Torchora
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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Financial Operations Analyst

💰 $75,000 - $110,000

FinanceOperationsAnalyticsFinOps

🎯 Role Definition

This role requires a highly motivated and detail-oriented Financial Operations Analyst to join our dynamic finance team. In this pivotal role, you will be the backbone of our financial engine, responsible for the seamless execution and continuous improvement of our core financial processes. You will blend analytical rigor with operational expertise to manage everything from daily transactions and reconciliations to complex financial reporting and system enhancements. The ideal candidate is a proactive problem-solver who thrives in a fast-paced environment, possesses a passion for optimizing workflows, and can translate complex data into actionable business intelligence that shapes our company's financial future.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Junior Financial Analyst / Staff Accountant
  • Accounts Payable/Receivable Specialist
  • Recent Finance, Accounting, or Economics Graduate

Advancement To:

  • Senior Financial Operations Analyst
  • Finance Manager / Financial Controller
  • Operations Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Business Analyst
  • Data Analyst (Finance focus)
  • Treasury Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Manage and execute day-to-day financial operations, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, and bank reconciliations, ensuring absolute accuracy and timeliness.
  • Drive process improvement initiatives by identifying inefficiencies in existing financial workflows and implementing automated solutions and scalable best practices.
  • Oversee the end-to-end payment processing cycle, including vendor payments, customer billing, and employee expense reimbursements, ensuring strict adherence to company policies.
  • Prepare and analyze monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reports, including profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements, ensuring compliance with GAAP.
  • Conduct thorough reconciliation of complex financial transactions across multiple platforms, payment gateways, and banking partners to ensure data integrity and resolve discrepancies.
  • Develop and maintain sophisticated financial models to support forecasting, budgeting, and variance analysis, providing actionable insights to leadership for strategic decision-making.
  • Perform detailed financial data analysis to identify key trends, anomalies, and opportunities for cost savings, revenue enhancement, and operational efficiency.
  • Assist in the critical month-end and year-end closing processes by preparing journal entries, managing accruals, and performing detailed balance sheet reconciliations.
  • Act as a key liaison between the Finance department and other business units (e.g., Sales, Engineering) to resolve financial inquiries and provide operational support.
  • Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and operational metrics for the finance function, developing dashboards and reports to track performance against strategic targets.
  • Manage the integrity of financial systems and tools (e.g., ERP, billing platforms), troubleshooting issues and leading projects for system enhancements or new implementations.
  • Investigate and resolve payment discrepancies, chargebacks, and other transaction-related issues by working directly with customers, vendors, and payment processors.
  • Ensure robust compliance with internal financial policies, controls, and external regulatory requirements such as SOX and PCI DSS.
  • Partner with the treasury function to manage daily cash flow, forecast short-term and long-term cash positions, and optimize banking relationships and services.
  • Develop and meticulously document standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all key financial operations functions to ensure consistency, scalability, and knowledge sharing.
  • Evaluate and manage relationships with third-party financial vendors, including payment processors, banks, and software providers, to optimize performance and cost-effectiveness.
  • Support the creation and management of the annual budget and rolling forecasts, working closely with department heads to gather necessary inputs and assumptions.
  • Act as a subject matter expert for payment flows, transaction lifecycle, and financial data, providing guidance and training to internal teams.
  • Analyze and interpret large, complex datasets using SQL and other tools to provide data-driven recommendations for strategic business decisions.
  • Support external and internal audits by preparing required schedules, providing detailed documentation, and responding to auditor inquiries in a timely and professional manner.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis to answer pressing business questions from leadership.
  • Contribute to the organization's data governance strategy and roadmap by ensuring financial data is accurate, accessible, and secure.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate their data and reporting needs into clear technical requirements for the data engineering and BI teams.
  • Participate in sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and other agile ceremonies as a key member of cross-functional project teams.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Advanced Microsoft Excel Proficiency: Mastery of PivotTables, VLOOKUP/INDEX-MATCH, complex formulas, Power Query, and macros for data manipulation and analysis.
  • ERP System Experience: Hands-on experience with major ERP systems such as NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics.
  • SQL Proficiency: Strong ability to write and execute SQL queries to extract, manipulate, and analyze data from relational databases.
  • Data Visualization: Experience creating insightful dashboards and reports using tools like Tableau, Power BI, or Looker.
  • Accounting Principles: Solid understanding of U.S. GAAP and fundamental accounting concepts (accruals, debits/credits, reconciliations).
  • Financial Modeling: Proven ability to build and maintain financial models for forecasting, budgeting, and what-if analysis.
  • Payment Systems Knowledge: Familiarity with payment processing platforms (e.g., Stripe, Adyen, Braintree) and the payment lifecycle.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional Attention to Detail: A meticulous and precise approach to managing financial data and operational tasks.
  • Analytical and Problem-Solving Mindset: The ability to dissect complex problems, identify root causes, and develop effective solutions.
  • Strong Communication Skills: Capable of clearly and concisely communicating complex financial information to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
  • Proactive & Ownership-Oriented: A self-starter who takes initiative, anticipates needs, and feels a strong sense of responsibility for their work.
  • Time Management & Organization: Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple competing priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
  • Collaborative Spirit: A team player who builds strong relationships and works effectively across different departments to achieve common goals.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's Degree

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s Degree in a related field or a relevant professional certification (e.g., CPA, CFA, CMA).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Finance
  • Accounting
  • Economics
  • Business Administration

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2-5 years of experience in a financial operations, corporate finance, or accounting role.

Preferred: Experience in a high-growth tech, SaaS, fintech, or e-commerce environment is highly desirable.

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