Financial Analyst - Facilities Services - UTK

Reporting to the department's Budget Director, the Financial Analyst performs and presents insightful analysis to inform management actions and initiatives and plays a key role in supporting the Facilities Services department's budgeting process. Duties include: developing, updating and improving financial reporting and analysis; materially assisting with developing the annual position and operating expense budget; interacting with department Directors to understand drivers that impact financial results; executing ad hoc research, analysis and reporting tasks as assigned.

• Designs, builds, implements, documents and maintains reporting packages that inform and provide insight into the financial health of the Facilities Services unit and each of its cost centers.
• Extracts and assimilates financial data from the General Ledger, other components of the ERP system, and other sources for routine and ad hoc reporting needs. 
•  Synthesizes and communicates information in a timely, proactive and quality-driven manner. 
• Gathers data to complete various routine annual reports requested by the University and other government agencies.
• Conceives and scopes financial analyses and develops analytic models that will effectively answer questions and support decision-making. 
• Leveraging the analytic models, identifies and assesses trends to determine root causes and drivers. 
• Conducts Budget-to-Actual variance analyses, working to determine the underlying causes, future impacts of financial trends, and identify alternative courses of action when necessary. 
• Contributes to improving departmental analytics by researching industry resources and other external sources for “best-practice” methodology ideas.
• Supports the Annual Budget Process: Under the direction of the Budget Director, gathers input in support of the department's annual budget process, following the guidelines and timeframe of the University's RCM budget process and calendar. 
• Analyzes trends in cost center staffing, spending and recoveries to validate budget development. 
• Tracks working budget versions and documents reasons for version variances. 
• Collects, prepares, analyzes, reviews budget adjustments and funds transfers.  Inputs and maintains budgets in the EPM (budgeting) system.
• Supports the department's Directors as a Finance Business Partner: Improves financial awareness and responsibility among the department's Directors by presenting variance reports and financial analyses. 
• Explain to Directors how their activities and decisions impact department spending and recoveries and helps them to determine ways to more efficiently manage their budget. 
• Works with Directors to understand activities that drive department spending and recoveries. 
• Assists Directors with developing position plans and annual budgets.
• Improves Financial Accuracy and Integrity: Contributes materially to improving the relevance of financial reporting and analysis by assuring that expenses and recoveries are accounted for properly. 
• Reviews General Ledger entries to verify expenses are reflected in the correct GL accounts and cost centers and works with accounting to reclassify if needed. 
• Cooperating with the Manager, Financial Integrity and Controls, assists with researching, documenting and reviewing processes and recommends updates to improve the accuracy and visibility of expenses and recoveries. 
• Assists with developing justifications and proposals for financial Standard Operating Procedures that improve financial controls and reduce financial risk.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Finance, Analytics, Accounting or other related fields of study. 
• Experience: Four (4) years of relevant, progressively responsible work experience of which two (2) years’ experience involving financial analysis, budgeting or modeling
• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities: 
  • Strong understanding of foundational accounting principles; 
  • Intermediate knowledge of higher education budgeting, planning, and reporting
  • Possess comprehensive computer skills and be able to research General Ledger transactions, generate financial reports, analyze data, and convert data into useful information for executive decision-making
  • Be able to research and understand operational drivers that influence financial results
  • Must be comfortable with ambiguity and able to develop approaches to research and analysis in order to accompli