How to hire a budget/finance analyst

How to hire a budget/finance analyst, step by step

Here's a step-by-step budget/finance analyst hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a budget/finance analyst job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new budget/finance analyst
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a budget/finance analyst do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the budget/finance analyst you need to hire. Certain budget/finance analyst roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect budget/finance analyst also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of budget/finance analysts and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Budget/Finance Analyst	Description	Hourly rate
   Budget/Finance Analyst	Budget analysts help public and private institutions organize their finances. They prepare budget reports and monitor institutional spending.	$20-38
   Treasury Analyst	A treasury analyst is a professional who manages and analyses the financial activities of an organization that can include cash flows, liability obligations, and assets. Treasury analysts are required to execute the daily cash management of the organization such as cash forecasting, investing of excess cash, and running a hedging program in interest rates... Show more	$25-48
   Analyst	Analysts are employees or individual contributors with a vast experience in a particular field that help the organization address challenges. They help the organization improve processes, policies, and other operations protocol by studying the current processes in place and determining the effectiveness of those processes... Show more	$25-47

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Financial Data
   • Financial Analysis
   • Financial Management
   • DOD
   • Financial Performance
   • Financial Resources
   • Data Analysis
   • Accruals
   • ERP
   • Budget Analysis
   • Management System
   • Financial Models
   • Cognos
   • PPBE

   Check all skills

   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.
   • Review month-end financial reports and upload data using Hyperion.
   • Provide analysis of various government appropriations within DoD to identify unliquidate obligations (ULO).

   More budget/finance analyst duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your budget/finance analyst job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A budget/finance analyst can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, budget/finance analysts' average salary in arkansas is 48% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level budget/finance analysts 48% less than senior-level budget/finance analysts.
   • Certifications. A budget/finance analyst with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a budget/finance analyst's salary.

   Average budget/finance analyst salary

   $58,499yearly

   $28.12 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level budget/finance analyst salary

   $42,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average budget/finance analyst salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$76,973	$37
   2	California	$68,556	$33
   3	Maryland	$65,877	$32
   4	Virginia	$65,389	$31
   5	Massachusetts	$64,924	$31
   6	New York	$63,482	$31
   7	Colorado	$61,331	$29
   8	Ohio	$60,300	$29
   9	Minnesota	$56,566	$27
   10	Washington	$56,481	$27
   11	Alabama	$56,140	$27
   12	Oregon	$56,115	$27
   13	Texas	$54,712	$26
   14	Kansas	$53,301	$26
   15	Illinois	$52,780	$25
   16	Florida	$52,237	$25
   17	Arizona	$50,838	$24
   18	Iowa	$50,536	$24
   19	Nebraska	$50,424	$24
   20	Georgia	$46,612	$22

   Average budget/finance analyst salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Cisco	$99,563	$47.87	4
   2	Western Digital	$81,160	$39.02	7
   3	University of California-Berkeley	$80,680	$38.79
   4	Environmental Defense Fund	$76,033	$36.55
   5	UC Santa Barbara	$70,578	$33.93
   6	Goldbelt Falcon	$67,493	$32.45
   7	Milliman	$66,834	$32.13	7
   8	Federal Bureau of Investigation	$66,732	$32.08
   9	University of Massachusetts Medical School	$66,401	$31.92	2
   10	Mount Sinai Health System	$66,147	$31.80	10
   11	Torch Technologies	$65,857	$31.66	8
   12	Loyola University Maryland	$65,412	$31.45	1
   13	Harvard University	$65,303	$31.40
   14	Florida Power and Light	$64,917	$31.21	18
   15	Southern	$64,677	$31.09	17
   16	Yale New Haven Health	$64,068	$30.80	7
   17	Knowesis	$63,977	$30.76
   18	MITRE	$63,952	$30.75	6
   19	Precise Systems	$63,853	$30.70
   20	Gwinnett County	$63,595	$30.57	3

4. Writing a budget/finance analyst job description

   A job description for a budget/finance analyst role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a budget/finance analyst job description:

   Budget/finance analyst job description example

   The Building People, LLC, has a position open for a full-time
   Budget/Financial Analyst with an active Top Secret Clearance for a facilities engineering program to support a federal Agency.
   Responsibilities will include, but not be limited to:
   Analyze data from financial reporting systems. Track funding through the entire life of a project and reconcile all available balances. Support all financial management project governance practices by ensuring internal controls are met Provide support for any financial audits that may arise. Provide financial analyses for projects. Skills & Requirements
   Qualifications and Education Required:
   Active Top Secret Clearance Highly developed analytical skills with the ability to process large quantities of information to evaluate costs, benefits, and project outcomes. Demonstrate the ability to analyze and solve problems while being able to clearly articulate complex ideas and communicate clearly and effectively. Ability to solve complicated math problems as the job entails the disaggregation of data to form recommendations for a project to run effectively. Work with and understand spreadsheets, financial analysis programs and database functions. Qualifications
   
   ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
   
   Competitive benefits for eligible employees include:
   Medical & Rx Dental Vision Flexible Spending Accounts 401(k) Retirement Plan Life Insurance/AD&D Long Term Disability and Short-Term Disability Paid Time Off Holiday Pay
   All positions require a background check after acceptance of our offer. The selected candidate will be eligible to begin employment before the background check has been finalized. However, continued employment will be contingent upon the results of your reference/background check from The Building People, LLC. Your position may require special credentialing, clearance, and access as a condition of employment. In the event the government or client does not sponsor or approve your clearance, it may result in termination of your employment.
   
   If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Requests for accommodation will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please note that only inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this e-mail address.
   
   For more information, view the and .

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find budget/finance analysts for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any budget/finance analysts they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level budget/finance analysts with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your budget/finance analyst job on Zippia to find and attract quality budget/finance analyst candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit budget/finance analysts, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new budget/finance analyst

   Once you've found the budget/finance analyst candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new budget/finance analyst. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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