Torchora
Back to Home

Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for University Financial Analyst

💰 $55,000 - $85,000

FinanceHigher EducationAnalystBudgeting

🎯 Role Definition

The University Financial Analyst is a finance professional embedded within a college, school or central administrative unit who provides budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, fund and grant accounting, and financial decision support. This role delivers timely and accurate financial reports, develops financial models and dashboards, ensures compliance with institutional policies and external regulations (GAAP, GASB, OMB Uniform Guidance), and partners closely with department leaders, research administrators, and central finance teams to optimize resources and inform strategic planning. The ideal candidate combines strong technical proficiency (Excel, ERP systems, SQL, Power BI/Tableau) with excellent stakeholder communication and a track record in higher education or nonprofit financial environments.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Staff Accountant (higher education or nonprofit)
  • Budget Analyst or Budget Coordinator
  • Financial Reporting Analyst or Research Administrator

Advancement To:

  • Senior Financial Analyst (Academic or Research)
  • Finance Manager / Budget Director for a school or division
  • Assistant Controller / Director of Financial Operations

Lateral Moves:

  • Grants/Contract Manager or Sponsored Programs Analyst
  • Institutional Research Analyst
  • Payroll / HR Finance Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop, maintain, and manage annual operating budgets for academic departments, research centers, and administrative units; lead the budget build process, solicit inputs, and prepare consolidated budget submissions with narrative explanations for leadership review.
  • Produce monthly budget-to-actual financial statements and variance analysis for assigned units, identify drivers of variance, and recommend corrective actions to department chairs and unit directors.
  • Build and maintain rolling forecasts and multi-year financial models to support long-range planning, scenario analysis, and strategic resource allocation for schools and central units.
  • Manage fund accounting for restricted, unrestricted, auxiliary, and endowment funds, ensuring expenses are charged appropriately to the correct fund source and donor or sponsor restrictions are honored.
  • Oversee sponsored projects and grant accounting: set up budgets in the ERP, monitor expenses, perform cost transfers, prepare sponsor invoices and financial reports, and ensure compliance with award terms and OMB Uniform Guidance.
  • Reconcile departmental sub-ledgers to the institution’s general ledger monthly; prepare journal entries, correct allocation issues, and ensure timely month-end close for assigned cost centers.
  • Partner with faculty, research PIs, and administrators to provide decision support—develop pro forma budgets, analyze program profitability, and model the financial impact of hiring, reorganization, or new initiatives.
  • Prepare and present financial analyses and summaries for dean’s offices, budget committees, and executive leadership; develop clear slide decks and dashboards that communicate financial performance and risks.
  • Implement and improve budgeting processes, workflow automation, and internal controls to increase efficiency and accuracy of financial operations (e.g., expense approval workflows, automated reconciliations).
  • Create and maintain interactive dashboards and visualizations in Power BI or Tableau to track revenue, expenses, headcount, and key performance indicators used by leadership and operational staff.
  • Conduct tuition revenue and enrollment-related financial analyses, including sensitivity analyses, to inform pricing, cost recovery, and program viability decisions.
  • Lead or support internal and external audit activities: prepare schedules, compile supporting documentation, answer auditor inquiries, and implement audit recommendations.
  • Develop and validate cost allocation methodologies and indirect cost recovery (F&A) analyses to ensure equitable distribution of shared costs across departments and grants.
  • Manage capital project budgets and track project expenditures, funding sources, and timelines in coordination with Facilities and Capital Planning teams.
  • Review and approve departmental purchasing, expenditure requests, and cost transfers for compliance with institutional policies and budget authority.
  • Monitor payroll and position budgets, perform salary encumbrance reconciliations, and support faculty salary budgeting (including summer salary and effort allocation analysis).
  • Maintain and recommend updates to chart of accounts, cost center structures, and financial coding conventions to reflect organizational changes and reporting needs.
  • Support gift, endowment, and fund accounting work with Advancement/Development for restricted donor funds, ensuring expenditures align with donor intent and reporting requirements.
  • Conduct ad hoc financial analyses—ROI, break-even, cost-benefit, and staffing scenarios—to support proposals for program expansions, new academic offerings, and strategic initiatives.
  • Serve as a finance liaison in cross-functional project teams (IT system implementations, policy rollouts, process redesign) to ensure financial requirements and controls are embedded from design through deployment.
  • Provide training and ongoing support to faculty and staff on budget management, financial systems (PeopleSoft/Workday/Banner), purchasing policies, and reporting tools to build unit-level financial capability.
  • Track and report on compliance obligations (GASB, GAAP, state and federal regulations) and advise unit leaders on regulatory risk mitigation related to fund usage and reporting.
  • Monitor revenue streams such as auxiliary operations, self-supporting programs, continuing education, and recharge centers; prepare analyses for rate setting, pricing strategies, and sustainability planning.

Secondary Functions

  • Respond to ad-hoc data requests and undertake exploratory financial analyses to support strategic planning or urgent leadership inquiries.
  • Contribute to the university’s financial systems strategy by testing upgrades, participating in configuration decisions, and helping design reporting requirements.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams (Research Administration, HR, Procurement, IT) to translate business needs into system improvements and operational requirements.
  • Participate in project sprint planning, testing, and user acceptance for ERP or reporting tool enhancements to ensure finance workflows are preserved and optimized.
  • Mentor junior financial staff, provide peer review of complex analyses, and lead training sessions on best practices for budget management and financial reporting.
  • Continuously scan and recommend improvements to policies, procedures and tools to streamline contract/grant closeout, invoicing, and reimbursement processes.
  • Support institutional planning exercises, accreditation reviews, and financial sections of grant proposals with accurate data and narrative explanations.
  • Facilitate regular meetings with departmental administrators to review budget performance, resolve outstanding financial issues, and align on action plans.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Advanced Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, macros, complex formulas) and strong spreadsheet modeling skills for budgeting and forecasting.
  • Expertise with higher education ERP and finance systems (PeopleSoft, Workday Financials, Ellucian Banner, or Oracle), including transactional processing and reporting.
  • Experience creating dashboards and visualizations in Power BI, Tableau, or similar BI tools to communicate financial insights.
  • Strong financial modeling and forecasting skills, including scenario and sensitivity analysis for multi-year planning.
  • Deep understanding of fund accounting, restricted vs unrestricted funds, and endowment/gift accounting.
  • Sponsored project and grant accounting knowledge, including experience with OMB Uniform Guidance, allowable costs, and effort reporting.
  • Familiarity with GAAP and GASB accounting standards as they apply to higher education entities.
  • Proficiency in SQL or report-writing tools to extract and manipulate data from institutional databases (preferred).
  • Month-end close, reconciliations, journal entries, and internal control experience.
  • Experience with cost allocation, recharge models, indirect cost recovery, and rate setting for service centers.
  • Solid understanding of payroll accounting, fringe benefit calculations, and salary encumbrance processes.
  • Knowledge of auditing processes and readiness to support external auditors with schedules and documentation.

Soft Skills

  • Strong written and verbal communication; able to translate complex financial data into clear, actionable narratives for non-financial stakeholders.
  • Excellent stakeholder management and relationship-building skills; comfortable working with faculty, administrators, and cross-functional teams.
  • High attention to detail, accuracy, and a strong sense of integrity and confidentiality handling sensitive financial information.
  • Analytical problem-solving mindset with the ability to synthesize data, identify root causes, and recommend pragmatic solutions.
  • Project management and organizational skills; able to prioritize competing deadlines and manage multiple initiatives concurrently.
  • Collaborative team player who can mentor junior staff and contribute positively to team culture.
  • Initiative and continuous improvement orientation—comfortable proposing process changes and driving adoption.
  • Presentation skills for executive-level reports and budget committee briefings.
  • Adaptability to evolving systems, policies, and institutional priorities.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Economics, or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree (M.S. in Finance, M.B.A., M.S. in Accounting) or relevant professional certification such as CPA, CMA, or Certified Research Administrator (CRA).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Economics
  • Business Administration
  • Public Administration

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years of progressively responsible finance or accounting experience; 2+ years experience in higher education or nonprofit preferred.

Preferred:

  • 3–7 years of experience supporting academic departments, research administration, or complex fund accounting environments.
  • Demonstrated experience with ERP systems (PeopleSoft, Workday, Banner), grant accounting, financial reporting and audit support.
  • Experience developing dashboards and financial models to inform strategic decision-making.
Explore More Careers