Perform financial forecasting, reporting, and operational metrics tracking Analyze financial data and create financial models for decision support Report on financial performance and prepare for regular leadership reviews Analyze past results, perform variance analysis, identify trends, and make recommendations for improvements Work closely with the accounting team to ensure accurate financial reporting Evaluate financial performance by comparing and analyzing actual results with plans and forecasts Guide the cost analysis process by establishing and enforcing policies and procedures Provide analysis of trends and forecasts and recommend actions for optimization Recommend actions by analyzing and interpreting data and making comparative analyses; study proposed changes in methods and materials Identify and drive process improvements, including the creation of standard and ad-hoc reports, tools, and Excel dashboards Increase productivity by developing automated reporting/forecasting tools Perform market research, data mining, business intelligence, and valuation comps Maintain a strong financial analysis foundation by creating forecasts and models Proficiency with Microsoft Excel is mentioned in virtually any financial analyst job description; familiarity with data query/data management tools is extremely helpful (Access, SQL, Business Objects)