FP&A Analyst Interview - no accounting background, help!!
Hi all.
I’ve been working in an AM arm of a bank for 1.5 years out of college.
The exposure of my work is mostly helping with constructing hypothetical portfolios for prospects or clients under PM supervision (running correlation matrices across managers, balancing asset allocations relative to IPS constraints, creating custom benchmarks, etc). Along with running reports to show VARs, projected returns, std deviation, sharpe ratios, expected returns etc.
I’ve done a good bit of excel work I can speak too. The only work I’ve done that’s close to anything FP&A related is doing balance sheet analysis on public companies to highlight their asset holdings against their peers and create a visual PPTX to pitch our fixed income/cash management solutions
I snagged an interview for FP&A but I don’t have a true accounting background, any advice? I didn’t lie on my resume and got an interview so I’m confident I can kill it but I want to be prepared.
Congratulations on landing the FP&A interview! Transitioning from asset management to FP&A can be a strategic move, and your experience with financial analysis and Excel will definitely be beneficial. Here are some tips to prepare for the interview, especially considering your non-traditional accounting background:
Understand the Role of FP&A: FP&A professionals are responsible for budgeting, forecasting, and supporting business decisions by analyzing financial data and trends. Familiarize yourself with the specific responsibilities mentioned in the job description.
Leverage Your Financial Analysis Skills: Highlight your experience with variance analysis, standard deviation, Sharpe ratios, and expected returns. These skills are valuable in FP&A for analyzing financial performance and making projections.
Focus on Transferable Skills: Emphasize your Excel skills and any experience with financial modeling. Mention specific functions and tools you’ve used, such as pivot tables, VLOOKUP, and financial functions.
Discuss Your Experience with Presentations: Your experience in creating visual presentations (PPTX) for balance sheet analysis can be very relevant. FP&A often involves presenting financial data and insights to management. Highlight your ability to translate complex data into understandable and actionable information.
Brush Up on Basic Accounting Principles: Since you don’t have a formal accounting background, it might be helpful to review basic accounting principles, such as the structure of the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. Understanding these can help you better connect your analysis work to accounting figures.
Prepare to Explain Your Interest in FP&A: Be ready to discuss why you are interested in transitioning to FP&A and how your previous experiences have prepared you for this role. Connect your analytical skills and interest in financial strategy to the core functions of FP&A.
Mock Interviews: Practice common FP&A interview questions and answers to build confidence. You can find typical FP&A interview questions on platforms like Wall Street Oasis.
Ask Insightful Questions: Prepare questions that demonstrate your interest in the role and the company. For example, ask about the tools and processes the FP&A team currently uses, or how the team interacts with other parts of the business.
By focusing on these areas, you can effectively prepare for your FP&A interview and demonstrate how your background and skills make you a suitable candidate for the position. Good luck!
Sources: Q&A: F500 Director of FP&A, Corporate Finance, FP&A Undergrad Starter Guide, Exiting Big Four (Audit) after 5 years and entering FP&A - Ask me anything, FP&A planing foreacasting and budgeting process? please help, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/job-search/i-screwed-up-then-i-caught-up-what-next?customgpt=1
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