What does a fiscal analyst do?
A fiscal analyst specializes in providing analytical services to help companies monitor and develop budgets and financial activities. Their responsibilities include gathering and analyzing financial data, conducting market research and analysis, arranging spreadsheets, updating databases, and producing regular budget reports and forecasts. To carry out their duties, they typically use special software and programs, coordinate with various departments, and have knowledge in court collections. Moreover, a fiscal analyst may assist staff, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Fiscal analyst responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real fiscal analyst resumes:
- Manage the UW system approvals such as eProcurement including pro-cards, CTA and ARIBA transactions.
- Manage budget submissions by subsidiaries in Europe/AFNE region in Hyperion.
- Develop fiscal reports for initiatives for state legislature concerning the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
- Maintain GAAP and SAAM through careful examination of request employee and vendor reimbursements.
- Prepare periodic general ledger balance sheet account reconciliations, as well as adjusting entries relate to the reconciliations.
- Implement in house databases in order to analyze Medicaid disbursements by region
- Provide direction, support, and customer service to regional timekeepers and payroll representatives.
- Review sub-grantee payments for support and ensure reconciliations of invoices with the agency financial information.
- Monitor salary one-sheets for principal investigators and their staff and provide instructions relate to salary distributions to payroll coordinators.
- Complete Sarbanes-Oxley documentation and verification.
- Process all payroll, taxes, and liabilities using QuickBooks.
- Perform fiscal functions including accounts receivable and accounts payable, QuickBooks posting, bank statement reconciliation, and purchasing.
- Prepare annual medicare cost report.
- Perform daily valuations and yield calculations of client holdings in international money markets.
Fiscal analyst skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Fiscal Analysts are proficient in Payroll, Financial Data, and Management System. They’re also known for soft skills such as Organizational skills, Detail oriented, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Fiscal Analysts that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Payroll, 9%
Performed duties to prepare overtime and merit increment amounts, and retirement forms for approximately 103 optional deductions for semi-monthly payroll.
- Financial Data, 7%
Participated in preparing budgets, monitoring fiscal operations, analyzing financial data and developing fiscal resources, such as grants.
- Management System, 5%
Analyze management systems, department policies and procedures, and make recommendations on how to improve operations.
- GAAP, 5%
Maintain GAAP and SAAM through careful examination of requested employee and vendor reimbursements.
- Financial Statements, 5%
Create and prepare audit letters determining compliance or non-compliance from information provided by schools and audited financial statements.
- Reconciliations, 5%
Reviewed sub-grantee payments for support and ensured reconciliations of invoices with the agency financial information.
Common skills that a fiscal analyst uses to do their job include "payroll," "financial data," and "management system." You can find details on the most important fiscal analyst responsibilities below.
Organizational skills. The most essential soft skill for a fiscal analyst to carry out their responsibilities is organizational skills. This skill is important for the role because "strong organizational skills are important for accountants and auditors, who often work with a range of financial documents for a variety of clients." Additionally, a fiscal analyst resume shows how their duties depend on organizational skills: "keep abreast of changes in uw organizational procedures, attending training sessions as necessary. "
Detail oriented. Another essential skill to perform fiscal analyst duties is detail oriented. Fiscal analysts responsibilities require that "accountants and auditors must pay attention to detail when compiling and examining documents." Fiscal analysts also use detail oriented in their role according to a real resume snippet: "cash handling, reconciliations and/or auditing.fa1 details prepare, input revenue, and reconcile transactions to rev cash daily. "
Math skills. This is an important skill for fiscal analysts to perform their duties. For an example of how fiscal analyst responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "accountants and auditors must be able to analyze, compare, and interpret facts and figures." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a fiscal analyst: "conduct quantitative analyst of financial data to identify key factors effecting future forecasting trends associated with monthly budgets help cut cost. ".
Communication skills. Another common skill required for fiscal analyst responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of fiscal analysts all the time, as "accountants and auditors must be able to listen to and discuss facts and concerns from clients, managers, and other stakeholders." An excerpt from a real fiscal analyst resume shows how this skill is central to what a fiscal analyst does: "promoted communication and training policies, procedures and tools in order to achieve results in financial management. "
The three companies that hire the most fiscal analysts are:
- University of Washington8 fiscal analysts jobs
- The State of Oregon4 fiscal analysts jobs
- Medical University of South Carolina
4 fiscal analysts jobs
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Compare different fiscal analysts
Fiscal analyst vs. Accountant
An accountant is an individual whose primary task is to prepare, keep, examine, and interpret financial records. Most accountants are in charge of a wide scope of finance-related tasks, either for private individuals or for large-scale businesses and organizations they are employed with. They make sure that financial statements and records are accurate and comply with laws and regulations. They also compute for taxes, prepare tax returns, and ensure being paid properly and on time. As they keep track and record the flow of money, they can offer guidance on how to reduce costs, enhance revenue, and help in profit maximization.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between fiscal analysts and accountant. For instance, fiscal analyst responsibilities require skills such as "payroll," "management system," "financial management," and "journal vouchers." Whereas a accountant is skilled in "general ledger accounts," "account reconciliations," "payroll tax returns," and "customer service." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Accountants really shine in the technology industry with an average salary of $60,365. Comparatively, fiscal analysts tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $55,917.On average, accountants reach lower levels of education than fiscal analysts. Accountants are 6.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Fiscal analyst vs. Corporate accountant
A corporate accountant is an individual who prepares financial statements and maintains financial records of an organization to ensure that they comply with laws, regulations, and the organization's policies. Corporate accountants are required to analyze financial statements to help executives make financial decisions for the organization. They must collect ledgers and financial reports from divisional offices and prepare corporate financial statements for executives. Corporate accountants must also prepare budgets to allocate funds for spending for each department.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that fiscal analyst responsibilities requires skills like "payroll," "management system," "financial management," and "journal vouchers." But a corporate accountant might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "account reconciliations," "cpa," "general ledger accounts," and "external auditors."
Corporate accountants earn a higher average salary than fiscal analysts. But corporate accountants earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $71,156. Additionally, fiscal analysts earn the highest salaries in the health care with average pay of $55,917 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Corporate accountants tend to reach lower levels of education than fiscal analysts. In fact, they're 5.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Fiscal analyst vs. Finance consultant
A finance consultant is responsible for providing financial plans and advice for clients, managing their finances and investment decisions, and helping them achieve their long-term financial goals. Finance consultants carefully evaluate clients' financial situations, help them decide on insurance options, and patiently respond to finance-related inquiries and concerns. They should be able to monitor financial market conditions to decide on the right strategies for the clients' best interests. A finance consultant must have excellent analytical skills, as well as broad knowledge of the financial industry and stock market movements.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a fiscal analyst is likely to be skilled in "management system," "reconciliations," "journal vouchers," and "medicaid," while a typical finance consultant is skilled in "customer service," "financial services," "cpa," and "business development."
Finance consultants make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $88,094. On the other hand, fiscal analysts are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $55,917.finance consultants typically earn similar educational levels compared to fiscal analysts. Specifically, they're 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Fiscal analyst vs. Junior accountant
Junior accountants maintain the financial records of companies through the analysis of their general ledger accounts and balance sheets. The accountant's post journal entries, maintain accounts receivable and payable, and update financial statements. They pay payroll every month, reconcile ledgers, and submit payroll taxes. The skills necessary for this job include analytical skills, problem-solving, information confidentiality, and proficiency in accounting software and technology. They are also expected to be detail-oriented.
Types of fiscal analyst
Updated January 8, 2025
