Finance analyst
Help organisations make big decisions about their money.
About the job
Salary
Source: LMI for All
Weekly
£920
Average
Monthly
£3,986
Average
Yearly
£47,840
Average
17,600
people are currently employed
High growth
800 more jobs in 5 years
These figures refer to this job and similar ones with comparable skills and qualifications. They only apply to Scotland. Source: Oxford Economics
What it's like
Financial analysis is ideal for anyone with a business mentality and a head for figures. As a finance analyst you’d help managers and stakeholders make big decisions about their money.
Finance analysts are responsible for examining financial information, market trends and economic conditions to come up with forecasts for a business. You’d have to thoroughly analyse data, create financial models and use them to predict financial trends.
You’d then have to report to your findings to help shape the business plan for the company.
What you might do:
Help to determine a company’s value
Research and identify investment opportunities
Collect, monitor and study data
Evaluate financial trends and create an effective investment strategy
Provide regular financial updates to the business
Grow financial performance through analysis of financial results, forecasts and trends
Keep up-to-date with technical knowledge, market conditions and trends
Hours
Environment
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Related industries
Many jobs can be done in lots of different industries. We've highlighted the ones we think are most important for this job.
Engineering and manufacturing Construction and built environment Healthcare Food and drink Financial services Digital technologies
Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Here are some of the skills you'll need to do this job:
- analysing
- ethical
- attention to detail
- researching
- working with numbers
- problem solving
- working with technology
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore the sections shown for more information about getting into this career.
You might have qualifications which are not shown here but will allow you access to a course. You can compare your qualifications by looking at their SCQF Level. For more information about this, check out the SCQF website.
Always contact the college, university or training provider to check exactly what you'll need.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
Accounting
Administration and Information Technology
Computing Science
Economics
Mathematics
Foundation Apprenticeship: Accountancy
Applications of Mathematics
You can get a head start in this career by doing a Foundation Apprenticeship in S5 and S6.
You'll get an SCQF level 6 qualification which is the same level as a Higher. You'll also learn new skills and gain valuable experience in a work environment.
Discover what's on offer at your school on Apprenticeships.scot.
Entry requirements for courses can change. Always contact the college, university or training provider to check exactly what you’ll need.
There are different ways to get qualified for this job. You could go to college or university or through work-based qualifications, such as Apprenticeships.
This is a FinTech job requiring skills, ability and experience in both finance and technology. Many financial analysts are graduates, with employers looking for degrees in Finance, Economics, Mathematics or Statistics based subjects.
If your degree is in an unrelated subject, a postgraduate qualification in a financial-related subject can improve your employment chances, such as an MSc in a subject such as risk or investment or an MSc in financial markets which provides the main concepts of finance and the analytical tools used within the industry.
There are also opportunities to get qualifications from and membership of relevant financial professional organisations which can make you more employable and enhance your cv and job applications.
While not all employers list specific qualification requirements they do ask for relevant experience, usually work based, that demonstrates a range of transferable skills.
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