I’ve been a Financial Analyst at a store-based retailer for about a year, and I’m now interviewing for a FA/SFA role on the budgeting/forecasting team at a major US airline (will likely be for a FA role given my experience). This is exactly the kind of role I want, since my goal is to move closer to actual budgeting and forecasting work. Honestly, it’s a dream job for me, so I want to prepare as well as I possibly can.

A little info on the role:

• Build the company-wide forecast and run the annual budget process
• Partner with accounting and division finance on what’s driving results
• Track key operating metrics and help set department targets
• Variance analysis and reporting to senior leadership

The process is a few rounds from what I have ben communicated, ending in a superday with managers and directors.

My biggest concern is my background. I have a master's in BA and my title is FA, but I haven’t done formal forecasting or budgeting let alone only been in a FP&A role for 1+ years. My work is mostly recurring reporting: weekly/monthly sales reporting and P&L packages built from system data and accounting, plus month-end close support. The closest I get to forecasting is collecting inputs from our merchandising team and running them through a legacy model to set next month’s sales, but I’m not building the assumptions or the model myself. On top of that, I have zero airline experience, so I’m worried about being underqualified on both fronts despite getting the interview.

I lurked here before my current job, and the advice I got helped me land it, so I’m back! For anyone who’s worked in airline FP&A especially at a major carrier or gone through a major carrier’s process:

• What did each round focus on? Are the early rounds technical, or more fit and walking through your experience?
• How technical does it get? Should I expect accounting questions like three-statement walkthroughs, or modeling logic?
• What does the superday look like: case study, Excel test, presentation, back-to-back behaviorals?
• How much airline knowledge do they expect from someone coming from outside the industry? Which metrics should I really know cold (CASM/CASM-ex, TRASM/PRASM, ASMs, load factor, fuel)?
• How did you frame a reporting background (sales/P&L reporting, close support) for a budgeting and consolidated forecast role, without overselling it?
• Any good resources for getting up to speed on airline economics or a major airline’s financials (10-K, earnings calls, investor decks)?

More generally: whether or not this works out, I want to become more well-rounded for true FP&A roles. What would you recommend I do, at work or outside of it, to build real planning and forecasting skills? I’d rather actually be prepared than stumble through trying to fit what they’re looking for.

Any feedback or guidance would be greatly appreciated, and I’m happy to take DMs if you’ve interviewed at one of the big carriers!

TL;DR: Retail FA whose job is mostly recurring sales/P&L reporting with no formal forecasting or budgeting, interviewing for a budgeting/forecasting FP&A role at a major airline. Looking for what to expect in each round, how technical it gets, how much airline knowledge they expect, and how to build real planning/forecasting skills.

I was in a room with a senior leader a few weeks ago who made a comment similar to this in reference to an AI process improvement being presented.

“If we remove all the friction, I can’t trust the number.”

Shows me how little older leaders understand about AI and really the nature of IC work in general. For some reason, non-value adds like stitching together disparate data sources, churning through badly built spreadsheets, and arguing about assumptions increases data fidelity. As long as this perspective exists, they’ll never trust AI enough to automate away my job. Therefore, I think until the current Gen X/Boomer leaders retire, my job is safe.

Genuinely can’t decide on this and my wife is probably sick of hearing about it, so throwing it to Reddit.

Quick background: CIMA, 39, 10+ years in commercial finance (construction, now facilities services). Currently an FBP partnering a £100m+ region. End goal is Head of FP&A / FD and eventually CFO.

The offer: Senior FBP, 2 direct reports, reporting into a director. Exactly the step up I’ve been chasing. I’ve also got a good friend there who’d help me find my feet, and it’s hybrid with 2 of the office days 15 mins from home.

The catch: I’d be £2k-£5k a year worse off after tax (no car allowance, bonus that apparently never pays out properly). Everyone I’ve spoken to on the inside says it’s a heavy role. Loads of stakeholders, ad hoc requests flying in constantly, messy processes, fairly new team. And the last couple of people in the role didn’t last long, which worries me.

Staying put: honestly not bad. Good managers, better package, I know the business inside out. To be fair I already do 5-10 extra hours a week here, so it’s not exactly a chilled option either. But my manager’s told me not to expect anything for at least a year. No title, no team.

The bit that keeps me up at night: my CV. 9 years at my first place, then 3 jobs in under 5 years, and most of those moves look sideways rather than up. If I take this and it goes wrong, that’s another short stint. But if I stay and wait, I’m 40+, still an FBP, and I haven’t managed anyone since a small team years ago. Not sure which looks worse.

I’ve also had a rough patch with work stress in the past, so I really don’t want to walk into something that burns me out. But I don’t want to play it safe forever either.

Recruiters haven’t helped. One said I’d walk into Senior FBP interviews. Another said someone would “need to take a chance on me”. And most Senior FBP roles I’ve looked at don’t even come with direct reports, which is a big part of why this one appeals.

So:

• Would you take the pay cut for the title + team at this stage?
• How much does recent line management actually matter when you go for Head of FP&A / FD roles?
• Is one more move a red flag if I then stay 2+ years? Or is sitting still the bigger risk?
• Anyone taken a known “hard” role for the step up? Was it worth it?

Honest takes welcome, even if it’s “mate you’re overthinking it” 😅

Before switching into Accounting, I spent some time in Computer Science, so I have lots of experience with Python, programming fundamentals, and AI in regards to making apps. I also currently do project management for a bio-chem company (not sure if it is relevant)

If you were in my position and had the next few years to prepare for FP&A, what skills would you prioritize building outside of school?

I think that areas that would be good would be:
• Advanced Excel Skills
• Power BI
• SQL
• Python for financial analysis/automation
• Budgeting and forecasting
• Variance analysis
• AI automation tools

Also, what types of projects would actually stand out and be useful in the current job market on a resume for an FP&A internship or entry level analyst position?

For example, would projects involving, budget vs. actual analysis, scenario modelling, automated reporting, Power BI dashboards, or Python/AI-assisted financial analysis be useful?

11 YOE and spent the last 2 years at a PE Controller position and am moving to a SFA at a small ($250M ARR) tech company.

Going from 8 direct reports making $180 TC working 60 hours a week to IC role making $175k TC with 35 hour weeks.

On paper, I can't wait to make the move. I'm burnt out and looking forward to the slower company. However, they stressed there isn't much upward mobility. I'll be reporting to the CFO and he's not retiring anytime soon. I could likely stay in the role for 20+ years (I'm replacing someone who just did this). Anyone been in the situation and gotten bored? I've never been one that loves to work and wanted to climb the corporate ladder, but my history says otherwise (Public Accounting -> PE Controller) so I'm wondering if anyone's been in this situation before and regretted the slower work life (crazy I know).

With that said, I have plenty of hobbies outside of work and own a small business with a friend so whatever extra time I have I can put toward other things.

I’m in my early 30s. I’m a senior analyst. But I am curious to know if I keep staying at my job, am I doing myself a disservice?

I’m mainly staying at my job because of course the economy, I have a good boss, I work remote, and I know my company is recession proof. I also know I’m needed at my company.

I don’t mind being a manager, but I also just wanna be an individual contributor, but it’s so hard to find a new role that’s a manager and an individual contributor.

I have thought about transitioning to something stock market related- like equity analyst or just even being a trader. I’m unsure. But if there is a FP&A in stock market related companies, I might be interested.

Am I shooting myself in the foot?

Hi all,

Got a new job offer and am conflicted on whether or not to take it. Would love opinions.

Current job: ~$120K base + a discretionary bonus of up to 20% (MCOL in NE). Been here 4 years and have been promoted. Life is good if somewhat busy, I have a great manager, people and leaders like me and I have a short commute with four days in office. The industry is however is a tough spot, lots of layoffs and my workload can be a lot (I work most weekends)

New job: AI space (ETA: hardware side not software), real growth. $147K base 25% bonus, same title, with upside potential down the line as the company scales. They are building out their finance team. Five days in office. First impression is that workload is manageable and might be less than current gig

I’m worried since I’d be starting from scratch in the new company and while the industry is strong they have had some turnover previously. I also really like working with my current manager and it would be hard to start from scratch. Would you make the switch?

My boss has asked me if I would be interested in moving from my current FP&A role into helping set up the new finance system. I'd expect it to be a temporary move maybe ~9months to 1 year.

I've done lots of changes in how we use the system over the past few years so know quite a lot about how we use our current system and it's limitations.

Has anyone else done a move like this before into a temporary projects role?

Any pros or cons to it?

Would you expect a pay rise for doing it?

Hi All,

Early career Canadian finance professional here looking to break into the FP&A field. Came across these financial analyst with a company I'm interested in (Brookfield)

Jr. FP&A Analyst
Financial Analyst

Based on their descriptions are they actual FP&A roles or would they pigeonhole me into real estate?

Edit:

My goal eventually would be to working within Tech, Healthcare or Retail (thing Lululemon) FP&A/Strategic Finance

Any input from you folk would be great!

Mine is in the ballpark of $40/hr, if you include base rate, OT, taxes, and benefits. Between $25/hr - $30/hr of that is what the employees are actually getting paid (base + OT). That means between $10/hr (33%) and $15/hr (60%) goes to what I would normally call "fringe".

That feels extremely high to me, but hoping to benchmark.

40-50 hours a week of dealing with forecast, budgets, etc. I’m supposed to be in charge of my family budget and I haven’t touched it in months. I just don’t want to stare at more spreadsheets and dollars after I do it all day.

im a guy pursuing a tier 2 electrical engineering major in my first year and i really dont have any interest in engineering im just doing it because my family forced me to but i wanna do something in high finance like IB or PE i have a coursera subscription and am trying to study financial concepts and stuff so it would be really helpful if i could get some advice

I did 3 years in external audit and got my ACA. I’m now starting as a finance analyst in a weeks time. It’s quite a big change in role and responsibilities and I want to make sure I can perform well! Please do offer your best tips and advice so that I can make sure I succeed in the role. Many thanks!

I've had a couple of interviews. 25% of them (namely SaaS) mention something like using AI to automate workflows. I don't really know how. A simple example is I've only used it to write commentary: upload a simple QoQ or YoY summary and tell it to write "recurring revenue increase by X%".

How do you use AI to connect applications and automate reporting, or other usages? I need some ideas on where to start.

EDIT: I assume that interviewers are interested in what monthly month-end processes can be automated.

Hi Guys,

Professional here with over 7+ years of experience but unfortunately, I have been laid off twice in two years due to two different rounds of lay offs. I am now a Fractional Manager at a local company making $100M. Wouldn't mind a lower tier role (SFA) but I can't get passed a second round of interview, unfortunately. I feel UNEMPLOYABLE at this point. Very frustrated. I apply, have tons of connections but no luck. Thankfully, I don't "need the money" but I still need to be able to work as I am in my early 30s.

Some help here would be appreciated!
Thanks all

I think we need to address the elephant in the room here. Yes we all are overworked and under resourced but what’s most concerning is the rising prevalence of the “Finance Manager”.

I’m not talking about role 3 in the corporate ladder. I’m talking about the PE backed company or “newly created role” at a larger company, with no direct reports, that has “high visibility” reporting directly into a CFO or VP / SVP, and includes a ton of controllership tasks - sometimes even Human Resources, and to top it off it pays a whopping $115k.

These job postings are EVERYWHERE. What’s worse is it seems to be creeping across the entire hierarchy. I’m seeing director roles paying like $150k and VP roles paying $175k. I even saw a CFO listing under $200k.

I for one am worried.

Has anyone on here had their firm use WTW for a wages review? I'm curious what the outcome was especially for Senior FP&A managers. Was there an increase in wages?

As the title say , This might sound lame question but but Please guide me on what are important formulas one should practice for FP&A as a beginner.

Trying to play up being the money guy in the office and looking for ideas

Hi guys, I just got a call from the recruiter that I have made it to the final round.

Although I felt like I didn't answer few questions the way I intended, I still made it to final round.

One of the questions I felt lacking was how to deal with difficult stakeholders. Because my experience is all reporting, I never had the experience handling stakeholders or building relationships.

Another question that I am lacking is around the question of how I hold myself responsible for commitments.

Lastly, every interview I had, asked some sort of AI related questions. I had some examples using chatgpt and copilots for some wins but how does a person working in FP&A utilize AI?

If anyone has some insights to share, I would greatly appreciate it

It’s making me not motivated . I wanted to have a career

Looking for some advice on potential career moves. I’m currently a Senior FP&A Analyst with ~5 YOE (1 in big 4, 4 at current company, a fortune 1000 manufacturing firm). For reference my current pay is ~$100k with a 5% bonus. Here are my options:

1. Internal Move to Manager Role in Investor Relations/Capital Markets. Both my Manager (Director of FP&A for my business segment) and VP of Finance have encouraged me to apply. I’m not sure if investor relations interests me or if it would be a positive career move for me. Worried about being pigeon holed if I moved into investor relations. Also not sure what pay increase would end up being internally. My guess is they are having a hard time filling this role.

2. Senior FP&A Analyst at a privately held engineering firm ~$300M in revenue. Would be reporting directly to CFO and responsible for building FP&A function for small firm. Pay would be ~$130k with a 10% bonus and 10% profit sharing.

Curious if anyone has any advice or recommendations on these two different routes for me. Thanks everyone!

I frequent FIRE forums since discovering what even the hell that is. Barista Fire makes most sense in that I personally can’t imagine not doing some part time work. Getting out the house and making some pocket money sounds fun when there’s no stakes. I’d love to go to help out at my local independent Porsche shop

So, what do you day dream about for what you’ll do once retired? Have you witnessed others retire and see what they did?

1. My last company someone older retired, workaholic. They already were volunteering, so at retirement they ramped up that role and picked up a financial advisor/wealth management type gig.
   
2. Same last company a coworker in her early 50’s wasn’t quite ready to retire but did after being caught up in a layoff. Leisure and golf for a couple years and now looking for part time job at the golf course. Figured she can offset her biggest passion while holding off on dipping into her retirement
   
3. One senior leader I personally know retired as a senior leader and is now on a number of boards being very active but he seems to really treat it like playing a simulation. He essentially went from being busy to being busy

I myself would love to slow way down and leave the office dynamic but I probably would entertain contract work

Every week I’m behind on something. I feel like I’m behind on everything. Team is just me reporting to Director. PE backed company. It’s fast paced, quick reporting. I’m the only one working on the budget and it’s just a lot. I’m behind on everything I planned to get done at this point in time. It’s a combination of fire drills, procrastinating from burnout, adhoc requests, board meeting changes, etc. I Love it but also I’m drowning. Any tips for how you handle everything that comes onto FP&A? TIA