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Business & finance analyst skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
Quoted experts
Van Wood Ph.D.,
Van Wood Ph.D.
Business & finance analyst example skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical business & finance analyst skills. We ranked the top skills for business & finance analysts based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 12.7% of business & finance analyst resumes contained financial analysis as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a business & finance analyst needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 business & finance analyst skills for your resume and career

1. Financial Analysis

Here's how business & finance analysts use financial analysis:
  • Design and maintain revenue reporting, financial analysis and performance tracking to assist management decision making and improve understanding of issues.
  • Supported senior management through key financial analysis and modeling of existing operations, potential business acquisitions, and special projects.

2. Business Analysis

Here's how business & finance analysts use business analysis:
  • Handled general ledger activity and prepared financial statements for several business segments within Engineering Business Analysis group.
  • Used as a business analysis methodology for application functionality designs using IBM s Rational Rose.

3. Shared Services

Here's how business & finance analysts use shared services:
  • Provided complete end to end support for internal shared services IT billing and budget applications.
  • Researched and supported consultants in shared services and cost cutting Initiatives pursued in financial sector.

4. Financial Data

Here's how business & finance analysts use financial data:
  • Coordinate business planning and budgeting process, delivering financial data analysis and overall financial integrity of the business plan.
  • Facilitated program management, financial data integration, and system analysis for agency of the Department of Defense.

5. Strong Analytical

Here's how business & finance analysts use strong analytical:
  • Prepared weekly cash management/short-term cash flow models, long-term financial forecasts and departmental budgets utilizing strong analytical and MS excel skills.
  • Identified and resolved problems by using strong analytical techniques, innovative approaches and taking initiative in preventing and solving problems.

6. Process Improvement

Here's how business & finance analysts use process improvement:
  • Managed process improvement projects for Treasury/Finance/Operations.
  • Work directly with a Project Manager to support strategic process improvement projects, provide project documentation and conduct data analysis.

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7. Data Analysis

Here's how business & finance analysts use data analysis:
  • Prepared and presented data analysis to upper level management.
  • Identified risk factors and opportunities using data analysis.

8. Business Process

A business process is a group of tasks that are performed by people working in a business to attain a worthy product and to present it to their customers. A business process can also be defined as performing several steps to achieve a certain goal set by a company. Business processes need to set purposeful goals and the outcome of that goal should be clear.

Here's how business & finance analysts use business process:
  • Performed business process automation by enhancing currently used databases and creating several new databases which saved over million dollars every year.
  • Perform testing of data as necessary to determine effectiveness of business processes at ensuring compliance and safeguarding assets.

9. ERP

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is computer software used by major corporations and organizations for conducting their management and accounting tasks efficiently. ERP systems bind different business processes with each other allowing smoother flow of data between them resulting in swift project assessment and completion.

Here's how business & finance analysts use erp:
  • Supported QuickBooks Enterprise ERP systems implementation.
  • Provided technical support to purchase card holders, approving officials, and agency program coordinators using Navy ERP via HEAT.

10. Financial Models

Here's how business & finance analysts use financial models:
  • Risk monitoring, including report compilation and generation, subsidiary commodity price risk and development of complex Excel based financial models.
  • Developed financial models, including long-term forecasts for accounts payable, labor costs forecasts and capital expenditure forecasts.

11. Hyperion

Here's how business & finance analysts use hyperion:
  • Worked closely with Hyperion vendor to communicate and co-ordinate new business requirements and resolve functional and technical issues.
  • Supported BaaN and Hyperion Enterprise end users at Corporate and Manufacturing sites

12. Financial Performance

Here's how business & finance analysts use financial performance:
  • Identified gap in financial reporting leading to development and implementation of new standard reporting package enabling leadership to improve financial performance
  • Developed, tracked and reported business metrics and service level agreements to key stakeholders for financial performance analysis.

13. Financial Statements

A financial statement is a report of an individual or a company that includes all the information about the declared assets, the use of money, income, and also the contribution of shareholders over a certain period.

Here's how business & finance analysts use financial statements:
  • Analyzed financial statements and provided improvement recommendations
  • Coordinated and prepared all monthly, quarterly and annual consolidated financial statements and related data for parent and non-regulated holding company.

14. Variance Analysis

Here's how business & finance analysts use variance analysis:
  • Produced monthly financial reports including labor, operating expenses and recovery forecast, variance analysis/identification and explanation to the management.
  • Performed actual vs. budget variance analysis related to inventory levels, shipments and costs in support of operational decision-making.

15. User Acceptance

Here's how business & finance analysts use user acceptance:
  • Utilized experience in requirements gathering, user acceptance testing, validation, and software development.
  • Perform user acceptance test on Tableau software for functionality and reporting verification on Navy contract.
top-skills

What skills help Business & Finance Analysts find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on business & finance analyst resumes?

Van Wood Ph.D.

Philip Morris Endowed Chair in International Business, Director - VCU Center for International Business Advancement (CIBA), Professor of International Marketing, Virginia Commonwealth University

The skills that stand out most can be positioned under two umbrellas - 1) What I call the 30,000-foot skill, namely the ability to understand and articulate the "super-story" of our time, namely "globalization." Students that can fully tell the story of the transition from the old super story - The Cold War, East vs. West, Capitalism versus Communism, to the story involving the rise of big emerging markets, the rapid urbanization there-in, and the enormous global business opportunities arising from this. A visual understanding of globalization conveys to those who are hiring that you're a significant thinker who has both a historical and contemporary perspective that is critical for future growth and prosperity. And - 2) What I call the 30-foot skill, which involves being able to translate that knowledge of globalization into actionable insights, including - a) analysis and selection of promising international markets for any client company, b) strategic alliance formation and international marketing resource expenditure strategies, and c) knowing how to sustain long-term competitiveness and productivity in international markets.

What soft skills should all business & finance analysts possess?

Van Wood Ph.D.

Philip Morris Endowed Chair in International Business, Director - VCU Center for International Business Advancement (CIBA), Professor of International Marketing, Virginia Commonwealth University

The most important key to success in business (global or domestic) lies in building relationships (with consumers, allies, government agents, suppliers, and others) based on trust, mutual respect, and a keen understanding of the motivations behind stakeholders' actions. What do they value, what turns on their after-burners and what cultural realities most influence stakeholders' behavior? Successful international business professionals tend to demonstrate a keen sense of curiosity, creativity, adventure, problem-solving alternatives and are driven to continuously upgrade their education and learning about our changing global business environment.

What hard/technical skills are most important for business & finance analysts?

Van Wood Ph.D.

Philip Morris Endowed Chair in International Business, Director - VCU Center for International Business Advancement (CIBA), Professor of International Marketing, Virginia Commonwealth University

The ability to measure and compare (quantitatively) those dimensions of an international business environment (i.e., market potential, political and legal considerations, infrastructure realities, economic growth, and cultural nuances) that lead to a relative ranking of promising international markets is a technical skill that is critical to global business success. This requires an intimate knowledge and ability to use world-class databases found in world-class university libraries like VCU's (e.g., data-based such as globalEDGE, Business Source Complete, EIU Country Reports, Passport GMID, BCC Research, Uniworld Online, IBISWorld, etc.). This represents the hard/technical skills needed to complement one's historical and contemporary knowledge of global business realities, in conjunction with the soft skills needed by professionals if they are to truly have a long and successful career.

What business & finance analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Jarrad Harford Ph.D.Jarrad Harford Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Professor of Finance, University of Washington

They should try to enhance the practical skills to complement the foundational knowledge they learned in college. So, this could include spreadsheet modeling, programming in R, expertise with Bloomberg terminals, etc. There are plenty of online courses that can help with these types of practical skills.

What type of skills will young business & finance analysts need?

Missy GutkowskiMissy Gutkowski LinkedIn profile

Assistant Dean, Bucknell University

As remote and flexible work continues to penetrate industries across the country, daily office check-in conversations and hallway chatter are rare. New employees should be prepared to bring to the table analytical skills to gather, review, and synthesize information for further review, clarification, and report outs.

New employees should be prepared to communicate well and often, not only expressing expectations of what they need to complete their work but also to frequently updating supervisors and coworkers. Quickly learning the communication preferences and style of a supervisor and organization will set a new employee up for success in any industry.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about business & finance analyst

List of business & finance analyst skills to add to your resume

Business & finance analyst skills

The most important skills for a business & finance analyst resume and required skills for a business & finance analyst to have include:

  • Financial Analysis
  • Business Analysis
  • Shared Services
  • Financial Data
  • Strong Analytical
  • Process Improvement
  • Data Analysis
  • Business Process
  • ERP
  • Financial Models
  • Hyperion
  • Financial Performance
  • Financial Statements
  • Variance Analysis
  • User Acceptance
  • General Ledger
  • Financial Systems
  • Financial Support
  • Visio
  • Pivot Tables
  • Reconciliations
  • Balance Sheet
  • GAAP
  • HR
  • Cost Analysis
  • SQL Server
  • SharePoint
  • Financial Results
  • Business Development
  • Data Integrity
  • VBA
  • Treasury
  • SDLC
  • Business Plan
  • Cash Flow
  • Internal Controls
  • QA
  • Journal Entries
  • Post Implementation
  • UAT
  • Test Cases
  • Financial Planning Analysis
  • SOX
  • Functional Specifications
  • Essbase
  • Fixed Assets
  • Windows
  • Trend Analysis
  • Management Reports
  • Analytical Support

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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