Financial Procedures Analyst Career and Salary Profile
When businesses need to develop and maintain formal financial and accounting policies, they often rely on financial procedures analysts. The high level of business and accounting knowledge utilized in this occupation can be gained through a bachelor’s degree in business administration program with a specialization in accounting.
Job Outlook
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that financial analyst employment will be very strong in the coming years. Job growth for financial procedures analysts should result from the increasingly complex needs of businesses regarding financial regulation as well as accounting procedures and policies.
Financial Procedures Analyst Job Duties
A financial procedures analyst’s responsibilities include reviewing, evaluating and documenting an organization’s financial policies and procedures. Professionals in this role may also make recommendations for expenditures, determine risk, and ensure purchases and projects are undertaken according to established standards. Most often, they write and develop policy and procedure manuals for public entities, private businesses and financial institutions.
Financial procedures analysts are often required to manage and revise procedures to meet changing business needs. They may analyze recommendations from others, determine the potential impact of those recommendations and propose final action. Working with other management and staff, financial procedures analysts obtain approval on new policies and procedures and ensure that the changes are communicated and applied throughout the organization.
Most financial procedures analysts work in a corporate setting. Some employers may require travel to other offices. A 40-hour work week is standard, although some overtime may be required to meet deadlines.
Potential Salary
According to BLS reports, the median annual income for all management analysts, including financial procedures analysts, was $84,650 as of May 2009. The middle 50% brought in between $55,820 and $101,410. Salaries for the lowest 10% were around $42,550, while the highest 10% earned approximately $134,820. Recent bachelor’s degree program graduates will typically start out at the lower end of the scale and move up in salary with experience and advanced education.
Education and Training
Most employers require a bachelor’s degree for entry-level financial procedures analyst jobs. Typically, they consider candidates with bachelor’s degrees in accounting, finance or business administration. Many employers require at least some work experience, which can be obtained through summer jobs or internship programs while pursuing a degree.
A career as a financial procedures analyst can begin with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a specialization in accounting. Coursework typically includes principles of accounting, auditing, introduction to microeconomics and strategic management.
Employers can be confident that graduates of a business administration program with a specialization in accounting are able to:
- Use quantitative techniques to recognize and solve problems.
- Incorporate the principles and procedures of internal auditing.
- Practice the fundamentals of statistical data analysis.
- Apply control and other management skills to assist with sound business practices.
- Leverage advanced skills and knowledge to succeed as a financial procedures analyst.
Many employers offer opportunities for continuing education. It’s possible to gain an entry-level position with a bachelor’s degree and use tuition assistance to further your education.
Is a Financial Procedures Analyst Career in Your Future?
If you have strong analytical, leadership and problem-solving skills, the ability to clearly communicate to all levels of an organization, and an interest in finance and business, then you are likely to flourish in a career as a financial procedures analyst. Success in this field also requires self-motivation, assertiveness and strong interpersonal skills, as well as above-average computer and software skills. By combining these personal qualities with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a specialization in accounting, you’ll have what it takes to excel in a financial procedures analyst career.
