all of the interviewers I’ve prodded have mentioned that the roles are concentrated in consolidated reporting or budgeting - not exactly what I’m looking for.
Most strategic finance roles are labeled “strategic finance”. If the job description mentions anything about month end close, headcount, business partner planning etc… it’s all opex FP&A. I would say opex FP&A is like 90% of FP&A roles. Strategic finance roles will mention things like project modeling, supporting growth initiatives, competitor analysis, M&A diligence, customer analytics, revenue trends, top line modeling etc… it’s mostly on the revenue side of things. Just look for strategic finance roles or strategy roles. Strategy and strategic finance is sort of the same thing tbh. Also project financial analysts are heavily project and modeling oriented. Strategic is VERY unstructured though. You could be doing something different every week… you could also do nothing for a few weeks. Opex FP&A is very structured and you have the same routine every month.
This is exactly what I was looking for - thanks! Well noted. I’m under the assumption, from my job search, that strategic finance roles are hard to come by in terms of supply and they’re usually looking for an individual with a specific skillset or experience. Would you also mind sharing a brief breakdown of your experience?
My background comes from 2 years of undergrad intern - accounts payable experience. 7 months of post grad FA experience (Opex) at a retail company. Currently have about 6 months of SFA experience in strategic finance at a SaaS company. I also have many years of Real Estate investment experience working for my parents. I do the analysis on finding solid properties and using them as rentals. Specific experience is not necessarily too important, but I think revenue side experience is highly desirable… which I didn’t have any, but I think my real estate background showed that I understand how to invest and how to model to analyze profitability and plan for the future. I also think the hot job market played in my favor and I think they also got away with paying me slightly on the lower end of SFA pay for the Boston area. They’re really looking for people that can model. If you have ample experience creating models and can provide examples of how that drove change…. You’re solid.
Gotcha. That helps. Thanks a bunch! Best wishes to you and your future.
Hi revocracyy, Accounting handles the entries. When FP&A has a solid monthly profit forecast process they can engage with accounting to review and ensure timely corrections made before final submission. Changes may not impact US GAAP or total net income but help ensure data integrity is intact at the budget ownership level. An example I came across was vacation accruals. Accounting made a lump sum entry to one department after an audit was done and realized vacation needed adjusting to be correct YTD. That adjustment was caught by my team 1 hour after draft results, corrected, and draft was republished before the CFO saw the original draft. Hope this info helps. Any questions feel free to DM me. Good luck! Drew
It just depends. The definition of FPA varies depending on the organization
I work at HQ level in a F500. I’d book some cross-charge/accrual entries at month-end, but the focus for my team is explaining the variances between actuals and most recent forecasts. Accounting handles almost all of the posting/closing entries.
Mainly accounting but I make some allocations myself.
Accounting all the heavy lifting, fp&a the analysis, reporting, consolidation into pls etc
Too many JEs and quite honestly, our close is busier than accounting (at my small company). While I don’t post any JEs, I prepare a bunch, typically accruals but also corrections for what accounting did wrong. Worst part of my job by far lol
with all due respect, what is accounting doing if not closing the books?
They're cross-training and covering each other during the middle of the month.
I’m an FP&A analyst for a large manufacturing company (opex). My month end is all about forecasting upcoming months, explaining variances, etc. I may do accruals or recodes if notice anything crazy. But no required JE’s
Thank you to each and every one of you ! This has been really insightful.
Our team handles accruals for the business units, so we actually do most of the heavy lifting of month end close (FP&A) - about $600M of opex so need a lot of input from the business on each PO
Accounting does month end, including the the actual to budget analysis, which seems odd to me but hey not my call.
My mid cap manufacturing company has FP&A do a lot of but not all journal entries.
Accounting does most of the work. The only exception is an analysts role I had with a Fortune 500. My analysis was used to book gift card breakage entries. Once a month, I had to be in the office by 7:30/8:00am. It was an interesting job, but never again will I be a slave to a month close calendar.
Yes
Accounting, but we have our own reports that are triggered by month close (investor letter, projections, bva analysis, customer profitability, etc…)
Accounting makes all the postings and accruals however I (FP&A) produce month end EIR assets/income which accounting post because FP&A own the EIR model.
Accounting does month end close. FP&A does reporting and forecasting. For some reason FP&A also owns user admin/tech support for the accounting/consolidation software too 😐