Senior Financial Analyst, North American Sales

Company Description

Our Mission

At Palo Alto Networks® everything starts and ends with our mission:

Being the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life.

We have the vision of a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before. These aren’t easy goals to accomplish – but we’re not here for easy. We’re here for better. We are a company built on the foundation of challenging and disrupting the way things are done, and we’re looking for innovators who are as committed to shaping the future of cybersecurity as we are.

Our Approach to Work

At Palo Alto Networks, we believe in the power of collaboration and value in-person interactions. This is why our employees generally work from the office three days per week, leaving two days for choice and flexibility to work where you feel most effective. This setup fosters casual conversations, problem-solving, and trusted relationships. While details may evolve, our goal is to create an environment where innovation thrives, with office-based teams coming together three days a week to collaborate and thrive, together!

Job Description

Your Career

Palo Alto Networks has an exciting opportunity for an experienced and highly motivated Senior Financial Analyst, Sales Finance professional to join our team.  In this role, you will report directly to the Director of North America Finance, and work with the N. America FP&A team and business partners to help build and deliver on our financial plans, support strategic decision-making, provide financial insight, and help build operational rigor and efficiency. 

This individual will also partner with Corp FP&A and Central Finance teams, and collaborate cross-functionally with Systems and Sales Operations on a regular basis. Being successful in this role requires a strong analytical ability, detailed-oriented, excellent organization and communication skills, and the ability to support/enable process improvement and insights across all the key FP&A areas.  

Your Impact 

• Planning for North America Theater.  Support and enable a successful annual planning process, including generating well-vetted OPEX and HC plans. Actively engage in the planning processes for North America, including executing run-rate analysis, investment modeling, affordability analysis and budget allocation.

• Quarterly / Monthly Close, Forecast and Reporting. Support and execute on the North America Sales financial close and forecast processes. Provide monthly and quarterly financial reporting, analysis and key metrics that enable business decision making. Develop expertise in our various planning, forecasting and reporting tools and systems, and ensure smooth execution. Support the implementation of best practices in FP&A processes to deliver efficiency and improved business outcomes.

• Participate in projects to drive efficiency, system and process improvements. Contribute and implement projects intended to create efficiencies, standardize business practices, drive process improvements to enable the NAM Sales Finance team to scale the business and deliver high impact analysis for decision making. 

• Collaborate with Central Sales Finance and Corporate FP&A to ensure NAM Sales organization’s financials, risks and opportunities are represented accurately and in a timely manner.

• Critical to have a growth mindset, a “can-do/roll-up your sleeves” attitude and a high-level of thoroughness. In addition a willingness to learn, receive feedback and support other team members towards collective success. Understand the importance of collaboration, personal accountability and supporting a values-driven team culture.

Qualifications

Your Experience 

• Bachelors in Business, Finance, or Accounting

• 3~5 years of prior Finance experience including prior Sales Finance and driving FP&A processes 

• Experience owning and driving the Planning, Forecast and Close processes end-to-end

• Experience with ERP and/or Planning Systems

• Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous and frequently changing situations

• Strong project management, planning, and organization skills, including ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment

• Superior analytical and problem-solving skills, with demonstrated intellectual and analytical rigor

• Possess a growth mindset, willingness to listen and embrace change, and a natural hunger to continuously learn and improve. Execution-focused. Thorough, detailed-oriented.

• Ability to run independently and consistently set a high personal bar for accountability, quality and impact