Financial Analysts are responsible for analyzing financial information and predicting the future performance of a client or company. More specifically, they examine data from past transactions and investments to forecast a future financial state including revenues, expenditures, budgets and overall models of capital structure. Their duties include writing financial reports, communicating financial information to stakeholders and management, conducting market/industry research, tracking market fluctuations, preparing risk profiles among others. Performing this role effectively requires strong financial knowledge and technical abilities as well as excellent communication skills and an attention to detail.
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Critical Thinking
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Financial Reporting
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Forecasting
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Budgeting
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Spreadsheet Proficiency
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Attention to Detail
How to effectively interview Financial Analysts
While it might seem difficult to figure out whether a candidate will succeed as a Financial Analyst in your company, a well-developed set of interview questions that tap into the core skills required to perform in a Financial Analyst role will go a long way in helping you decide.
But where do you start? How do you develop a set of great interview questions?
The best interview questions come directly from a job analysis. A job analysis is an evidence-based method that focuses on assessing key features of a particular role. These features describe both the job itself (i.e., tasks, responsibilities, and performance objectives), and the characteristics required of someone to perform successfully in the job (e.g., knowledge, skills, and abilities). A job analysis forms the basis of many HR practices such as compensation, performance management, and - you guessed it - how to interview and hire candidates.
At Hireguide, we’ve done the job analysis work for you. We’ve used the method to identify a core set of skills associated with the Financial Analyst role, and we’ve developed and validated a list of behavioral and situational questions with answer guides that tap directly into those core skills. And that’s not all. We’ve compiled these questions and created a Financial Analyst Interview Template for you that integrates other interviewing best practices. Skills-based interviews will not only help you make higher quality and evidence-based hiring decisions, but research also shows they enhance fairness and reduce bias in your hiring process.
Example interview questions to ask
Question 1
What are the key aspects of building a forecasting model that is easy to maintain? How do you monitor the accuracy of a pre-existing model?
Answer Tips
- Outlines a structured approach to assessing the quality of an existing model
- Examines whether the old model is used to make any decisions
- Highlights the challenges of measuring the accuracy of an old forecasting model
- Considers how deviations can occur in the forecasting power of an old model
- Discusses ways to keep forecasting accurate and simple
Question 2
If we asked you to create the financial reporting structure for the C-suite, what reporting structure would you suggest? What data would you include, and which Business Intelligence tools would you use?
Answer Tips
- Identifies basic information like financial statements and high-level KPIs
- Structure contains information relevant for the company leadership
- Elaborates on BI tools and expands on how to select a suitable provider
- Elaborates on their reporting approach (e.g. daily, weekly, quarterly reports)
