How To Become A Budget/Finance Analyst: What It Is and Career Path

What is a budget/finance analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Brian Meehan

A budget/finance analyst evaluates, approves, and also rejects budget proposals and funding requests. Budget Analyst helps in putting the budget of an organization on track. To do this, you must know the budget regulations to determine whether the budget is according to the regulations. Cost value analysis is also part of your job description.

You will also be responsible for defending budget recommendations and develop the ultimate budgetary agreement with the management. For effectiveness, you are in charge of running the financial report and collaborating with other executives for funding needs. You will work with a team since teamwork helps to form relationships and also to improve the financial strategy of an organization. You are also expected to monitor organization spending to check if it's within the budget. Bear in mind that your job is not only for the present improvement but about estimating future financial needs.

Analytical skills, communication skills, maths, and calculus are essential for this role. Not just this, but you must be detailed oriented and must understand financial management and analysis, financial reporting, and forecasting. The salary of a budget/financial analyst is $73,750 annually. However, the common educational qualification is a bachelor's degree in finance or business administration.

What general advice would you give to a budget/finance analyst?

Brian Meehan

Assistant Professor of Economics, Campbell School of Business, Berry College

My advice would be to apply broadly for jobs and take advantage of the robust set of career opportunities a degree in economics provides. It also gives you a better gauge of the opportunity cost (next best alternative) of accepting a job. Try to determine what that best alternative is. Additional training can also be a good option. Those individuals interested in graduate schools, professional schools, law schools, MBAs, etc. should look into these opportunities. Improving your human capital stock (via training and education), while weathering a recession, and then capitalizing on a healthier job market at the end of this training, is a pretty good route (assuming the recession is short).

ScoreBudget/Finance AnalystUS Average

Salary

4.6

Avg. Salary $58,499

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.5

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.02%

Asian 8.91%

Black or African American 11.05%

Hispanic or Latino 16.27%

Unknown 4.80%

White 57.96%

Gender

female 47.01%

male 52.99%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

6.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a budget/finance analyst

Explore budget/finance analyst education requirements

Most common budget/finance analyst degrees

Bachelor's

73.6 %

Master's

17.2 %

Associate

6.9 %

Start to develop specific budget/finance analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Financial Data	8.43%
Financial Analysis	8.34%
Financial Management	8.30%
DOD	5.17%
Financial Performance	3.71%

Complete relevant budget/finance analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New budget/finance analysts learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a budget/finance analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real budget/finance analyst resumes.

Research budget/finance analyst duties and responsibilities

Develop, maintain financial models/applications (VBA Excel/Access) to automate and streamline business processes and perform financial analysis.
Prepare month-end journal entries in assign areas involving reconciliations and resolving accounting errors.
Protect spending by reviewing/approving invoices, monitoring receivables and post journal entries, and handling bank reconciliations.
Interpret and apply all fiscal laws, instructions and policies pertaining to DoD budgetary and appropriate funding processes.

Prepare your budget/finance analyst resume

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