The Business Analyst – Finance Department provides financial insights, business intelligence, performance analysis, and process optimization to support strategic and operational decision making. The role enhances visibility into agency performance, identifies improvement areas, and strengthens financial planning.

KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Financial Insights & Business Performance Analysis:

• Analyze revenue trends, client profitability, cost structures, utilization rates, and operational KPIs.
• Prepare insights dashboards for department heads and leadership.
• Support forecasting through data modelling and performance tracking.
• Identify financial risks, inefficiencies, and opportunities for growth.

Budgeting & Forecast Support (Analytical, Not Operational):

• Support the Finance Director with analytical inputs for budgeting and quarterly forecasts.
• Provide data driven recommendations on spending patterns, resourcing, and operational efficiency.
• Track KPIs against budget and prepare variance insights (but not accounting entries).

Strategic Decision Support:

• Conduct scenario and sensitivity analysis to support pricing, capacity planning, and investment decisions.
• Assist in preparing business cases for operational changes, new services, or process improvements.
• Provide insights to support commercial strategy and performance reviews.

Process Improvement & Operational Efficiency:

• Map and analyze Finance department workflows, job bag processes, approval flows, and reporting structures.
• Recommend improvements to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and collaboration across teams.
• Support digitization initiatives and improvements in ERP/project management tools.

Client & Campaign Insight Support (Finance Perspective):

• Partner with Account Management and Strategy teams to evaluate financial performance of campaigns.
• Prepare insights on cost efficiency, ROI trends, and client-level financial performance.
• Assist with financial modelling during pitches and renewals.

Cross-Functional Data Collaboration:

• Work with Operations on capacity analysis and resource planning.
• Support HR with analytics on manpower costs, team utilization, and productivity.
• Collaborate with the Assistant Finance Manager to align performance insights with actual results.

Reporting Tools & Data Governance:

• Develop automated dashboards using the available tools.
• Ensure data accuracy and integrity across financial and operational datasets.
• Help maintain reporting frameworks and documentation.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Data Analytics, Statistics, or related field (ACCA & CPA).
• 2 – 4 years’ experience in business analysis, data analysis, or financial planning.
• 10+ years’ experience in accounting.
• Experience in advertising, media, or creative agency is an added advantage.
• Proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets and data visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau).
• Understanding of financial statements and agency commercial models (retainers, job bags, media billing) preferred.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to interpret complex data.