Looking to learn how to get into FP&A?
An FP&A career path is both challenging and rewarding. If you are looking to conduct forecasting, create financial modeling, and assist senior management in business planning and decision-making, the FP&A role is a great position for you.
It can be quite difficult to provide an accurate job roadmap for every FP&A role, however, a more typical career trajectory would follow a route such as this:
- Receive an Undergraduate Degree in General Management or Accounting.
- Spend between 2 and 4 years in one of the Big 4 accounting firms (PwC, Deloitte, EY, and KPMG), one of the big consulting firms (McKinsey, Deloitte), or the banking or finance department of a Fortune 500 company.
- Following this, you look to get an MBA (Masters of Business Administration). Many F500 companies do hire for FP&A manager roles at a senior level from B-schools.
- Get hired as a senior FP&A analyst.
- Promotion to FP&A Manager.
- Promotion to FP&A Director.
As you progress and get into more challenging roles, your FP&A salary expectations will also increase. We will take you through the different job descriptions and compensation estimates (for the US) so you know more or less what interview questions and FP&A salaries to expect when looking for a new job. Read on to learn about the average base salary and job roles for FP&A professionals.
Roles in FP&A
Looking to learn more about the different corporate FP&A jobs available?
The following is a typical progression from an entry-level role to a more senior position, with their respective FP&A salary ranges.
FP&A analyst
Role description: The backbone job of financial planning and analysis. The standard responsibilities of an FP&A analyst include data collection, model development, and maintenance, as well as coordination among the many stakeholders.
FP&A analyst salary:
$50,000 to $70,000, plus bonuses.
Experience required: A typical candidate for an FP&A analyst position will have 1–3 years of finance-related experience under their belt. The practice of hiring immediately out of undergrad is uncommon, but it does occur in larger corporations.
FP&A senior analyst
Role description: A senior analyst is often in charge of supervising junior analysts and managing projects, although he or she is still very much involved in the financial modeling process.
FP&A senior salary:
$65,000 to $85,000, plus bonuses.
Experience required: Must be a holder of an MBA to be hired as a senior analyst. Individuals with a consulting or banking background are preferred for this position, just as they are for the more junior role of an FP&A analyst.
The standard senior analyst has between 3 and 5 years of experience within the relevant field.
FP&A manager
Role description: An FP&A manager is in charge of business forecasting. He or she looks at the company's finances with a critical eye - trying to spot data anomalies, trends, or deviations - and then introduces strategies for improvement to provide to senior management.
An FP&A manager creates financial models and forecasts to assist CFOs in their future business planning and decision-making.
FP&A manager salary:
$85,000 to $115,000, plus bonuses.
Experience required: Managerial positions in financial planning and analysis often require between 5 and 10 years of experience. The most common route for FP&A managers is through internal company promotion, lateral hiring, or employment through one of the big consulting firms. Nearly all FP&A managers will have either an MBA or be a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Director / Vice-President of FP&A
Role description: Any directorial FP&A role is responsible for ensuring finance strategy delivers business growth and robust financial analysis to enable effective decision-making.
Director / VP of FP&A salary:
$100,000 to $250,000, with additional stock options and bonuses.
Experience required: Directorial roles require 10 years or more of expertise in leading corporate planning cycles, establishing new processes, and serving as project managers for a variety of initiatives.
Want to get a job in FP&A but not sure where to start?
To get notified about the latest job openings in the market, check employment platforms such as Indeed, Glassdoor or even Linkedin Jobs.
These platforms will assist you in finding the ideal position for your skillset and expectations, whether you are looking for full-time or part-time opportunities.
Potential career progression after being a Director or Vice-President of FP&A
Most FP&A specialists, after reaching the Director / VP level, tend to stay in the field, either within their current organization or at other organizations.
Directors can advance internally in major corporations by taking on responsibility for larger profit and loss accounts.
Transitioning to the CFO post is exceptionally difficult as there is only one position available, although the FP&A function, as well as the controller and treasury functions, have all been identified as potential stepping stones to the CFO role.
Those financial professionals looking for this type of transfer are frequently interested in rotating to other critical departments within the firm, such as a controller, business development, corporate development, or operational management.
To be considered for the CFO position, you must have a diverse combination of skills and experience.
On the other hand, advancing to the position of CEO within an organization is even more uncommon. However, many successful FP&A professionals choose to go down the entrepreneurial path, establishing businesses in a variety of industries as a result of their inquisitive and analytical temperament.
Learn more:
Wrapping up
The FP&A path is getting more popular each day, so it is a great time to start your career now that you know all the potential for progression there is.
Regardless of whether you are just getting started as an FP&A analyst in a junior role or you are in the director position, all positions can benefit from using FP&A software in their everyday forecasting and modeling practices.
With Abacum, we empower Finance teams of high-growth tech companies to become true strategic partners in the organization by driving time-to-insight with powerful automation and seamless collaboration.
