Budget Analyst

Controller Job Description

A budget analyst helps organizations and businesses organize and allocate their financial resources by developing and executing budgets for them. They monitor spending to remain within budget and estimate future spending requirements. Upper management rely on the work of budget analysts to prepare data for them to make informed financial decisions. Budget analysts help companies organize their finances, prepare budget reports, and monitor institutional spending. They regularly review an organization’s financial plans for completeness, accuracy, and conformance with regulations and organizational objectives. Budget analysts spend most of their time analyzing data, evaluating budget proposals, recommending spending cuts, redistributing extra funds, and preparing annual reports. They work closely with project managers in developing the budget of the organizations while looking over proposals, checking for accuracy, completeness, and compliance. A budget analyst often uses cost-benefit analyses to explore alternative funding methods, review financial requests, and assess program tradeoffs. They may also look at past budgets and research any financial developments that could affect income and expenditures. In order to stay within the budget, budget analysts oversee spending throughout the year and figure out whether changes are needed for certain programs. They also examine programs and decide whether they are producing good results. Budget analysts communicate their recommendations to executives within the organization. If there is a discrepancy between the budget and spending, budget analysts will write a report going over the differences and recommend any changes. They use spreadsheet, database, and financial analysis software to provide accurate, up-to-date information.

Successful Budget Analyst candidates will have a varied list of skills and qualifications. Most will have highly developed analytical skills with the ability to process large quantities of information to evaluate costs, benefits and project outcomes. Strong candidates will demonstrate the ability to analyze and solve problems while being able to clearly articulate complex ideas and communicate clearly and effectively. Detail-oriented candidates will also have a developed ability to solve complicated math problems as the job entails the disaggregation of data to form recommendations for a business to run effectively. They will also be able to work with and understand spreadsheets, financial analysis programs and database functions. Budget Analyst candidates must also be able to present technical ideas clearly in writing for a wide array of audiences to understand. 

A bachelor’s degree is typically required as budget preparation requires extensive numeric and analytical skills. A foundational background in economics, accounting and statistics is helpful, and some financial institutions, government agencies or state regulations may require more extensive specializations. Some employers may also prefer a master’s degree in areas such as finance, accounting or public administration. 

Typical duties of a Controller

• Developing organizational budget with managers
• Reviewing proposals for completeness, accuracy, and compliance with company standards
• Consolidating the organizational budget for review
• Vetting funding requests for merit and authenticity
• Monitoring spending and keeping the organization within its set budget
• Preparing reports and estimating future financial needs
• Defending budget recommendations with data and evidence-based analyses
Skills:
• Experience managing budgets.
• Highly analytical mindset.
• Proficiency in data analysis and statistical forecasting.
• Excellent mathematical aptitude.
• Good problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills.
• Attention to detail.
Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or related field.