Financial Analyst

Spencer Stuart • Chicago, IL

4d • $85,000 - $90,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Analyst – FP&A is a core member of Spencer Stuart’s FP&A team within the Chief Financial Officer Group. The position develops the global annual budget and drives periodic forecasting in partnership with business function leaders. The analyst owns budgeting and forecasting for an assigned portfolio of functions, analyzes actual results against plan, and presents findings and recommendations to the leaders responsible for that spending. The role builds an understanding of the firm’s business model and CFO Group operations to improve the quality of its analysis over time.

The analyst serves as a primary finance contact for business partners, supports consolidated reporting and executive-level materials, and works closely with Controllership. The role also identifies and addresses process gaps by improving financial models, reporting, and workflows. The position is based at 353 North Clark Street in Chicago, Illinois, and reports to the Manager FP&A, Planning & Forecasting.

Requirements

• Three to five years of progressive experience in FP&A, corporate finance, accounting, or audit; the ideal experience section specifies three to five years as an FP&A Analyst.
• Prior end-to-end ownership of a budget or forecast cycle.
• Bachelor’s degree in finance or accounting.
• Advanced Excel skills, including nested logic, lookup functions, and maintaining large, linked financial models.
• Working knowledge of an enterprise planning system and a BI or visualization tool.
• Ability to work with minimal direction, investigate issues, ask appropriate questions, and deliver recommendations.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent deadlines and competing stakeholder demands.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex financial information to non-finance audiences.
• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy, with an internal client service mindset.
• Intermediate PowerPoint skills.
• Ability to lead meetings or discussion topics and provide excellent service to business colleagues.
• Integrity, professionalism, sound judgment, and discretion.

Nice To Haves

• Exposure to Workday Financials is a strong plus.
• Experience with Power BI or Tableau.
• Experience with Workday and Adaptive Planning is strongly preferred.
• Previous budgeting and forecasting experience in a business-partner role supporting senior leadership is preferred.
• Experience in a global professional services firm is preferred.
• A strong academic record.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end budget and forecast process for an assigned set of business functions, from setting assumptions through final submission.
• Investigate variances to their root causes and provide clear written commentary explaining changes in results.
• Serve as the primary finance point of contact for business partners, ask clarifying questions, challenge assumptions, and uphold approved plan figures.
• Support consolidated reporting and prepare executive-level materials, including board and leadership presentations.
• Identify process gaps and improve models, reporting, and workflows.
• Provide business function teams with insights and analysis to support sound decision-making.
• Build and maintain relationships with cross-functional teams and integrate financial insights into business strategies and operations.
• Prepare and present accurate, timely financial reports and analyses to senior management, highlighting trends and variances.
• Review and validate reports and process outputs to support financial data integrity and quality.
• Respond to internal stakeholder needs and inquiries with responsive service and solutions.
• Manage concurrent priorities and deliverables within established timelines and quality standards.
• Work with Controllership to align reporting processes, support compliance, and contribute to financial governance.
• Use Workday, Adaptive Planning, and Office Connect to improve analysis, reporting, and data integrity.
• Guide and support business function teams on financial best practices, tools, and systems.
• Identify and drive opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness in FP&A reporting and analysis.

Benefits

• Annual discretionary bonus program.
• Retirement savings plan with discretionary profit-sharing contribution and employer match.
• PTO of at least 15 days per year, increasing with tenure.
• Paid sick time of 10 days per year.
• 12 company holidays per year.
• Paid leaves of absence when applicable.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Healthcare flexible spending account.
• Life insurance.
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance.
• Employee assistance program.
• Virtual mental health program and mindfulness program.
• Voluntary supplemental life insurance, identity theft protection, and whole life insurance with long-term care and critical illness coverage.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level